Michael O'Regan
New member
Can you guys give me some ideas on the best ones, compatibility, etc. ?thanks.
Drum machine and DP24
- Thread starter Michael O'Regan
- Start date
Hi Michael,
This depends on what sort of music you are recording. I have used a few drum machines, but find most just don't sound that authentic, although by all accounts the Alesis SR18 is supposed to be quite good at a reasonable price. What I am currently using is PC Drummer Pro. This is a great piece of software built on very good drum samples. It is really easy to write percussion on and you can even save and print the drum tab to give to a real drummer to play what you've written and recorded.
This software is currently $49 USD with the standard 50 instrument kit. You can also buy additional kits for $10 with quite a range such as Jazz, Hip Hop and more. I purchased the Studio Kit which has 408 sampled sounds, multiple kicks, snares, toms, cymbals and effects. It also comes with Bass and Piano samples for all notes.
This produces a much better result than any drum machine and depending on how much effort you put into creating the drum line, most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this and a real drummer recorded.
You can adjust the volume/intensity on every sample at every beat and the humanization feature allows you to vary the hit levels and timing from perfect to awful, so you can mimic a great drummer or even a beginner.
When you have completed the song, you can save it and also export each instrument separately as a wav file in mono or stereo. As i use the Tascam DP 32, I transfer the files separately so I can mix each channel independently as if recording a real kit with multiple mics.
Enough said. Check out the website. You can download a free test version and see if it fits the bill. A lot cheaper than a drum machine and much more authentic.
PC Drummer - Create Professional Drum Tracks
This depends on what sort of music you are recording. I have used a few drum machines, but find most just don't sound that authentic, although by all accounts the Alesis SR18 is supposed to be quite good at a reasonable price. What I am currently using is PC Drummer Pro. This is a great piece of software built on very good drum samples. It is really easy to write percussion on and you can even save and print the drum tab to give to a real drummer to play what you've written and recorded.
This software is currently $49 USD with the standard 50 instrument kit. You can also buy additional kits for $10 with quite a range such as Jazz, Hip Hop and more. I purchased the Studio Kit which has 408 sampled sounds, multiple kicks, snares, toms, cymbals and effects. It also comes with Bass and Piano samples for all notes.
This produces a much better result than any drum machine and depending on how much effort you put into creating the drum line, most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this and a real drummer recorded.
You can adjust the volume/intensity on every sample at every beat and the humanization feature allows you to vary the hit levels and timing from perfect to awful, so you can mimic a great drummer or even a beginner.
When you have completed the song, you can save it and also export each instrument separately as a wav file in mono or stereo. As i use the Tascam DP 32, I transfer the files separately so I can mix each channel independently as if recording a real kit with multiple mics.
Enough said. Check out the website. You can download a free test version and see if it fits the bill. A lot cheaper than a drum machine and much more authentic.
PC Drummer - Create Professional Drum Tracks
Michael O'Regan
New member
Hi
Thanks.
I use a drummer for actual recording.
I would be using the machine only for demos at home.
I just need something basic to be honest.
I'm more interested in compatibility with the DP24.
Thanks.
I use a drummer for actual recording.
I would be using the machine only for demos at home.
I just need something basic to be honest.
I'm more interested in compatibility with the DP24.
Michael O'Regan
New member
By syncing, if you mean recording the Alesis directly into the Tascam, yes, that's what I'm talking about.
How else can it be recorded? Sorry if thats a stupid question, but I don't do a lot of home recording other than guitar and vocal usually. So, drum machines are new to me.
Appreciate any help. Thanks.
Michael O'Regan
New member
If you are just letting the drum machine run on its own and are not syncing it up virtually anything will work. The Alesis SR16 or SR18 are good all around choices.
However, if you are using the MIDI clock to sync the drum machine with the recorder...........
I started a thread/post a little over a year ago on syncing up a drum machine and issues I was having.
I found a couple of topics where guys were having trouble syncing their Alesis SR16 and SR18 machines to Tascam portastudios. Long story short, they were able to seemingly fix the problem by using an outboard digital reverb as a "buffer" with the MIDI In/Thru jacks. So the Alesis machines will probably work.
The problem I was having was with a Zoom RT223 and an (ancient) Tascam 788. The Zoom appears to drop/skip a MIDI clock at random here and there.
I used an old old Zoom RT123 for 12 years syncing it to the 788. Never a problem.
I tried another RT-123. No problem.
The Zoom RT-223 I bought new.......Problem.
I had Zoom exchange the RT-223 with another one. Same problem.
(The Zoom tech support guy I dealt with was very helpful, by the way.)
I also tried both drum machines with a friends' DP-24.
No difference.
I did way more research and data taking than I needed to. My conclusion is that the Zoom RT-223 has a DESIGN problem. It would cost them a lot of money/time to fix it. Therefore they're not going to do it. I e-mailed their engineering department about this close to a year ago. I have never heard back from them about it. Draw your own conclusions to that.
If you are using the Zoom (or anything else) free running and are not syncing it to the recorder, virtually anything will work fine.
If you are using the MIDI Sync function to sync the machines together, DO NOT BUY THE ZOOM RT-223.
However, if you are using the MIDI clock to sync the drum machine with the recorder...........
I started a thread/post a little over a year ago on syncing up a drum machine and issues I was having.
I found a couple of topics where guys were having trouble syncing their Alesis SR16 and SR18 machines to Tascam portastudios. Long story short, they were able to seemingly fix the problem by using an outboard digital reverb as a "buffer" with the MIDI In/Thru jacks. So the Alesis machines will probably work.
The problem I was having was with a Zoom RT223 and an (ancient) Tascam 788. The Zoom appears to drop/skip a MIDI clock at random here and there.
I used an old old Zoom RT123 for 12 years syncing it to the 788. Never a problem.
I tried another RT-123. No problem.
The Zoom RT-223 I bought new.......Problem.
I had Zoom exchange the RT-223 with another one. Same problem.
(The Zoom tech support guy I dealt with was very helpful, by the way.)
I also tried both drum machines with a friends' DP-24.
No difference.
I did way more research and data taking than I needed to. My conclusion is that the Zoom RT-223 has a DESIGN problem. It would cost them a lot of money/time to fix it. Therefore they're not going to do it. I e-mailed their engineering department about this close to a year ago. I have never heard back from them about it. Draw your own conclusions to that.
If you are using the Zoom (or anything else) free running and are not syncing it to the recorder, virtually anything will work fine.
If you are using the MIDI Sync function to sync the machines together, DO NOT BUY THE ZOOM RT-223.
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