Drum software to use for solo project

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LTsmooth42

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Hey all,

I was recently practicing and doing some recording with my band, which unfortunately had to retire due to the lack of practice space (tenant got evicted from the house) :/

Although I'm pretty bummed about this; I'd like to continue to make music. Guitar by itself is really lacking IMHO; especially for the types of things I'd like to write, so i'd like to do some production and maybe get a couple songs together.

I have tried to collaborate with other drummers (I even had a drummer with mics) to get tracks for my tracks, but this never seemed to work out (people always BS).

I'd like to produce some of my songs by myself. I feel confident enough to get started recording the bass and the guitars, but I don't know where to start with the drums. I live in an apartment with no room for a drumkit, plus my neighbors would kill me. It looks like I'm going to need to use artificial drums for my songs.

First question: Are there many advantages of going with a hardware drum machine solution for electronic drums or is software the way to go?

Second question: What software should I start with? I know Fruity Loops pretty well, but I have not used it in a while. I'm assuming I would also need to learn some things about creating drum tracks (decay and details like that) and find some good samples

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm really looking forward to laying down some tracks once I get situated.

Any other advice/resources for the beginning home recording setup would be greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks!
 
What are you planning to use to record your guitars and bass? Do you want a computer based recording system?

There are virtual drums out there that sound very good. Most need to run within a DAW program like Cubase, Sonar, etc. I don't know if Fruity Loops can run VSTi's or not. Programs like EZ Drummer, Steven Slate Drums and Addicitve Drums are the most common.

You could also look at electronic drums if you want to play the drums without a lot of neighborly complaints. There are kits like the Roland TD series. And cool enough, most of these can trigger software drums like EZD or AD for better sounds and more control.

Then the third alternative is to find an online collaborator who can pound out some drum tracks for you. You'll find one or two on this site (such as user Poetice Intensity).

As for a setting up a home recording suite, you should start by reading reading reading this site and looking at books.
Also check out TWEAKHEADZ.

good luck, have fun and welcome to the site.
 
Wouldn't bother with hardware drum machines... for recording purposes, unless you want a specific sound, I'd say their day is done.

Software drums are pretty good, and cheaper, these days. I use Addictive via Reaper and I can program them hit by hit using the midi editor. Of course if you're an actual drummer, you might want to use an e-drum kit, or some other triggering device to do that.

Good luck.
 
I would totally start with DrumCore FREE. I think its sounds are MUCH better than that of EZ Drummer or Addictive Drums.
 
Chili said:
What are you planning to use to record your guitars and bass? Do you want a computer based recording system?

There are virtual drums out there that sound very good. Most need to run within a DAW program like Cubase, Sonar, etc. I don't know if Fruity Loops can run VSTi's or not. Programs like EZ Drummer, Steven Slate Drums and Addicitve Drums are the most common.

You could also look at electronic drums if you want to play the drums without a lot of neighborly complaints. There are kits like the Roland TD series. And cool enough, most of these can trigger software drums like EZD or AD for better sounds and more control.

Then the third alternative is to find an online collaborator who can pound out some drum tracks for you. You'll find one or two on this site (such as user Poetice Intensity).

As for a setting up a home recording suite, you should start by reading reading reading this site and looking at books.
Also check out .

good luck, have fun and welcome to the site.
Click to expand...

I've got a Presonus Firebox firewire interface and an SM57 for recording the guitar; probably go direct in from the bass amp to the firebox from the bass amp

i'll look into the software you mentioned; i'd like to get something that works in fruity loops.. i've heard the learning curve for cubase/sonar/protools is pretty steep.

i'll check out that book -- i appreciate it

and also thanks for the advice on hardware vs software -- i'll stick to software if this is the case (and it's cheaper anyway)
 
I would recommend Battery 3, it is amazing in every way possible... I can't even start beginning describing it, but basically, it has everything you would EVER need. Trust me. Just check it out
 
Armistice said:
Wouldn't bother with hardware drum machines... for recording purposes, unless you want a specific sound, I'd say their day is done.

Software drums are pretty good, and cheaper, these days. I use Addictive via Reaper and I can program them hit by hit using the midi editor. Of course if you're an actual drummer, you might want to use an e-drum kit, or some other triggering device to do that.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Just wondering,Armistice are you a drummer?I've been working with drum loops myself but would like to step up to a software based program like Addictive for more control on the individual drums.I've used drum machines in the past and painstakingly created a few of my own paterns but they've always come out very machine like.

If i was to use a software program i wouldn't know where to start.I'm not a drummer so programming them would be a very painstaking process.In the end it would probably sound awful and not realistic.How do you go about programming the drums hit by hit? Do these software programs have patterns and fills that you can use as a basis for creating drum tracks or does every hit have to put in individually?

LTsmooth42: I use sonar 6 LE and i don't think the learning curve is that bad.A lot of folks use various versions of Sonar so finding help isn't a problem.Once you get started and record a song or two it gets easier.A lot of folks use Reaper here and find it very simple to use so you can get a lot of advice on that program too.
 
mcmetal said:
Do these software programs have patterns and fills that you can use as a basis for creating drum tracks or does every hit have to put in individually?
Click to expand...

Not Armistice, but got an answer anyways.

Yes they do. I've used EZD and SSD and both have midi files that you can drag into your DAW to build a quick drum track. You can also open the midi files in the DAW editor and make changes. I find that to be one of the funnest parts of working on songs. All the little subtle details in the drums.
 
There's only advantage of having a hardware drum machine if it has pads that you can hit like the Roland SPD. So if you're a drummer you can actually play stuff in and get the right velocity levels for your hits. You can hook an SPD up to your computer via MIDI and use it to trigger a software sample anyway, so that's the best way to go. This means you've got more control later.

As for getting a certain sound from a hardware drum machine, you can download most drum machine samples here Drum samples - Download free drum sounds, wav samples. All those machines for about $5 which is pretty good. Then you can load those into your software sampler.

I'd suggest Battery also, as a stand alone and instrument instrument. Like Hoodoomoo says it's just brilliant. A friend of mine that does a bit of programming has been able to make it sound like a real drummer quite easily with the right samples.

If you want something similar, but with a few more options of other instruments etc then have a look at Ableton Live. The sampler in there is pretty good and easy to use and you get a load of other instruments with it too. If its just for drums you're looking tho, Battery is your thing.
 
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