Swedish developers Toontrack have announced the long-awaited release of EZdrummer 3, rebooting the well-loved drum virtual instrument for 2022 with some new innovative twists. We have all the details…

Drum virtual instruments have given us the luxury of the seemingly impossible: programmed, sampled drums that can sound virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. While virtually all of them come with high quality MIDI to get non-drummers up and running, more advanced composers can of course draw or tap their way towards realistic parts for demos or even finished productions. The icing on the cake is the ability to play them with full-size electronic drum kits, or to trigger them in the mix for replacement or augmentation duties. Working this way allows the mixer to swap out any kit piece at any stage for those “nice kit, shame about the snare” moments.

Although hard to believe, EZdrummer 2 has been with us since 2014. In the following years many composers and drummers have found its combination of user-friendliness hooked up to world class sounds hard to beat. Landing with both Vintage and Modern libraries, the instrument brought innovative tools and workflow that meant release-quality sounds were within reach of anyone with a sound in their head.

Primarily, the third incarnation of the EZdrummer moniker builds upon its progenitor’s main strengths: great sounds and simple operation, as well as incorporating features inspired by Superior Drummer 3 and a redesigned UI taking its cue from the EZbass instrument. As users of EZdrummer ourselves, we were excited to see how Toontrack could improve upon their tried-and-trusted classic creation. Here we have the details of EZdrummer 3 fresh from Toontrack ahead of its release:

The Songwriter’s Ultimate Drummer

Although EZdrummer 3 is new from top to bottom, it’s firmly rooted in what has made its predecessor a staple tool for songwriters around the world: make adding drums to your music effortless, inspirational and intuitive. EZdrummer 3 reinvents the role a piece of drum production software can play in a songwriting context. It gives you the creative reins to a comprehensive set of easy-to-use features that allow you to create fully-fledged drum tracks without ever leaving the software.

Got a riff? Let the Bandmate come up with a drum groove on the fly. Hear a rhythm in your head? Use Tap2Find and let EZdrummer 3 list its best matches. Got your groove down? Turn it into a full song using the Song Creator. The options are endless. Of course, at the heart of the program is the seven drum kits, the library of drum grooves and the broad array of presets for anything from subtle and acoustic to hard, heavy and modern. Ready to write some songs? Meet your new drummer.

New fully scalable and resizable graphical user interface.

The Bandmate. Feed EZdrummer 3 with an idea and it will provide a custom groove. Works just as well with a MIDI file from EZbass or EZkeys as a single-instrument audio source.

An all-new recording featuring seven (7) drum kits and extras captured by Grammy Award-winning producer/engineer/mixer Michael Ilbert (Coldplay, adele, The Weeknd) at the world-famous Hansa Studios in Berlin.

EZdrummer 3 Other Features At A Glance

• Extra instruments- Includes several extra snares, kicks, cymbals and extras.

• Percussion- The must-have songwriting staples, recorded to perfection.

• Three rooms, three different ambiences. Maximum versatility.

  • Main Room- Spacious but not overpowering, perfect for anything from singersongwriter to modern pop. In this room, two kits were recorded.

  • Bright Room- Reflective marble walls contrasted by hardwood flooring gives this room the perfect ambience for anything from classic to modern rock drums. In this room, two kits were recorded.

  • Tight Room- Dry, tight and transparent. The three kits that were recorded in this room are perfect for anything from heavy and punchy down to muffled and contemporary.

• New MIDI library- A massive library covering all major music genres (pop, rock, lectronic, hip-hop, reggae and much more).

• Tap2Find DeLuxe- Now includes a step sequencer, the ability to record groove mockups and more.

• Mix and match- Single out parts from different grooves and create new ones in an instant.

• Talk to your drummer- Easy control for ghost notes as well as new Power Hand features.

• Onboard grid editor- Program, edit and fine-tune your MIDI – right inside of EZdrummer 3.

• Humanization- Automatic adjustment of velocity and microtiming.

• Percussive perfection- Articulations are automatically varied to increase overall expression.

• New mixer- All-new and more intuitive look.

• Improved Interaction- Preview instruments and overhead channels directly in the mixer.

Toontrack’s software has been updated to work on the latest macOS Monterey as well as Windows 11. It works on both Intel and Apple silicon systems as well as with all major music software/DAW applications, such as Pro Tools, Cubase, GarageBand, Logic Pro, Reaper, etc. EZdrummer 3 can also be run standalone. Existing EZX expansions or and/or Toontrack MIDI packs are backwards compatible with EZD3.

EZdrummer 3 will be released on 3rd May and is available to pre-order now with upgrade options available from previous versions. Visit the Toontrack website for full details.