Drum set or machine?

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CloveWC

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To actually be able to write good songs I feel that I should be able to somehow add drums. Would it be more worth my time and money to buy and learn to play a drum set or to buy and learn to program a drum machine?

~Clove
 
Learning to play drums would be infinitely better because you would understand the instrument and what it's capable of, which would transltae into doing better drum parts regardless of whether you ended up recording a real drum kit or sequencing them. The more instruments that you can inhabit, the better of a composer you can be, because you'll have a better sense of what's possible to ask of a player.

The other stuff - learning to sequence -- is a piece of cake, a no-brainer, if you know what you are after first.
 
learning to play drums would be far better. It would cost more money to buy the drums, and the mics to record them, but even a basic rythm will sound better in most cases than a drum machine, and it takes a while to program the drums into a song with the drum machine. It would be easier just to play a live set, even if you aren't that great, unless you like the electronic drum sound.
 
I think it depends on what your goal is. I agree that learning on a real kit is more musically stimulating and that real drums, properly miced, sound much better than a drum machine. That said, you'll spend alot more time learning how to be a solid drummer and money on a kit and mics. . Drum machines are fairly cheap and not to difficult to program, once you get the jist of it. Drum machines also have preset beats that you can learn from and modify, if needed. If you have the time, money, space and no neighbors, go with the real drums. If you want to get some songs down, with out spending alot of time and money, go with a drum machine or computer program.
 
I am a drummer - who also plays several other instruments and writes. With that qualification, I think a low cost drum machine makes more sense for a songwriter.

A songwriter should focus on the value of the lyrics, the melody , etc. While some type of drum beat can help establish the rhythem, you don't need to buy, mic & play drums to achieve that. A songwriter (or a good song) does not need complex drum parts - although that may be a factor of a good arrangement (vs. a good song).

That being said - I completely agree that the more instruments one can play (or at least understand), the better musician you may become (and perhaps a better writer).

Although candidly, I find the more instruments I learn I am less of a song writer and more of an arranger. Instead of simply crafting a well written song - I'm already thinking about guitar riff's and drum breaks, etc - sometimes my songs become slaves to all the riffs I'm hearing - rather then being served by those riffs.
 
Mikeh makes a lot of good points. Of course, if in the back of your mind you wish to learn to play drums, real drums are probably the way to go. If you just want to add beats to your songs, get a drum machine.

Another benefit of a programmable drum machine is that by modifying and creating programs, you get a real sense (& appreciation) of what goes into a good drum part.
 
If you are doing homerecording without collaboration (i.e.,by yourself), you end up wearing many hats: recording engineer, mixing engineer, performer, songwriter, arranger and--sometimes--construction worker. The performing aspect itself can require you to play guitar, bass, keyboards, as well as other instruments depending on the style of music you play. And, to make matters worse, you are often responsible for lead and harmony vocals. You can try to do it all but my feeling is that somewhere you will have to take a shortcut. My choice is the drum kit, since there are at least some alternatives such as the drum machine or loop software combined with real drum samples. You can also try a combination of drum machine/drum samples and real drums. Pick up something like an Alesis SR-16 and add a real snare drum or some cymbals.
 
An interesting thread with some great replies too. Let us know what you decide to do!
 
Very well said, great points. I too, end up getting caught up in the arrangement, instead of just getting down a solid song.


mikeh said:
I am a drummer - who also plays several other instruments and writes. With that qualification, I think a low cost drum machine makes more sense for a songwriter.

A songwriter should focus on the value of the lyrics, the melody , etc. While some type of drum beat can help establish the rhythem, you don't need to buy, mic & play drums to achieve that. A songwriter (or a good song) does not need complex drum parts - although that may be a factor of a good arrangement (vs. a good song).

That being said - I completely agree that the more instruments one can play (or at least understand), the better musician you may become (and perhaps a better writer).

