Easiest way to create your own drum track/patterns ??

Kinioo

Morning All,

What software do you guys use to create drums for your recordings ?

I tried some ready-made drums which came with Line 6 POD farm but.....I rather prefer to exactly specify when and where/how I like it (snare/toms/hi-hat)...

I do really like the EzDrummer - and was thinking of getting it plus some MIDI/PAD controller to create my own beats/patterns etc.

1. What do you recommend re: Drums software?
2. What do you recommend re: MIDI/PAD control to go/configure with it ?? (dont want to splash fortune on it and must be fairly portable)

Many thanks,

Chris

Bezzer

For drum samples, I rate Superior above anything else I've heard.
For editing, afraid I'm so inept at drums that I use the drum editor grid in Cubase.  Yes, it takes absolutely ages but at least I can place what I hear in my head (which is probably also awful but at least it's what I hear) exactly where I need it.

If you can play the rhythms accurately on a pad system, or better still an electric kit, then I'm sure you'll get better results.

LeeCassidy

For a simple and user friendly drum VST, I don't think you can top EZ Drummer 2. Its MIDI library likely covers what you're after, the song builder tool is great for a quick jam, and it's very simple to make basic modifications to included grooves. 

If you want to programme more specifics, it's no less flexible than its big brother, nor just about any competitor.

If you want to use an external controller, most DAWs support almost any MIDI controller. I'd suggest a cheap short controller, like the M Audio Keystation 49. It has pressure sensitivity, so you can get some dynamics going on, is very simple to use, and it powers off USB. £79 in some places.

Sporky

I went through this ages ago. Probably 15 years or so.

Ended up with FruityLoops and various samples; most recently NSKit7 loaded into Kontakt. I have an Alesis TriggerFinger that I used for a while, but I preferred entering patterns with the mouse, so it's for sale - works very nicely but didn't suit my workflow.

http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/917104/#Comment_917104

JAYJO

I remember trying the free version of addictive drums in Reaper. iirc it has a few samples you can use. it just limits the size of drum kit you can set up. worth a look before spending.

flying_pie

I just programme drums manually in the midi roll. I don't see it as onerous. It's easy to copy and past the bulk of it. I then use the Humanize function in Reaper to add a bit of variety to the timing and velocity. 

And I found this tutorial really useful, particularly at with regards to velocities for each part of the kit. 

Funkfingers

If you have the skills to compose/program drum/percussion parts, some combination of Step Time note entry and Real Time played note entry will yield the most convincing end results.

As an Apple Logic Pro user, I have the option of letting the artificial intelligence Drummer algorithm generate initial parts. These can be edited to my exact requirements afterwards.

Sometimes, I use Spectrasonics Stylus RMX. Stack up some loops. Introduce some pseudo-random variation. Play along. This probably dates back to my chronic over-reliance on the Spectrasonics Distorted Reality and Metamorphosis sound libraries for my old samplers.