Recording Digital Drums

[Cheeky Monkey]

Not knowing where best to post my drums related question, I've also posted this thread in the Recording Techniques forum. I hope questions on digital drum recording aren't considered taboo in this forum .
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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.

[mikeh]

Most people will use a stereo signal from a drum module - and pan the stereo field within the machine. Certainly you can send a mono signal (but it will really compromise the quality of your final mix).

Regarding drum application (technique). The Hi-nat, snare and kick are the rhythmic basis for everything - any other sounds (toms, cymbals, etc) are simply extra colors for accents.

As a guitar player - the HiHat, snare & kick are like having a good Les Paul and a Marshall amp - you can make music without anything else. Now you can add a wah or a chorus for extra effects, but you don't "need them"

At the most basic level, the snare normally hits 1/2 notes on the 2 & 4 and the kick often plays either 1/2 notes on 1 & 3 or 1/4 notes on 1, 2, 3 & 4. The snare & kick establish the beat. The Hihat often plays either 1/4, or 1/8 notes and acts as a steady timekeeper.

Get the basic groove going with these three instruments and you have 90% or what you need to support a song.

There are way too manner hardware/software applications to suggest one (although I'm sure many people may have suggestions.

[SilverbayJ]

As a guitarist also, I just wrapped up my quest to find the best quality drums to use in my recordings, so I feel your pain here... This is what I found. There is a TON of different software products out there, to name a few BFD or "Big F***ing Drums", http://www.fxpansion.com/home.php is where you can find them. DFH or "Drumkit from Hell". There is also a drum program with in Reason 2.5 and 3.0 that sounds really good and gives you a tons of flexability.
You MUST be aware, that unless you have tremendous processing power and RAM memory some of these programs will bogg the crap out of your computer. I found that out the hard way when my computer exceeded the recommended requirements on DFH, and I still had to increase my memory. Anywho....
If you want to program these drums you will need a midi sequencer to write the information to, I use pro tools in mine, but there is also a ton out there to choose from, Cubase, Sonar, etc.
You may want to look into loops that can provide a basis for your recordings, although they are limited in beats per minute, and sound quality. Check out http://www.betamonkeymusic.com for nice sounding loops.
Keep the research going and ask tons of questions, you find what you need and I'm sure you will be able to play drums in no time. Good Luck