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EZD3 isn't actually released yet so I'm not sure how much there is to say - we could just quote sections from the website ? I think it's totally on-topic to discuss alternatives to EZD in a thread about it ?

Izotope 9 version 9.12.0 is available from Isotope Product Portal. No release notes yet but it looks like in line with Relay and TBC 2 updates this should include Apple Silicon native version.

Hello, www.amplesound.net : Update Acoustic Guitar to v3.5, Native support for Mac M1, Native accessibility support New Features: -Native support for Mac M1 machines. -Native accessibility support on both Windows and Mac. -Improved sample engine, memory management, and efficiency. -New VST3 parameter system. -Updated AAX format version. -Added support for multiple sample rate. -Improved DSP algorithms such as impulse response. -New modulation module. -Optimized UI display. -New standalone – Rectangles. Issue Fixed: -Fixed a potential problem related to the DAW clock. -Fixed a potential problem in the process of loading sample library. -Fixed an issue of the velocity sense parameter. -Fixed potential crash caused by a bug in main panel and Strummer UI. Ample Sound users can update for free through the MyAmpleSound webpage. https://www.amplesound.net/en/account.asp For Assistance: service@amplesound.net Cheers

We/you can discuss what we/you want to discuss; all have made fair points. Its just I have to take a look everytime this jumps back to the top of the heap. BFD and BiaB; no BFD to me. (but hey, I don't run this forum, nor do I wish to) That's my nickel98 regarding alternatives. Just sayin'... t I did apologize in advance for the rant. and do again 🙃

I love BFD3 and am part of the test group, too, but what I'm looking for these days is great sound and ease of use. EZDrummer 3 gets me excited more than a new update to my favorite drum program that just sounds good. If it doesn't help me create - as inspiring as it sounds - it's less helpful to me. Especially if either source passes in the mix anyway. I'm not a purist, and IMHO BFD3 sounds better than SD3 on its own and is incredibly detailed, but I get from point A to somewhere near the finish line a lot quicker with SD3, with less dinking around with MIDI maps, previewing clip upon clip upon clip, etc. If BFD3 had tap-to-find, for instance, I'd use it a ton more. I remember the day I was finally able to buy BFD3...I felt like I'd "arrived" and would still feel that way today if SD3 hadn't "arrived" since then. Conversely, if they would just sample some real - I mean REAL - hard hitting snares with discernible rim shots like the Tama Bell Brass in BFD3, I would also be a lot happier with SD3. Why are they so timid with some of their snare samples???? Has anyone used BFD3 samples in SD3? It looks simple enough - just haven't taken the time to try.

Forget all your Chordjam, Playbeat, Insta composer plugins .. now we have our very own FREE song starter tool at the bandlab site online https://www.bandlab.com/songstarter https://blog.bandlab.com/introducing-songstarter/ So you can access it from above ( logged in ) OR via your Bandlab account feed when logged in and right of bandlab logo up top is the circle with 4 dots icon that shows the "apps" inside Bandlab that you can use. So open SongStarter, go Random, keep doing so until you hear a tune you like then click OPEN IN STUDIO which will open the online DAW with your new song starter project tune. At this point you can noodle with it there OR select the tracks and right click / export region as a Midi File or Wav file .. then open same in cakewalk and create further, change the instruments etc. THATS IT, enjoy! Aside from EXPORTING from inside the Cloud Daw - Its even easier. When you have your song starter idea done and saved in the online daw, open CW, go to file menu and then BROWSE BANDLAB PROJECTS. Select your new song starter track and it will load directly into CW as a new MIDI project, no need to export from the online DAW. If using another DAW you simply save the midi track in CW and open in Reaper or Ableton etc @Robert McClellan posted about this over at the tutorials section along with a quick tute/review vid on this, but I thought it might be better in Deals as it is a deal of sorts & ITS FREE https://discuss.cakewalk.com/index.php?/topic/43695-new-bandlab-songstarter/

#metoo

I use EZD2 and Superior 3. I pre-ordered EZD3, at $79 it was the definition of no-brainer! t

