Percussion Solution?
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Posted on Jun 09, 2005 04:29 pm
Drako
Member Since: Sep 15, 2004
Hey All -
As I've been recording in my home studio over the last couple of months, its become obvious to me that my used Drum Machine that I purchased from a friend is not making the cut. All the kits sound straight out of the 80s (no offense to all you 80s fans). Anyway, I'm looking for a great sounding, easy to use drum solution without buying one of those damn expensive Roland V-drum kits! Should I look into a new drum machine? Or is there some good software available? Thanks!
Dave
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TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jun 09, 2005 04:50 pm There are lots of good software sequencers that allow you to use whatever samples you want. There are lots of free drum samples on the web also.
For instance, there is Fruity Loops, LeafDrums, Native Instruments Battery, Drumkit From Hell, and some others. As for samples, I use the Natural Studio Kit Free and they are great acoustic drum samples.
On the other hand, there are lots of good hardware drum machines. The only thing about them is that you're stuck with the samples that they come with (just like the one you have).
Jun 10, 2005 11:18 am nothin' to add there really....
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Jun 10, 2005 12:19 pm the nskitfree also comes in a soundfont, if you're inclined to midi it.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jun 10, 2005 02:23 pm What would my sequencing options be if I were to use it as a soundfont? I can spell MIDI, but that's just about it.
I'm growing tired of LeafDrums, besides I've more than used up my 30-day honor system grace period. There just aren't a lot of good free options when it comes to sequencing drum samples. I got spoiled on Fruity Loops and its velocity adjustments, piano roll, export options, effects, and general ease of use. LeafDrums drives me nuts and it's not very flexible.
Jun 10, 2005 02:27 pm My personal preferences are not free, Battery 2 and Velocity are two awesome drum sequencing tool, DrumCore is also quite friggin cool.
With Soundfonts tho, I dunno, not much of a SoundFont guy myself...
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jun 10, 2005 02:58 pm Yeah, I've never even used soundfonts, so I don't even know what all is available or possible. I don't even know where to start!
Battery looks awesome, but another $100 on top of its price tag and I could buy a real drum set!
I just looked up DrumCore, and it's in the same price range as Battery. Too bad because it looks cool too.
Isn't Velocity a part of one of the multitracking software packages? Or can someone buy it stand-alone?
I need something in the sub-$100 range, and Fruity seems to be the only real contender. It just has too many features that I wouldn't use. It's built for dance, not rock and roll. And the $50 Lite version is missing the #1 feature I want: piano roll.
Jun 10, 2005 03:06 pm Velocity is part of Project 5.
Yeah, you could have a real drum kit, which requires a real drummer (unless you are one). But Battery and DrumCore don't drink all your beer, steal your girlfriend and passout right before gigs.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jun 10, 2005 03:12 pm LOL. Yeah I remember our drummer, who was not any sort of drinker, getting so drunk before a show that he passed out with his forehead on the snare drum between each song. But with a 4-count, he'd spring right back to life for 3 or 4 minutes and not miss a beat! Now that's rock and roll :)
Yeah I'm not much of a drummer but I could probably hold my own with some practice. But hell who has time to pick up another instrument? Plus It'd be like 2 entire car payments to get a set, cymbals, sticks, good heads, a stool, a kick mic, and whatever other accessories it'd take to play and record a drumset.
But at least I'd be motivated to create drum tracks. As it stands, I can't work up the motivation to sit and fidget with a sequencer long enough to come up with anything convincing.
Jun 10, 2005 03:16 pm I got an electronic kit, Hart Dynamics with an Alesis module...mostly for my daughter, who is becoming somewhat of a musical prodigy...but I have fun beating on them from time to time and have actually picked up some cool little patterns and stuff...plus, no heads and cymbals and stuff...just dial in the sound :-)
Jun 10, 2005 04:29 pm people always say fruity is for dance. but how is it different from reason or any of these others? in my view, any product that cant change time signatures easily--and by easily i mean, you select 'ok, i want to move from 4/4 to 6/8 for this section and then back again at bar 32--is geared for dance.
to my knowledge that includes every product on the market right now. not one of them are intuitive with time sig changes.
Jun 10, 2005 04:50 pm i can say, reason works well with time changes if you're runnin' it slaved to a better app....which is what i do.
