Recording midi drums using Pro Tools 10, Reason 5 and a Roland TD 9

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chickmusician

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Hi, I am hoping someone can help me with this. I have no problem recording audio tracks but I am trying to figure out how to record midi drums using my Roland td 9 kit, Reason 5 and Pro Tools 10.3 with an m audio 410 firewire interface using Windows 7 as my OS. I am a musician more than a tech/computer person so I would really appreciate step by step instructions (like a 'for dummies' version) on how to do this. I have spent hours experimenting and searching threads and have had no luck. I have already changed the settings in the TD 9 for midi so that part is done. Thanks in advance.
 
Arm track. Press record. Hit drums.

If you've got everything talking correctly to everything else, it should be that simple. I'm guessing it's not, however.

Start at the beginning. Can you hear the kit via the DAW monitoring? Can you see signal getting through?
 
Thanks for the response. No, I can't hear the kit. Again, I am really unfamiliar with midi and the I/O set up, which I'm thinking may be the problem?
 
So am I (unfamiliar with MIDI, and Pro Tools and V Drums kits for that matter) but as no-one else seems to be around at the moment, I'll take a swing based on general knowledge... :D

So if I was doing this in my DAW (Reaper) with a keyboard (MIDI device), I'd be looking into my DAW MIDI settings and seeing if it recognises the interface (not the kit, which it can't see) as providing MIDI input.

Let's assume you have the MIDI out cable connected to the MIDI in of the interface.

That should get you MIDI instructions coming in. MIDI instructions aren't audio, however, so there's nothing generating any sound. To do that I imagine you'd need to match your drum kit up with a drum patch library on your PC, which is I presume what Reason is for.

I'd break this into two separate parts. MIDI instructions and sound. Get the first and you can worry about the second later... you can always monitor via headphones or whatever from the audio outputs of the drums.

How are you so far? ... I actually have to go do some work now but hopefully that'll give you something to think about until someone more familiar with your exact issue comes along...
 
Thanks! While you were responding, I was messing around a bit more and I can now hear the drum kit through Reason and it is recording midi in Pro Tools, however, I am not hearing any playback after I record. I'm still thinking it's some kind of output issue that I am just too inexperienced to catch?
 
chickmusician said:
Thanks! While you were responding, I was messing around a bit more and I can now hear the drum kit through Reason and it is recording midi in Pro Tools, however, I am not hearing any playback after I record. I'm still thinking it's some kind of output issue that I am just too inexperienced to catch?
Click to expand...

Depending on your auto input monitor settings, ProTools won't let you hear playback on a track which is record-armed.
I don't know if that applies to vsts/instrument tracks, but it's worth checking.
 
Are you using Reason for the input? If so, load an NN-XT in the rack. This video shows you how to get a set of sounds into kit format. VIDEO Set the NN-XT for input from the td9. Now look in the controller of the td9 for the output of each trigger (when you tap the snare it will output, say to C2 as an example.) Now find the snare sample in the NN-XT. At the bottom of the screen there will be knobs to adjust LO KEY and HI KEY. Adjust these so the sample is only triggered from C2. Follow the same for each trigger and you've got a kit.
Now Rewire to Protools (not familiar with Protools at all, but you should be able to get Reason to let you hear the samples at least).
 
Thanks. I am using the NN-XT with a 'bank' drum kit already. Being that I hear the kit while I'm playing and it is recording the midi data into Pro Tools, I think it has something to do with setting up a playback from midi track, through Pro Tools, if that's such a thing?
 
Can't you just ReWire the audio output from Reason into Protools (as audio tracks)? Do you need the midi in ProTools?
 
Yeah here ya go:

1. Connect your roland to your computer somehow (USB to midi, midi cable to audio card, midi cable to interface whatever)
2. Launch Pro Tools FIRST.
3. Launch Reason (make sure it says rewire slave mode at the top of the GUI)
4. Load drumkit in NN-XT after putting up an instance of NN-XT
5. create a midi track in pro tools.
6. Set the I/O of the track input to whatever you have the rolland plugged into (the midi device, it can be the roland itself if the brain was plugged in via USB)
7. Create an AUX input track.
8. Load Reason into an insert on said aux input track (under instruments, it's a multi channel plugin)
9. Default mix L and R is ok as long as you only need one reason instrument.
10. Set output of I/O of midi track to reason's NN-XT.
11. Arm the midi track.
12. Record your stuff.


You close everything out by saving in Reason first, then closing reason. Then you save and quit in pro tools.

You CAN NOT open reason first, pro tools has to be running before you open reason!
 
How are you replaying the MIDI data? Back into reason, and then back to the drum brain, or are you using the Roland to play the Reason samples via MIDI.

If I was doing this, I'd have reason taking the MIDI data FROM protools and using this to trigger the drum samples, and then connect the Roland to protools to record the MIDI data. I suspect you've just not sussed out the daisy chain, so you can now record the MIDI data in protools, but protools could be remapping it, or just not even getting it into reason? If you can see the MIDI data on the screen, then if reason and protools are on the same computer, then it's an internal routing issue.
 
Hi Rob, that def makes sense. Would you mind explaining step by step, in lamens terms, how I could resolve the internal routing issue? I'd really appreciate it, thanks!
 
20140818_190909.jpg
Hopefully this picture attached...this is what my mix window looks like. I have tried diff variations of the I/O's and I am still getting midi recording with no playback. In previous sessions, I have tried to use an Instrument Track for midi, but tried a Midi track this time, as guitargodgt suggested. Can anyone spot what I'm doing wrong?
 

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Standing on your head? :D

So, no... not exactly. If I want MIDI data to play an actual instrument in Reaper, I have to assign a virtual instrument to the track to make it so. I think that's from Step 8 on in guitargodgt's list there. Unfortunately I can't help you with ProTools.

Frustrating though this undoubtedly is for you, rest assured that this is actually the easy bit - just a matter of working out the exact method. I just googled "Assigning a virtual instrument in protools" and got a shed load of info... could be worth a try if all else fails.
 
Thanks Armistice. I am about ready to stand on my head! Unfortunately, I am a 'run before I walk' person, meaning, I can record and edit audio tracks, add effects etc in Pro Tools but can't get the basics down...like getting playback from my midi! This also means I do things most of the time by trial and error so I get a bit lost in the technical engineering lingo. That's why I'm hoping someone can give me step by step instructions in the simplest terms possible. Ie: click 'track' in pro tools. Then click 'instrument.' Then go to the mix window by hitting 'Window' then 'mix.' I know this might be tedious but maybe someone has a few extra minutes to share their knowledge :)
 
PM Steenamaroo... he's a PT guy and very helpful and I'm sure knows how this is done because he uses MIDI drums, the programmed kind, not the kit kind. He may not have seen your thread.

Plus I have a long history of volunteering him to do stuff around here... :D
 
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