Entering MIDI drums by keyboard?

L

ljenab

New member
Hi, all. I'm a guitar player trying to work my way up to writing and recording more complex songs. I'm trying to get away from using SmartLoops and other "packaged" drum software, and am working with the fXpansion DR 808 that ships with Sonar 2 XL (I'm moving up from Guitar Tracks Pro). I started out trying to program by steps in the piano roll, but I'm finding it pretty tedious, and also hard to get the groove I'm after. My idea is to get a little MIDI controller keyboard and just play the drum grooves into Sonar, tweak them in the piano roll or staff view, then route them through a kit in the DR 808. First of all, will this work? And second, can anybody recommend a good, inexpensive direct-to-USB MIDI controller?

Thanks!

[I crossposted this question in another board--hope that isn't a no-no.]

LJ
 
That is indeed a way that many people go, and in general it works well. I use an Evolution MK249C-2 midi controller keyboard. It takes some serious practice to be able to play drums on a keyboard. I tend to overdub: first set up a track to record kick-snare, so that I only need one finger from each hand, and play the kick-snare part, then set up another track to record hi-hat, and play my hi-hat, then any fills/other cymbals for another track or two, then bus all the tracks together into one for editing.

Important things to learn: velocity, quantization.
 
What up people! Let me jump in on this one. In my 2 cents opinion, that's an ok way of laying your drum tracks. First of all, it does take a lot of getting used along with patience. It also depends on how intricate your drum patterns are. I used to type my drum patterns from my midi controller into cakewalk 9 up until about the beginning of this year. Then after all the quantizing, swinging, and dragging notes, an hour had gone by. Plus, half of my drum patterns are intricate, contain rolls, and include more than one loop. So, for my style, it just saved me time to buy a MPC and slave it to cakewalk. So, if you're laying simple 1 and 2 loop drum patterns then use a midi controller. If your patterns are more intricate; then hopefully you'll be just that damn good, you'll have patience, or you might just be better of buying a decent drum machine that fits your style. Actually, if you're good at playing piano it won't take that long to learn. It's just time consuming.
 
Thanks for the replies, it's really helpful. Somebody just recommended SlicyDrummer and Fill-in Drummer to me. He said that they are far superior to (and easier than) "two finger" drumming. They plug into the DR 008 as pads and do all sorts of things. Does anybody have experience with those programs? What I want is the simplest, most straightforward way to write the drum tracks for rock and blues songs (as opposed to dance/techno style loops). I also don't want to get bogged down in even more complicated software. Basically, I'm looking for something to make the drums easier.

LJ
 
Keyboard is a fun easy way to go at first.
Can you play drums? There are a few cheap MIDI drum controllers. the roland SPD series is a good way to learn drums and program or record realistic patterns with sticks and a pedal for the high hat and kick.
spd-6.jpg
 
jake-owa said:
Keyboard is a fun easy way to go at first.
Can you play drums? There are a few cheap MIDI drum controllers. the roland SPD series is a good way to learn drums and program or record realistic patterns with sticks and a pedal for the high hat and kick.
spd-6.jpg
Click to expand...

That looks like a lot of fun, but I'm not a drummer. It might be useful to bang out the general groove, then edit it in the piano roll, though. I suppose an advantage of going with the keyboard would be the ability to play keyboard parts as well. Dang, I have a lot to think about (and a limited budget). I don't want to get hardware I don't need, but I sure hate the drum parts I'm coming up with with just the piano roll.

LJ
 
jake-owa said:
Then start with a cheap keyboard like the Evolution MK149 and use it till you outgrow it.
Click to expand...

That might be the best route--but, like I said, I need a direct-to-USB product, as I don't have a MIDI port on my (wretched) SB Audigy2. Any recommendations for a direct-to-USB keyboard controller?

LJ
 
I just ordered an Evolution MK-361C and the Drumkit from Hell samples. I think this will work for me as far as sound and flexibility, but now I've got (yet another) batch of software and hardware to break in. Anybody got any tips/tutorials on this combo?

Thanks,
LJ
 
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