Flipping through my copy of Sound on Sound I noticed an advert I had missed for a new product for drumming. This immideately cought my eye because I am now using multitrack recording for our music group backing trax. I feel one of the most important parts of the non-human musician is the drummer and many of them sould like they learned to play badly on a biscuit tin, and some kept the tin. I tried machines, midi trigger devices although my yamaha DD 55 has not been sacked yet! But I went off to the ezdrummer (EZD) website and watched the flash demo, then I watched it again. Wow! I slept on it and came back then I found a link on the site to some Japanese demos, couldn't understand the site but clicking on the demo played the movi no problem and again Wow! So I took the plunge and having already sought out the best price on the planet (thank you dolphin) sent of for the product. Waited impatently for the weekend to pass and at last my drummer arrived.
As per most modern software there is now manuel except on the cd, however this would be a very thin one anyway you can print it from pdf on about 10 pages. To be honest you will get as much info from the flash movie but it is still worth a read. Instalation was very straitforward for me. I use Windows XP pro sp 2 and am very rigid about security so there are no nasties lurking on my system. My host program is Cubase SL 3, it is worth reminding anyone thinking on this purchase that Ez drummer is NOT a stand alone program it needs a host in Cubase it runs as a Vst instrument. So, popped in the disk and away we go read the license (hmmm) clicked accept and my drummer was moving in. clicked on finish and that was the instal, only the free kit wich was just as simple clicking on the install icon next to the main EZD one and this was installed in no time. I then opened Cubase went to the VST instruments and loaded EZD. The interface was exactly the same as the flash demo and within seconds I had the standard 4/4 rock beat playing on my system. Sound quality was in my opinion fantastic, easily the most realistic acoustic kit sound I have ever had. Changing patterns was a breez moving to fills and back all sounding excellent. Now to drag and drop. Pulled a pattern into Cubase and looked happily at it sitting on its track - or multiple trcks, more on this later. Anyway I wanted to hear it now in my program hit play in great antisipation...Nothing! Sinking feeling, what have I done then I realised it was what I hadn't done, I had forgot to route my track output from my soundcard to ezdrummer one click and my drummer was off sounding incredible. I copied, pasted sped up slowed down everything worked a treat. Then I dragged a second pattern accross, it made a new mide track and this is part of the warnings about drag and drop there are issues, so be aware of your host program and do some homework if you intend to buy EXD