Toontrack EZ Bass vs REAL BASS PLAYER! | Can Software REALLY Beat A Human Performance?

[@AfferbeckBeats]

I've used guitar and bass VSTs and they can sound great. But it requires hours of carefully tweaking midi notes that give fret noise and hammer ons and whatever and it's just never worth the effort of actually picking up the instrument and playing it in 2 minutes. It would be great if you could create a basic part just clicking in notes then generating all the human variation parts that take hours to fiddle with. Just keep clicking the button and listening to what it spits out til you get one you want that works with the track. Maybe sliders for how much fret noise, how stacatto, etc.

[@MishazBts]

This software is great for making demos for people who play piano mainly(like me) for demoing hard bass part and later on learning it on bass( like me :D)

[@JSFmusic]

Great sense of humour guys, which is hard to see these days + Bonus Knowledge share and bit of experiment & examples Great video👍

[@michaeltablet8577]

Great video. Thanks for all the effort and time you spent making this. Just one question. If you fool a real bass player with a virtual bass does he give you a virtual middle finger or a real one?

[@PresentDayProduction]

Always a real one! 🤣

[@HiggieBass]

You just can’t beat the real thing 😂

[@Harrysound]

I’ve had ez bass for a while and use it a lot. I’m a guitar player who’s not that happy with his bass tone so a lot of times I’ll just play the guitar part and convert it in ez bass.

[@officialWWM]

There is nothing easy about EZ Bass. In fact, I found it easier to learn the bass!

[@HardKillaz]

😂 To think in a few years from now, You'll have tons of computer musicians who'll be putting real players of instruments out of lunch money.

[@officialWWM]

HardKillaz that's happening already!

[@PresentDayProduction]

That started back in the early 80s when the Fairlight came out!

[@evertschut]

Thanks for this humbling lesson. Now I'm convinced I should spend more time looking for really good musicians instead of the hopeless task of making midi instruments sound like the real thing. It's not because of the midi instruments, they're becoming incredibly convincing if you put in the time to programme them well. But my bass skills are very very basic at best, so how can I hope to replace a good bass player?

[@TangleWireTube]

At the tail end you guys choose not to fire your bass player because they can come up with ideas for bass lines on the spot… But so can EZ Bass. If you use the Audio Tracking feature, you can toss in an audio recording of piano, or guitar chords/melody, EZ Bass replicate a Bass line that follows that (create midi - even with the articulations) Add that mid to the project, then use the browser library to audition different play styles applied to the custom bass groove of the song. It’s an amazing feature. All that said, it’s not a replacement for a real musician. A live bass player will likely add life into the performance that the software can’t replicate. But I just wanted to give the software props on it’s edit play styles features as they’re impressive and a great way to audition ideas for a working baseline.

[@ArguZ72]

It's everything Trillian wanted to be ... Loving it...

[@theclaverman]

Yeah....I do not love trillian....

[@malcolmevans2437]

Excellent bass playing, excellent software editing and very funny 😄

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

LMFAO!!!! BEST INTRO comedy sketch for a music production/audio engineering channel which I have likely seen since I began learning 11 months ago!!!! Great work, ALL!!!

[@CountNetsrac]

Same as with the drum plugins. You can get a stunning performance out of them but you will need a drummer to program the midi if you want to have realistic performance. And I'm sure that in the near future we will see the same for all other instruments if it's not already there.

[@abbaledabba]

This VST sounds very convincing, but writing a good bass line is another story. It's way cheaper calling a musician that can do the work in 30 min instead of you spending hours trying to make a fake bass line sound real. Do I convince you? Right?! Please keep hiring me XD

[@timball8429]

Playing bass is infinitely more fun that punching in and tweaking midi. And what happens when you want to play live?

[@thehighhnotes]

omg.. this video.. You guys leveled up the internetz! absolutely fantastic!!

[@PresentDayProduction]

Thank you Mark! Level-up accepted!

[@LongshanMusic]

Yay! Man, that sounds good. Still haven't found a virtual horn that sounds even close to real though.

[@PresentDayProduction]

That’s a TOUGH one!

[@DavidOBrienComposer]

Samplemodeling horns are pretty extraordinary but you have to learn to play a wind controller or they suck.

