do you think that this idea result in a drum track?

A

astoebe

New member
So...I'm starting a new project, and in this project I would like to create a drum track for each song that fits the groove of the individual song. I would like to use these instead of a metronome, and possibly keep them at the end to fill in the real drum tracks. I know that alot of producers do this, and I've also heard some bands playing with tracks like this live lately (so that's why I want to try it).

I have been reading around here for a few days about drum tracks and keep seeing things like Reason, which I would love to use, but sadly I'm a poor college student (I know you've heard this one before around here).

So here's my idea...I can get a free VST sampler from kvraudio and download the free .wav files for ns_kit or possibly even buy the full version of ns_kit. Then, I could play a few measures of a beat on my MIDI controller through the VST sampler, and then record that beat as audio back into cubase. Then just some copying and pasting and I'd have a beat right? Then I could add effects to it and all that stuff.

So what I need is someone to tell me that this is going to work before I spend a ton of time on it and realize that it sucks. Also, if you have any other budget ideas, feel free to suggest them. Thanks for any help you can give!!!

In case it makes a difference to your answer, I will be using

Pentium 4 - 1.5 gb ram
2 x Delta 44's
Cubase SE
Alesis QS8 for a MIDI controller
-i'm not sure what MIDI interface yet-
 
Another great-sounding and free (except for you time) idea is to build your beats using pre-recorded/sampled drum deats and fills. There are a ton of free and great-sounding drum beats, lines fills recorded to WAV for every style of music there is. Just search around a bit. One of my misician buddies gave me a whole CD jam packed with this stuff a few months ago and I still have not had a chance to explore even a fifth of the stuff that he has on there. I don't recall what his exact sources were, but they weren't tucked away in some corner of the internet where Google couldn't find 'em. ;)

G.
 
not a bad idea, but i would much rather make a beat i am hearing in my head, even if it takes a little while...so do you think this idea will work well?
 
Sure, this will work fine. Now that I re-read your post, we are really talking about basically the same thing, just with seperate tools.

My musician buddy that gave me the CD does this all the time using those public WAV files and assembling loops and fills in Acid Pro, then saving the assembled tracks to WAVs that he uses as his drum tracks in Cool Edit Pro. In fact, I think he has even been known to bypass the Acid part and do all his track building right in CEP. It works very nicely for him. You are basically talking about more or less the same thing, except with different brands of software :).

G.
 
I'm right with you on this idea. I have found that I can play with a metronome if I really have to, but it's just not any fun. Clicks are annoying. And since I'm a one person band kind of guy, if I play 4 takes on guitar, 3 takes on bass, 3 takes on drums with that click.....ugh. Screw it, I just don't care about the tempo or the song at that point.

I have a bunch of ACID loop sets too, but I can never find one with just the right groove that I have in mind.

So I have started doing what you are doing, but in a different way. I'm best at guitar (my timing on drums is terrible), so I play a demo of the song with no click, then overdub some sort of very simple guitar part (same part that fits with the whole song) to get the basic groove. Then I copy that simple part into a computer, find the most steady bit, and cut it into a loop...then I've got my click. This also saves you the trouble of screwing around with the tempo for 2 weeks in software until you get it just right.

What you have in mind will probably accomplish the same thing as what I do. My only hesitation with what you have in mind is performance. Can you really capture that groove playing drums with your fingers? I find it really hard to play drums on a keyboard, but hey, that really could just be me.

I say do whatever feels the most rockin. Hope this works out for you.
 
astoebe said:
not a bad idea, but i would much rather make a beat i am hearing in my head, even if it takes a little while...so do you think this idea will work well?
Click to expand...
No reason why you can't do that by using a breakbeat. Just slice it up in something like ReCycle, load it in a sampler, and resequence it. A lot of times this gives a more natural sound because you get the slightly different hits, thus avoiding the machine gun effect. However, you can also make it sound deliberately choppy and obviously sequenced, depending how you chop things up and resequence them, which can sound cool too.
 
Some have it....some us a metronome!

smtcharlie said:
I'm right with you on this idea. I have found that I can play with a metronome if I really have to,

How lucky the people who have that natural metronome....built into there soul and have NO need for outside timing. Lucky folks arn't they.

Choctaw
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choctaw said:
smtcharlie said:
I'm right with you on this idea. I have found that I can play with a metronome if I really have to,

How lucky the people who have that natural metronome....built into there soul and have NO need for outside timing. Lucky folks arn't they.

Choctaw
Click to expand...


Yeah, that may not have been phrased right. What I'm really saying is that I like loops as a better alternative to a standard metronome.

My timing, especially on drums, is awful. If I played 5 instruments with no type of click, it would be a disaster!
Click to expand...
 
Drum machines are a good partner and they keep time.

smtcharlie said:
Yeah, that may not have been phrased right. What I'm really saying is that I like loops.

I got you...I use a Boss Dr 880 which gives me drums & bass that I can change and tweak any way I choose. It is wonderful to have something to play guitar with that is right on time, never gets tired and stays sober.

Choctaw
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