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Toontrack Hard Rock EZX Expansion

EZX Expansion Pack for Toontrack EZdrummer and Superior Drummer
7 Write review Item ID: EZXHardRock
$89.00

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AU

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Toontrack Hard Rock EZX Expansion
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Heavy-hitting Drum Tones

From the brilliant mind of acclaimed producer Bob Rock comes Toontrack's Hard Rock EZX. This expansion pack puts the thunderous drum sound of bands like Metallica, Mötley Crüe, and Aerosmith right at your fingertips. Two individual kits, a modern-sounding Gretsch and vintage-toned Ludwig, along with extra kicks, snares, and cymbals, give you plenty of drum tones to work with. And they sound incredible — everything was tracked through top-shelf gear at The Warehouse in Vancouver. Hard Rock EZX is rounded out with Bob's mix-ready presets and a collection of heavy-hitting MIDI grooves.

Note: This expansion pack requires a separate installation of Toontrack EZdrummer or Superior Drummer. For more information, call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer.

Related Videos: Hard Rock EZX Expansion

Bringing the world-class studio home

Since the advent of home studios, recording musicians have struggled to attain a pro-quality sound. That's where Toontrack comes in. Their software bridges the gap between your humble project studio and the world's finest recording spaces. Whether you're a creative singer/songwriter or a home recording hobbyist, when you need a session drummer, a keyboardist, or help to achieve a studio-quality mix, Toontrack has a solution for you. At Sweetwater, we're confident that with Toontrack's innovative products in your arsenal, you'll achieve the "real studio" sound you've been aiming for.

Acclaimed producer Bob Rock.

Toontrack Hard Rock EZX Features:

  • Top-shelf drum sounds created by acclaimed producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Aerosmith)
  • Recorded with top-shelf gear at The Warehouse in Vancouver, BC
  • 2 full kits, along with extra kicks, snares, and cymbals
  • Modern-sounding Gretsch with a brittle and direct attack
  • vintage-toned Ludwig with a complex, dark and warm timbre
  • Bob's mix-ready presets ensure studio-perfect sound quality
  • Includes a collection of heavy-hitting MIDI grooves

Additional Media

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Tech Specs

  • Platform: Mac, PC
  • Download/Boxed: Download
  • Upgrade/Full: Expansion for EZdrummer / Superior Drummer
  • Format: AAX, VST, AU
  • OS Requirements - Mac: OS X 10.10 or later
  • OS Requirements - PC: Windows 7 SP1 or later
  • Manufacturer Part Number: TT390SN

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Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5

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For hard rock baritone guitar riff verses – this set is the King.

