Toontrack EBX Metal (Download) Bass, presets and MIDI – all tailored for metal perfection

A METAL STAPLE. Bass, presets and MIDI – all tailored for metal perfection.

The Metal EBX is an expansion for EZbass designed to provide a broad palette of tones for metal. Combining detail, clarity and extreme power in the form of a pristinely defined low end, this instrument checks off all the characteristics needed to cut through just as well a brutal death metal track at break-neck speed as a rhythmic progressive passage, a dense wall of guitars or literally anything in between or beyond. Being bright and articulate at the same time as it’s dark and menacing, this is the definition of a great allround bass for heavy music.

In addition to the sounds, the Metal EBX also comes with a custom MIDI library as well as a broad selection of presets tailored to cater to all the different facets of metal as we know it.

A serious low end is the foundation of any serious metal track. This is the fundamental bass for anyone serious about just that. Welcome to the new go-to bass in your arsenal of metal tools.

THE INSTRUMENT. Detail, clarity and power defined. Welcome to the epitome of an allround metal bass guitar.

For bass guitar in metal, the very bedrock of the tone is a solid low-end and the ability to maintain that in tunings way below the conventional. Still, the instrument needs clarity, attack and midrange in order to cut through the ever-present dense wall of guitars. Not an easy feat, but after having tried a variety of different instruments we finally landed on a five-string Dingwall* Combustion. Providing all the aforementioned qualities and more, it truly turned out to be the optimal choice for an allround metal bass.

“To me, this instrument embodies all the qualities and tonal characteristics a modern metal bass guitar should have,” comments Magnus Melkersson, EZbass lead R&D technician. “The 37″ scale length of the B-string and the fan frets really provide the clarity that is crucial in metal. This is the type of bass that you can turn up in a mix without it sticking out. It just blends in, like a great instrument should.”

The bass was sampled with the onboard pre-amp on, resulting in a very balanced tone with a rich amount of headroom. This allows pristine clarity and definition all the way from the roaring low-end to the expressive midrange and all the way up to the subtle overtones.

THE SOUNDS & ARTICULATIONS. The bass in the Metal EBX was captured with the same scrutiny as the instruments included with the core EZbass library and covers all the subtle articulations you need in order to produce stunningly real performances. In addition to the samples that were recorded using fingers and pick, it also includes a slap option. With an impressive range reaching all the way down from D#0 up to A#4, you’ll be able to create nuanced performances for any imaginable niche of metal.

THE PRESETS. The included presets were designed to provide to the broadest possible collection of tones and characteristics this instrument could muster. In addition to the Toontrack sound design team, the help of metal mastermind Forrester Savell was enlisted. All in all, you’ll have tones that cover the entire span from clean to bulldozer-like brutality. Add to that the ability to use the ‘DI’ (direct input) and ‘Multi-Out’ options to process your tones externally and you have seemingly endless options to process tones beyond your wildest imagination.

THE MIDI. Seeing as the nature of metal is very riff oriented, the included MIDI is meant to provide a collection of basic ideas rather than basslines for entire song structures. The ‘Intro’ folders generally feature different variations of each song’s fundamental theme while the rest of the material either contrasts or builds on that. With the tools and features of EZbass, you can easily modify, change and rearrange the MIDI content to come up with your very own variations, giving you an endless well of inspiration using the bass as a creative vehicle.

Highlights

• A meticulously captured bass, optimized for a balanced metal tone
• Sampled with finger, pick and slap options
• Includes custom presets engineered by Forrester Savell
• Preset collection covers a broad range of tones – from dark and gritty to bright and clear
• Comes with a ‘Clean DI’ (direct input) preset option for both finger and pick
• Includes a custom MIDI library content inspired by modern metal

System Requirements

PC

• 1.1 GB free disk space, 4 GB RAM (8 GB or more recommended).
• A working EZbass 1.0.7 (or above) installation.

Mac

• 1.1 GB free disk space, 4 GB RAM (8 GB or more recommended).
• A working EZbass 1.0.7 (or above) installation.