If you can set the Tyros 2 drum track to output just midi notes, (A drum track is just a sequence track for drums) then by using a VST such as Battery 3, you will be able to have better quality drum samples that will match to the styles. (The Tyros 2 controls the sounds of the VST as if it was an internal drum kit)
If it can, then there will be no problems mixing them together. (Just connect the audio output of the computer to one of the line in of the Tyros 2)
BTW Does the Tyros 2 have Midi Sound Banks? If so use one of these patches to replace the internal drum kit.
Hope this helps

Bill

Hi,

I use EZdrummer as a VST-instrument on my Wersi Abacus. I can only say that all the styles sounding with absolute Live-feeling.

Best Regards.
Carlo.

Chony,
you may check M-Audio Drum & Bass Rig, http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/DrumBassRig-main.html but you have to hear it yourself beforehand, as my opinion will not be sufficient as I have never heard a Tyros 2 drumset.
Unfortunately, due to moving, I have no easy access to my home PC, but if you care enough, send me a drum & bass only midifile (say channel 7 bass, channel 10 drums) to trident1971 AT gmail DOT com, and I will try hard to record some sound samples for you (please inform me here if you send something). If I remember well, Fran Carango has this module or its close sibling, Key Rig.

Alternatively, and in a higher cost, Hypersonic 2 may do the trick.

Never managed to make EZ Drummer work in my PC, it was probably damaged when it fell off the truck.

Try to contact Bluezplayer or rikkisbears or Frank Rosenthal at the Software Arranger forum. They know lots of things. There is one possibility you have to do some programming if Tyros drums are XG mapped and the module you finelly decide to buy is GM.
Hope this helps a little.

Keep in mind that if you choose another option such as VST for your drums, you're still using the T2 styles. If the styles lack the "dynamics" then sure using the VST's will sound better, but you still will not get the dynamics.

I think overall the T2s drums aren't bad, I've surely heard worse too. I think the problem as I found on "EVERY" Yamaha arranger I've seen to date is that the drum tracks in the styles are lifeless because they lack "dynamics". You can have the greatest samples in the world, but if the drum track is weak on the dynamics the best drum samples can sound poor.

Hi Bill,
I don't think PSR's or even a Tyros has the midi capabilities to do this.
On my psr1500 I couldn't find a way to isolate a single track from the rest of the style parts & set it to external.

ie I wanted my Ketron SD2 soundmodule to supply drum & percussion sounds & to use psr sounds for the rest of the style parts.

The only settings I could come up with was for the ketron to supply all the sounds for the style parts & psr sounds for melody & left hand voices.

I don't think psr's have the settings required to assign individual style tracks to internal/external.

If I'm wrong , luv to know how to go about it as my ketron module has far better percussion & drum sounds than my psr 1500.
Would also give me the oppotunity of using some of my softsynths to replace some of the psr sounds.

best wishes
Rikki
[QUOTE]Originally posted by abacus:
[B]If you can set the Tyros 2 drum track to output just midi notes, (A drum track is just a sequence track for drums) then by using a VST such as Battery 3, you will be able to have better quality drum samples that will match to the styles. (The Tyros 2 controls the sounds of the VST as if it was an internal drum kit)

Thanks all,

I've just ordered the EZ Drummer from DFH - I fell in love with the demos I heard on the web.

Rikki,
Bill is right, you can deffinitely do that MIDI with the T2. Just go into the MIDI section and set the individual tracks (ie: rhythm, bass, R1, R2, etc, etc).

Squeak_D and RolandFan,
You are most probably right on the dynamics thing. I watched a multimedia demo of the DFH EZ Drummer, and when they turned off the dynamics it sounded like crap... But I love the overall sound of DFH anyway, so I bought it and will experiment.

Let's face it folks, as good as the best arrangers out there are, they don't compare with the modern sample libraries we can now buy. Somebody mentioned a figure that arrangers are 5 years behind. Sounds about right. As a professional performer, I'm always looking for the best sound, and frankly, this enables me to charge double and tripple what others are taking and still be very busy.

Thanks, Chony

rikkisbears,
On Tyros the midi channels used by styles are all transmittable externally - for example if they weren't it would be difficult to make midi recordings on external sequencers. (I was able to record my aged PSR 7000 this way too).
On Tyros Channel10 (and sometimes 9 ) is used for percussion. The desired transmit (and receive) channels can be selected, various properties set and stored as templates.

John

The addition of multi-dynamic drum samples to newer TOTL arrangers is one of the big stumbling blocks to making older styles match the quality of their ROM styles (developed for them!).

Not only is it important to balance the drums against each other for volume, when importing a non-native style, but also velocity gain, or compression/expansion, is necessary to make sure that the dynamics of the drum sounds natural.

Unfortunately, few style makers ever bothered much with natural dynamics on their styles (often preferring that 'in your face' 'all the way to 11' sound), thus making style translation even harder than it used to be!

One of the things (amongst many!) that attracts me to the G70/E80 is the inclusion of the V-Drum samples. These have passed the 'drummer test', and come directly from Roland's products they sell to drummers, so you KNOW that these are well-tested, drummer-approved sounds.

I rarely use any other kits, because of the drop in dynamics in comparison....

My advice to a Yamaha user would be - sample a G70 and use those kits! Or at least import a good library like DFH or BFD (just pick a few of their velocity levels, or you'll be at it forever!) and be amazed what a good, well recorded kit designed for a DRUMMER, not a keyboard player, makes!

At least drum samples don't take up too much memory, and won't take TOO long to load...

Hi John,
I may not have explained myself properly.

I have no problem setting midi out & playing the style parts on an external sound module ( my sd2 for instance) ie all 8 style tracks .
The problem I'm having is getting the psr to play just say, 6 of them & the sd2 to 2 of them. I haven't found a setting that assigns tracks individually ie style to be played via the psr internal soundsouce, OR an external soundsource.

Ideally I wanted the 2 drum tracks as SD2 sounds.
Bass & the other 5 tracks as psr sounds.

What I'm getting is sd2 playing all 8 style tracks as well as the psr playing all 8 tracks.

I can't find a local controll off in the psr which will mute drum /percussion sounds internally (I want the sd2 play the sounds instead,)while at the same time have the rest of the tracks played with internal psr sounds.

Unfortunately my module doesn't have buttons that can be pressed to mute tracks manually. It's really designed for pc or a controller keyboard.

Sorry, probably my question is clear as mud.

thanks
best wishes
Rikki
[QUOTE]Originally posted by jwyvern:
[B]rikkisbears,

Chony: Looking to hear about how you found integrating DFH EZ Drummer into the T2 to work or not work.