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Toontrack EZX - Americana
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Toontrack EZX - Americana - Press Reviews |
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| Reviewed by: Computer Music
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| January 2012 |
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Virtual drum kit kings Toontrack are yet to put a foot wrong with their EZX series of expansion pacss, and Americana upholds this record. There are two main kits (kick and toms) from Ludwig and Fibes, with an extra 16-inch Fibes kick. You get four snare types (Ludwig and Tama) - two of which are 'snares off' and brushes options (also available for toms) - and these add real variety. The cymbals might be our favourite part, being quite varied and full of flavour. There are two hats, three rides, fives crashes and a few effects cymbals. Aside from the close mics, you get an Ambience track in the mixer, but even this is really tight and close, blending in a great sense of space.
This pack is intended for stripped-down American/alt-country tracks and it's described as having a raw and intimate sound. We'd say Toontrack have nailed it. It's not rough around the edges, though, as the recording quality is excellent, with lots of punch and snap. We expect it would find a place in pop, funk and rock too, especially for an earthier sound.
Rating: 9/10 |
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| Reviewed by: Sound on Sound
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| August 2012 |
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Americana is an addition to the Toontrack expansion library portfolio for EZ Drummer and is best described as an American-sounding range of drum kits recorded ‘honestly’, so that they still retain the character of a real kit played in a real room, rather than being subjected to extensive processing and production tricks. The samples for these kits were recorded in the Congress House Studio in Austin, Texas, supervised by engineer Mark Hallman.
The drums were played by Stephen Belans and Mark Hallman and the MIDI parts were performed by Thomas Hedlund. In the main, these recordings make use of Fibes Maple and mid-1960s Ludwig kits with a few special additional samples, such as snare drums without the snare and some less common cymbals and ‘crashers’. The format remains the same as for other EZ Drummer expansions, with each drum including a tab that shows the alternative sounds available so you can mix and match the various kit items. There are also drag-and-drop MIDI files of various rhythms suited to the Americana genre.
Kit number one has a choice of 22-inch or 16-inch Fibes kick drums, a Ludwig Black Beauty snare fitted with a Remo Vintage A-coated batter head and a pair of 12- and 16-inch Fibes toms. These are teamed with 14-inch Zildjian New Beat hi-hats, a 16-inch Zildjian K dark crash medium thin, an 18-inch Bosphorus Ferit series crash and a 20-inch UFIP Natural-series ride.
Kit Two comprises a 1965 Ludwig Burgundy Sparkle kit with a 22-inch kick and a Tama limited-edition Wood Hoop Snare plus ‘snare off’ samples. The toms for this kit are 12-inch and 14-inch, sampled both with and without the sympathetic snare vibrations, and the heads are Remo-coated Ambassador X. The hi-hats for this kit are 14-inch UFIP Class series with 15- and 16-inch Zildjian crash cymbals, plus a 19-inch Zildjian Armand ‘Beautiful Baby’ ride cymbal with three rivets.
A third kit is sampled with brushes, again based on a Ludwig 1965 kit, but this time with a 14- by five-inch Ludwig chromed brass edition reissue snare drum. The toms are, again, 12- and 14-inch Ludwigs with the two 16-inch crash cymbals and the 20-inch ride by Zildjian. Extra samples come from a six-inch Factory Metal Percussion Cross Crasher and 10-inch celtic bell. There are also Plugs Percussion Sizzle Strip samples, with the brushes played on both the narrow and broad sides.
The two kits give a choice of fairly mellow or ‘brighter and tighter’ characters, both of which come over as sounding extremely natural and unprocessed. They sound exactly like what they are, which is well-tuned kits recorded in a complementary studio space. Having the option of a little sympathetic snare buzz just adds to the realism. All the expansions I’ve tried so far have been meticulously sampled, and this one is no exception. Toontrack describe the sounds as raw, unrefined and without frills, which they are, but to my ears they also sound musically ‘right’, which is what really matters. If you’re after class without gloss, this one is for you.
