Toontrack EZbass - 1st Review: A Game Changer as Expected?
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- Опубликовано: 18 май 2020
- Long and heavily anticipated, here it is: Toontrack's latest product - completing the rhythm section: EZbass. In this review I guide you through the software, show some presets and explain the amazing MIDI conversion feature.
My All Presets Video: • Toontrack EZbass - ALL...
All my videos about Superior Drummer 3: • Superior Drummer 3
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Disclosure: I got a free copy of EZBass from Toontrack. They didn't ask me, however, to make any video nor they changed or approved my video before uploading.
#EZbass #Toontrack #Review
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Mike, you are a gift to us. Well done review. You told us just what we needed to know. Thanks! (Hope your new studio is coming along nicely.)
Hi Stephen, thanks as always for your kind words. Yes, the studio is almost done - will make a video pretty soon!
EZbass released on my 68th birthday. Happy Bday to me! Bought it and am in the process of learning how to use it. Toontrack has always delivered for me. EZdrummer, Superior Drummer, EZkeys... Guess my Mondo bass and Scarbee basses will be gathering digital dust. One of the things that jumped out at me immediately is the ease of adding articulations. With Scarbee it was adding in key switches to get the performance I was after. I found it tedious and not conducive to the creative process. Thank you, Toontrack, for one of the best birthday presents EVER!
Happy Birthday then & stay safe!
@@MikeLuke Happy belated Birthday sir.
Love all your reviews, Mike. Thanks so much for what you provide to the v-drum/e-drum community, and thanks for the absolute best reviews of everything Toontrack!
Thanks ever so much Chris. Appreciate your kind words. Sometimes I feel like a one-trick pony though, but whatever I upload that doesn’t contain any Toontrack related stuff, it gets no views - haha. 🤔
Thank you. Just bought yesterday and was immediately impressed
Fantastic! I’ve been begging for EZBass on the Toontrack forums for nearly seven years. And now that it’s finally here, it’s so much more than I hoped for. 😎🤘
A great demo thank you ,it is now on my shopping list .
This was a really good demonstration. The best I’ve seen so far. Thanks
Thanks a lot, appreciate that.
Great review! Love that you showed how quickly you could make a song using the EZ line products together!
I am pretty sure Toontrack themselves will come up with more of this soon. ;)
Hey Mike, thanks. I have been playing with it for about an hour, sounds incredible!
Hi Carl, agreed. It's really impressive.
Thanks Mike for this clear and complete review. Cheers!
Thanks Antonio!
Excellent review as always Mike. I bought it as soon as it was available. I use it primarily to add to the bass line and it works great. Thanks again my friend.
*TOTALLY anticipated something like this for years to compliment Superior Drummer etc. I purchased it a few days ago!*
I had no idea EZ even did this! Talk about going to their page fast. I hope to give a more informed comment later down the line but this is a fascinating program for a multitude or reasons. Thanks so much for the upload on this
A great review! THX!
great review--loved the blues example
I was waiting for someone to demo this around real world expectations. I saw just what I could actually use in my work flow. Thanks for the video! Alright!...new software day!
Hey Steve, glad it helped and I am sure you will enjoy using this.
Thanks for the review Mike, very interesting!
You’re welcome & thanks for watching!
A good "to the point" vid. Thanks. I just purchased EZ Bass a few days ago and it's everything I'd expect from Toontrack and more. And because I also have EZ Keys and Drummer, it's pretty intuitive.
I have it now and don’t yet know what the hell I’m doing with it but it holds a ton of promise. Thanks for the video, it will prove helpful as I learn EZ Bass!
Thank you for clear and outstanding video and tutorial, best wishes.
Great review thank you Mike...It is fu*kin amazing. I own SDX 2 and Ezi Keys and now I will get EzBass and come to think of it I think EzDrums. Love it man
Thanks Mike for a concise but thorough overview of the key features I think most of us were curious about. I've got several song demos lined up that will definitely benefit from EZBass AI making the choices instead of my rudimentary and aimless plunking around.
Defiantly awesome mike
Cheers Greg. Thanks for spending your time to watch.
Great Review
great review
Enjoyed your excellent review - clear, concise and very informative.
MVH
Can t wait for Rickenbass based preset 😍
Going to buy it now!
Very good review. I anticipate that Toontrack will follow midi styles packages for jazz standards from bebop to post bop.
omg thats amazing!!!
Btw, the lowest note is limited to A0, which is a standard 5-string tuning dropped down by 2 semitones.
