Another eSoundz Group Buy for Drums...

[zed]

This post has been edited with an update below...

Hey folks,

Sonic Reality (eSoundz.com) is having another Group Buy this month with a collection of 27 premium drum kits (each with lots of articulations and round robin samples apparently).

It will almost certainly go down to $99, so it is a great deal if you are looking for some high end MIDI drum kits for a low cost. All the kit pieces are interchangeable, and the Group Buy includes Impulse Responses from famous studios which you can use to make whichever kit pieces you use sound like they are part of the same kit and in the same space.

To join the Group Buy and/or to check out the audio demos, go here:
http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=4167

Lots of extra information on that page by pressing on the tabs.

MARCH 2010 UPDATE:

I just changed the link above, because it was no longer active. But the contents of that previous Group Buy are still available for a very limited time longer. You can still join that one for $99. You don't get a few of the bonus kits, but you get 90% or more of what was offered.

And this month there is a sequel to that Group Buy which you can check out here:

The Ultimate Studio Drums Bundle II: The Sequel
http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=4181

This Group Buy has already reached the lowest price of $99, and is actually coming to a close on Tuesday, March 30th. So if you are interested in joining and want all the freebies and bonus kits, now would be the time.

Good value for the money. Lots of nice stereo kits and 4 bonus Multitrack kits which you can choose from a list of 10. Other bonuses too, including some hybrid kits combining kit pieces from both the Group Buys for those who have bought both.

And if you do join in, you should refer someone when you place the order because it'll earn you $5 in ePointz, as well as the person you refer. If you want that to be me, then zedd (with a double-d) is my eSoundz username, and I will be grateful. Thanks!

[rentadrummer]

Well, I think I've changed my mind. Again.

While initially I didn't like most of what I heard, the more I listen, which I've spent far too much time doing, the more I'm starting to warm up to the sounds.

With all of the bells and whistles now being included, and the fact that different kit pieces can be combined, it's probably worth the $99 current price just to play around with it. If not great, it won't be the first or last time I spend money on something I don't use.

Just my 9,900 cents.

[zed]

...I'm starting to warm up to the sounds.

With all of the bells and whistles now being included, and the fact that different kit pieces can be combined, it's probably worth the $99 current price just to play around with it. If not great, it won't be the first or last time I spend money on something I don't use.

Ha ha! Great. When did you change your post? I just came here to defend the product and discovered your modified post.

Yeah, I think this is a great Group Buy. There are now 28 kits included and you can mix and match kit pieces from each of them to build your own modified kits, plus the IRs to really get a room sound you like, which can be customized for each kit piece, if you like.

NOT ONLY THAT... the demo samples you've been listening to were done before all the Round Robin scripting was set up, because they needed some code from Native Instruments. So there is going to be more hit variety when you actually play the real thing.

Also the lowest price was reached about a week ago, so it is definitely $99 now, and includes EZ Player Pro (check out the video here: http://www.toontrack.com/products.asp?item=27#3), and a bunch of extra MIDI grooves, and also comes with the promise of a bunch of extras when it hits 400, which it will.

I honestly think this is a good one. I'm pretty excited about playing with these sounds. I even bought a new hi-hat pad for my V-drums because these kits have special scripting which allow for Round Robining between multiple notes which would normally be spread out the keyboard in an iMap layout. Pretty cool.

[wylie1]

That EZ Player Pro looks really slick.
I watch the vid and my understanding is that its just a MIDI trigger device.
I wonder if it will work with BFD?

[rentadrummer]

...I'm starting to warm up to the sounds.

With all of the bells and whistles now being included, and the fact that different kit pieces can be combined, it's probably worth the $99 current price just to play around with it. If not great, it won't be the first or last time I spend money on something I don't use.

Ha ha! Great. When did you change your post? I just came here to defend the product and discovered your modified post.

I think I changed the post a few days ago, and I didn't notice that there wasn't any "this posted edited on" footnote until you mentioned it.

Yeah, I think this is a great Group Buy. There are now 28 kits included and you can mix and match kit pieces from each of them to build your own modified kits, plus the IRs to really get a room sound you like, which can be customized for each kit piece, if you like.
NOT ONLY THAT... the demo samples you've been listening to were done before all the Round Robin scripting was set up, because they needed some code from Native Instruments. So there is going to be more hit variety when you actually play the real thing.

Superior offers the round robin feature, and there are times when I've had to turn it off. Sometimes it will sound to me like a drummer who can't hit the drums the same way twice, and I find it to be more noticeable on certain sounds. I was using sidestick on one track and it sounded like I was playing ping pong. Every other note was a different pitch. Same thing happens with the ride bell.

Also the lowest price was reached about a week ago, so it is definitely $99 now, and includes EZ Player Pro (check out the video here: http://www.toontrack.com/products.asp?item=27#3), and a bunch of extra MIDI grooves, and also comes with the promise of a bunch of extras when it hits 400, which it will.

I honestly think this is a good one. I'm pretty excited about playing with these sounds. I even bought a new hi-hat pad for my V-drums because these kits have special scripting which allow for Round Robining between multiple notes which would normally be spread out the keyboard in an iMap layout. Pretty cool.

