Yargro
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Topics Started: 1
Replies Created: 7
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YargroHi, I’m the OP and thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I tried all of them. Yes, it does seem as if certain controllers spit out problematic data, although most of that seems to be handled by an occasional flick of the mod or pitch wheel. But even with all controllers unplugged, I still had the tuning problems in Logic with EZ Bass and, unfortunately, problems with timing as well. Even with everything quantized 100% there were significant timing variations with EZ Bass. Many people might not notice these problems–with casual listening, it actually sounds kind of realistic. But when you bounce tracks for export into Pro Tools for use with a click and a pro musician, 20ms or more random variation can be a problem, and then there are the tuning problems. I wasted a huge amount of time trying to troubleshoot these things. My ultimate solution was to use EZ Bass as an inspirational composition tool, export the MIDI from EZ bass into Pro Tools, use Pro Tools instruments as a reference bass since the timing and tuning was far better and then replace that with a real bass player. A lot harder and more expensive, I know. I guess if things seem too EZ, then maybe they are? EZ Bass is really an inspirational composition tool, I love it for that. I haven’t heard any official news about addressing these issues so I assume TT’s position is it’s our issue and not theirs. And maybe they’re right. But I’d rather spend time making music than troubleshooting. side note: The timing in EZ drummer is solid, so that’s good. I’m on an M1 Macbook Pro.
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Thanked by: Daniel CairneyYargroThanks for the tip Daniel, on improving the EZ Bass tuning. I’ll try it out. Much appreciated! Will need to test over a period of time.
Speaking of time…when “printing” EZ Bass tracks to audio, in Logic, I have also noticed a lot of small but noticeable timing issues. Even when the MIDI is quantized to 100% the tracks don’t line up with the grid after they’re bounced. Some notes could be 20ms or more late or ahead. It seems random. and this is after the tracks are stripped of all controllers, or any other extra MIDI data except notes. Tried all the different methods and settings for the “printing” process , no plug ins, inserts, different buffer settings etc with the same results. Wasted a lot of time trying to fix it.
Given the tuning and timing issues, I work with EZ Bass only in the compositional phase of a project. EZ Bass is a fantastic, inspirational compositional tool and fun to jam with. But if I end up creating a bass line I want to use for a professional project, and want to have a good drummer play with it and with a click, or have other musicians play with it and tune to it, I get away from EZ Bass. I export the MIDI from EZ Bass and use that MIDI to trigger another instrument, usually in Pro Tools which solves both the tuning and the timing problems.
EZ Drummer on the other hand is pretty solid. It doesn’t exhibit the same timing problems for me.
YargroHey Juergen,
thanks for sharing this. I’ll check it out. The problem notes for me tend to be sharp, but this may help those too. Good work! Toontrack must be aware of it, hopefully this will encourage some review of intonation in EZ Bass
best to you!
YargroHi Sound Dungen,
Sorry to hear you’re having the same issue with intonation on EZ bass. Please let me know if you get any new info on this. Looks like you’re on Big Sur, I’m on Monterey. I’ve noticed that it seems worse when I use EZ bass as an instrument on an existing midi track as opposed to building the track entirely within EZ bass. On many tracks I don’t notice it, but there are some spots where I changed the track or the arrangement to hide the problem, or just gave up and used a different instrument. The problem also seems to shift around, to come and go. Thanks for chiming in.
YargroThanks Thunder, yeah it’s worth keeping tabs on all the various combinations of instruments, settings etc. stopping, starting, restarting etc. It’s worth noting that most people don’t seem to have any concerns about the tuning. Wish I could say the same. It could be my system, the other instruments I’m using, etc. It does seem to come and go, certain parts in certain ranges in certain keys are more problematic. But hey, we’ve all got music to create and figuring this out can be quite time-consuming. At this point I have a few workarounds when the problem pops up: choose a different Non-EZ Bass instrument, slap a pitch correction plug-in on the track, double the part with another instrument to stabilize it, or change the arrangement to hide/avoid the problem. None are great options, but I figure over time either I’ll figure out what’s going on and fix it or an update might help. It’s still a great tool to generate ideas for bass parts.
YargroHi Richard,
I’ll check the vibrato, good tip. I doubt that’s what I’m hearing though. I’ve taken to actually blending the EZ sound with other instruments in order to help with the tuning. It’s still a great tool to come up with bass parts. Let me know if you discover anything else re this. Thanks for the info!
YargroHi Victor, thanks for sharing your experiences. Much appreciated! I’ll check into editing the articulations, slides etc. that’s a good tip. BTW, I’m not playing an actual bass guitar into EZB (I do saxes and flutes). I’m either using midi bass tracks I’ve already created (imported into EZB or using EZB as a virtual instrument) or I use the EZB grooves, edit them and incorporate that material as well, either on a different track or export and combine, or create fills.
re tempo: I’ve got a fair amount of tempo changes in my tracks and EZB seems to be following them pretty well, but I’ll pay more attention to that and see if I notice anything.
re Macbook Pro M1 Max, Monterey:
Logic, Finale, Digital Performer, Omnisphere, Melodyne, EZ Drummer, EZ Bass, Final Cut all work well for me using the latest versions. Of course there are occasional glitches and each product has its individual challenges like the ones we’re working through here. But I’m able to get my work done, without ever having to think about maxing out CPU etc. Not using a whole lot of 3rd party plug-ins or Pro Tools yet in this setup. PT has been my main environment for years, so I’ve had to work around that. I’ll probably give PT a shot on the Macbook pretty soon.
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