Its just Amazing
wow...just wow....gotta have this!
AMAZING!!!!!
A dream come true
Great video, thank you bro. I’ll be getting EZ Bass in the next few days & I’m really looking forward to seeing what I can do with it. Now if they would only make an EZ Guitar as well...
Good review.
I already use EZ drummer 2, EZkeys and EZ mix.I will buy EZ bass this week.I like the tools they are great to work with.
amazing !
Hey man, great video.
Regarding the tuning alternatives: On a real bass or a real guitar, the frets don't give you exactly the right note in every position. You can for example tune your open string to sound perfectly in tune, but no matter how good your playing skills are, in some positions on the fretboard your instrument will always sound just a slight bit out of tune. Perfect tuning means, every note on the whole fretboard sounds exactly in tune. The have built guitars that can do that, they call them "true temperament" guitars.
Purchased the whole EZ line ❤Too 👍🏻 good
Amazing . I can't wait for EZGuitar.
EZGuitar or LaZy guitar?!
its nice video for me and hope more in a days to come, i have just started using EZBASS< and EZDRUM
Hey Mike Well Said ..and Well...Great Job on your tutorial ! Your always a master ....Cheers
Cheers Craig! Thanks for stopping by
Thank you so much for this video, I'm currently weighing out my options between Trillian and this VST, and I think you've settled my decision. Trillian is great and all but I'd rather pay $150 less for the sounds I'm actually going to use instead of a bunch of unnecessary outdated presets.
i got it and it"s pretty solid.OMG
Great review, great video as usual, thank you!
P.S. No more Reaper, you moove to studio one now?
Me too, after of almost 30 years of being a user of Cubase!
No, I am still using Reaper. I thought it might be worth to learn another DAW. Studio One is great so far, still love Reaper though.
I bought the product a few days ago. It is AMAZING !! if you do not have access to a good bass player, this software is great. it sounds great. if I play a guitar part, it tracks my chords well and I am able to create a believable bassline which is in tune with my melody. Great product !!
Guitar / bass audio to midi conversion is a perfect feature (like SD3 tracker).
but the thing is how accurate is it... I have SD3 and its not always so accurate.
@@arpitpillay1168 yeah, I know. 100 % accurate recognition audio to midi still is a problem.
EZbass is VERY accurate. But you have to be fair, guys. It's not the software to blame, it really depends on the source material. When you have a live recorded snare track with tons of leakage coming in from the toms, the hihat or the kick, it's of course harder for SD3 to recognize each hit smoothly. Same for EZbass. Toontrack suggests to use DI signal for the audio to MIDI conversion as (of course) using a heavy distorted guitar track is much harder for the software.
ive just purchased this and i just cant get my head around the midi piano roll.Im so used to cubase midi piano roll and i feel like now i have two mini piano rolls and im constantly opening and closing midi editors and im all over the place with cubase play and stop bar and now Ezbass play and stop bar...cant i just edit bass notes and articulations using the stock cubase midi piano roll? sorry if im not making any sense and for my noob-ness lol
I'm glad someone is enjoying it. Wish I could order it but sadly they wont take my money.
Great review.
cool..does it have alternate tuning like detuning lower on 4th string or all?
Love TOONTRACKS products! Would you do a more in depth tutorial on the EZBass product for the non bassist?
Hi. Nice vid. When you drag/drop midi in from EZ keys or EZ drums and in creates a compatible bass part, can you hear the bass part it suggests along with the midi file you drag in from EZ keys or EZ drums? So, can you hear the suggested riff in context? For example you only demo’d what EZ bass came up with, without hearing the EZ keys or EZ drums part along with it. Thanks.
Hi Bill, yes, of course. As long as EZ Keys or EZ Drummer is still open (and matched in tempo, of course), when you hit "play", you'll hear all instruments together. Makes it easy (no pun intended!) to adjust the preset or tone then. Very handy.
Can't wait for a Dingwall expansion :D
Thanks for a great review. Can you drag any drum or keyboard midi part into it or does it have to be from EZkeys/EZdrummer?
You can drag any MIDI into it.
The crown goes to Toontrack!!! Best Virtual Bass period!!!
Agreed! Thanks for watching
Thanks for the video! Just ordered. More stuff to mess around with and get sidetracked lol. Can the drag and drop work both ways? Bass line into ezdrummer? Or into ez keys too
Hi Kevin, thanks for watching. No, it just works the way I showed in the video as neither EZKeys nor EZDrummer2 provide this feature.
