one man band

[dolecek1]

I'm a one man band.drums is where i'm lacking.Im writting some really killer stuff but my lack of drums destroys it all.bacaiclly i have been using a simple drum loop, but it just ruins my songs.I do have an korg electribe, first off its very techno-based, 2ndly man i tried but i just cant come up with col beats, then i doesnt allow me to use any fills or anything.I have considered m-audio loops but not sure if that will get me where i want to be or not.I even have considered the new m-audio blackbox it has some decent drum loops, but i dont need the modeling in it either since i use the podxt.what do you guys think? or do you have any other suggestions for me? thanks

[Mo-Kay]

maybe you should try "drumkit from hell"...

[dolecek1]

drumkitfrom hell?

[dolecek1]

well dang i found it but i dont have a dvd drive so i guess i cant use it, any other suggestions/

[Kasey]

get a drum set.

[dolecek1]

man i would if i could play drums

[ez_willis]

Get a drummer with a drum set???

[a_zander]

Get some drums, learn to play.

[travelin travis]

Buy me a set, give me a couple of years to get proficient, and I'll record all the drum tracks you want.

[Mo-Kay]

buy a dvd drive?

[johnny5dm]

You know, there are at least a few drummers out there who'll record tracks FOR you if you pay them. As soon as I get my set to sound a wee bit better recorded, I'd certainly do it (depending on the style, that is - I'm not a punk drummer). In fact, if you want me to lay down a few tracks just to try it, I'd be up for it... I'm just getting into this whole recording thing, and am doing whatever I can to learn.

[HapiCmpur]

Would someone tell me a little more about Drumkit From Hell, please? I'm not a software guy, so I don't understand the lingo on the ToonTrack site. Here are the key questions I have about it.

1. If I already have a Boss DR-770 drum machine, is DFH likely to add much value to my setup? Or is DFH pretty much like having a drum machine's software loaded onto one's PC?

2. I don't record on a PC but instead record on an all-in-one standalone unit (Yamaha 2816). Could I create drum "songs" using DFH on the PC in my home office and then transfer the data to the Yamaha in my studio downstairs? My Yamaha has a CD-RW, so I'm guessing I could burn the DFH data to a disk, then feed that to my Yamaha. But I don't have any idea if the Yamaha would be able to make sense of the DFH data.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[travelin travis]

DFH is basically a software sample player created specifically for multi hit drum samples, with it's own library of drum samples. It will sound tons more realistic than a drum machine because it uses multiple samples for each hit. It tries to emulate the sound of a real drummer. When a real drummer hits the snare, every hit sounds a little different. The multi samples take up alot of hard drive space. For DFHS, it's like 35 GB's.

You will need a shit load of ram, like 2-3 GB's, to run it at it's full potential. A second hard drive for holding the samples is also reccomended. You can use pre-programmed midi patterns to trigger the samples or a midi device like a keyboard or electronic drum kit.

I own BFD which is DFH's competition. I'm using a keyboard to trigger the samples and it's not all that great to me. It's pretty hard to get the dynamics of a real drummer when your pecking on a midi keyboard. I think an electronic drum kit is the way to go but they are pretty expensive. The software ain't cheap either, at around $300. Also, to me, DFH sounds better. I have never used it but from listening to the demo tracks on the Toontracks website, the samples just have a better sound.

If your pc is up to running DFH, you could record the drum tracks and send them out to your recording box.

[HapiCmpur]

Thanks, Travis. That helps a lot. It raises another question, too. Would I need to add a sound card or make any other modifications to my computer (aside from maybe adding some memory) to work with something like DFH? Since I'm not actually recording on my PC, I suspect that the answer is no, but I figure I'd better check before moving toward making such a big purchase.

[travelin travis]

Originally Posted by HapiCmpur

Thanks, Travis. That helps a lot. It raises another question, too. Would I need to add a sound card or make any other modifications to my computer (aside from maybe adding some memory) to work with something like DFH? Since I'm not actually recording on my PC, I suspect that the answer is no, but I figure I'd better check before moving toward making such a big purchase.

A decent sound card like an Audiophile 2496 would'nt hurt but is'nt absolutely necessary.

[HapiCmpur]

Originally Posted by TravisinFlorida

A decent sound card like an Audiophile 2496 would'nt hurt but is'nt absolutely necessary.

Okay, now keep in mind that I'm not a software guy as you read the next question.

If a sound card isn't necessary for my application, what benfit could I still reap by getting an Audiophile 2496? I don't exactly understand what a sound card is, to be honest, except that I know you need one if you want to record on your PC. So if I'm not recording on my PC, why do you still think it might be a good idea for me to add a sound card?

[KKM1]

A more simple suggestion would be maybe Fruityloops? for some reason i dont see DFH being right for your situation. its more of a rock drum sound in my experience and it needs a very powerful computer. Fruityloops is more of a techno program and ACID would also be helpful.

