Please provide a valid slug.Please provide a valid slug.{"id":2534716,"date":"2020-06-02T14:07:34","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T12:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.toontrack.com\/?post_type=product&p=2534716"},"modified":"2025-10-03T16:54:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T14:54:17","slug":"latin-cuban-drums-ezx","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.toontrack.com\/product\/latin-cuban-drums-ezx\/","title":{"rendered":"Latin Cuban Drums EZX"},"content":{"rendered":"

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While rhythm may be the heartbeat of most genres, in Latin music the pulse and the beat is the very lifeblood. In fact, in many ways the groove is the song. Welcome to the Latin Cuban EZX, a mix-ready battery of kits tailored for just that \u2013 infectious latin-flavored rhythms for anything from traditional to modern.<\/p>\n

The Latin Cuban Drums EZX<\/strong> features a handpicked collection of drums and a selection of mounted percussion pieces such as bells, woodblocks and a timbale. It was all captured at the famed Sear Sound Studios in New York by a team with a much-prominent status in the broad field of Latin music: Grammy Award-winning and Emmy-nominated engineer Dave Kowalski and drummer Robby Ameen. Between them, their work spans from the early \u201980s through to today and includes collaborations with numerous top artists, awards and accolades. In fact, Robby is arguably one of the most influential Latin-oriented drummers of the past few decades with books, instructional videos and much more on his CV \u2013 all on the subject of drums in Latin music.<\/p>\n

Welcome to two custom kits tailored for Latin and Cuban music, recorded in the aura of a classic New York room by one of the most well-versed drummers in the field \u2013 all at your fingertips.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Recorded at Sear Sound Studios, New York<\/li>\n
Produced by Grammy Award-winning and Emmy-nominated engineer Dave Kowalski<\/li>\n
Sampled by drummer Robby Ameen<\/li>\n
Features two of Robby Ameen\u2019s custom kits, four crash cymbals, two cymbal stacks, four ride cymbals, two standard hi-hats and one right-hand FX hi-hat<\/li>\n
Side of the floor tom sampled to mimic the traditional \u2018cascara\u2019 playing style<\/li>\n
Also includes two mambo bells, two songo bells, two \u201cleft-foot\u201d cowbells, one \u201cleft-foot\u201d woodblock, one woodblock and a timbale<\/li>\n
Comes with MIDI performed by Robby Ameen<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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FULL PRODUCTIONS<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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IT TAKES TWO
TO SALSA.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
In Latin music, drums and percussion are one. For the complete experience, check out the Latin Cuban Percussion EZX \u2013 recorded during the same session!<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\nLATIN CUBAN PERCUSSION EZX<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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LATIN CUBAN EZXs
\n\u2013 \u201cTHE MAKING OF\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Meet the team and get a glimpse of what happened behind
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THE DRUM KITS.<\/strong><\/h1>\n
THE DRUM KITS.<\/strong><\/h1>\n
The Latin Cuban Drums EZX features two of drummer Robby Ameen\u2019s personal kits. His unique setup includes two hi-hats, two ride cymbals and several mounted percussion pieces as well as a right-hand timbale. In addition to capturing all of these instruments in traditional Toontrack meticulousness, we also in great detail sampled the floor tom to mimic the traditional \u2018cascara\u2019 playing style.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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KIT LAYOUT.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
1. Bass drum
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\n5. Hi-hat and right-hand hi-hat
\n6. Ride and left-hand ride
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\n8. Left-foot cowbell
\n9. Cowbells and woodblocks<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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MEET THE DRUMMER.<\/h5>\n
ROBBY AMEEN.<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Tell us a little bit about your background!<\/strong>
\nI am originally from New Haven, Connecticut and started playing professionally at 14, but also got a degree in Literature from Yale University before moving to NYC in the early eighties.<\/p>\n
How come you ended up behind a kit? Was drums always your first option?<\/strong>
\nAside from a brief and unsuccessful year playing the recorder, drums were my first serious instrument \u2013 starting with a homemade kit I made when I was about eight or nine years old…<\/p>\n
You have played with all kinds of artists and worked in almost any genre imaginable, but Latin (including its many variations) seems to be the one style you really clicked with. Why, do you think?<\/strong>
\nI grew up listening to jazz and funk music but always loved salsa and percussion, so it was a natural marriage combining everything.<\/p>\n
You have recorded albums back to back for close to 40 years now. Looking back on your long career, name a few stand-out moments, professional or personal.<\/strong>
