Cheeky Monkey
New member
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.
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.