Although candidly, I find the more instruments I learn I am less of a song writer and more of an arranger. Instead of simply crafting a well written song - I'm already thinking about guitar riff's and drum breaks, etc - sometimes my songs become slaves to all the riffs I'm hearing - rather then being served by those riffs.
Click to expand...
 
Okay, I THINK I'm going to first learn how to actually play the drums so I can understand the instrument. Later on however, I'll probably try out a drum machine. I think I would like to know more about what goes on with it than just pressing a button and having a sound come out. I'm not absolutely postive though. Thank you everybody for your advice! It is seriously helping me out with my decision even though I'm not entirely sure yet.

Thanks again!
~Clove
 
I am in a similar situation in that I play keyboards, horns, congas, and electric bass (and I am pushing my luck playing bass). It is really not feasible for me to get good enough on a drum set.

Question: Does anyone out there use a PC program to create drum parts as opposed to a drum machine? Can that be done with a program such as Cakewalk or Sibelius? Then I could later record live congas and other percussion.

Just a thought, thanks!
 
I too am a drummer, as well as a player of other instruments.
Since I live in an apartment, I use a drum machine alot for songwriting and arranging.
By the way. this is a cool board. Thanks for putting it up!
From the newest new guy here....Peace!
 
I am probably starting to sound like a fossil. When people are talking about a "drum machine", are they referring to a physical device or a software application?
 
it can be either one

FL Studio (software drum machine) is $49 up to $149 i think. one of those boss drum machines(standalone) can be around 200 or so...and if you want a good one for a little more than just beats then go with an MPC...but thats going to run $800+
 
Sackbutcharlie,

It is indeed a good point to clerify the term drum machine (vs. software). When I here the term "drum machine" I indeed think a hardware device.

Now that so many people record to compters, the use of software (loops, etc) is slowly making a hardware "drum machine" a thing of the past.

Programs like Cakewalk do come with some drum loops and there are many 3rd party software programs that can be imported into something like Cakewalk.

I have used drum software programs (as well as various drum machines)- but since I got some Vdrums a few years ago - I almost always "perform" drum parts (vs. program)

distortedrumble,

I agree that some of the lower cost software programs are much less costly than a drum machine - it really comes down to the recording medium. If people are not using a computer - trying to cut and paste drums loops becomes a mute point.
 
Hey Mikeh,

You said that you like to perfrom the drum parts with your drum machine. Are you talking about a box that actually has small pads that you strike then it produces a drum sound?
 
MadMinute said:
I too am a drummer, as well as a player of other instruments.
Since I live in an apartment, I use a drum machine alot for songwriting and arranging.
By the way. this is a cool board. Thanks for putting it up!
From the newest new guy here....Peace!
Click to expand...

I have a friend with the same situation living in an apparment. He has a set of electronic drums. Hammers on them whit head phones. Doesn't bother any neighbors.

He has a regular set at his mom and dads he uses at gigs.

D
 
sackbutcharlie,

When I indicated I "perform" the drum parts - I was talking about the Roland V-drums.

These are a drum module with drum pads (an actual electronic drum kit).

When I do have to "play" parts and I don't have an e-kit, I prefer to use a MIDI keyboard to trigger a module.

Normally the response and the ability to use various fingers to program a groove works better with a keyboard than with the little buttons an a drum machine.
 
i'm going to need to take a class on how to use midi....i tried it once and didnt get it to work so i gave away some of the midi stuff i had
 
distortedrumble said:
i'm going to need to take a class on how to use midi....i tried it once and didnt get it to work so i gave away some of the midi stuff i had
Click to expand...

It's pretty simple once you figure out what MIDI is & isn't. Here's an article with the basics:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_get_started_with_midi.html

I read a similar article (or maybe this same one, I don't remember) and suddenly the light went on. Much like mikeh, I've hooked up my keyboard via midi to the "midi in" on my drum machine (which also does bass) to play bass parts. I still like banging on the drum machine's buttons for the drums, but I could also do that via the keyboard if I wanted.
 
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