\nHighlights would definitely be meeting Dizzy Gillespie for the first time and recording with him the same day, playing \u201cDesapariciones\u201d with Ruben Blades at an Amnesty International concert in Chile for 80,000, where everyone grew so silent you could hear a pin drop, and the sessions for my latest CD, which I\u2019m very proud of!<\/p>\n
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To you, what defines a great drum sound?<\/strong>
\nA great drum sound is capturing the naturalness of the kit, whatever style or configuration, where you can feel and hear it breathe.<\/p>\n
Walk us through a typical day in the life Robby Ameen in the studio, on tour and when you\u2019re not working!<\/strong>
\nA typical day in the studio is being the first arrive to get the drum sound, the ritual of throwing each piece of music on the floor after each final take \u2013 and drinking a lot of beer at the end packing up! On tour I try to experience the city or town I\u2019m in, usually by taking a long run in the morning. And when just home, going into my building\u2019s sub-basement to practice and trying to learn how to edit video (drum practice going a lot better than video editing!).<\/p>\n
With this project in the rear-view mirror, what are your thoughts on the process and how the sounds came out? How will you use them and how do you hope others will benefit from the product?<\/strong>
\nI honestly learned a lot recording this Toontrack project, a Zen-like zone of patience in the discipline in controlling velocity and increments of volume for each stroke. I hope people use the Latin sounds and rhythms effortlessly and without preconceptions about music, to mix things up and create something personal and new…that\u2019s what I\u2019ve always tried to do!<\/p>\n
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SELECT DISCOGRAPHY.<\/h5>\n
Ruben Blades \u201cLive!\u201d 1990
\nDizzy Gillespie \u201cNew Faces\u201d 1985
\nDave Valentin \u201cKalahari\u201d 1984
\nSteve Swallow \u201cSwallow\u201d 1991
\nEddie Palmieri \u201cPalmas\u201d 1994
\nMongo Santamar\u00eda \u201cMongo Returns\u201d 1998
\nPaul Simon \u201cSongs from the Capeman\u201d 1997
\nConrad Herwig \u201cLatin Side of Herbie Hancock\u201d 2010
\nKip Hanrahan \u201cCrescent Moon Waking\u201d 2018
\nRobby Ameen \u201cDiluvio\u201d (2020)<\/p>\n
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THE STUDIO.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Sear Sound is one of \u2013 if not the \u2013 oldest recording studios in New York City. It was founded by Walter Edmond Sear (1930-2010), inventor, composer, film producer and out-and-out audiophile with a deep passion for gear and technology. He built his studio around the philosophy of having musicians capturing their music live at the studio and through the shortest possible signal paths of the highest possible quality. Over the years, literally everyone has recorded here \u2013 from John Zorn to Bj\u00f6rk, David Bowie, Lenny Kravitz, Yoko Ono, Steely Dan, Lou Reed, Wayne Shorter and Norah Jones, to name just a\u00a0few. Simply put: Sear Sound is a hugely influential puzzle piece of our collective music history. We are happy to bring you two pivotal cornerstones for your songs captured in this magical place: drums and percussion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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LIVE AT SEAR SOUND.<\/strong><\/h1>\n
The audio for these videos was recorded live at Sear Sound Studios on the last day of the EZX sessions. The live drum, percussion and bass multi-track files were then converted to MIDI using Superior Drummer 3 and EZbass. The piano was retracked using a MIDI controller. The final mix features the sounds of the Latin Cuban Drums EZX<\/strong>, Latin Cuban Percussion EZX<\/strong>, EZbass<\/strong> and EZkeys Vintage Upright<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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MEET THE ENGINEER.<\/h5>\n
DAVE KOWALSKI.<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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How did you get started in the music business and how come you found your home on the producer\u2019s side of the glass? Was sound and production something that always interested you?<\/strong>
\nI was a working musician before I started getting serious with audio and production but always managed to have a way to record, and at the earliest, that would be tape. While the band would be out partying, I\u2019d be tinkering with the recordings I made of the gig! It was as much a passion as was playing and I developed my skills the same way as a guitarist\u2026practice, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, do better next time! I got started the business end of it when my bandmates and I opened our own studio and began dealing with other artists. We were known for working with many of the seminal hip-hop and R&B acts of the \u201880s and \u201890s, like Rob Base, Salt-N-Pepa, Guy, Blackstreet, Naughty by Nature and many others. Lots of jazz as well since we had a great B\u00f6sendorfer piano.<\/p>\n
You have been making records since the early 1980s. Looking back on the entire journey up until now, what are some of your personal milestones?<\/strong>
