Toontrack Drumkit From Hell EZX

These samples are set up to be used exclusively in ezDrummer, so you won't be able to load this up in your other favorite sequencer program. This expansion like all the other for ezDrummer is based on individual drums and cymbals that have been multi-layered for a more realistic sound. You get several kits based on the overall sound of the expansion, which for this one is focused on metal and hard rock type drums. The kit for this particular expansion is huge - it'd be a challenge to use so many toms! You are also given a MIDI library of preset grooves that have been professionally programmed to get you started. You can drag and drop the MIDI file that is the closest fit to your song into your MIDI sequencer and edit it from there. This will also tempo sync to your host so you can play back your song and audition different groove presets, which is a nice feature.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

The drums on this expansion sound great. They are all very punchy and raw sounding. The snare is also very pingy and ringy, which is going to help it cut through your mix which most likely has a big wall of distorted guitars in this genre. There are a good amount of different flavors to choose from, since you can switch out individual drums in the interface. The way the drums are recorded would probably limit them to the genres of hard rock and metal, I think they would sound very out of place in anything else. They do sound great for those genres though. The MIDI grooves are obviously programmed by a very accomplished metal drummer, and the fills are extremely impressive sounding.

OVERALL OPINION

I have had this for a year or so since I switched to the ezDrummer line of drum software.
This expansion is made exclusively for hard hitting metal drums that sound good when played fast and hard. Since drums for this genre are usually very fast and varied, programming by hand would be a real pain. Thankfully the pre-made MIDI grooves sound great and are varied. This will cut down the time you spend on getting your drum track up and running by at least half, since you can just copy out the main groove and just edit the stops and fills. I have used a lot of different drum samplers, and ezDrummer is consistently one of the best sounding ones, while always being the fastest and easiest to use. Great sounding metal drums at a low price. I'd definitely get this expansion again.

No complaints ...

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

Sounds good if you take the time to customize your kit
For me it's a Sonor snare by example and play on the mix of the two microphones to have enough "body"
I put all the more acute the cymbals can to make room for the snare, though large.

Also be aware that there is samplées TWO bass drums, but that the donkeys were used as the first pattern for all ... it is necessary to move the notes to alternate left-right (look at the charts to see MIDI which it is)

It is true that the sound is very modern metal, but it is the goal
Everything is very "dry" and very "typed" (EQ in particular) and thus allows a max load on the rest.

If you want an old school metal sound (80/90), you can use the kit's original EZdrummer through a lower velocity to simulate the left foot of the double

OVERALL OPINION

Patterns are provided only as a working basis, knowing that if the means of the subtleties are, you have to program them
No particular pattern to Meshuggah, which is a shame, knowing that their drummer who programmed patterns ...

Very good product, which have deserved more finesse settings on the basic kits, less ambience default (which I also fall into the mixer) and can be 1 or 2 snare sonor as a more "detailed"
And most importantly, providing default patterns with a real double bass drum, since there are samples ...

But ultimately, all these problems are easily adjustable with a few adjustments.

Very good product in the end, that sounds modern metal and inexpensive, yet easy to use.