I have a lot of EZX that I use in SD3 - and most of them are brilliant In the Pocket Dream Pop (currently on sale) Electronic Edge etc those are amazing edit https://www.toontrack.com/product/electronic-edge-ezx/ https://www.toontrack.com/product/in-the-pocket-ezx/ check out the demos - these aren't 'conventional' kits (although TT do lots of those too)

I'll toss this thought out there regarding why you might want EZD... It appears that the EZD workflow was primarily designed to assist songwriters with ease of assembling a nice drum track to accompany their song. That's probably the biggest attraction for non-drummers like me that haven't got the patience or a clue how to build a proper drum track from scratch. The drum kits and such are decent, but probably were not meant to compete with the leading drum plugins. Maybe TT are raising the bar in this regard the 3rd time around? We'll soon see!

^^^^this I don't know anybody who has a bad thing to say about TT ? ....apart from.....please TT can we have an update to EZkeys ?

I did It's a different/quicker workflow - aimed more at songwriters and just getting something together quickly. SD3 has lots of the features (not the 'bandmate' thing though) but it's not quite as 'quick and dirty' as the EZ range You also get the EZD2 expansion (which is a bit meh in 2022 terms) but you will also get 8 (?) new kits, recorded in Hansa studios, that you can use in SD3 and the demos sound great I think it's a low risk strategy

I'd call that a no-brainer! t

yes - Steinberg have announced an intention to phase out VST2 in ALL their product range - I'm really hoping they have a rethink and at the very least provide a wrapper of some sort. Suggested timeframe is about 2 years. We can't really comment in detail on EZDrummer 3 as we only have the information that's been released but let's extrapolate from what we do know about EZD2 and their other more recent products: EZD2 is a quick and easy way to get a good sounding drumtrack together. The sample packs are first rate (IMO) and cover everything from classic rock / drum machine / quirky etc. You can use it as a songwriting tool or just trigger it with a keyboard/edrums. EZD2 is getting a bit old now - and the GUI is pretty old fashioned and not resizable. It looks like they have transplanted the GUI of the more recent products such as EZbass, which is great. It looks like they have also added all the great integrated quick-songwriting tools from EZbass too. Why would you buy it without hearing ? well....: 1. it's cheaper to upgrade at the preorder price 2. We already know what it sounds like because lots of us have expansion packs that we already use - and we're anxious to use them with the new GUI/Engine 3. TT stuff is always great so there is very little risk. TT have learned a lot over the years and the expansion packs just get better and better (IMO) It's hard to say what is 'better' - personally I think SD3 is 'better' but that's much more expensive and for many use cases EZD hits the spot just fine. It sounds great - is easy to use - has good support and lots and lots of expansion packs YMMV

Thanks for clearing that up. Correct me if I'm wrong here. The writing is on the wall to phase out VST2 in C12 unless they changed course due to customer complaints. Not pushing it here @DeeringAmps I would like to know What is EZDrummer 3 compared to other drum programs? How is it better, if it is better? In what ways is it better? Can we quantify 'better' here? And this is a psychological question- Why would a person pre buy a product they have never heard or demo'd?

As is payware. According to the article, the .DLL payload got on the computers in question via compromised unpatched Microsoft Exchange Servers. It didn't actually come with VLC, it was activated when the user tried to convert media using VLC. So to be safe, people might consider getting any Microsoft software off their computers. I was fortunately immune to this attack because I have no Microsoft Exchange Servers running on my home network at this time, nor do I use VLC to convert media types. So this malware attack, which has so far caused untold losses (and I looked, none of the stories told of any losses caused by it) has missed me just like all the others in my 40 years of using computers. Not that I haven't tempted fate by using free software like Cakewalk, Google Chrome, and the Meldaproduction FreeFXBundle. I also noticed that none of these stories had any suggestions as to what to do to keep yourself safe. It's as if they want a lot of people to pass it around so that more people can click on it and drive up the traffic stats to their webservers.

Would be nice if they finally came out with some "Bundles" at discounted prices

It is a very decent EP. Especially for free. Noiseash makes some really good plugins.

Run the UVI Portal to update

Run the Product Portal to update

Looks pretty interesting! https://tone-empire.com/shop/neuralq/

...all the old Audio Damage plugins are now free. I grabbed Ricochet, Fluid, Liquid and Vapor. Nothing earth-shaking there, just a bunch of solid, usable effects.

