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[stpete111]

apcm se wrote:

I have been in the same boat and just come to this forum looking at the possiblity of EzGuitar from Toontracks and it’s accompanying expansion EzGuitar “Lead” Edition with all varying lead riffs, motifs etc…

Well Toontrack have waited “too long” now and there is a program called “Tonalic” and if you haven’t seen it, it will blow you away, I just found it a few days back and so reporting in here, it’s great with Toontracks bass and drums, but they also have those in Tonalic, along with banjo, mandolins, and an ever growing line of options and ALL their expansions are in there.

I’m still trialling it for $1 for 30 days, then I think it’s like $30 a month, but nothing more to spend and can turn it on and off as required for projects so saves a tonne of money buying expansion packs that you might only use 10% of the library for a certain sound or flavor.

Together with EzMix 3 and if there is an EzMaster I think this is the way of the future these tools.

 

Hope this helps.

Yep, Tonalic is indeed amazing.  Needs one or two metal players, but it’s pretty incredible.

TT is working on EZGuitar (or at least they were, they may have paused it) but there are SO many variables that have to be considered in a guitar VI, that it’s anything BUT “EZ.”    Piano/Keyboard, Bass, and Drums all pale in comparison with regards to complexity when compared to guitar.  That’s why those VI’s are a dime a dozen, and Guitar VI’s, while there are plenty out there, precisely NONE of them have nailed it.  They each do one or two genres OK, but, there is just SO much to consider with guitar as far as nuances and playing styles and techniques, not to mention getting it all to sound realistic!  The EZ part is what I imagine has TT continuing to go back to drawing board.  They oughtta just give up on the EZ part and go straight for Superior Guitarist 1.  And just make it the best most complete Guitar VI out there.  I know TT has the resources and bandwidth to make it happen.

[stpete111]

A-ha, exactly the thread I was looking for – if I didn’t find it, I was going to start it.  Only the folks inside Toontrack know for sure whether or not this is being worked on, and they certainly aren’t going to chime in here to confirm or deny it (well, maybe they would deny it), but here are my thoughts:

If anyone could achieve a good guitar VI, it’s Toontrack, but (big but), it’s never going to happen if they don’t take an entirely different approach than other developers have with respect to building a polyphonic guitar VI.  I am someone who has been on the search for that great (not even perfect, just great!) guitar VI – I have purchased ALL of them.  You name the company – I own AT LEAST one of their guitar VI’s.  I’ve been on this self-inflicted search for the holy grail of guitar VI for almost 20 years.  No one, and I mean NO ONE, has perfected it yet.  Each one has it’s own strength, and each one has a feature(s) that others don’t, but I have yet to find one that does it all, and even then, it’s gotta be somewhat user-friendly, right?

Someone earlier in this thread said “the engine that would be the basis for EZGuitar exists within EZBass. It’s only a matter of fleshing it out so that it can by applied to guitar.”  I couldn’t disagree with this statement more.  Every instrument Toontrack has released to date is either monophonic or percussion, and while they’ve stupendously risen to the challenges of creating those kinds of VI’s, guitar provides a completely different set of challenges.  Anyone who has any experience using guitar VI’s knows what those challenges are.  I am a guitar player of 25 years, and my attraction to this subject is despite my ability to just record the guitar parts myself, b/c it allows me to create guitar parts that I have in my head immediately, where I otherwise would need to practice for hours to get the part right, and/or do massive amounts of editing, not to mention that when doing metal and djent-type stuff specifically, tight, perfect timing of the guitar is everything to the sound, which is easily achieved with MIDI.  But being a guitar player also makes me way more critical of the realism (lack thereof) of the sound coming out of a guitar VI.  All this said, I’m sure some of the guitar VI’s out there are perfectly capable for non-guitar-playing folks who are just trying to get a simple part down as part of a composition.

While I could go on for paragraphs in more detail about this subject, I’ll just end by saying that if anyone can create an amazing guitar VI, it’s Toontrack.  But I also believe Toontrack would not put out a sub-par product even if they put years and years of R&D into it.  As a developer myself, and having really dug deep into all the guitar VI’s out there, I truly believe that the guitar is an instrument that can not be fully duplicated using software and scripting.  It just can not.  Can parts of it be duplicated, as in certain types of articulations?  Yes, absolutely.   If Toontrack is working on this or is planning to, I believe they are going to have to take an entirely new and revolutionary approach than any other developer to date has done.  If they can crack that code, they will certainly nail it, and if they do, I will pay nearly any dollar amount they ask for it.

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Thanked by: Tony Shaffer and buzz_9

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