Toontrack EZbass

FEATURES

• Two carefully sampled bass guitars – one vintage and one modern.

• Arrange, compose, change and rearrange – without leaving the software.

• Comes with bass MIDI for a broad range of styles.

• Use drum or keyboard MIDI and have EZbass automatically create matching basslines.

• Alter the performance or the subtler details of the MIDI using the built-in ‘Grid Editor.’

• Audio to MIDI conversion based on the same technology found in Superior Drummer 3.

Adding Bass To Your Songs Has Never Been Easier.
The concept of our EZ Line products has been clear since day one: to give you, the songwriter, not only products that make your music sound great, but also the tools you need in order to create music. Creativity is the hallmark at the front and center of the EZ Line design. EZbass, of course, is no different.

With EZbass, there are multiple ways of adding bass to an already written song.

• Add Groove: Simply click the ‘Add Groove’ button to get a basic rhythm going.

• Drums & Keys: Use the drum or keyboard MIDI in your song to have EZbass automatically create a matching bassline.

• Tap2Find: Tap in the rhythm you want your bass to play using the ’Tap2Find’ feature and then have EZbass list all matching variations.

• Audio Tracker: Use a previously recorded guitar, bass or rhythm performance and then have EZbass convert the audio to MIDI.

• MIDI to audio: Perform the bassline yourself using a MIDI controller.

The Sounds.
EZbass includes two fundamentally different instruments, both picked to complement one another and paint the broadest possible sonic scope. Each bass was sampled with the same attention to detail and quality that has made Toontrack spearhead the drum sampling industry for 20 years and counting.

• Two Basses: Two fundamentally different instruments.

• Rich Detail: Sampled with painstaking detail and articulation options.

• Low Tuning: Both basses go as low as A0.

The Modern Bass.
The ‘Modern’ sound library features an Alembic* bass, a high-end American brand endorsed by many top players around the world. It was captured with both fingers, pick and slap options.

“When we started the EZbass project, we were looking for an instrument that could produce the most versatile and well-rounded tone possible,” comments Magnus Melkersson, EZbass lead R&D technician. “We scoured the market and tried dozens of basses before we finally landed on this one. I have played bass all my life and I have personally never come across an instrument more dynamic, expressive or full of life than this one. It truly is a beautiful instrument that embodies the entire frequency range you need in a bass. It was the perfect choice for the ‘Modern’ library.”

One thing that particularly sets this instrument apart from other basses is the pickups – single-coils with an active hum-cancelling coil mounted in between. This gives the instrument the tonal single-coil characteristics but leaves out any inherent noise. Both the bridge and neck pickups were sampled separately, allowing you to use each pickup separately or seamlessly blend between them. In other words, it’s literally like having two basses in one.

The Vintage Bass.
The ‘Vintage’ library features a classic Fender* Jazz bass, an instrument used across all genres since the 1960s and one that still to this day remains one of the world’s most iconic bass guitars.

“As a contrast to the ‘Modern’ bass, we wanted an instrument that was fundamentally different in all aspects – from tone, frequency range and pickups to overall feel,” says Ulf Edlund, one of the lead EZbass sound designers. “This bass has a completely different set of harmonics compared to the ‘Modern.’ Although it sits perfectly in any pop, rock or even metal track, it truly shines in any context that calls for something more mellow. I would pick this bass over anything else for a jazz, blues or country song.”

This bass was hot-wired to offer the same type of flexibility with the pickup options as the ‘Modern’ bass, meaning you can use each pickup separately or seamlessly blend between them.

Articulations. Pick, Thump, Slap, Pop!
EZbass delivers the most all-encompassing set of articulations you need in order to produce stunningly real performances for anything from subtle jazz to extreme metal. The main tools of the ‘Modern’ bass include fingers, pick and slap while the ‘Vintage’ bass includes fingers and pick.

Presets.
With EZbass, a great tone is merely a mouse slap away. The presets in EZbass cover a broad range of expertly crafted tones based on amp and cab simulation as well as on the same complex network of effects used behind the scenes in all EZ Line products.

• Take Control: Fine-tune your bass tone with intuitive controls.

• Sub-Bass: Two synthesized sine tones for each preset.

• Direct In: Use the DI preset option to process externally.

System Requirements.

• 5 GB of free hard disk space.

• 64-bit Windows 7 or newer, 4 GB RAM (8 GB RAM or more recommended).

• macOS 10.10 or higher, Intel or Apple silicon processor, 4 GB RAM (8 GB RAM or more recommended).

• 64-bit host (with support for VST, VST3, AU or AAX). Standalone is included.

Supported Hosts.

• Ableton Live (version 10 or above)

• Cakewalk (version 2018 or above)

• Cubase (version 6 or above)

• Digital Performer (version 10 or above)

• GarageBand (version 10 or above)

• Logic Pro (version 9 or above)

• Pro Tools (version 12 or above)

• REAPER (version 6 or above)

• Studio One Artist (version 5 or above)

• Studio One Professional (version 2 or above)

• Waveform (version 10 or above)

* The list consists of hosts where the main features of this software works. There might be cases where features like drag & drop of MIDI, multi-channel-out, MIDI channel filtering or other non-critical features do not work. If unsure, we recommend that you investigate with the respective manufacturer what limitations may exist in their environment. If your host is not listed it means that we have not tested it. It may still work but a prerequisite is that the host supports VST3, AU or AAX instruments.