Added to that, of all instruments, drums really do hate the latency introduced by slower processors. The main one was inevitably host computer resources, owing to the huge amount of RAM required to hold all of that meticulously sampled realism.

Of these earlier instruments, it could be said that there were still limitations in their use. By having a choice of drums, as well as virtual acoustics and signal paths to play with, engineers and programmers instantly had the final piece of the puzzle when armed with the right playing or programming. That was a real or MIDI-driven performance triggering a whole smorgasbord of sampled studio favourites, as well as a smattering of exotic tubs made out of materials like carbon fibre or plexiglass. When drum virtual instruments (VIs) started appearing around the mid-2000s, engineers found themselves with a new tool that promised everything that real recordings sometimes lacked. In any scenario, most would agree that all real recordings need at least musicality (not necessarily technicality) from the player, and drums that are well maintained and tuned (not necessarily expensive ones). That’s not to say that many working engineers without these elements didn’t get great sounds with at least some of these in place, but more that without all of them, the sound’s potential was inherently restricted. The second option was to not have the best drum sound possible.

With these elements in place, it was hard to get wrong. The first option was to record a great player on a well-tuned kit with decent cymbals, and add or record with a great sounding ambience. Not so long ago, engineers wanting the best drum sound possible were presented with a binary choice. The third incarnation of Toontrack’s EZdrummer promises to bring even more to its well-loved combo of ease and sounds, but what do these bring to your production? Three Experts give their verdict… In The Beginning…

Ez drummer 3 crack