I use home recording for writing/demoing purposes only. I've been using a program by Acoustica called Beatcraft to program drums, using samples from this forum. I currently use Cubase 4 LE which sucks and has too many glitches, keeps crashing, etc. It came with a Presonus Firebox bundle (the Firebox has since blown up and i'm using an mbox mini =/). After some research I've decided to give Reaper a try. My question is finding a more efficient way that's COST EFFECTIVE for programming drums.
In Beatcraft, I can eq, pan, add fx, etc but it doesn't integrate with a DAW. I have to mix the drums down to a single file and import it into the DAW in a stereo track. I don't want to export each piece of the kit individually because, well, Cubase wouldn't tolerate that many tracks with all the other stuff in a song on top. (maybe Reaper will be different?) Obviously this makes making ajustments (level, eq, etc) to parts of the kit a BITCH because I can't make those changes in the context of a mix and hear the difference immediately. I'd have to go back to Beatcraft, tweak, mix down, import in DAW.
I know there are plugins? (i'm a noob) that allow drum composition possible within a DAW, such as Superior. This seems ideal as I can make changes to the drums, both musically and sonically on the fly and hear it instantly in the mix. So my question is, aside from samples, what programs integrate the best with Reaper to achieve this. Preferrably FREEware as I'm trying to keep cost down while building my live rig. If not free then best bang for your buck.
I'm using Win7 32.
I appreciate any advice.
In Beatcraft, I can eq, pan, add fx, etc but it doesn't integrate with a DAW. I have to mix the drums down to a single file and import it into the DAW in a stereo track. I don't want to export each piece of the kit individually because, well, Cubase wouldn't tolerate that many tracks with all the other stuff in a song on top. (maybe Reaper will be different?) Obviously this makes making ajustments (level, eq, etc) to parts of the kit a BITCH because I can't make those changes in the context of a mix and hear the difference immediately. I'd have to go back to Beatcraft, tweak, mix down, import in DAW.
I know there are plugins? (i'm a noob) that allow drum composition possible within a DAW, such as Superior. This seems ideal as I can make changes to the drums, both musically and sonically on the fly and hear it instantly in the mix. So my question is, aside from samples, what programs integrate the best with Reaper to achieve this. Preferrably FREEware as I'm trying to keep cost down while building my live rig. If not free then best bang for your buck.
I'm using Win7 32.
I appreciate any advice.
