Third Take

Are you tired of setting up EZ Drummer every time you start a new project? Sonar makes it easy to create a project template that will load your EZ Drummer setup when you create a new project file. This tutorial will show you how to configure EZ Drummer with multi-track output and save it as a Sonar template.

First, create a new, empty project. Name it “EZ Drummer Template” or something like that. If there are any audio or MIDI tracks in the project, delete them. Next, insert EZ Drummer into your project as a soft synth.

Choose the options indicated above; make sure you pick “Insert Synth Audio Outputs: Stereo.” This will allow EZ Drummer to output into 8 separate channels, so you have individual control over each drum. When you’re finished, you should have a track folder containing a MIDI track and 8 audio tracks.

By default, EZ Drummer outputs to a single stereo track. That may be fine for quick demo projects, but to really work with EZ Drummer it is better to route the drums into separate tracks inside Sonar. This configuration gives you more control over the sound of the kit, and allows you to change the level, pan, and add effects to individual drums.

To accomplish this, you need to assign the individual drums to different outputs in the EZ Drummer mixer window. Open the EZ Drummer window, and click on the mixer in the lower left.

First, assign different outputs to each drum. Since you are limited to 8 outputs, I combine the two snare microphones on a single track. Since our tracks are stereo, don’t worry about having both overheads on a single track. The screen shot above shows how I like to set it up. In addition, I like to set the level of each drum to unity gain (0db) and pan it center. This effectively bypasses the EZ Drummer mixer, and lets me mix the drums inside Sonar. Remember our 8 channels in Sonar? That is where we’ll adjust the level and pan of each drum.

Close the EZ Drummer window and go back to your Sonar track view. Since we want our template to reduce the amount of work we have to do every time we start a new project, there are several “housekeeping chores” I like to do. First, I name each track according to the drum I assigned to it in the EZ Drummer Mixer - kick, snare, hats, etc. Secondly, I create a submix for the drums. (If you don’t know what a submix is, or how to create one, see Sonar Busing Praxis). I assign all 8 tracks to output to this drum bus. Next, I set up a drum map for the MIDI channel. Finally, I create a rough mix of the drums, adjusting level and panning on each drum track.

Finally, it is time to save your project as a template. Choose File > Save As from the menu to open the save dialog. Next to “Save as type” select “Template” and next to “Go to Folder” select “Template Files (.CWT, .TPL)” to ensure that the template is saved to your template folder.

Now, the next time you create a new project file, you will have the option to select your template and EZ Drummer will load with the configuration you’ve just made.

If there are other tracks that you nearly always create immediately after starting a new project, you might want to add them to your template as well. For instance, you could create a “Bass Guitar” track and map the track input to the appropriate channel on your audio interface. Or you could create effects buses that you always use. You can put whatever you want in a template, and they are a powerful way to save time when you start a new project.