Toontrack & Midi Controllers, Drum Pads, Keyboards, Mixers & Midi Learn for EZD3, SD3, EZB, and EZK.

[@glenq6233]

Thanks for continuing to provide beginner focused content. Your articulate, professionally produced videos are super useful for information that is oddly difficult to find presented with such clarity at just the right depth for the beginning user. I’ve never watched one of your vids for any level of experience where I didn’t learn something helpful, thanks.

[@ShootieSchool]

Thank you for saying, Tall! I have a few beginner Grooves Tab videos coming in the next few weeks. Also I'll be doing my first official live stream for beginners if you're interested on Feb 4th... kzbin.infongks5iS7TYI?feature=share

[@BobGuido]

Hi Shawn. Thank you for making such a great collection of tutorial videos and really shining the light into every corner of EZDrummer 3. There is a lot of excellent information here that I do believe is supplementary to Toontrack's introductory videos for the software and useful for both beginners and experienced users. I've been using EZDrummer 2 since 2014 and now V3, which was almost like getting an entirely new product with massively improved sound, editing power and flexibility with sounds and song creation. I really appreciate your thorough explorations in your videos and although I'm a power user and very experienced, it's always good to be challenged by the wisdom of a musical neighbor. Watching your videos (I watched all of them over the past two days and subscribed to your channel) reminded me of things that I may not have taken full advantage of or didn't consider. You're an excellent teacher. Who are some of your favorite teachers and mentors in life, both musical heroes and from Musicians Institute? And, what's your main instrument that you studied on? One EZDrummer related question that I have for you, that might be a good topic for another video is regarding your preferred way of composing drum parts. There are several different ways to create drum parts using EZDrummer. Which method do you find allows you to achieve final drum parts/tracks with the right feel and sound with the greatest level of musicality, while also enabling you to have a workflow that feels more effortless and less like you're pushing against something and having to create a lot of friction and pressure to achieve your wished end results? a) Playing in all pieces of the drum kit separately from scratch, using your hands controlling MIDI pads or MIDI Keyboard controller b) Finding existing EZX MIDI grooves, closest to the drum ideas you have in mind, then editing those by adding and subtracting to get exactly what you want c) Performing the exact drum part you want for the song using your E-Drums to control EZDrummer kit, then editing the MIDI data to make any corrections

[@ShootieSchool]

I appreciate you diving deep and welcome! I don't have a regular KZbin channel that I frequent. Though I do watch a lot of the production related regulars with my general searching. My father was my biggest inspiration. He was very militant when I was young and then pursued a spiritual journey in his later years. So being serious and detailed but trying not to let my ego come though too much, it's all from him. I'm just an amatuer drummer so I don't perform anything besides basic backbeat stuff for final product. Though I rarely find exactly what I need from purchased midi, my opinion is that these professional drummers that perform this midi, they are the only way to get a human feel. So I would rather tear apart multiple grooves from the same drummer (EZX song) and get as close as I can before editing it to what I need. I use to be A, I'm now closer to B, I would be C if I could! I appreciate you swinging in, neighbor!

[@BobGuido]

@@ShootieSchool Awesome Shawn! My parents put me in violin lessons and orchestra from the time I was 4 years old and were very strict as well as my teacher, about practicing every day for several hours until I completed my Royal Conservatory examination at 16. I have an idea of where you're coming from with the militant upbringing but no one in my family has gone on a spiritual journey. Perhaps I will be the first? I sense zero ego coming from you. Just very helpful and sincere kindess, which is a true gift to everyone in the music community who has and will receive direction and guidance from any of your videos. I have about 20 of your videos bookmarked and shall return to them. Like yourself, I too find that personally, the best results I can achieve with EZ Drummer are arrived at by using Toontrack's MIDI performances by incredible drummers, then going about trying to wrangle the closest thing I can find to my target into exactly what the music I am working on is asking for. It does take extra time and sometimes it takes a lot of extra time editing in screwdriver mode, but I think EZ Drummer 3 has made the process EZer 😄 Thank you again Shawn! I will tune in for more videos and share with producer friends. Cheers!

