EZDrummer

[emperor_black]

First of, sorry for the noobish questions...

I've given up trying to write my own drum patterns with either rhythm rascal or Acoustica beatcraft. I think I'm ready to shell out the big bucks for a good drum programming software. Before I buy the EZ drummer, some questions...

1) can I program drums-only songs suitable for metal? Or is the bare bones ezdrummer good only for hip-hop, jazz and the like?
2) is The drumkit from hell is an additional purchase on top of the EZ drummer?
3) Is there a sale somewhere for buying these products?
4) are there any equivalent drum programming software with good patterns and presets and the like?

FWIW, I have a MacBook Pro with garageband. Are there some cool presets and drum loops that I could buy?

thanks!
Sam

[quiksilver]

I have Garage Band and EZ Drummer. There are some decent drum loops in Garage Band, but the drum patterns in EZ Drummer are way better. Here are my answers to your questions:

1. The basic EZ Drummer is fine for rock, not just jazz. I don't find it aimed at hip hop at all. Not really aimed at metal IMO. I think DFH is, though.
2. Yep, DFH is extra $. Looks cool, but the basic setup works fine for me.
3. I couldn't find any sales. I just paid full price.
4. There are certainly other programs out there. Having bought EZ Drummer, I'd do it again.
5. You can download free drum loops that are much more rock oriented than the ones that come with Garage Band (you can also buy Jam Packs for it, of course).

[Pigsnatcher]

I use EXDrummer so I thought I'd through in my opinion for you.

First I wanted to mention that its not a stand alone program and you need to run it through something else (atleast thats how it was a few years ago when I got it). I run it through Fruity Loops.

Second, the pattern are pretty cool but I find the drum fills to be lacking. The neat at first but I find them to be very repetative.

Third, I'd say its fine for rock. I have the DFH and its is defiantly geared more towards metal. I don't know if I'd use it with out the DFH. I also have a bunch of the other add ons but would get them again, only DFH.

This is the only drum softwear I tried and over all I like it alot. It was worth it to me. In fruity loops you can totally make you own beats and fills but it is time consuming.

Hope this helps.

[quiksilver]

My EZ Drummer came with a standalone app called Solo. I preview the beats in Solo and then drag and drop them into Garage Band.

[emperor_black]

Hey, thanks guys! Noting that EZdrummer does not offer a demo, I downloaded 'Addictive drums' demo. Its also not a standalone and since I have garageband on my Mac, I was able to load it up. But everything's new to me and I feel like a newbie with a squier wondering why I cant get the Metallica sound!