Drum machines

[alfstone]

The problem for me is if I found something that sounded better it'd probably be too complicated to use.  Any ideas on something that sounds good but is simple (and I don't mean a drummer !) ?  

Simple. Band in a Box, used with its RealTracks.

Real drums played by real musicians in the styles YOU decide.

Alfredo

Alfredo. Is that the drums on demand people you are talking about?

I have a drums on demand cd that I use in the BR1200, but it's a pain to work with.

Hi Chip,

No. Absolutely different. Drums on Demand is loop-based, while in Band-in-a-Box YOU can freely try and choose among hundreds of different REAL TRACKS (that if I understand well are very small phragments of music), played by REAL musicians (and BTW you may combine them in infinite ways). NO loops at all, everything is extremely simple. And consider also that the musicians are of course different regard to the style played: I mean, if you're making jazz, the musicians available in BIAB will be Ron Carter on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums (...yes, the REAL Carter and Clarke...). But I repeat, you decide the tempo, the key, the chords, then hit "play". You could be satisfied with what you hear since the first listening...this happens to me NEVER  , I always need to try again and again and again till I'm satisfied, but everything works in a very smooth way.

On BIAB web site there are dozens of support videos, but to let you understand better what I mean, this one is clear enough:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT-n8v5vZxc#t=70

But THIS ONE, is absolutely perfect:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf-MZ1B37L0

Ciao!
Alfredo

[henwrench]

Got DM1 for my iPhone 4s. As Nick points out, it's not meant to be real, it's a drum machine and I think it's incredible. All that shit for less than the price of a pint of beer. Holy shit biscuits! h

[Vanncad]

Drums - it's the thing a lot of us struggle with. After hearing Gnasty's "Addictive Drums" tracks - I would have to say this is the best software going. My friend, who is an awesome drummer could not tell the difference, and he is completely anti-electronic drums. They've come a long way baby!

I have always used the BR Rhythm Editor to create my drum tracks. It's prettty tedious to use, but it is free from the Boss website: http://www.roland.com/support/article/?q=downloads&p=BR-600&id=1812322, and I'm tighter that two coats of paint - so it fits right in my budget  (NOTE: This works for BR600 and 900. I'm not sure about the new BRs)
Just make a bunch of patterns and then plunk them into an arrangement and you are all set. As others have said, change the velocity on random hits so they sound more "real". I prefer the "Hard" kit, because to me it sounds more natural. I use reverb and delay to give it another layer of realism.

Either way - programming drums can really kill the spontaneuous inspiration when you are writing. To me it feels more like work sometimes and I will forgo recording a song just because I don't want to spend hours getting the drum sound I can hear in my head.

One last tip:
Try downloading drum tabs for your favourite covers and then programming them into whatever drum program you use. It takes a little time, but if your drum program has cut and paste capabilities, it is very easy to do.

[T.C. Elliott]

I've got two points. The first is that EZDrummer and other drum programs (addictive etc.,) can work  VERY well. I've heard professional sounding recordings using those programs. But most of us won't take the time to tweak every single drum level and sound before putting it into the DAW and then mixing after. We want decent/good sounding drums with a minimal of work. These programs are what they are, but much better than the BR drum machine in sound. But again, they are different products. You can also program any drum pattern in EZDrummer just like you can the Boss Machines. I know, I know, one more thing to learn

Point two, there are a few tricks to get better sounding drum tracks. Using the humanize function on a midi loop in your DAW is a possiblity.

A good trick that I like for improving the sound of a drum track (vs the patterns etc.,) is to make two copies of your drum track. High pass one at a very high rate, say 1k or even higher. Compress it fairly heavily.  Add some room effect (reverb or something.)  Start with the fader completely down and mix up to taste.

Take the second duplicated track and low pass it pretty darn low (500 or maybe even lower?) Compress it fairly heavily. Use your EQ to highlight the "thump" of the track. It's okay if it sounds like crap by itself, you just want the most pleasing low end sound you can find and then focus on it. Start with the fader all the way down and while playing your original drum track/loop mix up to taste.

Using this two track duplicate method will allow you to get some sparkle (and room) into the track and also some thump without the nasty midrange crap that diffuses the sound. All settings are a matter of taste, of course.