[@ShootieSchool]

@@BobGuido My family got me a second hand beater guitar when I was 9. So I lucked just having it laying around until I was interested in it. But playing a fretless instrument all of those years. I'm sure it seemed like work, you must have benefited greatly from it as you pursued your own music endeavors. Thank you! The Humanize button on the Grid Editor is a great idea and works great on backbeat-based stuff. But I find for a lot of other things that is can be pretty destructive. Have you noticed? So tweaking by hand is still an essential skill with EZD3, IMO. You have a site or something, Bob? Do plug it.

[@odditeemusic6016]

Your content is always top notch..just touching on USB Cable length (which is very important but almost never discussed) sets you above most educators. Thanks so much for all you do!

[@ShootieSchool]

Thanks for taking the time to say!

[@PlectrumShorts]

Lots of great tips here, Shawn! Let me add one to the USB discussion, though it applies to almost all cables to one degree or another. Avoid, as much as possible, running any sort of data cable next to a power cable. The electromagnetic fields can mess up the data signal. XLR is not impacted much due to the wave flips and other features. Some network/Ethernet cables are shielded to limit interference. But running a USB, MIDI, or instrument cable parallel to power is going to either foul the data or add noise to audio. I’ve seen network cables zip tied to power runs. Easiest 200 bucks I ever made! “Network’s fixed.” I sometimes you *must* run near power. Try to cross the wires in a perpendicular X to limit the interference and sometimes putting something non-metallic between them helps. Rock on!

[@ShootieSchool]

That’s great advice! That’s some good geekness! To top it off... parallel is the biggest issue. If the cables must be run together. Try to make them cross here and there, instead of running them next to each other. Cables crossing like an X is more acceptable than parallel.

[@PlectrumShorts]

I gotta stop leaving long comments from my phone. I can’t even read what I wrote. 😂

[@ShootieSchool]

@@PlectrumShorts I might have said that in the video if I thought of it. I'm glad you mentioned it.

[@iduncanw]

Thanks for the extra tip re USB. I've only got a small work area so cables often end up very close to each other. Will keep this in mind. I sometimes get noise in my DAW that goes away after I restart it. Still haven't figured out why. I think last time it happened I'd just opened a KZbin video in Chrome.

[@jtjones4727]

You can also get "Active" USB extension cables. Some of them are externally powered, a lot of them are not. I have a 20 foot long extension cable that I used to use to relocate a WiFi dongle into a line of sight. But I find that it works good for hooking up my midi controller also. I don't know exactly how they work, but this cable has some kind of active electronics in it that make it possible to keep data integrity over long cable runs.

[@teashea1]

It is interesting how MIDI has survived and prospered even. It was so well designed that it still works well in many applications. It is the basis for my new mixing/mastering station in my studio, which uses an SSL UC1, SSL UF8, SSL Big Six, SSL Fusion and SSL Bus+.

[@ShootieSchool]

Sounds like you’re into some production, Thomas. Very cool. I’m curious what midi 2.0 will do to the industry. I haven’t been researching it much yet.

[@Fistful0fSteel]

OMG this had me going CRAZY. It WAS the "Record Enable" setting the whole time. Thank you so much! Your work is invaluable for so many!!

[@ShootieSchool]

Awesome. Thanks for saying!!

[@djabthrash]

You're not the only one haha

[@midkiffjd]

Lots of questions answered.

[@ShootieSchool]

Jack!!

[@SinnedKnight]

Fantastic video and wise tips to pass along to newcomers (as well as experienced users alike). Sometimes, we all need a primer. I wish I would have had tips like this when I was starting out, instead of having to scour forums, guides, etc., online. I'm glad you released this. Keep it up, man!

[@ShootieSchool]

You're the best, Anthony!

[@iduncanw]

Thanks Shawn, some good tips. Finally time for me to try my midi keyboard with EZkeys 🤘

[@ShootieSchool]

Certainly!