Toontrack - Weekend Deal: EZX Dream Pop only € 34 instead of € 79 Drum MIDI Hip-Hop Grooves only € 10 instead of € 29 Limited Time Offer, only valid throughout this weekend! https://www.bestservice.com/deals/toontrack_weekend_deal_4013.html

Antares Articulator talkbox plugin for free when you sign up for the auto-tune unlimited subscription 14 day free trial. https://www.antarestech.com/voxtronica-electronic-music-production/

Agree 100%

that's where SD3 comes in or BFD3

@jackson white for me EZDrummer has always been just that; Easy! For those that want complete control, EZD isn't the answer. If you are going to program, or play in your tracks, maybe Toon isn't your answer. The workflow with ToonTrack, that's always been the key for me. Demoing EZD2 will give a user insight into how that works. t

There IS a 10 day trial of EZD2 available. See above, you can demo EZD2, purchase it ($147 at Thomann) before May 3rd and you're in. My guess is that EZD3 will not be a quantum leap sound wise, however the workflow should be a good step forward. I'm starting to bond with the grid editor in Superior, I'm starting to bond with dropping key and drum midi into EZBass. Toon continues development and improvement across their product line: to me that's worth something... I've stated this before, TT's existing midi drop zone in EZD2 and Superior is a godsend, for ME. It does require, in my experience the "drop" be exactly 2 measures long; meaning bounce that clip! to two measures!! @Tim Smith if you want some insight into how I use EZ2 feel free to PM... t take with a grain of salt my whining

it's times like these that those of us in the UK mourn the loss of Time and Space (the online shop, not the metaphysical entities!) it was a great way to use/earn those loyalty points.

If we wanted to be legalistic about things, any comment not pertaining to a "deal " is off topic. People post complaints occasionally -- usually people who don't contribute much to the community. But the complaints are rare. The majority of community members clearly enjoy discussions related to a library or plugins category and I think it's not the kind of problematic off topic posts to be concerned with in a forum as Simon explained very well. If you're bothered enough by long threads, you can simply ignore all of the posts that bother you and anything beyond the original post. If you're looking for the original deal content only, it's commonly found in the original post. You can simply look at that and ignore the rest of the thread. Problem solved.

Please don't include me here. I appreciate the info. My IT department deals constantly with threats. This is why we went to a VPN. At one point we had to shut all of our servers down because someone was attempting to get in. Due to concerns of privacy breaches we pulled the plug until we could get a solid VPN in place. We already had VPN, but we extended it and added more protection. A hacker made it into the server for the software I work in a few years ago. This software controls the lighting ,heating cooling systems electric usage and many other things for multiple millions of dollars worth of buildings and infrastructure. Not just control but monitoring trending of multiple data points etc. They went in and changed a bunch of temperatures and systems. Luckily they were beginner hackers and we caught up to it soon enough to get a hold on it. I think one of the newest trends is to put a spy inside of a common program container....like VLC. Can't ever, EVER be too careful.

Goes back to antecedents of synth-pop with Dell Shannon (Runaway) , The Tornados (Telstar) , Delia Derbyshire (Dr. Who Theme), and others.

Geez, I love how sympathetic you guys are. Just because YOU have never had a virus doesn't mean other people haven't. I teach in a lot of companies, and I know of at least two of my clients who had their servers hacked and data either stolen or ransomed as a result. These are companies that deal with sensitive military hardware. One hack was the result of a guy downloading YouTube videos. I know IT security people who are dealing with hacks on a daily basis. Just the other day in my home country, the entire rail network was hacked by teenagers in Bulgaria. They brought the system to a stand still for a week. So you can brush it off as scare mongering but ask yourselves, how many small developers, plugin resellers are keeping their sites and software safe? The same sites we rush to for that freebie deal. Just saying.

This may be old news to some people, but I only noticed it this evening when I happened to check the info box on Sandman Pro. Apparently Unfiltered Audio had sent their updates in almost a year ago, but they got left out of Plug-In Alliance's mid-March update. The change logs only list Apple M1 compatibility, but the Windows installers have also been updated (at least the ones I checked).