[@LongshanMusic]

@@DavidOBrienComposer What is a wind controller?

[@DavidOBrienComposer]

@@LongshanMusic It's a MIDI controller designed to play like a wind instrument. I have an AKAI EWI USB which is essentially like a clarinet that sends MIDI. It sends breath control, note information and even a bite controller, all of which can be assigned to anything you like. Once you get used to it, it can be extremely expressive. Here's a track with some baritone sax I played using the EWI - kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2PTgJeff5t8hcU

[@LongshanMusic]

@@DavidOBrienComposer That sounds awesome, thank you!

[@chickenlickin3820]

lovin' the in my face interlude play it all, so funny..

[@almightytreegod]

Well now if James isn’t being groped while speaking, it just won’t be the same in the future

[@PresentDayProduction]

We’ll make sure all in-house grope-ies are present!

[@onemanband3579]

Nice that you apologised to both your viewers.

[@PresentDayProduction]

We have three now. Oh. Hang on. No. One died. 😕

[@MichaelFirmont]

Besides being really informative your videos are in general just hilarious and you really know that you guys love what you are doing!

[@PresentDayProduction]

Cheers Michael!

[@mcadder]

What library are you using in this video?

[@ThePlanarchist]

As a bass player originally, it sometimes used to surprise me that the thing I could most easily replicate with a VSTi was a bass part......presumably because I still think like a bass player even when inputting via keyboard or mouse (which is what you're saying I think). Great to see the real life test though. Nice as ever. If only I could think like a brass player....

[@NicolaBigoni]

The fact is brass player usually don't write their own parts like a bass player would do, they usually just read. So you don't have to think like a brass player, just think as a composer. And with lot of practice and studying orchestration the result will be great.

[@duncanmcneill7088]

So, in essence, you need to hire a bass player to program all the nuances in the midi....? Personally I’ll be sticking to my old Jazz Bass until they release the “Les Claypool” expansion pack. Playing an instrument is much more fun than poking around in a piano roll editor - and so much more expressive.

[@andrewstevenson3807]

Ahh fellas! Dying at this vid!

[@sonicindustries227]

Hm, interesting (and funny). Different topic. Hope you guys are going to do a vlog on any major studio updates. I have the same series Presonus mixer but the DAW mode issues I'm having with Logic are driving me to drink. Looking at going down the SSL UC8/Focushite route (don't need many inputs as mainly electronic) but be interested to see what PDP do..

[@sinchlair]

I love this channel so much

[@Strielok1988]

At first it looks amazing, but is it good enough for recording an actual studio album? Or it's only good for pre-production and some cheap demo? :)

[@PresentDayProduction]

For a studio album I’d use a good bass player like James Higginson!

[@DavidOBrienComposer]

This video has made me think of you more fondly.

[@PresentDayProduction]

What was making you think of us less fondly before, David? For market research purposes!

[@DavidOBrienComposer]

@@PresentDayProduction Are my terrible puns that sophisticated? Must I spell it out?.... 😉

[@DavidOBrienComposer]

Fondle(y). Does that help?

[@UncleBenjs]

I'm here! I'm here!

[@ray1ashwin]

The real bass just sounds tad bit punchier and lively.basically better than the midi bass but its far better than most bass players who only picks up bass because they thinks its easier than guitar and just want to join a band to look cool

[@ProjetHomeStudio]

Awesome editing

[@QuirqUK]

Come for the music production, stay for the cat.

[@UncleBenjs]

Human sponge ready to soak it up! Saturate me guys!....... (Not like that!)

[@matthieuvanasse8092]

Perhaps if I live a good life, I'll be able to re-incarnate into that cat!... lol... Conclusion is "spot-on"... Virtual instruments are good... really good... and good enough to make it to final mix. But contrary to horn sections, or drums, that are sort of cumbersome and complicated to record (complicated set-up, several mics, phasing, room, blabla...), Bass is somewhat easy to record. Hence, "creativity and emotion" of the real thing is relatively cheap to achieve with "the real thing". I'd like to hear your thoughts other OTHER types of virtual instruments....

