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Does anyone have any words of wisdom to offerup? Here is my perdictament. 1) I love the whole EZKeys line of Bass/Drums/Keys but always had little interest in EZMix 1 or 2. Why? because of two reasons: 1) the GUI was far too minimal and 2) I have a large investment in the Isotope Products (Ozone, Nectar and Neutron). 2) But now they claim to have fixed the GUI (If it is anywhere near to the current other toontrack products, it will be great). 3) And finally my biggest reason to pass this by - Each Mix Pack is $40 and there are dozens of them! How many of these I will need is anyones guess! The truth be told the Isotope tools are often too hard for me to use. So I keep searching for improvement. Combine that with the fact that my music is very important to me, so the cost for improvement is not holding me back. But will EZMIx be..... EZ? Sale ends in 4 days upon the lauch of this app. It is time to make a decision! Any thoughts out there guys? 
Final Tour - Not with a Bang but with a wimper!
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I am also an isotope man. I find that their hundreds of presets are almost always getting me where I want to be or if not then dang close! Every song I've written(well over 400) is produced using some combination of neutron, nectar and ozone.
I bought EZMix 2 when it was deeply discounted. I've dabbled with it but I hate the GUI and I hate the Toontrack "keep buying bits and pieces" business model. So, even though they are offering me a $59 upgrade with one add-on I think I'll pass.
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I have already bought it and now I am waiting for the drop on the 20th aug.
I have the previous versions of EZMix 1&2 and it saves me alot of time and frustration since I find mixing very difficult and time consuming and I never get it right to my liking when I am trying to do it manually by various plugins. (I am only an amateur and not doing very much of this).
But the GUI is far too small on the current EZMix2 version making it difficult to use, so I looking forward to v3.
I like the concept of starting out with scrolling through and listening to already very good mixes made by the professionals for various sounds and instruments.
The product comes with a basic set of different Toonetrack mixes for various instruments.
I think the way to start is to buy the basic product and test it out and see whats in there and then depending on the need buy some extra packs when they come available to better prices during the sales.
I have bought some extra packs for vocal mixing and then some packs from some of the etablished music engineers/producers.
But I have only bought them when they have been on sale $15-20 or so I think on black friday and maybe some more dates.
There should also be some more new features in V3 if I understand it right from the Toonetrack pushes, it should be interesting to find out on teh 20th.
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I'm not an Izotope guy. I'm not good at mixing either. Last I don't know if I have the time and patience needed to get good at mixing. EZ Mix offers two things that I think can improve my mixes, signal chains and presets.
EZMix has signal chains that can help many common instrument tracks sound the best they can sound. There are also signal chains to help the stereo master mix sound more cohesive.
The presets are handy starting points for settings that will help individual or stereo master track sound like a specific famous recorded performance.
I understand the value in having good mixing starting points. If the base package is as good as the advertisement says I would get the base package and evaluate the need for add-ons as needed.
My question is how frustrated do you get trying to achieve the sound you want using Izotope? If EZMix reduces the frustration it's worth the money if you have the money to spend. The downside is it's not a good learning tool because the simplified signal chains and reduced settings really don't inform you as to what is going on versus using discrete tools.
Having said all that I generally am pleased with the sound I can obtain from the unadulterated tracks inside Band-in-a-Box.
Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1113) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8 Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
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Having used isotope AND EZ Mix I can honestly say they are similar in functionality! And isotope is NOT difficult to use! You can use its large included collection of presets for pretty much everything without needing to buy more packs!
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I am also an isotope man. I find that their hundreds of presets are almost always getting me where I want to be or if not then dang close! Every song I've written(well over 400) is produced using some combination of neutron, nectar and ozone.. You and me both. Likely better part of 15 years if those products actually go back that far. And there was a time when I could go pretty deep with them but in the past couple years I more or less lost interest in this aspect of creating music. Problably due to my deteriorating ears. I found these days I am just "guessing" more often than not. Thanks for all the great feed back guys. I will let you know what happens here.
Final Tour - Not with a Bang but with a wimper!
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Ozone has been around since 2001. I've had it since 2002 but it's just one of many tools I use. Like any of them, they are best used to solve problems.
The only plug-ins that sit in my templates are Brainworx bx_limiter true peak and Eventide SP2016 reverb. Last count, I have around 800 others.
I started cutting tape in the early 1970s — thank goodness those days are over.
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Edit: this post is regarding the post directly above this one related to the song offered as the example.
I listened to a few segments. First verse and a half and dropped in for a few seconds further on.
Here's my take. You have 3 tracks that I can hear. Vocal, acoustic guitar, and bass.
The two instruments sound like you might be playing them. The problem is that they are not synced. Missed runs and hesitation in the playing give it a very disconnected feel.
The vocal is actually a very workable track that proper EQ would sweeten up nicely. Again, the problem I'm hearing is vocal phrasing is not smoothly executed and the vocals tend to be out of sync with the instruments in places as a result. Just dropping any kind of fx on a vocal usually doesn't magically fix problems.
This is a case of learning the parts and paying attention to the details. Be sure to use a click track for recording it. That way you know exactly where the best is. No guessing or anticipated stuff which is often wrong.
Use the punch in for record function in your DAW. What you want is a good clean, on tempo guitar track to start.
I'm not sure exactly what EZ mix 2 is supposed to do, but I looked at a few posts on other sites and it looks like it's supposed to be an easy way to nail down various aspects of your mix with presets. Before you try to nail anything down, be sure you have something worth nailing down. Nothing is going to fix tracks that are not ready for prime time quite yet.
Hopefully you are taking this observation with the understanding that it's my opinion and not a personal slam against you. I believe that if this was musically "tight" your sonic battle would be almost done.
Hope this helps point you in the right direction to get the results you want.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 08/19/24 05:40 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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FWIW, I have had EZMix 1 + 2 for years now. I also haven't used it in years. I found that lack of control was a big problem for me. That coupled with the Studio One Pro effects as well as other purchased effects, mostly Waves' effects, I now have total control over my tracks. YMMV
Yeah, I've got O.C.D, Old, Cranky, and Dangerous.
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Hopefully you are taking this observation with the understanding that it's my opinion and not a personal slam against you. I believe that if this was musically "tight" your sonic battle would be almost done.
Hope this helps point you in the right direction to get the results you want. Herb, Thank you so much for the listen and the comments. I greatly appreciate the input. I have NO ONE who listens to my music other than myself. So each tune is an adventure in musical and self discovery. Trust me - everything you said will go a long way in helping me fine tune my art. Regarding EZMix and this test example. My vocals always need something. In this case I was surprized that my efforts with EZMix, as well as Nektar and Neutron all failed to make the final cut. In the end it was just "reverb". Any use of the FX just sounded "processed". Today is last day for sale price. You all may be surprized that at this moment I plan to purchase EZMix! Dispite this failed test. Bottom line, just another tool in my arsenal combined with a love of what toontracks has done with the EZ line. The GUIs are fantastic. Thanks agian Dan
Final Tour - Not with a Bang but with a wimper!
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Last edited by DrDan; 08/20/24 03:42 AM.
Final Tour - Not with a Bang but with a wimper!
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Hey Dan, remember how I said I was an izotope guy, blah, blah, blah? Well, I still am but at the last minute I pulled out the credit card and spent $59 of my kids' inheritance on EZMix 3! I already had EZMix 2 with the Lead Vocals add-on so I got Lead Vocals 2 as my freebie because I can always use help on my vox!
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Hey Dan, remember how I said I was an izotope guy, blah, blah, blah? Well, I still am but at the last minute I pulled out the credit card and spent $59 of my kids' inheritance on EZMix 3! ! You and me both!  I can tell you in my first hour I have a favorable impression. Absolutely no buyer regret out of the gate.
Final Tour - Not with a Bang but with a wimper!
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Like a kid on Christmas morning, I installed and activated everything. Then I remembered I'm an adult so I went to work but I'll def check it out later today. Maybe while I'm watching that big event just down the road from you!
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Wanted to close this thread with a very early peek at EZMix 3 in action. This is one of the very first videos of EZMix3. Until now there has been only speculation and some snapshot pictures on the web. As I said my first impressions are favorable including the fact that my ears have liked what they heard on my current project.
Final Tour - Not with a Bang but with a wimper!
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I may check it out but usually i never use presets on FX. I tend to work each track as an individual. i want to make sure they do not step on each other. My typical effects are a decent native reverb from whatever i am mixing in be it reaper or Harrison. i bought the Harrison channel strip a while back and always add that to each track, and i have two SSL FX i use on the master channel one EQ and one compressor. I try to as Herb likes to say add nothing that adds nothing to the music. I start with the bass track and drums to make sure the kick drum is not stepping on the bass guitar, and that the snare is tight and snappy. I like crisp cymbals if that is what i am using. Guitars and keyboards often occupy the same region so i tend to pan them around until they are not competing too badly. Vocals are done last so i can do three or four takes so i can comp the best and i like to do them at one time so that the levels and settings are the same. lastly i add the reverb so i can dial in each track that gets it. i want it to add space not mud so it is done carefully. If the song needs more punch i go back to the master and individual channels and look for any weaknesses. I also try to not just toss in instruments because it seems like a good idea. They need to complement each other, or they need to go home.
For this reason, i usually don't get into big aftermarket effects seems to just complicate the process. I did buy the Chris Lord Alge collection a while back, but they always seem to color the project too much. Less is more to me. I could be wrong i have been before.
Lenovo Win 10 16 gig ram, Mac mini with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2024, Realband, Reaper, Harrison Mixbus 32c , Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app, Komplete 49 key controller.
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I have had EZmix 2 for donkeys, I like the concept and in the past I have seen a seasoned biab user who used to post a lot on the User Showcase swear by it.
On one of his songs, he seemed to say that he was getting tired by all the hassle using the effects etc and it was nice to be able to use a easy ready to go effect.
That saying for the little recording I do, I haven't really used it much, Still like to have it though.
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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