I was originally using all Roland module sounds and I got talked into getting EZDrummer a couple of years ago, which turned out to be a great investment and decent intro to drum software. Since then I've expanded to S2, which I really like, and I'm hoping that this group buy turns out to be another good surprise.

[wylie1]

Found what I was looking for.
FYI

Will EZplayer® pro work with any sampler?

EZplayer pro is General MIDI compatible out of the box and will ofcourse drive any Toontrack sampler with no further setup, but tracks in the arranger can also be connected to any other sampler instrument in your host software (to choose among the extensive 3rd party support list, see below), and thereby be used to audition and organize all your MIDI clips, regardless of where they came from.

EZplayer pro's more specialized features focus on use with percussive samplers. As mentioned above EZplayer pro is capable of translating MIDI files between different drum sampler. To do so simply select the appropriate mapping from the menu next to the relevant EZplayer pro's track (or browser for audition purposes). Conversely, source material can be identified when incorporated into the browser so that any format can be translated into any other.

Supported sampler mappings at the time of writing are: dfh Superior (including Custom and Vintage), EZdrummer, DFH 1&2, Digidesign's Strike, Battery, BFD 1&2, Addictive Drums, Reason Drum Kits and of course any GM software or hardware sampler, percussive or not.

What else do I get with EZplayer pro?

EZplayer pro comes with a generous amount of percussive MIDI files to get you started. The files are played by Toontrack artists David ”Fingers” Haynes and Per Mikaelsson (drummer of the Claustrophobic EZX).

Can I use my existing MIDI libraries with EZplayer pro?

Of course, just add your MIDI folders in the EZplayer pro browser by using the Add Path function or drag them straight into the basic browser. Tell EZplayer pro what mapping format the files are in. Instantaneously your MIDI files (complete with folder structure) will show up in the browser ready to be auditioned, arranged on the timeline or dragged into your host.

[zed]

Superior offers the round robin feature, and there are times when I've had to turn it off. Sometimes it will sound to me like a drummer who can't hit the drums the same way twice, and I find it to be more noticeable on certain sounds. I was using sidestick on one track and it sounded like I was playing ping pong. Every other note was a different pitch. Same thing happens with the ride bell.

Yeah. I think for the round robin to work effectively, the samples would have to be quite similar to each other.

If I am not mistaken, though, these round robin scripts are entirely customizable (and apparently it is not difficult to make changes). So if there is a sample playing in the round robin which you don't want included, I believe that you can easily omit it. I will have to get Squids' feedback on that. He is talking about posting an advance drumkit with the new scripts this weekend so that we can start experimenting with the new features and bring that into our discussions in the GB thread over at KVR. I should be able to confirm this over the next few days.

Supported sampler mappings at the time of writing are: dfh Superior (including Custom and Vintage), EZdrummer, DFH 1&2, Digidesign's Strike, Battery, BFD 1&2, Addictive Drums, Reason Drum Kits and of course any GM software or hardware sampler, percussive or not.

And I'm hoping that I will also be able to convert and use all the MIDI loops from DrumCore. It will certainly be nice to be able to store all my MIDI loops together and properly categorize them and sort through favorites, etc.

[Theodore]

Do you need Kontakt to use these?

[zed]

Do you need Kontakt to use these?

Free Kontakt Player (or full version of Kontakt).

You'll get the Sonic Reality Infinite Player in the GB, which you must install, but it is essentially a library that works within Kontakt (free player or otherwise).

[wylie1]

Do you need Kontakt to use these?

If you go in on the group buy they give you Sonic Reality’s Infinite Player

[zed]

Superior offers the round robin feature, and there are times when I've had to turn it off. Sometimes it will sound to me like a drummer who can't hit the drums the same way twice, and I find it to be more noticeable on certain sounds. I was using sidestick on one track and it sounded like I was playing ping pong. Every other note was a different pitch. Same thing happens with the ride bell.

Yeah. I think for the round robin to work effectively, the samples would have to be quite similar to each other.

If I am not mistaken, though, these round robin scripts are entirely customizable (and apparently it is not difficult to make changes). So if there is a sample playing in the round robin which you don't want included, I believe that you can easily omit it.

I just got confirmation from Squids, himself, that indeed you can control the samples included in the round robin.

And yes you are correct. You can turn any of the alts in the round robin group off if you hear one that is too different for your liking. Although most of the time it is subtle and desirable variance.

[zed]

It's the last couple of days to join this Group Buy and increase the number of drum kits if it hits 600 before midnight of Dec 30th. People have been joining like crazy over the past few days and we just surpassed 500 this morning and have got an additional multi-track kit added to the loot.

