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EZdrummer, some of that control is available through a drop-down menu which lets you choose between a basic kit, ambient kit, tight kit or default. Grooving Obviously, no e-drummers would be interested in pre-packaged beats, which must be a concession to the rhythmically challenged buyers like producers, but both VST offerings include grooves, so we can’t ignore them. EZdrummer’s grooves – and there are lots of them – are accessed by clicking a tab below the kit; Eco’s are contained in a third dedicated window. I didn’t count them but Toontrack claims to have included 8,000 MIDI samples. There’s everything from 4/4 to Motown and funk, and the ability to “humanise” them (or add timing errors, to
be less tactful). The grooves are rich and versatile, with many variations. For example, Pop groove number 3 has 20 variations ranging from hats closed to ride bell with or without ghost notes. Eco has fewer grooves - around 1,500 patterns, but personally, I prefer the layout of the Eco samples which are neatly arranged by genre, time signature and BPM range, with adjustable quantising and “human time”, and the ability to simplify and add swing – all with variable controls. Connecting I tried both products with a Roland TD-20-based kit and with a Zendrum. BFD Eco has an easy-to-use Key Map already set up for various trigger devices from a Korg Nanopad to the TD20 and Yamaha’s
The main pages: Eco’s (left) is a bit more cluttered while EZ is more basic. Eco has three panes - kit, channel and groove, while EZ has the mixer and grooves stashed away. Note both are shown in standard kit configurations and get extra pieces with their expansion packs. Below: The mixing desks - Eco’s channel window reves a range of tweaking options while EZ has fewer controls, contained in a stylish-looking console.
digitalDRUMMER, MAY 2011
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