Jun 10, 2005 04:58 pm how?
Jun 10, 2005 05:09 pm umm i just have reason slaved to sonar, and i can easily change times in sonar, reason just follows, like the little b***h that it is.
Jun 10, 2005 05:13 pm I can use Velocity or Battery as a VSTi and it gets time signature from the host app...so it changes signatures just fine...though I will say, I generally hate music that changes time signatures in the middle of it, so I never (or very, very rarely) do it...
I don't think I could say Fruity is meant for Dance, it's a sequencer like any other...it's hard to say a sequencer is meant for any genre...it sequences the type of music the user gives it.
Jun 10, 2005 06:08 pm but how do you set your signature inside the host app? that seems complicated as well from what ive heard of it! in your app, is there a little box where you say 'i want 6/8 from bar 12 to bar 24'?
if not, its complicated.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jun 10, 2005 11:15 pm I say its built for dance mainly because of the stock sounds, all of which are useless to somebody like me. Then there are the effects like the arpeggiator, pitch bending of sounds (maybe useful to some, but not to me), and being locked into the same time signature for the entire song. Even the sample songs are all techno.
I've used it for several songs, none of which are dance or techno, so of course its just a sequencer at heart. It's just built with that type of music in mind. Right out of the box, what else could you do with it?
Jun 10, 2005 11:25 pm well, yeah, I guess I kinda see your point there, but really, most packages like that have technoish tunes as sample songs...so that's not really that suprising. All I ever used Fruity for (3-4 years ago when I did use Fruity) was just drum sequencing and minimal synth tones, so I guess I never made the techno/dance label from under-use of the app...add to that I never really used the stock sounds either...I had my own drum kit samples and some synth samples from Noize2u that I used...
Jun 11, 2005 04:01 am i use it as a simple drum machine. the only damn complaint i have is the time signature thing. it excells at ev erything else. if i can adjust individial hit volumes and make slight timing changes AND use whatever samples i want, what else do i need? oh yeah: a reasonable way to do frigging time changes.
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Jun 11, 2005 09:07 am I've been using fruity, now FL studio and I agree with the opinions I'm seeing here. I've used FL as sequencer for a few tunes in the past, but started playing with the NSkitfree in midi.
There's a bundle of samples floating around the net made by Tom Hicks that are quite good. 16bit, but very nice. All acoustic percussion samples. But I'm thinking that they are on par with the NSkitfree samples, so it may not be worth DLing.
The Soundfont player in FL studio is pretty decent, at least compared to SFZ. Unfortunately, the SF player isn't free. Another 35 or 45 $ I think. So that's to consider. There is the SFZ i've mentioned. I only tried it out in n-track, but it was not nearly as fluid to use as the SF player in FL.
For me, I think to get a cranking drum sound without paying $$$, I'd make a soundfont out of the Tom Hick samples (there's more of them than the NS samples) and create tracks in midi. It may be longer, but I find a realism that I'm happy with.
Let me know if you're interested in trying out more FL Tad, I can make up a sample of some of the Hicks stuff.
Jun 11, 2005 01:00 pm (got any links to tutorials and info about how to create soundfonts?)
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Jun 13, 2005 08:21 am Unfortunately, i've no experience in that field yet.
There's people on the n-track boards that have made some, and I just figured I'd get into it one day, learning along the way.
cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
Jun 13, 2005 11:06 am In order to make soundfonts, you need an SbLive/Audigy card and a free program called Vienna. About a year, maybe a year and a half ago I posted up a link where you could download that app. It was hard to find, in the developer section of the Creative web page. I just messed with the program until I figured it out. Don't make many soundfonts anymore, but it's cool to have all your drum sounds in one keyboard.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jun 13, 2005 11:41 am So can you use a step sequencer for soundfonts, or do you have to have a MIDI keyboard/interface?
Jun 13, 2005 11:43 am I use sound fonts (or have a couple times) with the PowerFX softsynth Dyad...no controller or anything, just Dyad as a DXi in Sonar.
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Jun 13, 2005 11:47 am Vienna's the one I've heard of, couldn't remember that for nuthin.
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Jun 13, 2005 11:49 am Tad: piano roll, or a controller will both work.
Jun 13, 2005 12:01 pm Doesn't Sound Forge save sample as sound fonts? Maybe not, but I thought it did...