Paul White, Sound on Sound
Rating: 5/5 |
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| Reviewed by: Playmusic PickUp
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| November 2011 |
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Americana EZX demonstrates how Swedish drum sampling specialist Toontrack are moving into increasingly niche markets. One important advantage that the EZX system has over larger drum libraries iss its lower cost compared against the multi gigabyte Superior libraries. However, as previosuly mentioned all Toontrack users can use the EZX libraries, which still offer a huge level of samples albeit based around fewer drums and articulations. While we’re on the subject the Americana library weighs in at about 1.2 gigabyte, which once would have seemed huge but these days seems almost modest!
According Toontrack, Americana EZX captures the raw, untamed and no fills essence of the Americana genre, which encompasses country, country rock, blues and folk and all of their many offshoots. Recorded in Texas (where else?) at Congress House Studios with the sessions being engineered by Mark Hallman (Carole King). Once again, as with previous EZX expansions, a selection of MIDI patterns is included that are designed to go with the gritty country flavoured sounds on offer.
The kits themselves are based around a vinatge Fibes and a 1965 Ludwig. Fibes may not be such a well known name but I remember the name fondly from my days with the very first Toontrack Superior kits, although these were tuned and played in a much more ‘rock-centric’ fashion.
Kit One contains: Two Fibes kick drums along with two Fibes toms and a Ludwig Black Beauty snare, the classic Zildjian New Beat hi hat and a smattering of cymbals.
Kit Two is mostly based around the old Ludwig, with the slightly unusual but no less welcome inclusion of a Tama wood hooped snare. It is also great for an old fashioned boy like me to see the welcome inclusion of a sizzle cymbal in this kit!
Kit Three is the same kit as Kit Two but this time played with brushes and also includes a Ludwig brass snare and different cymbals. As usual both bkits appear as separate channels with EZ/Superior drummer along with various overhead and ambient microphones.
When I first heard about the Americana EZX I presumed it would sound like a scaled down version of Toontrack’s mega ‘Music City USA’ SDX which really nails that high quality, expansive Nashville sound so I was a little surprised to hear that ‘Americana’ sounds nothing like it! The sounds themselves are a lot more intimate and clearly recorded in a smaller space. You could argue that they don’t sound quite as impressive as some of the other libraries but that just may be the point. These sounds are capable of driving a track along rhythmically without drawing too much attention to themselves, it feels like they want to sit just a tiny bit further back in the mix.
They also seem to fit into the mix with very little need for EQ or dynamic processing. As I expected, the Fibes it sounds marvellous, fat and round but with a nice attack, which reminds me of the superb drum sounds from the records I listened to as a kit in the 70s! This is the umpteenth showing for the Ludwig Black Beauty snare in a Toontrack product but it continues to impress as well as demonstrate just how different an individual drum can sound in a different studio with a different player, heads, tuning etc. However, it manages to ping through withough sounding thin or tinny. The Ludwig kit displays the slightly tubby sound I’ve come to recognise and again demonstrates the kind of versatility I’ve come to expect in any given project. Of special mention are the cymbals, of which the sizzle and the Bosphorus are real favourites. The Brush played kit is really nice and unlike some sampled brush kits that feel purely designed for jazz, this kit will really work for that rolling country feel without making your drum track sound like a slightly feeble machine gun!
Should I buy one?
The Americana EZX is vastly more versatile than it’s name would suggest and although it fits into that slightly grittier country genre, it aso performs equally well in other areas where you need a good, solid rocking drum track that doesn’t necessarily sound like a series of eprcussive explision! I had great results superimposing the Americana kits into anything from 60s and 70s style rock to four on the floor vintage soul and it worked a treat. I can see this working well in an indie setting too as well as more subdued alternative country genre. In fact, unless your needs are very specific, I can’t really see where this library would let you down. And for the money, it’s a little bit of a steal! Once again, another Toontrack success. Highly recommended! |
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