Maybe they test standing on their hands?

7 pages and how much of it is NOT about EZD3? I get it, we often get off on a tangent. BUT, BFD, BiaB; I mean BFD! Really, go get a room! (or at least start a new thread) t sorry to rant...

Free Plugin - Sweetcase From Noiseash In this week's Free Plug-in, we are featuring Sweetcase from Noiseash, a satisfying sample based electric piano virtual instrument with enough facilities to cover the classic sounds https://noiseash.com/free-downloads/

Yep. After upgrade now Ozone standalone app is universal binary:

Sweet indeed!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I'd be interested to learn what SD3 kits are they comparing to BFD3 kits when they say BFD3 is 'better' or 'more realistic' ? I think I've got all the SDX and lots of the EZX and quite a lot of BFD1/2/3 kits plus some platinum samples one so I'm very familiar with both. The latest SDX such as Hansa or Fields of Rock or Legacy or Decades or Orchestral Percussion are better than any of the BFD3 ones (IMO) - obviously there is a huge price difference too. Are people comparing BFD3 with older SD kits ? Let's also not forget that edrum support in SD3 is so much better than BFD3 (again IMO). Ultimately, of course, they both sound amazing and I really hope that BFD get their act together, despite InMusic.

I agree, wish I had waited.😭😭😭😭

Heresy!!!

Deal: 76% off "Sax Fury" by Have Audio Value: €79 Discount: 76% Price: €19 Grab the deal now on http://www.VSTBuzz.com “Sax Fury” is a library designed for film composers and producers looking for powerful and original sax extended techniques and textures. It offers a wide range of melodic and atmospheric textures, Coltrane inspired sheets of sounds synched to tempo, multiphonics as well as frullati, vibrato, slap samples and sounds processed by analog pedal effects. A great tool to trigger your creativity. Get inspired by difference to make a difference! Note: Requires the FULL retail version of Kontakt 5.6.8 or higher (NOT compatible with the Free Kontakt Player). Grab the deal now on http://www.VSTBuzz.com!

File management is all about using Window the way we have always used Windows since the last century. You put things in folders and you try and keep track of things by having a system that works for you. Everyone is different. Ways to make life easier: Pay attention when installing software. You are often given choices for pathways. Clearly name and even Date folders. Don't store stuff on your desktop. Create Shortcuts to the folders. If you download loops from a vendor they probably will first land in your Downloads folder. Drag those to a different drive and make sure to test them before you delete the original download. Most cases you can re download from the vendor. Everything you delete accidentally will be in your recycle bin. The Clean Audio folder would have nothing to do with deleting loops unless the Project folder was used as a location for them which would be very weird choice.

Although like everyone else, I am opposed to the principle of having to prove ownership every 90 days of something I paid for, the actual process of re-licensing should be something that happens without our knowing. This is ow they would like it to work but as Drew had said on the forum, it was nowhere near ready to go public and even when/if all the bugs in the LM itself are fixed, issues with the server can still leave BFD3 owners up sht creek without their proverbial paddle. Steve

I have Addictive Drums and EZdrummer 2 now as well as a the free SSD but just don't have SD2 or SD3 which are the nearest things to BFD3. I get what you're saying and for the most part I agree. I'm PC user so M1 support isn't an issue for me and I'm not clued up enough about the gains of VST3 to know how badly I need it but VST2 works. I really hope inbrands live up to Drew's expectations and the reason there's been so little development in with \BFD3 and its expansion packs was completely down to ROLI just happy to let BFD3 rot. Had there been the right backing and a larger devs team we'd probably all be moaning about BFD4 by now. Like I said, "Most of us aren't keen on the new licensing structure". and that includes me but it shouldn't be random. The reauthorisation period is currently at 90 days and I hope I'm not breaking any NDA in saying this but the new LM has a 90 day countdown timer on it so if you're off-line you will know how long you have before you need to reauthorise. The communication I agree is often very bad or at least it seems to be pot luck. Anyone on the forum would think Drew single-handedly does everything by himself. He certainly deserves a good holiday. Steve