[@patrickgormley2835]

Great videos, very helpful, thx !

[@ShootieSchool]

Thank you so much, Patrick!

[@gussauve6926]

Thanks for making this I ordered an x touch one and want to order a midi keyboard but not sure witch one I want once I get them and they don’t work I’ll come watch this video again Rock on!

[@ShootieSchool]

Good to hear, Gus. I hope it goes well!

[@gussauve6926]

@@ShootieSchool just ordered the akai mpk does the grid editor on superior drummer the same as ezdrummer 3 ?

[@ShootieSchool]

@@gussauve6926 It's very similar. There's no Humanize Button or automated humanize feature.

[@jtjones4727]

If your looking for just a basic Keyboard/midi controller without a lot of frills, the M-Audio keystations are pretty decent. You can get the 88 key version for under 200 bucks.

[@colleenvarlow8764]

Hey thanks for this. I think I will stick with what I have, even though I have a midi keyboard.

[@newpower319]

Thanks for the video. Do you know how to do the mapping you describe at 4:38 in EZ Drummer 2? I want map the drum hits to a Maschine and can't figure it out.

[@ShootieSchool]

EZD2 does not have it.

[@HaydesGrooves]

Hi Shawn, love you content. Amazing knowledgeable material. I have a question. How can I clean up my User Presets and only have a few that I need for a live show? Instead of all my user presets from Ezdrummer 2 and 3 in the User Presets drop menu? Is there a way to group them like you could in Ezdrummer 2. Cheers

[@ShootieSchool]

Thank you for saying. I haven't even tried this yet in EZD3. I'm on Win10. It seems subdirectories are ignored. That's too bad.

[@HaydesGrooves]

@@ShootieSchool Yea they could've fixed that up in an update. Oh well. Yea I'm on win 10 as well. Thank you again.

[@hellvetic]

Perfect and complete explanation . Thxxxxx so much

[@ShootieSchool]

Thank you for saying!

[@jmsproductions5463]

Great info. Much appreciated.

[@ShootieSchool]

You got it!

[@davidhempel4700]

Thanks for the tips, I bought a presonus controller I've never been able to get to work. I'll have to give it another go. Off topic: if I upgrade to ezd3 from 2, is it going to alter drum parts I have worked on, where ezd2 is instantiated in pro tools projects? From watching various videos it sounds like the same midi files will not be available?

[@ShootieSchool]

I say this ignorantly. Check the manual of your controller. See if there are "modes". There might be some sort of Presonus Mode which is exclusive to Studio One. And then there might be a more Generic Midi Mode. You might need to make some sort of switch for it to wake up to Toontrack software. This is only an assumption, you have to take it from here. Simply do not uninstall EZD2 after you install EZD3, you should have nothing to worry about. This may be a problem many years from now which is inevitable, but it is certainly not an issue right now. Buy the upgrade from Thomann to save a few dollars, or from Toontrack for convenience.

[@davidhempel4700]

@Shootie School thanks, I think it is tailored to studio one. I'm going to investigate further that possibility of a certain mode. Regarding ezd3, I thought it was an upgrade meaning wiped out the old version. Anyway, I've already purchased from toontrack to get in on the discount, just have been waffling on installing. Thanks again for the great content and presentation, I've learned the most about ezdrummer from your channel!

[@ShootieSchool]

@@davidhempel4700 I appreciate your words. Do keep the comments coming if you watch my content often, they help me out. Both EZD2 and 3 will exist at the same time. No need to worry. Your EZD2 instances will not be replaced with EZD3.

[@djabthrash]

Excellent video

[@BFRedrocksArizona]

Have you been able to get the transport controls in the various TT instruments to work via MIDI CC? I would really like to use my ATOM SQ transport controls to control EZKeys and EZ Drummer Play/Stop, etc, but it doesn't seem that MIDI learn works for the transport controls. Any thoughts?

[@ShootieSchool]

I don’t know about your controller. My behinher I have to load software and tell it to send cc notes. You should check the manual or hit up a community based on your controller.