Am I not needed anymore? 😥
Great review. All the best!
Humans are always needed and ever will be. Look at it just as a tool to help you sounding even better 😎
Danke! G
🙏
Thank you for the great video. Looks like an awesome plug-in. But do you think there will be ad-packs available like EZDrummer?
More different sounding bass guitars and I'm definitely missing an upright bass with percussive tweaking for jazz and rockabilly.
And bass amps to choose from?
Right now the choice for this really only is Ample Sound Upright Bass. And it's not cheap coming at 150 euro's for just the upright. If you'd want the p-bass or acoustic bass, it's another 150 euro. Logic Pro X has some okay sounding upright basses.
Combined with BiasFX for amps and effects.
Upright bass (especially for jazz and percussive rockabilly bass) is overlooked in the world of virtual instruments.
I can just speculate here, but yeah ... looking at all other products from Toontrack, I am very sure they will come up with more expansions and new bass guitars for us.
Best one by far!
I bought it but have some issues already. 1. To get the dynamics of EZbass you have to leave it's own editor track within the program. The moment you move the midi file from the program to a DAW (which I like to use for all tracks) all velocities were at 127 and ghost notes and slides were suspect at best. 2. Midi files within Ezkeys works great. But if you use a different midi file not originated in Toontrack software, it's not so good. I took a 4 chord progression (piano roll) and it couldn't identify if it was a drum roll or keyboard roll. It defaulted to drum roll and I had to select piano. Then it only played the root note. It didn't move like you show in your demo. It played quarter notes. When I changed the pattern from the library, it still only played the first chord pattern. It didn't switch to the other chords at all. 3. If you have to keep the EZbass line in the program and not move it to a DAW, then if you have any timing changes in the DAW, it will not be picked up in the EZbass program. So you have to manually change it there as well which takes time if you are moving through time changes. 4. The audio conversion from guitar chords is meh at best. It might identify the root. But that's it. If you have any real complex chords, this thing won't recognize it. And that's what I've found in the short time I've had it. I'm sure I'll find some more.
Hi Mike. A great indepth review. Thank you. Astonishing VST instrument indeed. I'm not firm with Toontrack. Will there be a superior Bass too? Is this a dongle free software? I'm total amazed by the sound...
Thank God you don't need a dongle ;) Toontrack is based on licences which are managed by their own product management software. With every purchase, you can install the licence on two different systems (so maybe your laptop and studio computer). I don't think they will come up with "Superior Bass" as EZbass does everything you want already. (They never released Superior Keys either). I think for drums it's different as drum recordings/sampling is a different beast which justifies two products like EZDrummer and Superior Drummer.
@@MikeLuke thank you. This sounds very good and brings me a big step further in purchasing this great software. Have joy and be sound.
Amazing! This is like the answer to my prayers, I can play these instruments to a good level but I don't have the money to buy real drums that sound amazing and record well, nevermind the room or mics or inputs required to actually record them well, so Sd3 has been a total boon to me. Now it seems that I can give up trying to get an amazing bass tone all on my own with my hofner beatle bass and my apollo and uad software. It just isn't easy to wrestle those low frequencies into submission and get them to play nicely with each other, especially in the rooms I have available to me. This might just be the shortcut to getting a respectable sound on a limited budget! And those keys sound lush as well! I mean come on, it's all built to work well together and sound good together, and the features are mind blowing, you've definitely sold me on it, I need to get ez bass and keys as soon as possible! I'll let you know it was me when my music has conquered the world and my name is on everybody's tongue! Hehe
I have Modo Bass and Ujam's Virtual Basses ... but since I own EZDrummer2 and Superior Drummer 3, this is hard to resist. I'm not a bass player, but I really like the Toontrack method of Song Creator, so ... "where's my wallet?" I have no doubt Toontrack will build on this software with Rickenbacker, etc,etc. as well as more grooves, etc. Good job Toontrack!
Awesome company.Waiting on ypur opinion pm the NEW lagacy of rock, before buying.Thanks dude.
Wait until Tuesday for my in-depth review on it. ;)
@@MikeLuke Got it, thanks dude
I see a great potential for practicing and rehearsing with those software. It is also a great asset for writing music. The sound is quite impressive, but it will not replace an actual bassist or drummer of course.
Hi Marcel, I don’t think it’s about replacing musicians. I often call this software (just like Superior Drummer or EZDrummer) a Tool which helps people to create music. Not every singer or songwriter has a full band to his or her disposal, but now everyone can write songs without limitations.
