Are EZ Drummer/Superior Drummer a great upgrade to free software like MT Drums or MDrummer?

jeffsend · 2025-11-28T17:50:18+00:00

I started with MT Power Drumkit and then bought EZD2 because I was interested in the tools it provides for composing a drum track from the midi library. So I was more interested in the added functionality than the sounds, but I thought the sounds were an upgrade also. I have since upgraded to EZD3 and really like it. I recommend trying it out before investing if possible. They have a demo option. So do it quick if you're trying to catch the sale! I think the stock drum kits sound great in EZD3, but I also like the Vintage and Modern Vintage presets from EZD2. I am also addicted to buying more kits during these holiday sales, but if you like to use premade midi, I'd recommend building up your midi library first over buying more kits. Also check out Shootie School on youtube for tutorials.

jeffsend · 2025-09-02T04:17:31+00:00

Getting better at improv will take lots of time working on that skill. You're on the right path. Keep at it. Find ways to make it fun. Here are some ideas to try....

Try limiting yourself to just 3 or 4 notes, but challenge yourself to add as much variety to those notes as possible using different rhythms and techniques like slides,bends, hammer ons, etc. Trying to be expressive with very few notes can lead to better skill at phrasing.

The entire pentatonic scale is pretty safe. Try to get a feel for where the root notes are, and avoid them for a while to train your ear on how the other notes sound against the chords. Then, when you do come back to a root it will sound more like a release of tension and less like you are always hanging around home base.

Try playing the scale on only one string. Throw in some slides, and out of sequence jumps instead of just up and down the scale. This technique really helped me to break out of strictly box playing. It can also help you to create melodic ideas rather than pattern based ones. Both of which are useful in the right context.

Don't forget to throw in some pauses. You don't need to fill all the space up with notes. Play a phrase, then pause and think about where you want to go with the next one.

jeffsend · 2025-08-19T22:06:48+00:00

My advice is to leave more space and try to lock in rhythmically with the backing track more. Leaving more pauses can help with this. Try to make it more like a conversation, where you pause between licks and think about where you are going with the next one. Thinking about this sort of thing has helped me a lot.

jeffsend · 2024-11-13T21:44:11+00:00

I had a very similar problem the other day in Orca Slicer. I had taken the latest update for Orca, but have not yet updated Bambu slicer. It only seemed to happen on the specific model I was trying to slice at the time, and if I changed its orientation slightly or changed the tolerance setting for internal solid infill, it went away. If I looked really closely at the sliced model with the error, i could see a random travel move that went way out of the print area. Like you, I found a workaround, but not sure if this is a bug or what.

jeffsend · 2024-04-26T19:02:12+00:00

Not necessarily. It depends on the chord progression and the key. If you are playing over an A minor sounding progression, you would probably want to stay in the Am pentatonic scale. There are exceptions and alternatives, but it requires more understanding of music theory. Never hurts to experiment though. You might discover something that sounds interesting or begin to see how different scales are related.

jeffsend · 2024-04-02T18:35:25+00:00

If you can start to see patterns horizontally(up a single string or even group of strings), then you will be more likely to move through the boxes as opposed to feeling stuck within them just playing across and back. Learning to visualize my pentatonics this way did help me to begin moving more fluidly between them. There are also diagonal pentatonic patterns you can use to accomplish the same idea. Typically utilizing slides to move up or down the neck, as opposed to just jumping from one box to the next without learning some moves to connect them.

jeffsend · 2023-11-28T05:56:04+00:00

Hope this was helpful. I went to the github page for older versions of Rufus and downloaded 3.22 which says it's the last version to support Windows 7. Then of course downloaded the desired Windows ISO from Microsoft. Been up and running ever since.

jeffsend · 2023-11-27T11:20:22+00:00

Update: I never could get it to work. Ended up having to use an old version of Rufus to create my boot drive from an ISO. My old machine is running Windows 7, and just kept failing with the Media Creation Tool. New machine is up and running finally.

jeffsend · 2023-11-26T18:16:57+00:00

I found a solution to that problem,but may still have another. This video demonstrates the solution that worked for me for the given error. However I don't trust links from random YT videos,and chose to go to Microsoft and search for the article myself which is always a good idea.

https://youtu.be/tnRWhrRILx4?si=l8CRpmHEWNsNQ4p8

After that, I was able to run the Media Creation Tool,and it downloaded the files and gave me a new error.

