Superior drums 2.0 + ?? midi files

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12pak

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I posted this in the newbies section but don't know how many read that.
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I'm really new to this midi stuff and am trying to grasp what I need here. I understand that one can trigger Superior Drum 2.0 but I don't want to because I'm pretty far from being a drummer. I understand that it comes with a midi library of drum parts but is kind of limited. Can anyone suggest what might be the best midi drum library to get? Of course I'm interested in something that will sound human & natural. I've also thought about getting their Druntracker program and midifying some wav loops to use in Superior. Maybe I'm complicating things--I don't know.
 
Hi.

Why do you say Superior Drummer 2.0 is kind of limited? Minimum instalation is 4GB (up do 25GB) and with the envelopes and 'humanizing' options you can get any drum sound you want from it. They even say it is programed so you won't hear the same sound twice (I don't know if that's true, but as long as it sounds good I'm ok). You can even choose which drum parts can be heard on which microphones. The old EZDrummer from 1995(?) sounded pretty sloppy but this one is really quite good.

You may also want to try Addictive Drums, which takes about 2GB of disk space and has lots of different possibilites of sound shaping.

I really don't know much about libraries, I usually pick the available drum kit which best suits my tastes, change the drum parts I want between kits, and play around with the envelopes until I get the desired sound.

Maybe I'm getting this all wrong and you are asking for pre-made loops to put on your song?

I'm not a drummer either but, once you're happy with your drum sound, with some patience the result you get by creating and edditing your own drum lines can be quite good.
 
Yes I understand it's not limited at all as far as sounds go. I guess what I'm talking about is patterns or midi loops to feed it. Then I know nothing about manipulating & changing or rewritting midi. I've ordered SD 2.0 so I'll try just rolling my own but like I say....I ain't no drummer. I'm really in the dark here & maybe I'm just complicating it, we'll see. I do know music so maybe I can create good drum tracks.
 
12pak said:
Yes I understand it's not limited at all as far as sounds go. I guess what I'm talking about is patterns or midi loops to feed it. Then I know nothing about manipulating & changing or rewritting midi. I've ordered SD 2.0 so I'll try just rolling my own but like I say....I ain't no drummer. I'm really in the dark here & maybe I'm just complicating it, we'll see. I do know music so maybe I can create good drum tracks.
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it doesn't come with an abundance of midi files true....but there's 3 "monster packs" to add on that are pretty cheap ($29), they come with over 400 midi files

also there are freebie midi files to download from oddgrooves and groove monkee

should give you enough to get started on..

here's what I do...I generally use the kick or snare from a midi file then add my own stuff on top of it..Im not great at drum programming so this is a quick way to get the beat and is more interesting than just dragging midi files onto your DAW...Im starting to do some of them from scratch now due to this practise..I also use an MPD24 which has helped loads :)
 
Thanks for the replies. I guess I'm starting to get the idea. I do have a Roland SPD6 (finger velocity sensitive pads) so I guess I could use that along with some midi grooves.
 
12pak said:
Thanks for the replies. I guess I'm starting to get the idea. I do have a Roland SPD6 (finger velocity sensitive pads) so I guess I could use that along with some midi grooves.
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yeah I think what's the point of having the greatest sounding drummer when all my other musical skills are average?? if I don't programme some myself it kinda sounds out of place

its also a good thing to do if you're feeling uncreative, just build some beats..i do them on my laptop when Im travelling...ableton lets you use the PC keyboard, though those new mini akai pads look interesting
 
kcearl said:
it doesn't come with an abundance of midi files true....but there's 3 "monster packs" to add on that are pretty cheap ($29), they come with over 400 midi files
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thats ...cool? :p

looks like I'll be eating up even more of my HDD space!

thanks kc! :mad::D;)
 
I've used Superior 2.0 (2.2.0 now) for the past 18 months and EZDrummer for a few years before that. I know that EZDrummer came with a selection of midi "loops" set out as grooves and broken up into intros, beats on hihat, beats on ride & fills that you could audition within the program then just drag them to a midi track in your DAW of choice in the order you wanted. I never really bothered with them as I have a set of V-drums to trigger. Each expansion pack came with it's own set of midi loops.

