Drum Samples, Replacement, Triggers FAQ

[DanLights]

This pretty much answered my question. But, I would like to know what the fastest way to take out the seperate midi notes for snare, kick, ect. without having to edit out everything in Guitar Pro.

I don't know if you ever had this answered since I know it's a several months old question, but in Reaper it's really easy to separate a midi file into many tracks. In the midi editor, select all the notes for the drum you want (IIRC clicking in the piano roll on the note you want, if not there's an action in the action list for this), cut it and paste in an empy midi item in a new track.

In GP it's terribly painful to separate it, so it's obviously better to separate it later in reaper

 

[<Arcane>]

I don't know if this has been answered somewhere, but I would love how to overcome this problem I'm having.
I'm using ApTrigga2 and Superior Drummer with MIDI files I've made in Guitar Pro.

Let's say I have a part of the song where the snare needs to build up and start at a velocity of around 20-30 and go up to 127? Every time I do this I set the threshold so it picks up the soft hits, but then the hard hits don't pick up. Also, if I have a section where the snare is fast, it seems to leave out every other note. Basically, I want to know if ApTrigga2 can pick up any velocity from a midi note, and how to do so.

I do have the same problem. I'm using ApTrigga2 and Superior Drummer, made a drum backing tracking and want to use my own snare samples but whenever fast 16th snare triplets - or snare hits with 160 bpm - come in or even when some hard hits come in it leave out most of the notes. When I have let's say 15 fast snare hits, only 4 or 5 were picked up and when I have some hard hits, mostly none of them

 

[Vinny]

So can someone explain how to actually set the triggers up?
I'm getting a new setup up soon coz I'm tired of programming drums by hand
I'll be getting the ProFire 2626 and the DDrum triggers (the $199 ones)
Somebody said that I can just plug the triggers straight into the pres on my interface and just go with that?
I would like an in-depth explanation of how to do this.
Or a link to somewhere where it has been explained.

Thanks guys!

 

[guitarguru777]

Plug the triggers into your interface and record the hits, then set up trigger or drumagog with samples on those tracks.

Done

 

[Trevoire520]

Plug triggers into interface
Record
Replace trigger clicks with drum samples

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I think this thread is relevant to this sticky so I'll link it.

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/equipment/658077-lots-lots-drum-software-examples.html

 

[Tevebob]

Hey guys!

I searched a lot of topic, but I don't know where to ask... So can anyone tell me some free or low priced vsts/drum modules that can read sign from midi, and randomly changing my loaded samples? I work in Cubase 5, I set an instrument track, and I grab my samples into Groove Agent One, but I don't really satisfied with it, cause it smells like really robotic, because every hit is the same sample.

I don't have enough money for buying Kontakt/Drumagog and don't have money for a good vsti like Steven Slate/Superior Drummer which can be the best solution. I'm thinking about buying samples from Joey Sturgis and of course using some from my collection, but I need the cheapest solution for loading the wav-s into a good vst that can change the samples randomly, like Drumagogs multisample function does.

Is there any free or low priced one on the planet? I am only working with midi recorded with an electric drum kit, no real drums!

Thanks!

 

[jCo76]

Very useful. Thanks

 

[DanLights]

Hey guys!

I searched a lot of topic, but I don't know where to ask... So can anyone tell me some free or low priced vsts/drum modules that can read sign from midi, and randomly changing my loaded samples? I work in Cubase 5, I set an instrument track, and I grab my samples into Groove Agent One, but I don't really satisfied with it, cause it smells like really robotic, because every hit is the same sample.

I don't have enough money for buying Kontakt/Drumagog and don't have money for a good vsti like Steven Slate/Superior Drummer which can be the best solution. I'm thinking about buying samples from Joey Sturgis and of course using some from my collection, but I need the cheapest solution for loading the wav-s into a good vst that can change the samples randomly, like Drumagogs multisample function does.

Is there any free or low priced one on the planet? I am only working with midi recorded with an electric drum kit, no real drums!

Thanks!

I also want to know this. In Reaper, you can use Drumreaplacer but I don´t think it works with midi, so you would have to export them as audio somehow (like using single samples with reasamplomatic if you´re in reaper), then replace them with Drumreaplacer and voila, multisamples from Midi for pretty much free (reasamplomatic comes with Reaper, drumreaplacer is free)

 

[AceFireForce117]

I also want to know this. In Reaper, you can use Drumreaplacer but I don´t think it works with midi, so you would have to export them as audio somehow (like using single samples with reasamplomatic if you´re in reaper), then replace them with Drumreaplacer and voila, multisamples from Midi for pretty much free (reasamplomatic comes with Reaper, drumreaplacer is free)

Hey i would like to know this aswell.
I can't afford Slate digital trigger or Drumagog (even though it appears to be highly criticized here).

