EZkeys 2

EZkeys 2 is Toontrack's grand-piano-and-songwriting instrument, built around a meticulously multi-sampled Fazioli F212 grand. At its core it does one thing extraordinarily well: it delivers a rich, dynamic, genuinely playable acoustic piano that sits in a mix without fuss. The roughly 4 GB core library captures the Fazioli's warmth and articulation convincingly, and the low CPU footprint means you can track ideas fast, either inside a DAW or in the responsive standalone app.

Where EZkeys 2 earns its keep is the songwriting layer wrapped around that piano. Tools like Bandmate, Suggest Chords, Songwriting Scales, Tap2Find and the grid editor turn a blank canvas into a chord progression in minutes. The library of 1,350-plus individually performed MIDI files is the real treasure here. These are human, phrased performances, and because they are just MIDI, you can drag them onto any instrument in your project, not only the Fazioli.

The trade-off is scope. EZkeys 2 ships with a single piano sound. There are no electric pianos, uprights, or alternate grands in the box, so the wider palette Toontrack markets lives behind paid EKX and EBX add-ons. That makes the entry price feel steep next to a full sampler, and producers who already understand harmony may find the chord suggestions more novelty than necessity.

Against its listed alternatives, the picture sharpens. Kontakt 8 is a vastly more flexible sampling platform but ships no comparable piano or songwriting brain. Atlas 2 and Arcade target loop-based, one-shot and drum workflows, so they solve a different problem entirely. Nothing on that list matches EZkeys 2's specific blend of a first-class grand and idea-generation tools.

Choose EZkeys 2 if you write songs at the keyboard and want a beautiful piano plus a co-writer that suggests where the chords go next. If you need many keyboard sounds or a general-purpose sampler, look elsewhere first.