Chances are you are not reading this review to find out if Toontrack is any good – since most agree they are the best there is - but instead – which ezx to get next. I hope my review gives you enough information to make some sense of which one is best for you.
This review will hopefully enable you to make some first choices about which ezx to get for the category Toontrack calls "ROCK". So, the question is how to make the best choice when there are so many choices? Well for the category Toontrack calls "ROCK" there are not really that many choices because if you remove the subcategory "CLASSIC ROCK" the remaining line up is only six choices:
Rock Solid – Rock! – Alt-Rock – Hard Rock – Pop/Rock – Post-Rock
Because each ezx has so many different settings and tone variations – to make sense of what each ezx can do – I wanted to capture the primary voice of each ezx – so I started with the original mix – listened to all the kit variations – and picked the one that was the most representative of that ezx – so I could easily compare each ezx in rapid succession. I used beats that required jazz drumming detail, Rock drumming power and sonority, and Metal drumming punctuation and authority, while holding as close as possible to the most natural and organic sound each kit was capable of. Here are the results that are tailored towards my preferences for what I think ROCK is about and understand I am very biased towards the Metal genre and consider this category to be a bridge between "CLASSIC ROCK" and "HEAVY METAL" – so it means modern rock.
What do I consider modern rock? I think that when you go from Elvis Presley to The Rolling Stones – you have moved from ROCK N ROLL to ROCK. Then comes Led Zeppelin – and the wildest it gets that still has the rock voice is stuff like Eddie Van Halen on his first album or even some of the more dramatic stuff from AC/DC. "Smoke On the Water" and "Highway Star" by Deep Purple represent the very edge of hard rock before it starts to be heavy metal. What I consider to be mainstream metal with truly little stylistic deviation into any metal subgenre is the song "More Than Meets the Eye" by Testament and most of the stuff done by Lamb of God. It seems to me that the band Black Sabbath really defined the roots of heavy metal and the simple difference in musical sentiment that drives them is that Rock is like the wrath of teenagers over girls and hot rod cars and Heavy Metal is like the wrath of God for the Apocalypse. So, let us stick to girls and hot rod cars for right now:
ROCK SOLID: It seems the default kit that used the Ayotte drums with the original mix is the primary voice of this kit. This is not a natural or organic kit in any way. It is pumped up with an overdose of drum steroids to blast its way to glory in the arena. Although the tone seems well defined – it is explosive – and despite how crisp and detailed the tone – it gets messy quick, so it is not about jazz drumming detail or high-speed heavy metal drum punctuation – but absolute authority with medium speed beats that are not too busy. The only kit that can outperform ROCK SOLID for this power drama authority voice is BIG ROCK DRUMS – and only with very specialized slow beats with only the slowest fill variations. When it comes to power and authority for medium speed super heavy hard rock or a great voice for metal – this kit is in the first-place line up. If you like organic drums with natural sound – and you want power and authority – NASHVILLE is the only kit that I have found that has the type of muscle this kit offers that sounds organic and natural. Understand that just because this kit is unnatural sounding it is a beautiful kit with an extremely musical sonority. A violin is unnatural compared to singing – but just because it is unnatural does not make it any less beautiful.
ROCK! Wow! This kit may have a great variety, but the presets line up for the main duty of ROCK! I cannot tell you what this kit does best because it covers too much territory. What is fantastic to me about the kit is that it has several voices that are like different flavors of a subdued version of the ROCK SOLID ezx that enable both tremendous authority, power, and definition – without the limitations that are created when you go all the way with a specialized voice. I would say that for hard rock and some early metal stuff – this kit is not only a great choice – but offers plenty of choices that are all suitable for the same job in different ways. This is not a multiple personality kit that is trying to do everything – but more of a specific set of tools designed to work in different ways for the same job – and that job is HARD ROCK as far as I am concerned with some interesting gourmet touches in variety. Can it outperform some of the metal kits? I would not choose this kit for most metal even though it would work great because I have all the Toontrack Metal ezx's and sometimes too many choices slow me down. This kit has tremendous definition and authority for rock music without the downside of specialization issues. It is not only versatile – but offers multiple choices within that versatility. I would call it a civilized and domesticated version of ROCK SOLID.
ALT-ROCK: This is not a special effect drum set. It derives its voice from a very organic and natural sound set so despite the tympani that makes it a similar kit to CLASSIC ROCK – it is not really a rock set. It certainly is not metal either. This set offers a variety of presets that all seem great at one thing – drum solos. The strength of this kit above most other ezx's offered by Toontrack in every category – is that the sounds in this kit seem to be free of any issues that cause "sonic fatigue". That means I can listen to this kit doing busy passages in different styles – for a long time and it still sounds good to me. To achieve this – certain qualities that make a drum voice stand out in a dense mix are not present as much as many of the other specialized ezx's – and so for parts of any mix that are not dense – or quiet parts, or intros, endings, and most of all any imaginable style of drum solo – this kit inspires creativity. With some of the presets you can get great results with the Gene Krupa style tom riff comping – and others that have more sustain and resonance – a spooky jungle cinematic effect. This is an inspiring set to get you into new territory. No wonder it is "Alternative Rock". It is an alternative. I am really pleased with the creative vision behind this kit.
HARD ROCK: This kit was made to perform with power and authority without sacrificing the natural and organic property of drums. It has the strength of NASHVILLE ezx but a different voice that involves gourmet sound processing that is both effective for augmenting the natural sound – but sophisticated in a way that does not introduce any bizarre or unnatural artifacts to the result. The are three main voices in the kit named after Bob Rock – and they are all fantastic for hard rock. This kit totally lives up to its name and occupies a voice in the percussion universe that defines the hard rock genre. If I were only getting one kit for hard rock – this would be it. This kit is not my choice for metal because it does not sound like metal style punctuation during fast beats – even though it does a great job with busy passages. To me – it makes a borderline metal motif sound like rock. It is a fabulous dominating drum voice that does not suffer from the limitations of BIG ROCK DRUMS or ROCK SOLID (which I prefer because I like exotic voices). I use this kit for riff style hard rock like in the Led Zeppelin song "Heartbreaker" or for any fast baritone six string guitar riff that does not use heavy metal scales. For hard rock baritone guitar riff verses – this set is the King.
POP/ROCK: Well – this kit has neither the authority or sonority for rock or metal – and it seems to stick out like a sore thumb when compared to the other ezx's Toontrack markets in the POP genre – but this kit is an unbelievable value – it comes with the largest library of old fashion rock and pop beats that is 20 times larger than most of the libraries offered by Toontrack – and why? Because it is a revamped collection of the first EZ Drummer and this library was taken out when they did a full face lift some years back for the EZ Drummer upgrade. What do I like about this kit? It sounds snappy and has that medium voice quality that enables it to perform some great sounding funk drumming. So, I use this with my FUNKMASTERS ezx for just more variety with the funk drumming voice. It has tremendous definition and can go crazy with high-speed fills – but again - lacks the sonority for rock or metal.
POST-ROCK: Well, this kit is just too polite for me. Its like a metal kit on tranquilizers. It has a bit of the punctuation and voice for metal – and it can do fast or slow without getting sloppy – but there is just no explosion of tone because this kit is just too soft – but it is still unique. It offers different subtle forms of expression including brushes and mallets – and the voices are all very pleasant so you can compose for a long time without suffering from sonic fatigue. A fantastic choice for soft rock – fusion – or pop or maybe even folk music. Great for anything where you are not looking for "drum caffeine". What do I use it for? I love to make the best high-speed metal beat I can – and when it sounds good on this kit – I then preview it on my other metal voiced ezx's – and it takes me further into heavy power metal than if I just started with a more powerful kit. For me it is a great composing tool because it is very versatile, and you can do any kind of style you want – and then try out other voices. It helps me go further because it helps me avoid instant gratification. The kit cannot fake its way. Some kits make a certain beat sound great and then you discover that the beat totally depended on that kit. This kit offers you no crutches – and so when you are happy with the result – you really have something that might perform miracles with another kit more specialized on the style of what you have created. So, in summary this kit is an all-purpose drum composing voice.
So, my top choice of the above is ROCK SOLID because it has the best voice for metal compared to others if used on medium tempo beats. For creative inspiration – ALT-ROCK is the best choice for me and has some of the best broad purpose drum voices. But if you want the top choice for ROCK – or as I call it "HARD ROCK" – then Bob Rock's HARD ROCK is by far the most superior and versatile kit of the entire line up – hands down. I still prefer ROCK SOLID because it is so unusual even if it craps out trying to do faster beats that sound fantastic on the other kits in this line up. Understand that I am totally biased toward heavy metal kits – and so any kit that does not function for metal – is more difficult for me to evaluate. All the kits represent a specific musical vision executed with six-star quality. Even if the POP/ROCK is considered a loser by many – it is an unbelievable value for the library alone – and still has a unique musical voice.
Understand – I believe it is worth buying them all – and only a matter of which order to buy them.
by Kenley Morrison on
Music background: making music since I was three

