Drum programming - what's the secret?

[[UEAK]Clowd]

Hey guys, been lurking for a while, finally signed up (hooray for generic first post first line haha)

anyway, some of the drum programming I have heard around here is nuts - what's the secret? I actually play drums so it's not like I don't understand how to count or something like that - it's just really hard to get into any amount of complexity when you are just making little red bars with your mouse on a grid.

Is there a better way?

 

[gorath23]

I would guess that using a MIDI interface of some kind would be the trick, preferably drum pads or something. I certainly couldn't be bothered to do it manually using a mouse.

 

[hoehlentroll]

as a guitar player I'm not much into drums. But I had a idea lately: because I'm tipping with my fingers the snare and kick all the time, why not recording that and replacing it with drumagog. hihat, cymbals and toms should be easy programmable once you have the other stuff
never tried it but maybe it works. you have to try to find a different surface for either your snare or kick finger though, so that you can replace it seperatly

 

[Torniojaws]

If you don't have a drum pad, you can just use a midi keyboard instead. The functionality is basically the same

 

[AStacy2]

It's really not that bad to program it with a mouse. Throw down the basic beat and copy and paste it a few times then make the smaller changes.

 

[006]

Cubase's Drum Editor kicks the shit out of piano-roll style MIDI mapping/programming. Cubase FTW x10,000,000,000,000,000 here. As far as realism if you are talking about the feel of the drums you really have to have a good sample library with lots of samples so that when you adjust velocities it is more realistic...uh...velocity wise. Also programming some hits to be just like...a SLIGHT bit off early or late adds some great humanizing to it. Mainly the best thing you can do though is really fuck with velocity.

~006

 

[smy1]

Cubase's Drum Editor kicks the shit out of piano-roll style MIDI mapping/programming. Cubase FTW x10,000,000,000,000,000 here. As far as realism if you are talking about the feel of the drums you really have to have a good sample library with lots of samples so that when you adjust velocities it is more realistic...uh...velocity wise. Also programming some hits to be just like...a SLIGHT bit off early or late adds some great humanizing to it. Mainly the best thing you can do though is really fuck with velocity.

~006

Hm, I am pretty good at using the usual MIDI editor in Cubase. Why is the Drum Editor better? I have never tried it ...

 

[MetalJonesy]

as a guitar player I'm not much into drums. But I had a idea lately: because I'm tipping with my fingers the snare and kick all the time, why not recording that and replacing it with drumagog. hihat, cymbals and toms should be easy programmable once you have the other stuff
never tried it but maybe it works. you have to try to find a different surface for either your snare or kick finger though, so that you can replace it seperatly

thats how i do my demos!!! but with tapping for intricate parts and clicks for the standard on/off the beat stuff:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=783764&songID=6501745


i try to stick away from midi stuff, mainly caus i dont know how to use it!!!

 

[jesterroot4]

get a Roland electric kit midi out into ur interface, click track in your headfones, record and play it will catch all the various velocity hits too.

i shall be doing this soon with DFH as soon as I've bought myself a MIDI Lead haha

 

[RemoWilliams]

I really think Metalhead28 has posted some good tips previously
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/production-tips/375452-drum-programming-tips-non-drummers.html

maybe he could do a sticky.

I used to have a very elaborate way of programming using Guitar Pro 5. I preferred that way because I was used to seeing the note values visually that way and liked the tuplet groupings in GP5. I would have to premake my drumset in Drumkit from Hell Superior first, then assign a GP5 into separate tracks for say "snare", "kick", "china 1", "china 2", etc. Then I would just hit the assigned midi note in that track. I would write out what I had in my head ahead of time in their basic midi drums and just embellish with fills etc.. But, not that I come to think of it, I suppose that was a long ass way to do programming, but I enjoyed it.

 

[colonel kurtz]

personally, i smoke bowls until i get tunnel vision like a mother, then get to clicking for a few hours

 

[Aaron Smith]

I always program by hand- just dragging samples around in grid mode in Pro Tools. The key is using different velocities on fills and fast parts.

 

[SocialNumb]

I can program just about anything(drum wise, it always feels computer), my problem is the feel/groove. I don't know if it's in FUGE's playing but he has something there. Just love the way it feels. I'm still hoping he will enlighten me. Metalhead28 is also great ,as well as Bulb. I'm also wanting to know the secrete.

 

[006]

Well...the Drum Editor is a lot better since it's specifically for...drums.

~006

 

[beyond dead]

personally, i smoke bowls until i get tunnel vision like a mother, then get to clicking for a few hours

fuck ya!!!! i like the way you think!!

if you are gonna program the bass and snare first (using a keyboard and manual performance), then make sure it is with a metronome, or you will be in trouble when you attempt to record the cymbals and toms.

 

[jesterroot4]

personally, i smoke bowls until i get tunnel vision like a mother, then get to clicking for a few hours

haha how do you think i learnt Cubase?

i normally always start with the cymbals, then the kicks, then snare and toms. and i can program like a bitch...
when my comp is fixed, i'll show some examples

 

[[UEAK]Clowd]

Ok now that I have been introduced to the drum editor and a few other concepts here(thanks everyone!), here's another question-

I'm using EZdrummer, but the samples...well, they kind of suck. How do I use different sounds with EZdrummer? Is it even possible?

 

[jesterroot4]

I'm using EZdrummer, but the samples...well, they kind of suck. How do I use different sounds with EZdrummer? Is it even possible?

probs not the best person to explain it to u, as i'm shite with words.... but...

you want to buy yourself a drum replacer plug-in such as drumagog or aptrigger...
u then want to collect yourself a hell of alot of nice sounding drum samples for all elements of the kit.

u place this plug-in on your desired channel e.g. kick, and import one of the samples you have of a nice kick. you then play with the threshold etc to get the plug-in to trigger the sample on every quick spike of audio that goes through it, thus, replacing that quick spike with your chosen sample.

hope this helps....:Smokin:

 

[AStacy2]

personally, i smoke bowls until i get tunnel vision like a mother, then get to clicking for a few hours

How many bowls does this usually take? I just smoked 17 and I still don't have tunnel vision! I've lost any motivation I previously had to program drums though so I guess it doesn't matter anyways...

 

[Melb_shredder]

Try Guitar Pro

General Midi of what you play