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[jerry Jaborek]

Maybe, I need to see first hand what the sample styles are. The one used in the promo video is more of a Bob Segar / George Thorogood, Midwest, American bar rock vibe. I wouldn’t get much use from that. I have done a nice song using the standard EZK, and again for what it does well, it does very well. 🙂

I use Superior Drummer all the time and it still amazes me. There are 12 new songs with variations in the new pack. I need to hear them first before I’ll plunk down any more $$$$$.

I will be filled with sadness if any of the twelve are carbon copies of popular hits everybody knows. Useless for song writers.

[jerry Jaborek]

ORIGINAL: John

@jerjabs:
You get 12 Songs in different styles and Tempo with 4 Variations each of Intro, Verse, Pre Chorus, Chorus and Bridge. Plus a few Minor and Major Ballad Chords variations.

Thanks John for the reply. From the Pop / Rock demo video, the piano style is kinda that Midwest Bob Segar bar rock vibe.

http://www.toontrack.com/tv.asp?channel=products&item=195

Are the other pattern styles similar to that, and are there any that are styles taken from other famous songs like the Walking in Memphis / Home sweet home?

Thanks again.

[jerry Jaborek]

Can anyone who bought the new Pop / Rock expansion please elaborate on how many new patterns you get? Thanks!

[jerry Jaborek]

The fact that there was no precedent set should not give a free pass to…………… Oh never mind.

[jerry Jaborek]

ORIGINAL: John Baker

I am curious. I was considering purchase of EZ Keys, being a long time user of TT products. However, this thread puts me off a bit. If one of the shortcoming is a too-small MIDI library, why was a new supplemental library of MIDI files just introduced for an additional $30? Shouldn’t it be folded in to the product as a free upgrade, to help make the product more attractive to us that are still on the fence? How about a buy EZ keys and get the MIDI pack free? I am curious. AND cheap!

That was my biggest gripe with the product. The “extensive library” was not at all what I was expecting. The new Pop Rock expansion also uses the description “extensive library”. Even at $29.00, I need to see what that library is in reality. I too think they should have added this new expansion in as a free patch.

John, EZK is not a bad product, it’s just under par with the rest of TT products.

[jerry Jaborek]

Dude, you are a FU****G genius!

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jerry Jaborek]

John, I did this and honestly, it’s doing it more now. 85% of the chords cut off and for some reason the play button to the left of the song browser button clicks on and off while the song is playing. Totally confused. I deleted EZK from my song, then put a fresh one back in and it’s still doing it.

Help.

[jerry Jaborek]

I’m sure this is the issue I’m having. With no rhyme or reason my chords cut off throughout my song. It’s a total train wreck. In another post it was suggested that I go into Logic’s > view > hyperdraw > sustain and make sure those all are drawn correctly. I did that, and they seem to be drawn correct, yet its still cutting in and out. Another thing I noticed is that when the song is playing, the play button in the EZK window flashes on and off with no real pattern.

Where in the EZK window is the “follow host” option? I can’t seem to find it.

This was an annoyance at first, not it’s a real pain…….

Thanks

[jerry Jaborek]

Thanks John, I know this sounds crazy, but this morning the sustain dropouts were at almost 50-60% of the chords. Can you hand hold me thru what you did in Logic to get the situation fixed?

Thanks boss!

[jerry Jaborek]

Anyone?

[jerry Jaborek]

OOps, I thought it fixed the issue. Still happening. Someone else posted the same issue and they too are using Logic pro. Basically on playback, random chords I’ve dragged and dropped into logic will all play but some without the sustain pedal. If I have EZKeys open, I can visually see the pedal coming up after the chord is struck.

[jerry Jaborek]

Paul, I too am using Logic pro 9 and I’m having the EXACT same issue. My EZK is updated to 1.0.1. It was suggested here that I merge all the drag and drop regions into one region, yet that did not fix the issue. Upon playback, the sustain pedal seems to randomly pick notes and chords to not sustain, I.E. it doesn’t seem to do it on the same midi notes.

It is only EZKeys that is doing this, my other piano virts don’t seem to have that problem. On the bright side, it made me bring up my other piano virts to test and EZKeys is the best sounding….but the pedal lifting at random drives me nutty.

[jerry Jaborek]

I merged that region with the regions just before and after and that fixed the issue. What cause that because I usually split my regions into individual chords and will want to do that again at some time?

[jerry Jaborek]

More is always better.

[jerry Jaborek]

Hey all, hope you had a happy Easter!

I’d like to again state that I own EZ Drummer, Superior (as well as expansions) and now EZ Keys. Yep, I coughed up the cash to buy EZ Keys, AFTER fully knowing it’s limitations. See, I still have faith in Toontrack. I at one time found EZ Drummer to be absolutely INVALUABLE to my song writing and production. In a word, I loved it. Once Superior came out, I upgraded to it, and it too became my goto drum programming tool to this day. Prior to those products I used other competing products, but Toontrack’s were just better. I usually stop by Toontrack’s booth at NAMM to pay respect and pick the guy’s brains as they are all great dudes. I just want to clarify that I’m in no way a Toontrack basher.

I am sorry if my post made me sound as if I was speaking for everyone here, as I am obviously not. It does however look like I do speak for some here regarding EZK, but the reaction I’ve received from my circle of fellow producer buddies here in So Cal is the same as mine. Most tried the Demo, and were either underwhelmed with it’s library, or simply couldn’t get past the de-tuning demo thing. Honestly, one of my buddies joked that if we ever needed a karaoke version of Motley’s Home Sweet Home or a Walking in Memphis, we were set.

As a song writer and producer, I wanted EZK to be first and foremost, a song writing tool. A way to take piano midi patterns that I myself could never perform (like beat patterns in Superior Drummer), and shape them into songs.

You know what? LOL, I just realized that it’s late, I’ve stated this all before and I’m just rehashing stuff. I’m gonna cut to the chase. I expected much more from the midi pattern library than what was given. Writing partners I know that checked out the demo were also caught off guard by how small the library is compared to the original version of EZ Drummers library. In what little they gave us, some patterns are unusable because they are already known songs…even if the keys are changed, un-usuable. Personally, I’d be happy as a clam if TT did nothing more than give us a free patch containing 50 more patterns, albeit no patterns that are already known hit songs. Seriously, who okay-ed putting in old song hits anyway?

Getting back to my original gripe…I feel that $150-$170 is just too much for where this tool sits now. Yet, I need tools like this. I will most likely buy expansions from TT because If I don’t, this program as it sits doesnt really help me much. Some of you guys don’t seem to care about the current library size and are more miffed at other issues, but personally that’s where it sticks me. I was excited and expected more.

Sorry if this reads like a 3rd grader wrote it, I’m dead sleepy. I don’t speak for all you guys here and didn’t mean to come off that way. It just bums me out that a company who created some of the very best song writing tools out there, fell short here. Most musicians don’t make a ton of cash, so I try to spend it as best I can.

I’ve beat my section of this dead horse into oblivion. I just hope TT will throw us a bone here and patches in a bit more for our $$$.

Jer

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