RIFFS plug-ins...
Toontrack Classic EZX - Expansion
dismembered Helios desks fetch obscene amounts of money from those who require its unique sound but Classic EZX offers some fantastic Helios-recorded drum tracks for only a relatively few quid! The strong sensation of continuity between the Classic EZX and
baby
The latest expansion pack for Toontrack’s EZdrummer drum library aims to bring the depth and power of classic old school rock to your drum tracks...
Words: D.P. Wilson
pioneered in the 1960’s by both engineers at EMI Abbey Road and more famously the engineer Glyn Johns at the aforementioned Olympic Studios. In this modern world where everything tends to be recorded separately the concept of recording a drum kit with only four
If you record any form of classic Rock ‘n’ Roll with Classic EZX... you’ll be very glad you’ve got it!
SRP: £49.95 Contact: Time + Space
www.timespace.com
The idea of EZdrummer itself was to provide the same level of sound quality as Toontrack’s premium Superior Drummer software without the cost or the sheer size needed for such a powerful library.
The flexibility of the EZdrummer software also makes it that much easier for Toontrack to release expansion sets that are a little more, shall we say, niche. And this is where the new Classic EZX comes in. The software itself isn’t a standalone; it must be used as an expansion to either EZdrummer or as a Superior Drummer SDX expansion and in common with all of the other EZX libraries the Classic comes with a great set of pre-programmed MIDI drum patterns to get you started.
Rock School Following on from a similar idea that was employed in Toontrack’s previous Custom and Vintage set, the idea is to create a more Classic, old school rock vibe and to that end the drums in question have all been recorded through a vintage Helios console. The Helios analogue console is a legend in the recording industry and was originally designed for Olympic Studios back in the 1960’s, being used by everyone from Jimi Hendrix and The Who, through to the ‘ Stones and Led Zeppelin! These days bits of
36 pickup Choose a kit and build a groove quickly using EZdrummer’s drag and drop display…
Toontrack’s Custom and Vintage plug-in is probably due in part to the fact that both feature top session drummer Chris Whitten and producer Peter Henderson. One important difference, however, is that the Custom and Vintage set was recorded using a vintage EMI console and the sounds were recorded very dry. In the case of Classic EZX things are a little different.
Bangs for buck There are two sample sets to install: The first gives you the traditional stance on multi kit miking (IE one mic per drum with stereo overheads). The second set is where things get a little more interesting with its classic four microphone set up. This was a technique
mics might seem a little antiquated but before you judge it listen to some classic 1970’s records by The Who and hear just how big these four mic setups can sound!
The library itself takes up about 2 gigabytes
of hard drive space and as you’d expect when compared to the huge libraries of the Superior line something has to give somewhere. In this case Toontrack have made the right decision by slightly reducing the amount of drums played and including a few less articulations. All the main hits are there, tough, with the snare featuring standard hits, rimshots, sidesticks and ruffs and although there doesn’t seem to the same fanatical level of samples per hit the balance of features still seems to be pitched about right.
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