For $99, here is what you will be getting so far (and there may be more):

(1) 28 STm kits (21 have all unique samples, 7 have unique snares and some other unique kit pieces but also share with other kits, marked with an X below):

Ocean Way® Drum Kit 1 Dry
Ocean Way® Drum Kit 2 Medium
Ocean Way® Drum Kit 4 Dry
Ocean Way® Drum Kit 4 Ambient
Ocean Way® Drum Kit 5 Medium
Ocean Way® Drum Kit 6 Ambient
Ocean Way® Drum Kit 8 Dry
Ocean Way® Drum Kit 9 Dry
Ocean Way® Drum Kit 10 Dry
Ocean Way® Drum Kit 10 Medium * Bonus
Ocean Way® Drum Kit 10 Ambient
Ocean Way® Drum Kit 12 Dry
Ocean Way® Drum Kit 13 Medium

Drum Masters 2 NDV ST Gretsch® Kit
Drum Masters 2 NDV ST Premier® Kit (Direct)
Drum Masters 2 NDV ST Premier® Kit (Ambient)
Drum Masters 2 Collins Kit X
Drum Masters 2 Duke Kit X
Drum Masters 2 Doctor Nirvana Kit X
Drum Masters 2 NDV ST Blasticks Kit
Drum Masters 2 JB Tama® Brush Kit
Drum Masters 2 JB Session Sonor® Kit
Drum Masters 2 JB Sensitone™ Kit X
Drum Masters 2 JB Danger Ogletree Kit X
Drum Masters 2 JB Supraphonic™ Kit X
Drum Masters 2 JB Brady Deep X
Drum Masters 2 Bonhm Ludwig® Kit
Drum Masters 2 Stairway Levee Kit

And all these kits have multiple velocity layers and round robin scripting, which is easily controllable by the user, PLUS scripting to allow easy reassignment of notes for use with V-drum kits.

(2) Plus, you can have the Jazz STm kit if you don't need the Infinite Player (only if you already have Infinite Player).

(3) You can also choose either EZ Player Pro or a Drum Masters MT kit (a multitrack version of one of the STm kits in this GB) and

(4) as ANOTHER bonus for reaching 500 you can have yet another Drum Masters Multitrack Kit.

(5) 50 Hybrid kits (mixing and matching kit pieces from the above kits).

(6) An artist signature snare bonus which I believe is going to be the Steve Gadd snare. That will be integrated into the hybrid kits.

(7) Impulse Responses -- Convolution ambience from various world class studios these drums have been recorded in.

(8) 150 ODD GROOVES (and a special upgrade offer for full Odd Groove titles exclusive to this group buy!)

(9) SquidiMidi Files (those are iMap MIDI files made by Squids. They are being edited now so the exact number is not yet known.

(10) Mp3s demos of each of the kits for easy auditioning of the default kit sounds.

(11) Some serious discount coupons for other eSoundz products. These coupons allow you to save, in many cases, as much as the value of the whole GB:

EpiK DrumS HD - A Ken Scott Collection
Ocean Way Drums DL Edition
Ocean Way Drums Silver
Ocean Way Drums Gold
Ocean Way Drums Platinum
Drum Masters 2 Multitrack
Drum Masters 2 Multitrack Platinum Edition
Drum Masters 2 Signature Kits Vol. 1 (Stm kits with famous artists)
Drum Masters 2 Signature Kits Vol. 2 (Stm kits with artists & styles)

So my friends. I am not sure why anyone would want to pass up on this offer. We're talking about Up to 82 kits for just $99 plus a whole heap of extras. If it reaches 600 there will be even more goodies added... so today and tomorrow are the days to act if you are interested in this crazy deal.

You can join here and thank me later:
http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?Prod ... ode=USDKVR

And actually... if you really want to "thank" me, you can choose me, "zedd" with a double-d, as the name to use for your ePointz referrral. You will earn yourself $5 in ePointz for use on any future eSoundz purchase (including all the IK Multimedia stuff), and you will earn me $5 in ePointz as well.

[zed]

Hey folks,

I'm surprised by the apparent lack of interest in this Group Buy by my Motunation buddies! But perhaps you all went straight over to eSoundz and signed up already. About 100 new participants have signed up in the past couple of days, and most of those in last 14 hours.

In any case, there are just 24 more hours to go. It is looking like we are already getting another 2 bonus kits in anticipation of hitting 600, since Squids talked about adding the content to the delivery packages.

Here is a link for the vital info about the group buy: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... highlight=

[wurliuchi]

Hey folks,

I'm surprised by the apparent lack of interest in this Group Buy by my Motunation buddies! But perhaps you all went straight over to eSoundz and signed up already. About 100 new participants have signed up in the past couple of days, and most of those in last 14 hours.

In any case, there are just 24 more hours to go. It is looking like we are already getting another 2 bonus kits in anticipation of hitting 600, since Squids talked about adding the content to the delivery packages.

Here is a link for the vital info about the group buy: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... highlight=

I'm extremely interested. I've just spent so much money lately that I'm afraid I won't be able to play off my cc bills when they come due, so I'm still on the fence about this offering. I wish all these great deals would be spread out over the year. Too much of a good thing all at once can be harmful, especially after Christmas.

[wylie1]

I'm extremely interested. I've just spent so much money lately that I'm afraid I won't be able to play off my cc bills when they come due, so I'm still on the fence about this offering. I wish all these great deals would be spread out over the year. Too much of a good thing all at once can be harmful, especially after Christmas.

Your not alone.