Superior didn't come with any midi files I don't think but after upgrading, all the loops from the add on packs were still there (I'm trying to attach a screen grab)

Pics aren't great, but should give you an idea of how things are layed out. As someone else mentioned the Groove Monkey midi loops are free and show up in the Grooves browser of Superior 2.0 when instaled. If I was you just starting I'd get these free loops, drag a beat you like into a midi track in your DAW then open it in a midi drum editor, that will let you see what is going on within the loop. You should also be able to edit said loops and ofcourse if you change your project tempo the midi changes tempo too so basicaly you can have any loop at whatever tempo you want.

You can select the depth of the layers of hits for each drum in the kit giving you anything from a basic 5 piece kit with a few varied samples of each drum that will load up under 200 meg or the same kit with multi layers where you'll never hear the same sample in 1 of 20 hits. The humanizing features are really good but I've only brushed on them (no pun intended) as all input here as I said comes from the V-drums and that's usualy random enough with a human on the throne.

I don't want to baffle you before you get the software, just install it, grab the groove monkey files and have fun with it and come back here with more questions when you start pulling your hair out :D that's how we all learn around here.
 

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Think I rambled a bit there without adding that each kit piece has a learn button where you can map it to a trigger input or a note on your keyboard so you can finger tap the beats in. Just right click the kit piece, hit the learn button and hit the pad/note on keyboard that you want to map it to. The manual is well set out.
 
Thanks Lemon! I've downloaded the Groove Monkee and Oddgroove freestuff. Now it'll be just a couple weeks & I'll get by my mailbox to get SD2. I think once I see this stuff laid out it will all make sense. Shoot I was just getting used to slicing & dicing DOD loops. I know I'm going to like this a lot better though.
 
kcearl said:
it doesn't come with an abundance of midi files true....but there's 3 "monster packs" to add on that are pretty cheap ($29), they come with over 400 midi files
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What are these "monster packs" called, and where can I get them? I can't find anything on Toontracks site for $29.

Thanks for the help!
 
The reason why I recommend you to make your own drum lines is because, as user kcearl said, it sounds much more in place and it will also enhance your creativity. You'll get more ideias and may even change the riffs/melodies you already had made. It's really a great thing to play around with, not only with a keyboard, but also using the note editor of your host program. Sometimes even random stuff will give you good ideas.

I have hardly sit on a drum. The only thing drum related I've done during my life was sitting on a drum and randomly hit stuff while no one was playing.

On the stuff I do I never use a keyboard because I don't have one and also because I'm bad at it. I do everything with note edition. And you may feel lost at first but then you'll start feeling what's in the right place. It takes a lot of time though, I take about 45m to make drums for 45s of a song, but that depends a lot on what you are after.

I have tried the pre-made loops too, but it just feels strange. I can never find the one that fits that particular moment on the song. I suppose this is the reason why you want a lot of them to chose from.

Cheers
 
I'd really like to learn that (editing midi). I use Reaper and haven't ever even looked at the midi editor. I know nothing about that.
 
12pak said:
I'd really like to learn that (editing midi). I use Reaper and haven't ever even looked at the midi editor. I know nothing about that.
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When you talked about editing midi I didn't realize you were speaking about inputing notes in the timeline, I was thinking you were reffering to soundwave edition (I'm not very experienced).

I never used the software you are speaking about, but in most softwares you must create a new midi track and, once you have opened the VST (Superior Drummer 2.0 in this case) inside the software, associate it with the created MIDI track, draw the midi track on the timeline, double click on what you have drawn, and start placing notes wherever you like.

This link will make things clearer:

http://www.computer-training-software.com/nuendo-3.htm

First take a look on how to add tracks on the Basics section and then watch the MIDI section.

There is probably help online to your software too.

:)
 
Thanks Descalabro! Those videos helped quite a bit. Of course I've seen midi tracks before but it was Chinese to me.
 
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