EZkeys 2 is more than a piece of software, it’s a songwriting tool and a creative hub for new ideas. Ready to write, play and create? Meet your new piano player today.
15 individual instruments, all captured from the classic Mellotron keyboard heard on hits by anything from the Beatles to the Moody Blues and King Crimson. EZkeys Mellotoon is based on the Mellotron keyboard introduced in the early 1960s. This unique instrument was the first of its kind to include samples of real instruments, but as opposed to the modern-day digital sampler, the Mellotron pulled them off a magnetic tape loop that ran inside the keyboard. It came with various sounds for piano, strings, flutes, brass and is likely best described as the first-ever “band in a box”. Naturally, it was a revelation from the get-go. Early adopters included the Beatles, the Moody Blues and King Crimson, who all immortalized the unmistakable tone of the Mellotron in numerous hits. Today, this piece of instrument history is enjoying a massive resurgence in a wide range of genres. EZkeys Mellotoon captures the essence of this one-of-a-kind keyboard and comes with 15 individual instruments, carefully sampled directly from a model M400 Mellotron using a blend of direct and amped signals. On top of that, it includes a generous selection of custom effect and sound chain presets, giving you a completely new, creative outset to an already seemingly bottomless pool of awe-inspiring sounds.
MAJESTIC. TIMELESS. EPIC. A breathtaking rendition of a true classic – the pipe organ. EZkeys is more than a piano or keyboard instrument – it’s a powerful songwriting tool. It comes packed with intuitive functionality that will make it a breeze adding creative layers of music to your songs or writing custom pieces from scratch. Welcome to the next step in creative music software: EZkeys. The EZkeys software includes an extensive and pro-played MIDI library, compatible with any EZkeys sound library. The MIDI covers all major styles from pop, rock and gospel to country and jazz. This coupled with EZkeys’ revolutionary SMART TRANSPOSE functionality, writing songs has never been easier. Drag and drop MIDI, add color and transpose included or you own imported MIDI on the fly – the sky is the limit!
This expansion for EZkeys 2 features a carefully captured felt-damped upright piano, ideal for anything from mellow singer-songwriter and folk to acoustic pop and rock. If you’re looking for the ultimate instrument for earthy, round and warm tones, this is it. The piano in this EKX was recorded using a classic technique where an extra layer of felt is applied directly to the strings that the hammers strike, giving the tone of the instrument a much quieter attack and an overall more warm and intimate resonance. To add, the room in which it was captured is moderately small, adding to its almost visceral timbre. To capture every tonal aspect possible, one mono as well as three different stereo pairs of carefully selected microphones were used in the recording. These microphone options were then all utilized in the broad collection of presets, showcasing anything from the subtle, nuanced and delicate to the more full-bodied and rich – still all with that gentle and almost velvety attack. In addition to the sounds, a basic MIDI library tailored specifically for the instrument is included, giving you a starting point of piano grooves to work from and be inspired by when exploring the sonic possibilities of the product. If your songs call for a piano with sounds as soft as silk, here you go.
Sounds, presets and MIDI, tailored for industrial rock and metal, dark electronic music and cinematic soundscapes. In this EKX for EZkeys 2, the absolute contraries of the audio scope come head to head in a full-circle library of sounds covering the entire range from industrial rock and metal to dark electronic music and cinematic soundscapes. The sounds were based around a broad pool of electronic instruments and analog synths paired with an acoustic piano and an organ. The individual components were then processed using pitch modulation, granular effects, distortion, compression, amps and outboard to create sounds with an inherently dark, gritty and raw aura. Finally, these instruments were combined to create never-before-heard hybrids of sound represented in a total of 82 presets distributed over five distinct categories: Keys, Pads, Leads & Basses and Textures. Expect an all-encompassing collection of hauntingly bent, skewed, convulsing and phasing sounds covering anything from earthmoving drones and basses to ethereal pads and piercing leads.
Few instruments have made marks in music history so indelible that they in the process have become just as famed as some of the songs that were created on them. The Hammond* organ is undoubtedly one of those. Since it was first introduced, it has fostered generations of new players and has had a profound impact on the development of anything from gospel, jazz and blues to funk, prog, rock and the many iterations of modern music of today. We are proud to add this icon of organs as an expansion for the EZkeys 2 format. For the sounds, the Toontrack team scoured the market for the most pristine, maintained and transparent organ from which all of its 91 spinning tonewheels were carefully sampled. In the final product, these recordings have been seamlessly merged with advanced modeling of both the organ’s tone and all its classic traits, like key clicks, percussion, vibrato and chorus. Add to that a flawless recreation of a quintessential rotary speaker and you have the utmost in extreme audio realism.
This EKX expansion for EZkeys 2 was specifically designed with the singer-songwriter in mind. Featuring a piano carefully selected for its soft, earthy and delicate timbre, it’s the optimal choice for an instrument that doesn’t stand in the way, eat up space or does anything but add to what ultimately makes or breaks a song: the words and the melodies. The instrument, a meticulously maintained, tuned and captured Schimmel* upright piano from the 1970s, was recorded through a Neve 8068 console at the renowned RMV Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. With rustic ceiling beams, both wood and stone wall surfaces as well as a soft hardwood floor that acts like a cushioning membrane, the RMV room is ideal for capturing acoustic instruments. To showcase the entire tonal scope of this classic piano, it was recorded using three pairs of stereo microphones placed in different positions around the instrument and the room. Aside from the piano itself, a broad selection of mix-ready presets as well as a basic collection of MIDI are included. In a genre where often less is better, the more vital each component of a song is. If you are looking for acoustic perfection, a timeless timbre and the ultimate creative companion for your yet-unwritten acoustic pop, folk and singer-songwriter tracks, this EKX is it.
