Hi Hat

[Tony]

I'm new to the Micro BR (10 days) and I am alternating between thinking it is wonderful (as I make new rhythm arrangements sitting on the train or in the pub) and being confused as I hit the limits of what I know how to do.  Is it possible to get below the drum kit level?  I'm try to get a shuffle with kick drum, snare and hi-hat but I can't find the sound I'm looking for. I know the answer is a) keep looking, or b) read the manual, but my frustration is causing me to ask for your assistance and kindness.

[64Guitars]

The drum machine of the Micro BR is limited compared to the other BRs. You can only use the included Preset patterns in your drum arrangements. With the BR-600 and other BRs, you can also create your own custom patterns to use in your arrangements. Each custom pattern can be up to 999 measures long and you can create up to 100 custom patterns per song, so the possibilities are endless. The Micro BR allows you to choose one of nine preset drum kits for each drum arrangement. With the other BRs, you can also create custom drum kits, either by copying a combination of drum sounds from the preset kits to a custom kit, or by loading wave samples of drum sounds into the custom kit. You can also import standard midi files into the drum machine of the other BRs. The Micro BR cannot import midi files.

Other than upgrading to a BR-600, all I can suggest is that you try each preset pattern in your Micro BR at different tempos with each of the nine preset drum kits and choose whichever comes closest to the sound you're after. That's the best you can hope for with a Micro BR. As you've only had your Micro BR for 10 days, you could consider returning it and getting a BR-600 instead if drum machine programmability is important to you. Otherwise, you'll just have to learn to enjoy your Micro BR within its limitations. Although not as versatile as the other BRs, it still has a lot to offer and is capable of making some great recordings, as you'll discover when you listen to the many great recordings that have been posted here.

[Tony]

Thanks for the reply.  As usual, I'm my own worst enemy and had been listening to rhythms through the Jazz kit which tends to favour cymbal over hi-hat.  I've been getting better results with other kits.  Thanks again.

[Greeny]

Thanks for the reply.  As usual, I'm my own worst enemy and had been listening to rhythms through the Jazz kit which tends to favour cymbal over hi-hat.  I've been getting better results with other kits.  Thanks again.

I'm struggling to enjoy anything other than the 'STD 1' Kit. It's the most 'natural' sounding kit to me. I do have a tinker with the reverb on it sometimes... it can add a nice extra ambience (depending on what effect / sound you're after...).

Stick with it though. I can pretty much get what I want from the drums in terms of tempo / style, and you'll find your favourites pretty quickly.

Another good tip is to play along with one rhythm pattern for the whole song, and then edit the steps after the song is finished. As long as the tempo stays the same, you can try all sorts of different drum patterns until you get the right fit and feel. 

Good luck! 

[Tony]

Another good tip is to play along with one rhythm pattern for the whole song, and then edit the steps after the song is finished. As long as the tempo stays the same, you can try all sorts of different drum patterns until you get the right fit and feel. 

Thanks for the tip.  I've been making arrangements by listening to each element (Intro, V1, Fill 1, etc.) and then stepping them together.  It's a bit hit and miss because I can only imagine them in sequence until the thing is done.  I suppose that there's no substitute for just a lot of listening to the patterns and then more listening until I know them well.  But I like the Jazz kit - I imagine that Micro BR stands for a tiny Buddy Rich, which is sort of nice given his reputation.