Sits really well in a mix

I'm using this with Superior Drummer 3.0. Sounds great, clear, big, but not overly so that it sounds cartoonish. Dialed in very well. Big thumbs up on this one. Best straight up rock n roll EZX I've tried to date, whether it's hard rock, power pop, punk, etc, etc.
by JKC from NY on
Music background: Songwriter, guitarist

Big, fat, and huge drum sounds from the legend!

If you want big, fat, and amazing drum sounds on your record this is your EZX. I highly recommend it. Bob has a tremendous ear for killer drum sounds. I have used this ezx and it's become my go to for my own music. The grooves are great and the sounds are unmatched. They sit in a guitar heavy mix and don't get muddy! Money well spent!
by Brandon Howell from New Martinsville WV on
Music background: Lead guitarist, Session musician

AWESOME EXPANSION!

Toontracks have really helped me in being creative and this expansion pack is no different!
Love the quality of the sounds! Bob Rock is a Legend!
by ROBERT LISANTI from New York on
Music background: 40 yrs Plus!

Toontrack to the rescue!

I needed a bigger drum sound and did I get it!This EZX fills the bill for B I G Rock drums! Bob rock has always been one of My favorite producers for this reason alone.I have two metal EZXs ,but,They weren't right for the slower grooves I'm working on.Hard Rock fills the space in between the pounding Guitars nicely and gives the right amount of depth to the tracks.A Great investment.
by Michael from Nowhereville U.S.A. on
Music background: Producer

There's a reason so many Toontrack products begin with "EZ" - they really do make music creation easy. If you're like many of the songwriters here at Sweetwater, then you know how important it is to stay in the groove, especially if you're adding elements to your tracks that are a bit out of your wheelhouse. Toontrack products such as EZdrummer and EZkeys cover backing tracks in all kinds of styles, so you don't need to find session players to create songs, while EZmix lets you add polish to your tracks without being a pro engineer. There are tons of expansions to flesh out your palette, and software such as Superior Drummer if you want to dive in deeper. And thanks to our amazing relationship with Toontrack, the Sweetwater staff gets to use it all, so you can always get the inside story from your Sales Engineer.

See also: percussion plug-ins, Toontrack, Toontrack Virtual Drum & Percussion Software
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