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[Erik]

Hey E T,

This is a hairy one, because there are many ifs and buts to take into consideration when preserving routing. I didn’t find an open feature request for this, and I think it’s because it would only rarely work in a satisfactory way.

We do have the multi out menu choice (In the mixer view go Mixer → “Apply Multichannel Outputs”), but when you load a new library, you’re not just loading in new drum kit pieces. You are changing the recording studio, microphone layouts and positions as well as the internal instrument routing, so keeping your custom routes is not guaranteed to give a good result when using different libraries.

What kind of functionality are you looking for? Just the channel routing, or bus sends too, or instrument routing?

I think the easiest solution right now is to do a one-time investment and setup user presets for each library you’re using. Then whenever you start a new kit, you can do a partial load for the mixer (alt+left click on presets with a down arrow next to them, or click the down arrow). This loads in an entire mixer, including effects, sends, levels and routings.

But you have to do that for each library.

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

1

Thanked by: E T

[Erik]

Hi Bonnaure,

EZX expansions are scanned together by Superior Drummer, in the second to bottom row in the Libaries/Paths menu window. The default path for this is C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Toontrack\EZDrummer, but if you have them in another location, all you should have to do is find the new path by clicking the hamburger icon on the right hand side and selecting ‘Locate “Additional Libraries” Folder’, and then restarting Superior.

EZX expansions aren’t added with the “Add Library Path(s)” button — that’s just for SDX expansions.

See more here: 9.3.4 Libraries Settings Tab

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

[Erik]

Hi Ed,

EZkeys doesn’t assume you’re playing wrong, and if you have a dissonant note, it can’t assume that note hasn’t been left there intentionally. If you want to manipulate those notes, you can activate the Clean button in the chord wheel, and it will force the dissonant notes into their nearest function in the specified chord. This will probably not produce the results you’re after.

It is possible to create harmony lines from basic chords in the MIDI browser, by selecting a variation and pressing the “Use Browser MIDI” button above the song track. Apply the same variation to both clips and you should have to identical melodies over each of the two sequences, but in their respective harmony/function/chord sequence.

These clips will be colored only based on the specified chord, and not the clip’s MIDI notes. I.e. any melodic content you have in those MIDI files, will be replaced by what’s inside the chosen variation.

To receive support for purchases, please contact support directly: https://www.toontrack.com/faq/how-do-i-contact-support/

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

1

Thanked by: John

[Erik]

Hi tsolis,

The showcased product is always used of course, but not every audio demo is made entirely with our products.

Sometimes, the Toontrack version is re-recorded or remixed for us, like here:
Pete Thorn “The Fourth Mode”, feat. EZmix 2 & EZdrummer 2
Playthrough: Meshuggah “Do Not Look Down”, Toontrack version
Toontrack EZ Mix 2 – Metal mix in 5 minutes

But for many of the demos on our site, we worked with the mixed stems (and with luck, MIDI), and in this case replaced the drum tracks with Superior Drummer 3 and the Core/”factory” library. This way you can more easily compare the original with our version.

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

[Erik]

Hey,

All the mic inputs are the raw microphone inputs from when the drum samples were recorded. As such, they aren’t receiving anything from other channels, but play back what those specific microphones recorded when sampling the kit. If you want to separate the bleeds, you can create a user microphone channel and route them there.

Do this by opening the Route Instrument Microphones window (in the View menu)

1. Select the drum you want to move the bleeds from,
2. Click the appropriate button in the Mixer Channel column (OH/Amb/Room)
3. Create New Channel

Repeat for each microphone you want to mix separately, into the newly created channel, or separate new channels. After that, you can either route them straight back into the original channel (if you only separated that one microphone, or sent them to separate user channels), to a bus, or out to main.

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

1

Thanked by: Brick Fist Pow

[Erik]

Hey Scott,

If you want to record kick and snare at the same time, you could record the bass with the lower part of the palm of your hand to get a nice thud, and the snare with your mouth (short ‘K’ sound) to make it easier for Superior to keep them apart. You could also tap the table with your finger nail for the snare, but that would still be difficult for the tracker to separate from the kicks.

What Rodney suggested was probably recording each instrument separately, which is how the tracker was designed to work. Or he could have mastered the highly guarded, long-forgotten hidden secrets of the finger drum and can simulate a drum set with only his fingers on a flat wooden plane.

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

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Thanked by: Scott

[Erik]

Hi sroebuck3,

There are a few points where you could boost your volume. Selecting a library preset can boost your levels, but the default preset should not be as quiet as you describe – especially if it sounds alright when you use your mouse. The preset button is in the upper right of the main window, next to the library name.

You could start by opening the MIDI In/E-Drums settings page, and either select your drum module with the Select a MIDI Device... button, or activate the Use Preset button and select your module from there.

Make a few hits on your kit. If you look at the analyzer in the bottom left, are the velocities alright, and is the sound more level? The Analyzer display the MIDI information that is sent from your drumkit. The maximum value for MIDI velocities is 127 and should represent your hardest hit.

Read more about e-drum settings here: 9.3.7 MIDI In/E-Drums Settings

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

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Thanked by: sroebuck3

[Erik]

Hey Scott,

You also have the option of globally adjusting/offsetting velocities in the Browser/Grooves tab by using the Velocity slider. This lets you preview the clips with appropriate adjustments to velocity, and the offset is saved when you drag the clip into the Song Track (or straight into your DAW).

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

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Thanked by: keeler and Scott

[Erik]

Brad wrote:

With Studio One, if you want to transform the MIDI in EZDrummer to an audio track, right click the track with EZDrummer on it and select Transform to Audio. I usually preserve the MIDI in case I want to make changes later on.

Hope I am understanding your question.

That’s right! If taeagan pulls the midi into the instrument track from EZdrummer, she can right click it in Studio One and select Transform to Audio Track. Faster than recording in real time, and saves space and performance. Studio One automatically disables (removes) and re-enables the connected instrument when switching a track between audio and instrument “mode”.

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

[Erik]

Hi taeagan,

Instrument tracks in Studio One are only capable of storing MIDI data. If you want to record what EZdrummer is playing, you need to create a stereo audio track, and for its input select Instruments → EZdrummer (it’s called EZ1 in my instance). Then just arm the track and press record.

An alternative you could do, is simply dragging the MIDI from the Song Track or even single clips straight from the Browser into Studio One, and EZdrummer will play it live in the instrument track. This is useful if you’re not decided that all fills and articulations are correct.

You can always re-record the audio track with the method you’re asking about, so either is fine.

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

• This post was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by Erik.

[Erik]

I think this may be a Reaper question, more than one directed at EZdrummer, but I’ll give it a try.

If you right-click the midi item (in Reaper) you want to make longer, under Item Settings, what happens if you de-select “Loop item source”? Do you get the behavior you want then?

Other than that, having multiple midi items isn’t a problem for a drum kit, so you can do either of the three options you posted. I would personally drag midi straight from EZdrummer into the instrument track and copy-paste however many I wanted (instead of dragging them out/extending them [in Reaper]), and then edit the items I want to add fills or change articulations.

Tip: You can edit Play Style in EZdrummer if you drag the clip into the song track before moving the midi into Reaper.

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

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Thanked by: supercoupe

[Erik]

Hey PATZIC,

I think RickSchwartz was referring routing audio outputs to his DAW, and not MIDI from his e-drums to EZdrummer. Or did you mean to reply in your other thread?

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

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Thanked by: RickSchwartz and Pierre-André THUAU

[Erik]

Thanks for your patience, Demious.

Stereo reverse inverts the panning of all microphone channels. In the case of the kicks, since they are centered, their panning is not affected, and they will sound identical. From 5.1.1 The Mixer Menu:

Stereo Reverse Mixer: This option will change all of the panning in the mixer for every channel to the opposite side. Channels panned in the center will remain in the center.

Looking at the last post I did, soloing the close mics in both Metal Machinery and The Metal Foundry produces a completely centered output from Superior Drummer. If you perceive an actual offset there (and not just a different timbre or loudness), it either lies in tone or timbre differences, or just volume.

As for loudness in Metal Machinery, you notice I included two demonstrations there. The reason for this is – just like you observed – because in the default mix, Kick 1 (Right) is more than twice as loud as Kick 2 (Left). The output was still centered in both of the examples, however. There is a difference in timbre between the two as well, just as you note – they are two different kick drums played with two different feet after all.

If you think they sound mismatched, you could either use only one of them (remove Kick 2), or do a sneaky and load the right kick drum in the left kick position if you want to pan them (remember to change mixer levels and instrument routing if you do).

If you have an active monitoring system, I would also look and see if they are set identically. If you play in a cramped room, it could be an acoustic problem – one speaker generating standing waves due to its position, but the other one not.

It could also be good old psychoacoustics playing a trick here. I was sure there was a difference in sound when I loaded the same drum on both positions (the right side 18×22″ Tama), until I disabled hit variation, and they became identical.

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

[Erik]

Hey, same here! It’s easy getting lost in the moment when it sounds so good.

Superior is an advanced tool if you want it to be, so don’t worry about learning the ins and outs right away. The online manual is searchable, but if you don’t find something you want to do, we’re right here.

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

[Erik]

Hello again,

I loaded a level meter in my DAW and played the kicks back with only the close mic. I’d say they’re pretty centered (two medium and two hard hits each):
Metal Foundry

Metal Machinery

Metal Machinery leveled

Regarding the overheads, I’m not sure what you mean with “in front of”. If it’s loudness, you can adjust the levels on the close mics in the channel properties.

I’d like you to remember, that each individual channel doesn’t correspond to a single instrument, but to a microphone that was used in the actual recording of the kit. As such, panning individual channels does not change where the actual drum is placed, only what is being sent to the master output, just like mixing analogue; You’re not moving the microphones or instruments around by panning the mixer channels, you only decide how much of what the microphones pick up goes where, just as if you were sitting by a mixing desk in a real studio. That’s the basic idea, but of course Superior Drummer offers bleed control and per direct level adjustments, which an analogue mixer could only dream about.

The default perspective in our products is the drummer’s perspective, since it makes visualizing the sounds easier for the user. If you want to switch to audience perspective, flip the panning on the red channels (Out 1/2 unless you use multi out).

Am I still missing the mark? After writing this, I feel that it may be a misunderstanding causing your problems. You can swap the drums, but you can’t move them around “physically”. You can indirectly swap the mics, by loading instruments from other libraries, but you can’t move them around. In Superior, you work with the input from those microphones, just like a mixing engineer would.

Erik Berglund — Toontrack

• This post was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by Erik.

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