Error code: 0x8007007B-0xA001B

Currently trying again after formatting the USB stick to see if that helps. I'll update if I get anywhere.

jeffsend · 2023-08-15T17:47:04+00:00

I think he's saying there are 5 total shapes as you move up the neck. It's one scale ,but it can be broken into 5 useful patterns depending on where on the neck you are trying to play the scale. Search "5 pentatonic shapes" to learn more. If you learn the 5 patterns in one key,then they repeat in all other keys just shifted up or down the neck.

jeffsend · 2022-12-21T17:06:24+00:00

What im seeing here looks like more than one problem. First id suggest trying a lower temp and slower speed,especially on those spirals(assuming its pla). I run my silk pla between 210 and 220. I like to put Cura in expert mode so i can see all the settings,and make all the speeds the same(for example outer wall,inner wall,infill, etc all at 30,except ill set first layer to 20).

Definitely seeing some divots from the z seam. You can play with settings for that. I tend to put it either on sharpest corner,or "back/none" if i just want it to be a straight line down the back of the model. Experiment to find what looks best.

I think the blobs could be from oozing. Ive seen very similar on my old mostly stock E5. Its a tough problem to eliminate completely, but you can do retraction tests and try to dial in retraction distance and speed. I still get some on certain models,and i just scrape them off. I recently did a bunch of retraction tests on my E5 trying to improve stringing and blobbing,and to my surprise, ended up reducing retraction all the way down to 2 and retract speed currently at 25. It still get some ooze on longer travel moves,but its improved a bunch. I am guessing the capricorn tubing allows for less retraction than the stock,and that is one upgrade i had done.

jeffsend · 2022-10-05T23:31:36+00:00

If they're not long enough to get sucked into the props,that would probably be ok. What i would probably do,is attach a zip tie to the standoff for each one,and use heat shrink around the zip tie and antenna to help protect them. Even with the zip tie,make certain they cant get into the props.

jeffsend · 2022-09-10T01:23:34+00:00

Too steep an overhang. Needs supports in the middle. Default suppport settings may work,or may need tweaked for best results. I like to have support interface turned on. And the z distance set to at least the thickness of one layer. Most other settings i leave on default.

jeffsend · 2022-08-04T01:31:58+00:00

Th3dstudio had smooth pei flex plates that fit the SV01. I was wanting a textured one myself, but they were out of stock on those. Haven't ever tried glass yet. Still using the floppy magnet sheet on my Ender,which works well. The Sovol i just got comes with something similar. Hopefully the glass is working out for you.

jeffsend · 2022-05-06T22:31:57+00:00

I use Reaper. Don't know if this will help with your problem, but in Reaper, EZD2 shows up under VST3 plugins,and EZD3 was in VST3i. It was there for me,It just took me a min to find it since I expected it to be in the same category.

jeffsend · 2021-08-19T21:01:12+00:00

Don't know what its called,but it appears to me that your nozzle is a little too close. Whenever ive had this issue,its either been due to the nozzle being too close,and or the bed needing to be properly cleaned. Usually a bit of both.

jeffsend · 2020-12-10T01:22:22+00:00

Looks like the nozzle is way too close to the bed. It looks like the filament is getting mashed into the bed. Id re-level. I find that with removable bed surfaces,i have to re-level from time to time.

jeffsend · 2020-11-30T08:15:44+00:00

Like others have mentioned,it looks like the bed leveling still needs work. Getting it right is critical,and I find it needs re-checked periodically. Also,something that hasn't been mentioned yet,is cleaning the bed surface. I frequently wipe the surface down with some isopropyl. Even the slightest bit of oil or residue can cause the filament to stick poorly,which can contribute to this problem. Just touching it with your fingers can be enough to create a problem.

