recording your own precussion loops

[jamie_drum]

I'm fed up with MIDI drums, but I can't play the drums. What I can play is my fingers, on the table-top. You know, dum-da-da-dum-dum-dum, kind of thing.

I wanted a rhythm to match a particular progression on guitar, so I just recorded myself drumming it on the desk. The idea is to turn this into a groove clip, then replace the slices with real drums sounds--perhaps using cyclone, perhaps manually.

So what I did was, slip edit the recording until I had trimmed any silence off the beginning, and similarly slip edit the end, then open the clip in the loop inspector, then enable looping. Usually when I started the looping, the clip didn't sound exactly the right length (i.e. I left too much silence at the end) so I had to tinker with that a bit. Eventually, I got it sounding good looping.

I haven't yet substituted the drum sounds--that's next.

However, I can't help but feel that this is all a bit labourious. Surely there is a simpler way that I am just not quite getting? Bear in mind that I don't know the exact tempo of the original clip I recorded, and that I have to edit it by hand?

Anyone else done anything this way, and if so, any suggestions?

[Vectron]

Get yourself a cheap new or used velocity sensitive Midi keyboard($100). You also need a Midi adaptor for your computer. A good cheap one is the M-audio
UNO USB to Midi ($35).
Then you could either step record or real time record into a Sonar midi track
that has a drumset assigned to it. For example the standard kit in TTS-1 DXi(or
VSC).

[Myriad_Rocker]

You could use Drumagog to replace the recordings of your fingers hitting the table. Or you get BFD and use its grooves. And it comes with EXCELLENTLY recorded drums already.

Problem solved.

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[AlChuck]

In my experience trying to tap skinny keys on a keyboard is just so unlike tapping on a bigger surface with the palms or fingertips that it's frustrating and very difficlut to get satisfactory results.

There are a couple of inexpensive MIDI pad controllers on the market that are better than trying to use a keyboard.

[altitude909]

look at some midi drum pads like Akai MPD-16 (my fav) or the Maudio drum pad (forget what its called). if your happy with the tapping on the table bit, then these will make happen

[jamie_drum]

I have a midi keyboard. I agree, it is hard to tap the rhythm well. I know about the pads out there.

I am not familiar with drumagog. Is it any good? I went to the website--it's pretty steep. I could buy ReCycle for the same amount.

I think my question was a bit mis-understood. I have no problem with the recording part. What I am wondering about is the editing of my recorded clip to make it "loopable"--and also about replacing the slices with the sounds I want. Maybe ReCycle is the best software for this, but I have never used it. Does anyone do anything similar to what I am describing here, and does anyone have a more effecient way to use the Loop Construction View?

[altitude909]

What DAW u running? Cubase has a "hit point" feature for this

[jamie_drum]

Originally Posted by altitude909

What DAW u running? Cubase has a "hit point" feature for this

Just got my Sonar 5 upgrade.

[jamie_drum]

Well, I tried using the Cyclone DXi and I have to say it is a dog for replacing one slice (i.e. my finger hitting the desk) with another one (a nice bass drum, for example). I can't seem to find any undo function for when I screw up, and when I try to align the new slice with the timing from the original loop, I either have to either have it quanitized to sixteenth notes (or eighth, 32nd, etc.) or do it freehand.

What am I really trying to do here is kind of like groove quantizing--making good quality samples play with the rhythm of my fingers on the table top.

However, in order to use the groove quantize in Sonar, I basically have to extract the timing from the original loop, then save it as a groove file, then go through the process--> groove quantize command, all the while wondering if I am setting the strength and the sensitivity right, etc...

I just read the Recycle review on the Sound on Sound website--it sounds so easy. Just replace one slice with another, new sound. Surely there is a way in Sonar to do something similar?

James, Moskus, someone, help me!

[altitude909]

I still dont understand why you dont use midi to do this

[jamie_drum]

Originally Posted by altitude909

I still dont understand why you dont use midi to do this

I just don't find that it is the same with the MIDI controller keyboard. I confess I haven't tried anything like M Audio trigger finger or the Akai one, so maybe that would be better.

However, sometimes one has an audio loop and just wants to change the sounds.

[altitude909]

try the MPD or trigger finger, they are nothing like playing keys on a controller. What you should really be doing is just taking the loop and loading into a sampler where you can slice and dice all you want. (you mentioned Recycle, and that is ideal since it will slice AND export the corresponding midi notes). What you are trying to do is what a sampler is made for and your kinda making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Trying to slice up an audio loop and replace sounds is always going to be problematic since notes will very often decay into other notes which cannot be removed and will leave you with choppy samples. with a sampler this is not a problem since it can layer sounds