[@Bluelagoonstudios]

I would say, an option if a part has to be punched, if the bass player is not available? I tried bass and guitar from EZ, and they don't convince me till now. Maybe in time? I have also the wedge vsti, and that is even worse. If you want a Fender Rock sound you still get that strings sound, like violin on steroids. Not nice to listen to.

[@zian3694]

Nobody replaces "The Truth'.

[@kammeroo]

With a bass player that good why would you use it at all? Most of the guys I work with suck so it makes sense for me

[@artysanmobile]

Art of every variety is inherently human. We created, we inspired, and we were moved emotionally by the results. When AI starts tracking on a regular basis, music will become even more boring than it currently is, if you can believe that is possible. I can hear fake anything, or I should say I can fail to feel fake anything. So could my daughter at age 8, as she would prove on drives to school checking music in the car. Tuned, quantized, computer-generated…. all I have to say is “WHY?!?” The world is overflowing with humans playing musical instruments, singing, dancing, painting, sculpting, banging on shit, yada yada. Subconsciously, an ‘error’ pings a special place in your mind when you see it, hear it, smell it. It welcomes you to the artist’s world, their point of view, the heartbreak or ecstasy that made them create. It lets you be a part and you [the observer] KNOW that when it happens, whether a change in tempo, a ‘pitchy’ syllable, a crack in the stone. Fake sucks, and it always will.

[@PresentDayProduction]

Yep, agreed!

[@artysanmobile]

@@PresentDayProduction I have paid dearly for my staunchly held love of our art. My production of a major artist’s national radio broadcast was rejected at a cost to me in the 5 figures USD because I didn’t tune the two stars’ vocals throughout. My response was short. That was the singers’ job. The human voice is the greatest instrument in the world. I will help a singer in spots, but tuning is a step too far, a musical crime I cannot commit.

[@hectoriman]

nothing better to humanize performance than hiring humans xd

[@tutubeos]

Agree (bass player here 😅)

[@mannymakesmusic891]

A real grabby intro you got there

[@OrangeMicMusic]

I don't know man, it's debatable. Bass lines can be programmed to the smallest detail (slides, palm mutes, finger noises etc...all sounding natural) if you know what you're doing. If you're not playing Dream Theater or Patitucci music styles, it's 100% credible even when soloing that track. In many cases, a well programmed bass serves better to a song. Why? Because if you don't have a great sounding bass guitar and a great bass player, better use VSTs. In fact, this guy here, who is a well known bassist, didn't know what kind of bass was on this song kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4TQg4WVrs2Mla8

[@boogiegirl4276]

I do not believe software can out perform an actual bass guitar. Yes, it can help you with some music Concepts. There will be Iimitations😮

[@mikeallenpugh]

James will always beat R2-D2. Hot dog, jumping frog!

[@marcoechslin8579]

just hilarious guys ; )

[@catsven1973]

I’m ok with the final thoughts .. except superior drummer .. never succeeded to replace any musician !

[@fjfrancois]

Can you full the cat too? Btw where's the cat

[@davidjohnson6965]

Funniest one yet!

[@PresentDayProduction]

Thank you David! Always good to know our longest-term followers see some improvement in our content!

[@jamiepond]

First comment!

[@UncleBenjs]

How very dare you LOL

[@MixedByDotRob]

EZ bass is great for songwriting. But once you overdub a real bass - it starts to turn into music.

[@VenVile]

EZ Bass Plugin Easy Bake Oven

[@CheapoCardCompany]

So, Mark was fooled, eh..? Well, it certainly looks like he felt a complete tit. Hang on, though... EliZa, copying a bloke called Higgins(on), in order to be passed-off as the real thing... this is like a modern-day Pygmalion. Next vid... more durable studio furniture..?

[@PresentDayProduction]

I’ve been meaning to screw that shelf on…. (Still haven’t 🤣)

[@IndyRockStar]

fire your demo song lyricist. Pronto.

[@tonycarpenter-Makzimia]

Yet again proving there is still is nothing better than the real deal. Unless you want canned music :).

[@issiewizzie]

The best way to depress a bass player ....lol

[@IndyRockStar]

you can literally pull a random person out any audience, give them a 10 min lesson, tell how to watch you for the changes, hand them a bass, and go play the show. Bassist are to music that chiropractors are to medicine.