Easiest method of mixing software-generated drum tracks

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Barr26

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Hello,

I've been recording songs/albums for a while, but recently switched to a MacBook Pro, using Logic Pro X for my mixer and, since I have no drums or access to a drummer, Ableton LIVE! for that. I'm just a couple songs into my new album and realizing that I'm going to need to break down and finally start using compression and EQ on each drum kit piece as I go forward (I was always lazy about it in the past, but it's time to do it right).

I'm pretty sure I can use LIVE to adjust each piece with no problem and keep rendering to a WAV and importing into Logic, but it would seem that since I'm doing all my other mixing in Logic, I'd want to do the same with the drums. But if I have a beat that contains a kick, snare, hitat, and whatever else, then I won't be able to adjust each piece in Logic.

I realize I'm stating the obvious, but it leads to my main question; those who have worked with drums in this way, how do you prefer to go about it? Do you try to perfect your drum sounds in your drum creator before importing, or somehow mix them properly after they are in your DAW?

I hope that makes sense. Thanks!

-Rick
 
Hi,
I think it's safe to say most people either mic up a drum kit or use a software drum instrument through their main DAW.

When you say you use ableton for your drums, is it a softsynth within ableton that you're using? Perhaps you could just open it in logic instead?
If not, does logic not have it's own drum software?
Failing that you could create your patterns and sort the structure, then export your drum tracks as separate mono wavs as if you'd recorded them live.
That, of course, means you'd be committed to the 'playing', but you could mix the drums in logic with the rest of your mix.
 
Can you get it to export each piece as an individual wav file? I'd do that, and then import each wav into your mixing program.
 
Yeah, you really want to be able to mix your drums with the rest of your mix. Mixing them alone, you have no setting to compare them in. Best thing is to find a way to get your drums (individually) into whatever DAW your using, and go from there.
 
EZ Drummer loops have had compression used on them already so are pretty much ready to go with no additional processing.
 
Logic does have a nice drummer kit, but after several weeks of messing around trying to use it as a step editor, I had to give up. It really wasn't made for that, so I had to go with something else.

Steenamaroo, what exactly do you mean by 'sorting the structure'?

VomitHatSteve, I'm pretty sure I could do that, but I imagine it would lead to literally dozens of WAV files, if I'm thinking about it correctly. I'd export the bass kick, snare, hitat separately for a specific beat, then do it again for a different beat....I guess that's what I'm trying to avoid, it seems like way too much work. Perhaps there's a middle ground. The drums don't sound bad at this point, I just keep reading about tailoring each piece with individual settings, and want to try it.

Thanks for the other repsonses. I'll definitely keep editing all sounds within Logic, and see what I can do with Ableton's exports.
 
Barr26 said:
Logic does have a nice drummer kit, but after several weeks of messing around trying to use it as a step editor, I had to give up. It really wasn't made for that, so I had to go with something else.
Click to expand...

I use Logic's Drummer to create patterns, it seems so much easier than step editing plus you can always convert the track to midi and edit it. I do acknowledge that the included virtual drummers don't cover very many genres.

But what I really wanted to point out is that if you choose a Producer Kit from the instrument library you get a channel for each drum, sometimes two for kick and snare, plus overheads and room mics. Then you can mix away to your heart's content.

J
 
I use the drum instrument (Addictive / Steven Slate Digital 4) via my DAW (Reaper), as Steen suggested, and can thus do whatever the hell I want to whichever drum sound I need to whenever the hell I want to in the context of the entire mix.

Only way to fly... YMMV.
 
Armistice said:
I use the drum instrument (Addictive / Steven Slate Digital 4) via my DAW (Reaper), as Steen suggested, and can thus do whatever the hell I want to whichever drum sound I need to whenever the hell I want to in the context of the entire mix.

Only way to fly... YMMV.
Click to expand...

This ain't Facebook, but I 'LIKE' this! ^^^
 
Barr26 said:
Steenamaroo, what exactly do you mean by 'sorting the structure'?
Click to expand...

I just mean write/create/build/play your drum track, then export the individual tracks as wavs.
I put emphasis on this because once the tracks are wavs, you cannot alter them as you can alter midi notation.
 
Actually in Ableton, if you go that way, you can create your own drum kit if you prefer, get all of your EQ, Compression, what every you need and build on drum rack. Then Map that to MIDI and you have a complete drum kit.

I use Superior Drummer, but if I wanted to design my own kit, all the tools Ableton has, no reason you can't get some good samples and build your own. Look up on youtube on how to build a instrument rack.
 
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