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may07/articles/cubasetech_0507.htm

Here is a list of some free drum triggers like KT drum Trigger which appears to be a good freeware, as anyone used it ? Compared with Drumagog or even Slate ?

I fell in love with Steven Slate's Cracky Metal Kit with room mics on (seen on ytb) but then back to reality... can't afford it
I was wondering if anyone knew free samples that got close to that sound.
I also got Erkan's drum samples (if you're reading this thank you so much for sharing man ! ) i will try them out

Btw quick noobish question : i'm mixing my band's first demo, we're using midi tracks with EZdrummer Metalheads for the drums, i have no idea if i should get rid of the kick trig and snare trig tracks already set in the vst, since i'm going to use samples ?

 

[schwinginbatman]

I never got KTDrumTrigger to work. I can't figure it out. Being honest, it seems to be the best freeware one, but it has a GUI that is completely impenetrable and scary looking. I've tried many other freeware ones, they all suck the big toe of a Viking woman.

 

[Gerard Porqueres]

Great Threat!
I've just made this video about Drum aligment using Trigger in Pro Tools 9

 

[Thadool]

Here's a very helpful trick:

When you have problems with replacing your drums with your Plugin of Choice, simply generate your own trigger signal. Just use a Signal Generator (1-2 kHz) on a new Track, gate it with the Signal you want to replace via sidechain and record it. By that, you get a very clean trigger signal. Works everytime!

Hope this helps...

 

[DanLights]

Here's a very helpful trick:

When you have problems with replacing your drums with your Plugin of Choice, simply generate your own trigger signal. Just use a Signal Generator (1-2 kHz) on a new Track, gate it with the Signal you want to replace via sidechain and record it. By that, you get a very clean trigger signal. Works everytime!

Hope this helps...

This idea is stupid great, I don't know why I hadn't tried it before, thanks!

 

[Trevoire520]

Surely A: this signal you're using for replacement won't have any dynamics whatsoever and B: if you're having trouble triggering a signal cleanly then you'll also have trouble getting it to open your gate accurately?

 

[Heabow]

^ yeah, quite logical

 

[Gerard Porqueres]

Here's a very helpful trick:

When you have problems with replacing your drums with your Plugin of Choice, simply generate your own trigger signal. Just use a Signal Generator (1-2 kHz) on a new Track, gate it with the Signal you want to replace via sidechain and record it. By that, you get a very clean trigger signal. Works everytime!

Hope this helps...

Wow thanks that was a good one! I just try it. if you want to add dynamics and control them even better add after the gate an expander, using as a key the same bus. when the snare hits harder the expander makes that signal hotter just if you want play with the ratio!

 

[==>Alb<==]

What about how to avoid the summing of the samples?
I'll try to exlain:
when I load my favourite sample of a kick (with a tiny room tail) with drumagog, at single strokes it's all ok but when a double bass section of the song starts , it's like the kick and his tail comes out of the mix.
I can control the kick volume using a compressor with a mid-slow release,
but the sum of the kick and specially the sum of the tails create a note that
first: is unmusical
second: makes the general drum sound more fake
and third: makes the drum mixing more troubling than already is

So imagine a guy playing a guitar and the alternate picking
every note stops the note before, and only the last note picked lasts until another note will be played

How to get the same "effect" replacing drums with samples?

 

[bryan_kilco]

What about how to avoid the summing of the samples?
I'll try to exlain:
when I load my favourite sample of a kick (with a tiny room tail) with drumagog, at single strokes it's all ok but when a double bass section of the song starts , it's like the kick and his tail comes out of the mix.
I can control the kick volume using a compressor with a mid-slow release,
but the sum of the kick and specially the sum of the tails create a note that
first: is unmusical
second: makes the general drum sound more fake
and third: makes the drum mixing more troubling than already is

So imagine a guy playing a guitar and the alternate picking
every note stops the note before, and only the last note picked lasts until another note will be played

How to get the same "effect" replacing drums with samples?

You probably want multisamples. If you're using the same exact kick sample on every hit (meaning, no difference in velocity) you'll have a "machine gun" effect. I program drums in FLStudio and I rarely go through and program velocities per every single hit just because most of my recordings are demos of new ideas for my band. I get build up of kick and snare frequencies that annoy the heck out of me.

Example: fast blast beat with trem picked guitars - drums overpower guitars and you can barely hear what the guitars are doing.

slow drum beat, and the guitars sound too loud.

I suppose automation is the answer to the worlds problems.

 

[FIXXXER]

TIP:
just a thing i treid the last time i had to retrigger some shitty drumtracks...

if you have problems triggering fast drums where the transients come very lose to each other try to pitch up the track (needs to have tempo comversion enabled) up.
it can help to isolate the transients and almost clear everything else up, much easier to trigger this way...