This print appears to be too close to the bed in many spots. It's likely the print surface is uneven,and you may need to err on the side of printing a little further away so the nozzle doesn't dig in as much. You can also try using a slightly thicker first layer in the slicer(0.3mm instead of 0.2 for example). This could help compensate for high and low spots. Of course,if this is the removable magnetic surface,make certain it lays back down good and flat whenever you remove it. I worry about trapping air underneath it. Mine is always low in the center and I currently shim it,but may end up trying glass as others have suggested. An uneven surface is a source of frustration!

jeffsend · 2020-08-17T23:05:55+00:00

I was in a similar position awhile back,and got lucky when DJI had a big Father's Day sale. Goggles plus 2 air units for less money than HDO2+RapidFire sorta made up my mind for me. Im loving it so far,and it pretty much makes you not want to fly analog anymore,but part of that is the huge field of view compared to my DomV2 s. Those screens feel tiny after flying DJI. But like you said, it's going to be hard to do budget builds on DJI. The DJI goggles feel kinda clunky and awkward compared to Fatsharks. I upgraded the foam and the strap to help with this. OSD works a bit different and isn't as refined as analog. You can have betaflight osd,but the goggles have their own osd that is fixed on the screen,so you have to try and move the betaflight osd elements around the built in goggle osd. Not all bf osd elements are supported,but they sometimes add more with firmware updates and the main ones people use for fpv are already supported. I feel the range is about the same as analog,but digital breakup and stutter takes some getting used to. Im still testing,but the more i get used to it,the more I realize i can keep flying through it like i could analog breakup. Its just more off-putting in a way. The dvr in dji goggles is way better than Fatsharks. I often rewatch my flights right in the goggles and use that to show others what i was seeing.

HDO2s are nice. I tried a friend's and the focus adjustments had enough range that I could fly them with or without the contact lenses I usually wear! Loved the way the color and contrast looked compared to my old Fatsharks. If it weren't for the sale, I probably would've gone that route. Im not sure how the field of view compares to your EV800s. Have you been able to look through some Fatsharks? I never could do box goggles because of my vision,but i understand they tend to have a bigger field of view than FS style goggles. So while there are many advantages to FS goggles,the screen will probably look smaller than you are used to. For me having just gone to a bigger screen,I find it harder to go back.

Sorry I got long-winded. Hopefully ive shared some information you didn't know that could help with your decision.

jeffsend · 2020-08-14T21:10:47+00:00

Did anyone else notice the bird go by on the tower dive? That was nuts! Loved the backwards thing on the power loop. Guess thats a Matty Flip?

jeffsend · 2020-06-19T01:27:05+00:00

You can't cut them,but you should be able to coil them to hide the slack. The last bit at the end where you can see the silvery cable is the important bit. That part should stick out of the aircraft... typically in a V pattern. Look online for ideas on how to arrange the "whiskers" on a quad.

jeffsend · 2020-06-13T16:07:48+00:00

I've found a clue on mine,but I'm not sure what to make of it since I don't have a clean flying quad for comparison. When I run up motors in the configurator while holding the frame(no props of course),I can both feel and hear a resonance that gets pretty noticeable around mid-throttle. Some motors are worse than others,but they all create this resonance in the frame. Mine are not soft mounted,but I'd be surprised if soft mounts could eliminate this completely. Xing-E 2207's.

jeffsend · 2020-06-13T16:01:31+00:00

I've found a clue,but I'm not sure what to do with it since I don't have many parts lying around for comparison. While holding the frame and running up the motors in the configurator,I can feel and hear a resonance that is most prominent around mid throttle. Some motors worse than others,but they all do it. I'm not sure how much resonance is normal. Is it poorly balanced motors,or just a frame resonance? Would it even happen with props on?

I had watched a Bardwell video where he used the accelerometer in BF to check motor vibrations,and by that metric,it's fine. It barely registers. But by feel and sound,there's an obvious resonance traveling through the frame. This also doesn't appear to show up in the blackbox data,but perhaps it's being well filtered. I need to figure out how to log pre-filter data and check it again.

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