Trying to Figure out if EZ drummer can accomplish my recording needs

[oehman]

I have a few questions that I can’t find answers to in the FAQ or forums. I purchased EZ Player Pro and installed Solo. I hoped to use them along with my Zoom Rt-323 drum machine to make arranging patterns and songs easier. My intent is to assemble drum patterns into a song and record them into my Korg D1600 recorder. The Korg/Zoom method is to synch them via midi and hit play on the Korg. This triggers the Zoom to play too, so I can record the output back into the Korg. Works OK, but step programming and the sound quality of the Zoom is sub-par…I will buy EZ Drummer if it will be easier to write drum accompaniments to my crappy songs and record them into the Korg. I really don’t want to do my multitrack recording in Sonar, Pro Tools,etc. I like the ease of a standalone recorder.
So if I’d like to add EZ Drummer to the line up. But:

1) Will I be able to have the Korg tell Toontracks Solo when to play the arrangement?

2) Can I use my drum machine to trigger the different drums in EZ Drummer (like a Korg Nano would do)? It seems like the pads on the drum machine would hold up better than the keyboard on my laptop.

3) If I created grooves on my Zoom drum machine, could I some how get them out of the Zoom and into EZ Player so that they could be played there with the better sounding drums of EZ Drummer?

4) I played with EZ Player and Solo for hours last night, but couldn’t hear the grooves. Is this because I don’t have EZ Drummer?

5) How come EZ Player/Solo couldn’t recognize my Zoom drum machine? I figured I would at leat be able to hear the EZ Player grooves if Solo could communicate with Zoom to use it’s drum sounds. But it said No MIDI IN device available.

I am using a Dell Latitude D620 laptop (intel T2400@ 1.83Ghz) 1 gig of RAM and Windows XP SP3
Using a M-Audio Midisport Uno to connect the Zoom to the laptop

I’ve done a fair share of multitrack recording on PC (Sonar with live drums) and standalone. But midi is still a bit of a mystery.And it seems like I am going to need 4 pieces of software to accomplish a simple task!

Thanks so much if anyone can help.

Pete

Topic

[Richard Kitt]

Not sure what a Zoom Rt-323 is, I dont use drum machines, but basically ‘Solo’ is an app that allows you to play EZDrummer or Superior Drummer 2 as a standalone app rather than having to insert it into a DAW – so in short, I guess you need to get EZDrummer

[Whitten]

Neither EZplayer or Solo have sound, they are performance enablers – EZplayer for midi files, Solo for live playing.

One thing I can say about your proposed work method is you would be sidestepping one of EZdrummer’s main draw cards – the included midi.

EZdrummer expansion packs include a large library of midi grooves performed by well known drummers, usually the drummer being sampled for the sounds.
These grooves are much more human than a drum machine, include many variations and the detail in slight note shift and velocity would be incredibly time consuming to recreate on a machine.
The goal is for a live drummer feeling. So if you prefer the feel of a drum machine, perhaps it isn’t for you.

[Author]

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