\nWell, the first major project that I recorded and mixed was \u201cIt Takes Two\u201d by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock. Having my nose to the grindstone in those days, I didn\u2019t even know it had gone big until it was brought to my attention by others. That one went on to multi-platinum status and is still popular today. I have been honored to receive a few Grammy Awards for two Spanish Harlem Orchestra albums and an Emmy nomination for a Billy Strayhorn documentary. Through the years, I\u2019ve worked with artists of all genres, everything from Tony Bennett, Ruben Blades, Paquito D’Rivera, Bruce Hornsby to Freddie Hubbard, Duke Narvaez, Paul Simon and many others. There have been many milestones but, more importantly, just to have the opportunity to work with these greats and others and make a living at it is all I could ever ask for.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve recorded anything from hip-hop to pop and rock but become somewhat specialized in jazz and Latin. How come, you think, and do you have a different approach to a Latin as opposed to, say, a rock project?<\/strong>
\nAbsolutely, there are differences in approach and they come as much from traditional placement in a mix as well as the sonic considerations as, for instance, in the blend of a three-person salsa rhythm section (congas, timbales and bongo\/bell) vs. a single Latin jazz drummer.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re active in all fields of production: engineering, producing, mixing, writing and mastering. Is there one you prefer over the other?<\/strong>
\nSorry for the short answer, but no, I love it all!<\/p>\n
In a mix, where do you usually start: the drums, guitars, vocals or something else?<\/strong>
\nActually, before doing any intricate adjustments I prefer to bring the whole band up, no EQ or reverb, and get a general balance. I find that if I start trying to make each instrument sound perfect by itself, the result is that there can be lots of redundant overlapping frequencies that in a mix are unnecessary in the big picture. Sometimes it\u2019s just one little characteristic that makes an instrument speak in a mix, and that\u2019s why I go for the full overview to start.<\/p>\n
Is there any instrument you generally struggle with more than any other in a mix?<\/strong>
\nProbably the low end as there are so many listening environments these days. You want to try your best to get something to speak with as much clarity and range on speakers as you would on earbuds.<\/p>\n
Do you have any mix \u201ctrick\u201d you generally fall back on?<\/strong>
\nNo, not really a \u201ctrick\u201d per se, but I will often trigger a drum and mix it with a natural acoustic recorded sound if needed, mostly to enhance a poor recording.<\/p>\n
If you had to describe your philosophy of sound, how would you put it? What is the most important thing according to you that makes or breaks a production?<\/strong>
\nA good song or composition can shine even through a poor recording or mix, but no amount of production can make a lousy tune any better.<\/p>\n
You just started working with Latin Drums and Latin Percussion EZX sounds for the presets. Listening back to what you recorded and putting the sounds to use, what are your thoughts?<\/strong>
\nI am extremely happy with the sound quality. Besides having all those classic microphones and that great Neve console at Sear Sound, it also reinforces the saying that \u201cthe way to get great drum sounds is to have a great drummer.\u201d You cannot get any better than Robby and Richie, and their expert touch is the overall major contributor to the sound. The Toontrack products have such a natural \u201cvelocity to multi-level sample timbre\u201c algorithm that it keeps their incredible dynamics intact.<\/p>\n
What did you try to cover with the presets you engineered? <\/strong>
\nI tried to get as much of a range of sound as would fit the genre and then a few others that go outside the \u201ctraditional.\u201d<\/p>\n
You are a user of Toontrack products in your daily work, how do you see yourself using these sounds that you recorded with Robby and Richie?<\/strong>
\nFor anything and everything! Actually, I have been using EZkeys quite a bit. Since guitar is my main instrument, it helps me get my keyboard ideas across to a player very quickly. Looking forward to the upcoming bass version too!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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SELECT DISCOGRAPHY.<\/h5>\n
Salt-N-Pepa \u201cVery Neccessary\u201d (1993)
\nRay Anderson \u201cWhere Home is\u201d (1999)
\nPhoebe Snow \u201cNatural Wonder\u201d (2003)
\nDon Friedman \u201cHot House\u201d (2004)
\nJohn Beasley \u201cPositootly!\u201d (2009)
\nTom Harrell \u201cRoman Nights\u201d (2010)
\nSpanish Harlem Orchestra \u201cViva La Tradici\u00f3n\u201d (2010)
\nSpanish Harlem Orchestra \u201cViva La Tradici\u00f3n\u201d (2004)
\nAndy Bey \u201cAmerican Song\u201d (2004)
\nTerri Lyne Carrington \u201cWaiting Game\u201d (2019)<\/p>\n
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INSTRUMENT LIST.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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THE LATIN KIT.<\/h5>\n
Brand: Pearl*<\/a>
\nModel: Masters Custom
\nMaterial: Wood (Maple)
\nFinish: Emerald Mist<\/p>\n
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\n*All other manufacturers\u2019 product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Toontrack. See full notice here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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THE CUBAN KIT.<\/h5>\n
Brand: Pearl*<\/a>
\nModel: Reference
\nMaterial: Wood (Birch, Maple, Mahogany)
\nFinish: Black Silver Fade<\/p>\n
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\n*All other manufacturers\u2019 product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Toontrack. See full notice here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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