[HapiCmpur]

Originally Posted by KKM1

A more simple suggestion would be maybe Fruityloops? for some reason i dont see DFH being right for your situation. its more of a rock drum sound in my experience and it needs a very powerful computer. Fruityloops is more of a techno program and ACID would also be helpful.

I listened to Fruityloops a while back and found it, as you said, rather techno. That's not what I'm after.

I just looked at the system requirements for DFH and I see what you mean about needing a powerful computer. And although I do have a fairly powerful machine, the problem is that it's upstairs and my studio is downstairs. I was just wondering if there's a way to use my PC to get more realistic drum parts than I'm currently getting from my drum machine. I thought that maybe by using a really up-to-date drum software, I could create bomber drum tracks on my PC upstairs and then transfer the data to my recorder downstairs.

So far, though, it sounds like my best option would be to try getting more creative with my drum machine: doubling parts, tweaking the pre-programmed fills, and miking the machine through an amp instead of (or in addition to) plugging it directly into the recorder.

[travelin travis]

Originally Posted by HapiCmpur

I listened to Fruityloops a while back and found it, as you said, rather techno. That's not what I'm after.

I just looked at the system requirements for DFH and I see what you mean about needing a powerful computer. And although I do have a fairly powerful machine, the problem is that it's upstairs and my studio is downstairs. I was just wondering if there's a way to use my PC to get more realistic drum parts than I'm currently getting from my drum machine. I thought that maybe by using a really up-to-date drum software, I could create bomber drum tracks on my PC upstairs and then transfer the data to my recorder downstairs.

So far, though, it sounds like my best option would be to try getting more creative with my drum machine: doubling parts, tweaking the pre-programmed fills, and miking the machine through an amp instead of (or in addition to) plugging it directly into the recorder.

give me about 5 minutes and I'll throw up a quick drum track. i'm using a keyboard to trigger bfd. the track will be completely unprocessed.

[travelin travis]

Ok, it was more like 20 minutes. I'm just using the direct and overhead mics in BFD. There are also room and pzm mics but I'm not using them here. I suck pretty hard at drums so keep that in mind. The mp3 conversion seemed to knock the hell out of the highs too. It's called BFD sample:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...?bandID=303881

The reason I said you might want to get a sound card if you do drum tracks on your pc is that when you send the tracks out to your recorder, the tracks will have to be converted from digital to analog unless your current sound card has digital out and your recorder has digital in.

[HapiCmpur]

Hey thanks, Travis. It was very nice of you to make that sample for me.

Originally Posted by TravisinFlorida

I'm just using the direct and overhead mics in BFD.

I take it that you're talking about "virtual" mics here. I mean, every sound I heard on that mp3 was done with software and samples, right? (Just checking.)

I suck pretty hard at drums so keep that in mind.

Don't be so hard on yourself. You should hear my stuff! Anyway, just judging by your mp3, I'd have to say that the BFD samples aren't really any more convincing than my drum machine's. BFD's cymbal voices seemed to have a slightly better decay, but that's the only difference I could detect. I realize, however, that I was just hearing an mp3 sample -- a hastily made one, at that -- and so I really have no basis for comparison. But I'm coming to the conclusion that, considering how my studio is currently set up (without a PC), I'd be better off not trying to work a program like BFD or Drumkit From Hell into my system.

The reason I said you might want to get a sound card if you do drum tracks on your pc is that when you send the tracks out to your recorder, the tracks will have to be converted from digital to analog unless your current sound card has digital out and your recorder has digital in.

Maybe one day I'll put a PC in my studio. Until then, all that data transferring seems like more than I can juggle.

Thanks again for all your assistance, especially for making and posting that sample for me. I'll try to give you a well-deserved rep point, but that feature hasn't been working for me for some reason.

[ColdAsh]

Maybe you should have a look at Jamstix - found at http://www.rayzoon.com/
Ive had a look at it and it seems to be a fairly good (and cheap) program. I've played around with the demo a bit and while it seems far from perfect for the price tags it looks pretty good. I'm currently deciding whether or not to buy it (im wiating for my copy of BFD to arrive first)

[Dogbreath]

Not sure if this would work for ya but I've got alot of great sounds outta the Yamaha QY100 sequencer.

http://www.samedaymusic.com/product--YAMQY100

Might be a little overkill but it's a great little tool..........

Oh...and it quantizes too!


fwiw

[metalhead28]

Here is a sample done with Drumkit From Hell Superior >

Drumkit From Hell!!!!

And for the record, I run DFHS with no problems at all with a 2.4 Ghz machine with only 1 gig of RAM. You simply can't enable all the microphone bleeding in real time, you just use it when you bounce the tracks to audio.

By the way, this track was programmed entirely with a mouse! Not by me unfortunately, but I'm getting there!

[EVT]

I recently picked up drums on demand for the same reason you did.... I don't have a drummer and it is defnitely making things hard for me to try to get the kind of drums I would want. I like dod so far. Easy to work with.
http://www.drumsondemand.com/
evt