And secondly, it’s also about enhancing a sound. You play your bass (as a human), you record it and then just replace your own bass sound with those high end sounds from EZbass. 💁🏼♂️
Good job with the ezbass. I do have one question though. If I play a a song on my DAW how does ezbass follow something not midi or can it?
Not in real time, as far as I understand. You have to record your track into the software, then it will translate into a bass line.
@mike play with ezbass for 3-4 hours now and i have to say: by far best bass plugin
will sell modobass but presicion by impact soundworks also is great but this one is simply perfect and i am corious what expansions they release in the future
Agreed. It’s absolutely stunning how great this software works and it’s so intuitive at the same time.
Hey Mike can u record the tones thay come from ez bass, while playing, straight into the daw like in ez drummer 2 or superior drummer?
I never tried this on my own, but yes, you should be able to do exactly this as it just a virtual Instrument in the end which you can record in your DAW. 🤷♂️
I program Bass. What I'd like to see is some one who plays key bass Playthe EZ BASS. It sounds good but can I use the sustain pedal to get the rock sustain? Or, Must play it and then lengthen the notes to give the sustain effect. Are the plucks and slaps velocity sensitive like Trillians or is the articulation on a nother key? I like the sound but it seems like it's for people who don't play or program Bass. I play key synth and Electric Bass synth and I'm really trying to get a sense of the work flow.
Is it possible to export a bass track from EZ Bass to midi so I could use third party libraries for different bass sounds?
Yes, that‘s possible.
It's my intention to buy this software to make my bass playing sounds better. So record trough my interface and use it as an plugin afterwards to create a great sound and do fix some mistakes in the midi file. Is that a good investment you think?
Yes, for someone like you who already used SD3 and MIDI in general, you should buy it. You will immediately understand the Interface of the software as it’s basically the same as SD3. For that price it’s a no brainer and the sound is just amazing.
Is this program overkill to just use as bass tracks to drum along to in real time? Probably but I’ll buy it anyway!
Also with all the features it’s closer to Superior Bass than EZBass.
Great review.
Well, it's up to you to decide whether it's overkill. It's always great to play drums along to a bass line. Good for practicing time and accuracy, too.
Thanks for your review, however the audio tracker function don't work when i play a bassline on my telecaster into the program. Very strange.
I can just guess here, but I think there’s an extra little software you need to install. When you open Toontrack’s Program Manager (in case you use it), scroll all the way down to the bottom and there should be a little add-on you need to install.
@@MikeLuke Thanks, ihave downloaded it but still it doesn't work. Maybe it's a bug at the moment. Could be. Amazing program though...
So far only my stand alone is working. ,My Sonar is not recognizing the dll so I can’t use it as a plug in?? Any suggestions?
Go to Toontrack’s website, they have a forum for users to either contact the customer support or to share those issues with other users. All I know is that they just released an update already which you can download.
Quick question, Mike. Can you do EZBass as standalone program and create (export) wav files to import to a standalone DAW (specifically an AW2816 Yamaha) via CD-R? EZDrummer and EZKeys both have that feature. I've been told that EZBass cannot do that. Is that true?
Hi Brian, as by now it’s true - unfortunately. But I’ve talked to the guys at Toontrack and they will probably update the software soon with this feature, which is a crucial one for me as well.
@@MikeLuke Thank you, Mike, for your quick response and attention!! Just like you, I enjoy the ease and creative flexibility of Toontrack products! My fellow musician friends are amazed at what I can do with their programs. Usually they say "I've got to get that". Keep up the good work, buddy! Excited to see that update soon!
how does it to you compare to Trillian , thanks
Totally game changer and now ujam try to make same but ezbass kicks!
Wonderful product as TT usually delivers, and I'm excited for possible midi bass packs, but... it is beyond me why the bass is orientated the way it is.
Not only is there no benefit, it's counterproductive to people like me who write on a real bass and then need to look at the fretboard to see if the notes are on the correct frets. Every single high-end digital guitar software has it orientated the way people play and the way tabs are written. And this must be extra difficult for lefties I imagine :D
Deal breaker for me, guess I'm finally buying Shreddage Abyss. Thanks for the walkthrough, Mike!
You should ask toontrack to implement a reverse layout, as it may be useful to most people, and it should not be too hard for them to implement.
Same goes for Superior Drummer 3 for left-handed drummers by the way (which is yet to be implemented) :)
@@djabthrash It was the first thing I commented on when they revealed it. And mentioned a few times since, and nothing. Just seems strange that they would do this and stick to it.
