Drum machines?

How do you feel about drum machines?

  • They never should have been invented in the first place.

    Votes: 2 9.5%
  • Triggers/piezzo mics + drum modules are ok, after all, the drummer still produces the rhythm.

    Votes: 2 9.5%
  • They're ok if they are programmed so that I can hardly hear the difference.

    Votes: 6 28.6%
  • It's ok to have 100% computer drums as long as it sounds good.

    Votes: 11 52.4%

  • Total voters
    21

Orchid

Nonchalant Onlooker
May 5, 2001
2,144
13
38
44
www.thalesband.com
Following Mark's thread's thread (hoho :p): how do you feel about drum machines?

Let me take a while to explain what I mean by drum machines.. first, they can be the "actual" drum machines which you can control and program through their own interfaces or via MIDI; they can be drum patterns made with a software and computer samples (such as FruityLoops etc.), or they can be drums played by an actual drummer, but the sounds are taken from a drum module which is controlled by triggers / piezzo mics / whatever they are. The latter is used by, for example, Dimmu Borgir on their latest album (Puritanical...).

Now, to the actual question: do you think it matters if the drums are played by an actual drummer, or is the more important thing what they sound like, how they fit in the album, etc..?
 
I love triggers. I think they sound really good. That's the important thing is that it sounds good for what the band is doing. teh dimmu sounds awesome. teh whole kit is triggered (i think the toms are too) and that is one of the best sounding triggered snares i've ever heard. if you are playing htat kind of super drum shit, its almost necessary to have it triggered to get the seperation. is flo monier from cryptopsy didn't trigger, he'd sound like shit. and its impossible to cheat live with triggers. you still have to hit the damn thing so who cares. in teh studio anything is possible. my drummer triggers the kicks live and it helps a shit load. trym from emperor has one of the best sounding tiggered sets in the biz.

drum machines are good for demoing. they can sound ok on record to, like samael passage. live, i hate them.
 
It ok to have computer drums as long as it sounds good.
....But in metal it doesn't sound good. It can be relatively OK, but as I've said, no real drums -> lack of soul. Computer drums work in music like Chroma Key and NIN, though even NIN would be better with more real drums.
 
well you know the old joke... with a drum machine you only have to punch the information in once. ;)

I'd much prefer to see and hear a real live drummer, but let's face it, sometimes it's hard to find suitable musicians, so if it's a choice between using a machine, or not recording at all - I say use the machine.

Also, a drum machine makes it possible for guys like me (guitarists) to do home studio projects without having to bring in session drummers who'd piss off all the neighbours.
 
I personally hate triggers. For the fucks sake listen to the new Mayhem!!! If that doesn't suck then what does????

Drummachines are ok if you don't try to make 'em sound like real drums which is impossible and damn irritating.

NO to triggers and Limbonic Art style asshole drummachines
but YES to drummachines in general
 
Originally posted by Insanus
I personally hate triggers.
<snip>
NO to triggers and Limbonic Art style asshole drummachines
but YES to drummachines in general

Ehm, I don't see how you can hate the triggers. It's not the triggers' fault if the drummer or sound engineer decides to use some extravagant samples.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if I read a survey about studio recordings and if it said that 95% of the bands use triggers. There's so much good you can do with them; finetune the rhythm for example, or correct some minor mistakes to add the final "golden touch" to the drum track. I would personally want to listen to very precise drumming on an album than to a drummer with an "I play almost in time.. yeah, that will do.. I don't care" attitude.
 
I dunno really. I dont like musik with all that computer shit but if I were makin music on me computer I would then think its fine. :confused: