Drum Files: MIDI vs. WAV - Help!

[CMM]

I am new to computer recording. Have been using Guitar Tracks and recently upgraded to Cakewalk ProAudio 9. In Guitar Tracks, I used Drag & Drop Drummer and I know I can use it in PA9 as well. However, there are only a few tempos and if you try to speed one up (or slow it down) by stretching the audio, it sounds terrible. So my alternative is to create my own drum tracks (at whatever tempo I need) using the individual drum beats (i.e., kick, snare, hi-hat, etc..). This is ok, but I am not a drummer and so the beats are usually lacking, plus it takes forever.

I noted that there were MIDI drum files as part of PA9 and I was finally able to access them and they sound quite good and you are able to adjust the tempo without loss of quality. However, I do not know anything about MIDI. I am a guitar player (kind of). In Drag & Drop Drummer, it is easy, you just copy the beat you want as many measures as the song is and you are done (after adding fills, etc..). It is easy to visualize and edit in the Track View. With MIDI, when I insert a MIDI drum file, I don't know (understand) how I tell it how long to go. How I can get a visual of the track. How to change tempos, etc.

I am sure this is probably a dumb question, but I hope someone can help me with this so I can use MIDI Drum files, since their quality and adaptability seems to be superior.

Thanks in advance for any help you are able to offer.

CMM

 

[Tekker]

You can edit the MIDI drum tracks in the piano roll view, and when you get the beat you want you can go into the track view and copy and paste the parts for as many measures as you want it.

There is a tempo toolbar that changes the tempo of the entire song and if there's not, right click somewhere up in the toolbar section and select (check) the tempo toolbar.

Hope that helps.

-tkr

 

[dachay2tnr]

Are you using Session Drummer?

I found this to be a pretty good program, with decent sounding drum samples.

To use it, you need to set up a Midi Track and then add Session Drummer to the track as a plug-in. Then open Session Drummer, and you will find an array of different beats. Choose the one (or ones) you want by double clicking on them. Each sample will run for a specific number of measures (indicated next to the sample name). You can listen to them by simply hitting the "Play" button in CW PA9.

Once you get some patterns close to what you want, you need to apply the effect to the track (go to Console view and right click on the Session Drummer plug-in and choose Apply Midi Effects). This will give you a visual Midi Track which can then be edited (I find the Piano Roll view is the best way to edit).

I'm not a drummer, nor a midi expert, and I've been able to fumble around pretty good. Each sample in Session Drummer will automatically time itself to the BPM you have set for the project. So all you really need to do is find the sample(s) that best matches your song - then edit anything you need to.

 

[AlChuck]

Just to clarify, dachay2tnr, Session Drummer does not have drum samples, it has MIDI drum patterns that are played by your MIDI device. There are no samples automatically timing themselves for the BPM, just MIDI events that occur at certain beats, regardless of the tempo you have set.

 

[CMM]

I think the step I was missing was the apply effects to the track. I was just pressing the play button and it would go on forever. I'll give that a try when I get a chance. Thanks to all for the help. I'll let you know how it turns out.