Best way to do Rock drums electonically

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andyskinner

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Anyone got any tips or good software recommendations etc on doing Rock style drums without a real drummer. I mostly do stuff with Fruityloops at the moment, but they tend to lack a bit of "feel". I`m not keen on using pre made loops either as I write drums around guitar riffs.

Andy.
 
Any program that can sequence midi will do. The rest in up to you. You have to like, compose the feel and emotion into the parts yourself.
 
andyskinner said:
Anyone got any tips or good software recommendations etc on doing Rock style drums without a real drummer.
I've yet to hear ANY convincing version of sequenced drums that sound even remotely realistic - especially for Rock.

Get a drummer.....
 
what I do is use reason but record each drum onto a seperate track then eq them all. I get a not bad sound out of them. If you make sure that you don't have note quantising on then you can move some random beats slightly to one side or the other to give it more of a human feel. Changing the velocity of each beat helps too. just so that every beat isn't as loud as the next. Just remember that a drummer only has 4 limbs so can't hit too many drums at the same time. Sorry if that's stating the obvious.
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
I've yet to hear ANY convincing version of sequenced drums that sound even remotely realistic - especially for Rock.

Get a drummer.....
you haven't heard it done right. or maybe you have and didn't know it.
 
andyskinner said:
Anyone got any tips or good software recommendations etc on doing Rock style drums without a real drummer. I mostly do stuff with Fruityloops at the moment, but they tend to lack a bit of "feel". I`m not keen on using pre made loops either as I write drums around guitar riffs.

Andy.

Its all about having good samples.

Also play around with different volume levels - accents and that. Having the snare and hats always at the same velocity isn't natural. Muck around with minor tming nuances.
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
I've yet to hear ANY convincing version of sequenced drums that sound even remotely realistic - especially for Rock.

Get a drummer.....


yeh.. dont try and get realistic electonic rock beat because they sound fake and cymbals dont come accross well.... get a real drummer for rock!
 
Yeah, samples

I'm seconding the sample thing - get yourself some good samples of live drums. You can buy sample CDs for the job, get them free off the covers of most music tech magazines, sample them from records (word of warning: not the right way to go unless you're very handy with editing) or just grab them off the internet.

Secondly, reverb is a useful tool. Mucking around with 'room' presets on most reverb plug-ins can usually produce a decent emulation of a drum room sound.

I'd also suggest experimenting with 'loosening' the groove... If your programming software is geared towards quantizing down to the tick (the smallest fraction of a bar), try shifting some of your beats veeeerrrrry slightly to the left or right. Be careful with this, though - subtlety is key.

Of course, whatever people say about live drummers being best for the job - I've worked in a recording studio, and I know that standard practise is to tighten each instrument so that every note plays bang on the beat. Which means that pretty much all mainstream and alternative records are effectively programmed, so you don't necessarily have to worry about your drums sounding too tight. It really depends what kind of recording you want to achieve.
 
...

It was probably months before I realized the cymbals on "Zak and Sara" by Ben Folds (and probably the drums) are complete samples. Pretty really sounding.
 
The problem with electronics is that the sounds themselves give it away. Even when a real drummer is playing an electronic kit, it still sounds fake. If you are going to sequence drums, check out Drumkit From Hell. I've been hearing very good thins about it.
 
The Seifer said:
you haven't heard it done right
Rock drums CAN'T be done with a drum loop and be convincing......... period. And I've forgotten more than you'll ever know, numb-nuts.....
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
Rock drums CAN'T be done with a drum loop and be convincing......... period. And I've forgotten more than you'll ever know, numb-nuts.....
yeah; no


I wasn't talking about loops; loops are piss. I was talking about composing a drum track and then running it through a sampler. I think thats what he wanted to know.
 
Only way ive heard electronic sounds come across a natural is with triggers.

Theres really no substitue for real drums though.
HAHA! imagine adrum machine trying to do jazz drums.

Whoo, a grammy to the programmer that pulls that one off to where i cant tell.
 
triple-zero said:
yeh.. dont try and get realistic electonic rock beat because they sound fake and cymbals dont come accross well.... get a real drummer for rock!

Easier said then done my friend. Drummer seem to be a dying breed. It's like for every 100 guitar players there is one drummer (That's what it feels like to me anyway) and when you do find someone that plays more problems occur. Such as no commitment to a band, drugs, they don't like they style of music you play, and so on. I don't think everybody should be against drum machines they are good for practing, making demos/song ideas, and if done right recording. I agree real drums are better but where are all they drummer at now a days. I can't find one and I live semi-close to a major city(San Francisco).
 
Electronic drums

I think everyone's getting carried away with the idea of electronic drums. You should understand that everyone - from the most cutting-edge electronic producers to resurrected jazz drummers from the 1920s - will agree that synth drums are NOT the way to go for rock, unless you want to do some kind of crossover thing.

You CAN get good results with samples, though. I've been programming drums for years, and I've also played in (as a singer/guitarist) and recorded with live bands with live drummers, so I feel qualified to testify.

I fully believe that if most non-muso people hear a drum loop programmed with samples on a CD - especially with other instruments on top - they won't be able to tell the difference. A drummer MIGHT.
 
Drumkit From Hell with Dr-008.....

might not fool Bruce, but if done right, will fool most average listeners.....
 
Drum Kit from hell......check out the demos http://www.toontrack.com/demos.shtml
they have some mixed ones with music, not perfect but really you would have to really be listening to tell they are fake.....the samples are good, but i dont think much of the VSTi plugin
 
Hit the bookstore this month and you'll find that one of the current recording mags (can't remember which one, but I skimmed it yesterday) has a lengthy article that addresses your initial post here. Lots of helpful tips and options.

J.
 
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