[@jtjones4727]

I have to say, using EZDrummer 3 has spoiled me. I can't go back to using the built in sound banks on my electronic drums. Now my 1000 dollar Alesis kit sounds so much better with some of the sound banks from Toontrack. That's one reason I love E-drums so much.

[@ShootieSchool]

You know it! I have an old Roland TD3 and TD4, EZD really helps them sound as good as possible!

[@Mr.Goldbar]

is there any way I can customize the midi mapping in EZDrummer or Superior Drummer to match the GGD mapping?

[@ShootieSchool]

There's not. Try www.midiremap.com/

[@Fistful0fSteel]

I got the Akai MPK249. I want to map the first fader to the main volume of EZ Drummer and Keys. The fader as such works, but I CANNOT map the main plugin volume to the FIRST fader. All other faders work. But the first fader isnt broken. It works in standalone. Logic is just weird with MIDI still...

[@ShootieSchool]

Sounds like a Logic issue. Maybe use the Hardware's software and give that fader a different CC value. Maybe that value is reserved in Logic. That's my guess if the other faders work.

[@FogmasterLeghorn]

excellent vid Shawn; some drum modules like the td-50x have a port for a midi foot switch (such as boss fs-6). You can increment user kits dynamically from the module. But what if your user kits are all on the ezdrummer3 VST side? Can ezdrummer 3 user kits created there be incremented live or dynamically using a switch from the audio interface? Or can the drum modules kit change be synced with ezdrummer user kits? thanks

[@ShootieSchool]

Can you switch presets using Program Change via midi? You should be able to with EZD3. I tested it a year back and there were some bugs I reported. It kind of worked then, I assume it should be working by now.

[@FogmasterLeghorn]

this is what toontrack said after a question to them about it: "No, EZdrummer 3 does not allow you to select presets via footswitch or from the module."

[@ShootieSchool]

@@FogmasterLeghorn I don't know what your switch does. The Program Switch midi message can change presets. Midi controllers can be configured to do this.

[@rp5444]

How the devs didn't make EZ Mix 2 midi controller compatible is just weird, at least to me. But as you mentioned, I can try to go hands free using EZ mix 2 within my DAW. Thanks for the great video!

[@ShootieSchool]

You go it. Hopefully EZMix 3 with have midi.

[@FogmasterLeghorn]

HI Shawn - it would be a BOSS FS-5U or FS-6 FOOT SWITCH - My goal is to configure midi with EZD3 to increment user kits while playing live. You are probably the master who could figure this out. Cannot believe this is such a stretch for these VSTs to do this. bruford was doing this back in the 1980s. I have a feeling that I'm just going to have to export the user kit back into the td-50x via sd card, then use the switch with the module. I like the VST sounds so much more than the module. Was kind of hoping to practice, edit, record, and jam all from the computer side. for example, I like doing percussive intros, then changing kits with a foot switch dynamically back into a natural jazz with industrial samples mixed in. whatever the music calls for. You just have to set up the kits to be incremented in sequential order. check out david torn live cloud about mercury - changing the kits is wild and effective - love doing that with solos. The boss footswitch is compatible with the td-50x. Thats why I chose that.

[@ShootieSchool]

Haven't looked into it for a year or so. A midi controller that can send Program Change messages can change presets to a basic degree. I don't think it gets more detailed than that. I reported a bug about this a year back, i need to see if they made a fix in an update as TT said they would. I plan to do a video on it when it's working as advertised, do stay tuned.

[@FogmasterLeghorn]

@@ShootieSchool yeah, toontrack admitted it can't be done now so in order for me to dynamically change kits for a live or recording session, the kits have to be on the module side. I don't use samples or audio on the module. Question: when you save a user kit in EZDRUMMER3 comprised of their computer resident audio files, is the kit file just metadata or does it actually contain all the audio samples to make exporting it easier via SD card? If not, then I would have to recreate the same kit in the module with all the individual audio files, right? I get the feeling its the latter. I bet the kit file is metadata with just addresses to the hard drive's sample locations, which would not translate on the module.

