Help .......I need a good drum sound

[ricrac47]

OK people....get ready for a LOT of questions. I do mostly country music...some pop and light rock. I have a Roland 1680. Right now I am using a Casio keyboard a playing the drums "live"(tk 1 kick,tk 2-3 snare, 4-5 toms,etc.etc. Then I do a submix with a little reverb on the snare.etc. I didn't think that the sound was that bad.....but I have gotten some, shall I say negative feedback! My questions:
Or shall I say options: 1. mic live drums 2. invest in a good drum machine 3. Gibs suggested fruitloops.(I'm not sure that the sounds in fruitlops is appropriate for country.)
I have a good computer. I have never used my computer for recording before....what is involved? Do I need a midi controller? What do I play the notes on? How do I interface my computer with the 1680. I am looking for the best sound and the least hassle. So please talk to me!!! Check out the drums in my song if you want.
http://www.mp3.com/Winchester
Are they really that bad? I'm hoping someone tells me that they are ok......that would be a very simple solution. I have never used any eq, so that could be one of the problems. Remember....best sound, least hassle!
Thanks for your advice

[John Sayers]

OK ricrac47 - firstly - nice song and nice vocals. Most of your critics are probably saying its the mix of the drums more than the sound but hell if you can get that quality out of what you've got I wouldn't be too ashamed. For me there was too much chorusey sounds and not enough of the rhythm feel.

It appears to me that you should make the next step up and start using your computer. Get a program like N-Tracks and you are in biz and the Casio will send midi to your puter.
Now the drum sounds, fruity loops is cool and you can probably find drum sounds that are appropriate for country.

You need a decent sound card and if $$ are a problem then go for a simple SBLive. It will give you midi access and there are a few sounds in the card you can use for drums etc.

Keep at it
Cheers
John

[ricrac47]

John, thanks for your reply. When you said:"it was the mix of the drums,not the sound" exactly what did you mean? Did you mean that the drum sound was ok but it wasn't busy enough? Also when you said there was too much chorous and not enough rythem, were you referring to rythem as in guitars, or rythem as in drums? If the "sound" is ok, that would be good, only because this method of recording them is really quite easy. I can add stuff at will....one drum or cynbal, or whatever I desire. Also the keyboard is touch sensitive so that can add a lot of dynamic feel to the sound. I'm trying to make decent demos for song pitches. In your opinion, if I improve my tecnique a bit, do you think that the sound that I'm getting at present is acceptable?

ricrac47

[John Sayers]

Yeah - i was refering to the balance between the guitars and the drums/percussion. Try remixing with that in mind and try it on your friends
cheers
John