Recording Digital Drums

[Cheeky Monkey]

I'm now acquiring the gear I need to start recording. I'll soon be buying a midi keyboard controller and plan to use it to program drums. I'm a guitarist, and I'm approaching recording knowing absolutely nothing about drums in terms of which piece of the kit gets played when. I'm a good enough guitarist and believe I can get reasonable results for piano, bass guitar, strings, etc. out of the keyboard controller with the right plug-ins, but I also believe that my lack of understanding of drums/percussion will be the one thing that's going to compromize the quality of my songs. I've tried listening to drums in songs, but for the life of me, I can't really figure out all that's going on -- at least to be able to translate it into being able to do it for my own recordings. Are there any on-line tutorials or books that will help me understand drums better? Any software recommendations that will really simplify the process (designed for drum dummies like me), and result in a professional sound for even complex music (changing tempos, etc.)? I've heard of Goove Agent (???), but really know nothing about it. I'm sure I'm dreaming, but I wish there would be drum software that could virtually scan the recorded rhythm track(s) and auto-build (one or many) drums/percussion options for the entire song (that could be tweaked as desired). Like many non-drummers who have gone down this path, I'm sure I'm not alone, and I'm confident that in time and trial and error, I'll learn to do this properly. But right now, like I said, I'm really concerned the drums part is going to be seriously limiting me. I hope to find something real simple to get me going with reasonably quality.

One other thing, I've been reading in the Mic forum how people use various micing techniques for real drums where different pieces of the kit may be individually miced to allow for appropriate panning in the mix for best recording effect. Am I correct to assume that when recording digital drums, the entire kit will be one track and therefore sit in the center of the mix, thus not being able to take advantage of what can be accomplished with a real drum kit?

All advice is most welcome and appreciated.

 

[tac5]

I can't believe I'm reading the exact question I have been wanting the answer to since I set up my studio. I have a very nicely set up home studio with a Tascam 2488. I am very capable of playing just about every instrument EXCEPT drums. I have samples and choices galore in my Tascam onboard tone generator and also individual percussion instruments in my Kurzweil ME1 tone generator with my Studio Logic 880 Pro controller.
None of the samples I hear do it for me. I don't write music from the rhythm section up. I write the melody and lyrics first and then add percussion. Also my drum needs are not really complex, but trying to edit samples or write tracks from scratch causes brain lockup for me.
I understand that I can record any digital kits in stereo and then can pan the result somewhat, but it is still with limltations. It would be nice to have a drummer stay at my house form a couple of weeks and tutor me on the fundamentals of rhythm sections.
I'm with you in the belief that I will eventually figure this out, but it sure looks like tedious task. The idea of playing a song and having a program design a basic track for it that could be tweaked and fine tuned sure is appealing. Hell, if Helicon can put 5 part harmony in a box, why can't someone do something similar with percussion?
Anyway, I have no answer to your question. I just share your frustration. Let me know if you find the secret source.

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Am I correct to assume that when recording digital drums, the entire kit will be one track and therefore sit in the center of the mix, thus not being able to take advantage of what can be accomplished with a real drum kit?

You are 100% incorrect.

Of course, in this instance this is a good thing, right?

My suggestion is to get something like Cubase, which has a MIDI editor, and sequence the drums on there. I'd also recommend a software sampler or drum machine like Native Instruments Battery. It's easy to use and sounds great.

Using a program like Cubase allows you to pull out a 'drum roll' which contains the MIDI data for your various drums you've assigned in a kit. So, for example, you may have a typical drum kit that is like this:

Kick Drum
Snare Drum
High Tom
Middle Tom
Low Tom
Crash 1
Crash 2
Ride Cymbal
High Hat

Once in the sequencer you can choose WHAT drum is hit WHEN. When you run the sequence each drum will be triggered in Battery (or whatever sampler/program you are using) appropriately.

Then you can render each drum to its own audio track to process however you want (my recommendation is to process them like real drums).

Trust me--learn more about MIDI and sequencing if you are even thinking of getting into keyboards or recording on your own.

With Cubase and a few softsynths you can sequence *dozens* of synths and drum machines together. Heck, how do you think most techno and industrial music is made? It's all sequences. 95% of the guys making dance music or rap can't play ANY instrument to save their lives. It's all samples, looping and MIDI sequences.

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Oh, to help you with figuring out what drum does what I'd recommend hanging out with a few drummers, maybe sitting behind a kit yourself, looking up some drum tablature, and attempting to sequence some of your favorite songs.

It's not hard. Really it's not.