And you're totally right about the left handed SD3 feature, never thought of that!
What is the lowest open string note? Awesome review like always
The lowest note is a "B"
I have to correct my initial answer, Djordje. The lowest note is actually A0.
@@MikeLuke Thanks a lot for the info!
When is fields of rock demo?
It's a pity there is still no demo version?
best vst in the world😭😭😭😭👏👏👏
Just all az series need more and more presets about riffs,drives,etc
Thanx a lot. A LoT ! Think the Best and the Fastest rewiew. Buy this stuff thank to You pretty hrd work and professionalism.
Tell this to Toontrack $)
Cheers Miki. Thanks for watching this
Its nice bass with adrictive drumer make so easy song a play good piano but hard to find some band to play drum end bass.Its so nice..
can it do hammer ons and pull offs so that you're not picking every note?
Yes, Hammer Ons, Pull Offs, Slides, Grace Notes, right hand percussive, Ghost notes, Harmonics.
left hand percussive (modern bass onlyl
Now all we need is EZGuitars or EZGuitarist 🔥
And after that EZSinger :)
Thanks Mike! Are you still mixing other artists music? We connected awhile ago
Hi Scott, yes, I do. It’s getting more, currently working on an EDM track and on an EP for a German Indie-Rock band.
@@MikeLuke That's great to hear! I have been working on a bunch of new material so I'll be reaching out to you later in the year. Glad to see you're doing well and thanks for the great videos.
That would be great. So anytime, my friend. Would be happy to collaborate.
As a bassplayer it would have been nice to see how the audio to midi function worked on a real bass from a DI playing a busy bassline and not the simple ones you showcased. Can't say I'm impressed yet!
What about singing? could be nice to hear it in a tune. From Logic pro x :-)
I plan to make a video showcasing EZbass in an actual mix context.
@@MikeLuke cool, I'm looking forward to hearing. i will buy the bass player as soon as i can see it in context. Some cool videos you make, very easy to understand
The convert-audio-to-midi nailed the rhythm and notes, but not the articulation (i.e., the notes were too long, not damped or chopped as in the original). However, I believe that a few minor tweaks of the note lengths are easy to do within EZBass, and you'd have a much more similar conversion.
Hey Gabe, you are right. Of course I should have worked more in detail here, but didn’t want to make the video too long, just showing the basic idea behind this feature instead. Thanks for your comment, appreciate it
My wallet was really hopeful that you would say it sucks so I didn't have to get the software ... LOL good review thumbs up!
Haha, fair enough. If something is bad, I‘ll tell. But EZBass is just too good. And looking at all the additional packs they will release in the future, this is a no-brainer to pull the trigger on.
@@MikeLuke Just for reference ... already done! HAHA
Haha, great choice anyway. Let me know if you are happy
@@MikeLuke Its great! Little bit of a learning curve but not too bad since ez, superior and keys. Is there any way to make that screen for EZ bass smaller?
@@leemichaels406 That's esay. Just click in the top on "View", then set the scale to your needs.
Excellent review. I'm very intrigued. Can you tell me the lowest note that you are able to use with either bass model? I write a lot with my baritone in Drop A# so I'm hopeful they have captured extra low tunings.
Hi Robert. It’s a low B, like on a real 5 string bass guitar. You can use the built-in tuning feature to go even lower though.
@@MikeLuke So I can detune from the B tuning to A#, or basically whatever I'm after? And perhaps even go an octave below that if for some reason I wanted to?
@@MikeLuke The lowest tone I find without any tuning is an A when I play on the keyboard.
I haven’t tested how far I can actually get with tuning. My answer was just related to the core bass and on the bass itself I cannot get any lower than B. Haven’t tried to use my MIDI keyboard to trigger the software yet. But I will find out. ;)
Well, then it’s an artificial down tuning, of course. Haven’t tried it yet, to be honest with you. I just got my copy some days ago, still have to test it thoroughly.
16:11 "I am pretty sure you will know this" Not unless your'e Vanilla Ice
omg lol
Gamechanger.
So, for the guitar audio-to-MIDI, it says "monophonic," so I assume that means one could theoretically record a bass part ON a guitar instead, then convert that to MIDI and drop it into a bass guitar register and go from there? If so, that's just insane : D
Yes, that‘s correct. The software basically just needs the note to create a MIDI part and doesn‘t care if you play that note on an electric guitar or an actual bass. ;)
@@MikeLuke thanks for the clarification! Cheers