[@ShootieSchool]

@FogmasterLeghorn it will be a manual process of exporting individual hits.

[@AC-pu2eh]

Please help! What’s the best way to set up my midi pads for finger drumming without ruining the midi notes that are triggers on the grooves within SD3. Whenever I start changing midi notes around my grooves i drag in are incorrect. But I want to set up my pads so that the layout is optimal for my finger drumming as well

[@ShootieSchool]

You look up which note SD3 desires per instrument/drum. You then open up the software that your midi controller came with, and change the notes on your pad, not in SD3. This is my preferred method. Does your midi controller have software, did you download it yet? Have you looked in the manual/youtube how to change the notes on your controller? Some cheap controller do not have this option.

[@isaihernandez3459]

Hello, what driver did you use with the TD-4? 😢

[@ShootieSchool]

TD4 does not have a USB connection, so there is no driver.

[@michaelguse2467]

thx for this video, but if I use the midi lern funktion in EZD3 it works well, if I close EZD3 and restart it the functions are disappears.....

[@ShootieSchool]

Menu>EdrumsMidiIn> Top/Center Screen Menu> Save as or Set as Default.

[@michaelguse2467]

@@ShootieSchool Thx Bro

[@ShootieSchool]

@@michaelguse2467 You got it!

[@dinocifaldi2512]

I am using ezd3 with my alesis strike pro and I have connected all of my outputs to my cq18t. I have no issues getting my module sounds to the mixer but I can’t get the ezd3 sounds out to my mixer? Is there a setting that I am missing to do this? I’m doing this so that I can record separate tracks. I haven’t tried but I would assume that if I plug my output into an input of my mixer I would get the ezd3 sounds but that’s not what I am looking to do. I won’t be able to record separate tracks…. Any ideas?

[@ShootieSchool]

I don’t know every detail, but some thoughts… You want to record audio? I don’t think that’s the right thinking. You would use a daw, route ez in your daw, record the midi (not audio), and print your tracks when done:

[@dinocifaldi2512]

I guess I want to be able to use the kits from ezd to output to foh but want them to be recorded through my mixer for use later in post if I wanted to as separate tracks. I am able to run from my module to the mixer and out but that is single track… So the question is is their a setting in ezd that I need to change to do what I’m looking to do?

[@ShootieSchool]

@dinocifaldi2512 you might find a different answer but how I can do it… I route EZDrummer in my daw. Now that the tracks are separate in my daw, I assign physical outputs from these tracks to my interface. As many outputs as my audio interface has is what I can work with and send to foh.

[@dinocifaldi2512]

Can I use the CQ as the audio interface, setting each output from EZDrummer to different CQ USB channels (or do I need to use a DAW)?

[@ShootieSchool]

I don't know your hardware. I believe the answer is DAW. EZ will not multi out in standalone.

[@EconID]

That is the raddest, most sickest hoodie. F to the yayuuuhhhhh.

[@ShootieSchool]

Thank you!

[@Jeffmd2020]

This guys voice sounds like he should be narrating a murder documentary

[@ShootieSchool]

I'll take that!

[@BillyBlaze7]

the afro mentioned is my favorite...lol

[@ShootieSchool]

HAHA! We're speaking the same language, Billy?!?!?!?!

[@BillyBlaze7]

@@ShootieSchool always!

[@Kathayne636]

Your videos are the absolute best of their kind. You should branch out into other niches.

[@ShootieSchool]

Thank you for saying!!

[@BillyBlaze7]

personal experience that might help others...hmmm, yeah dont mess with crazy chicks

[@ShootieSchool]

I second Billy Blaze's wisdom

[@BillyBlaze7]

@@ShootieSchool lol fo realz

[@Man.Well93]

THE RECORD BUTTON MUST BE ENABLED ON THE TRACK! That did it for me. THANK YOU (even though you talk stilted).