EZD2: clip plays differently in different parts of the same song

[David George]

I have a 4-bar clip I created in EZD2. Two of these make up an 8-bar verse. I have four verses (so it appears twice in each verse).

As I always do, I pulled it into my DAW (Pro Tools 11.3.2) and after making some changes there, duplicated as necessary.

There are two places where it consistently plays differently: It sounds like there is is an extra hit. It happens in the 6th bar of verses 2 and 3 (but never in 1 or 4).

I’ve deleted those clips in verses 2 and 3 and replaced them with a clip from verse 1 several times. Same result.

But what is truly weird is that if I stop playback in either of those verses and play that section a 2nd time, it doesn’t happen: it’s clean. The the next time I play it all the way through it happens again.

I feel like I’m losing my mind and would like to understand how and why this could be happening. (If it was an OK hit I’d live with it, but it clearly sounds like a mistake.)

Any ideas?

Topic

[Henrik]

So all your MIDI is in Pro Tools, none is playing on the song track of EZdrummer 2? Make sure that Follow Host is disabled in EZdrummer 2 if you have MIDI on that track, since duplicate MIDI files may be played at the same time otherwise.

If you can’t figure this problem out, can you save a version of your Pro Tools session with only the EZdrummer 2 track? That is, if the problem persists if you clean your Pro Tools project, “Save As…” a new project, and the problem is still there…
Zip that Pro Tools project and post it here so we can have a look at it.

Henrik Ekblom - User Experience Designer
Toontrack

[David George]

Thanks so much for your reply.

@Henrik said:
So all your MIDI is in Pro Tools, none is playing on the song track of EZdrummer 2? Make sure that Follow Host is disabled in EZdrummer 2 if you have MIDI on that track, since duplicate MIDI files may be played at the same time otherwise.

That was the very first thing I checked. “Follow Host” is definitely disabled in EZD.

I have a consistent workflow. Note: I tend to use more than one instance of EZD in PT.

I create a part for an entire song, say with a Vintage kit. I save the project in EZD.

I drag that project, clip by clip into the PT Vintage kit track.

I then create another track in PT, and open another instance of EZD, with say, a Latin kit.

I open EZD in that track and load the Vintage kit project. I make any changes in EZD (mostly eliminating redundant hits I don’t need). I save that project in EZD as “Latin kit.” I then drag those altered clips into the Latin track in PT.

From there I make any additional changes directly on the individual PT track MIDI.

This workflow has worked flawlessly on a dozen projects this year. But for some reason this time I’m getting this weird extra hit that is not shown on the MIDI. I say this because as I said earlier the problematic clip appears several times. So when I visually compare that clip in verse 1 and the copy of that clip that appears in verse 2, the MIDI is identical.

[John]

Hi,

could you please do as Henrik recommends – attach a ZIP:ed Session exhibiting this problem with only the EZD track(s) to a post here?

BR,
John

John Rammelt - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[David George]

Thanks for your reply and suggestion.

After some trial and error, I believe I traced this to a floor tom note in the Hip Hop EZX Evident kit (midi note G1). It has a sample built into the hit and I think that was misbehaving. Initially I muted that note and the problem seemed to go away. Then I cleared it in PT and replaced it.

I don’t know why it would misbehave, but this appears resolved.

[Author]

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