I got no beats, man.

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Prophet_81

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Hey everybody,
I appreciate any and all replies. I'm a singer/songwriter and I play guitar, bass, mandolin, and a little harmonica. I also sing and do harmonies. I do not play drums and I cannot afford a drumkit. I'm very interested, but that's beside the point. I have a tamborine and shaker and that's fine for some things, but if I want to create the illusion a pretty good beat, what kind of ideas do you all have? It doesn't have to be traditional percussion, either. Any ideas whatsoever. I have a few of my own, but has anyone done something before that's not your regular drumkit? I don't have a drum machine and I'm not about to use the drum patterns on my Korg D8. Also, I have a sequencer that was given to me, but it has no manual. If anyone can tell me something I would truly appreciate it.
 
R-U interested in purchasing a drum machine?
Check out the Roland/Boss line of drums ranging in
price from $250.00 to$799.
Or if you looking computer based, check out Fruity Loops
drum software.Even check out beats.com for drum samples.
Another idea is to visit http://www.samash.com for drumsamples on C/D.They have loads of c/d's with drum samples from pure punk rock to hardcore rap to avante-garde jazz.
These are just a few options you can provide yourself with drum samples.
Good Luck!
 
Prophet_81,

What is your recording medium? Because if you're recording to computer, then there's no reason that you can't use drum loops from loop CD's.

Rev E
 
Depending on how anal and cheap you are, a good alternative might be to get an old drum machine off of ebay. I got an Alesis HR-16 for $70, which is on the high end of what ebay has to offer. They always have old Boss and Alesis drum machines on there for around $40 or $50. Of course, if you want something that sounds like a "real" drum set, this wouldn't be your best option, but I believe that it's better than a drum loop because you can have different drum parts for different parts of the song, and even add little cymbal splashes and stuff like that to make it more interesting. They don't really require any technical knowledge either. Just make sure you get one with the instructions.
 
A drum machine is the way to go. It will change the way you write but you do have to learn to program patterns yourself. Keep the beats/patterns as simple as possible, no complicated fills or too much syncopation....they make it sound like a machine. The Boss DR770, Yamaha RY20, or Zoom machine are good, and all are under $400 US. If you have a good mic then bongo drums are a good investment...$50, and are fun to play.
 
For gods sake dont get a drum machine, they sound like crap and you cant do anything complicated. Loops blow as well they are so limited. Get ACID and then buy a CD called Drum Doctor Drum Hits, sample your own hits in wavelab or whatever program you have to edit waves. Then do it hit by hit, they will sound real because they are real drum hits. Of course all this only counts if you use a computer to edit or work. As a matter of fact a friend of mine and I heard the most awsome kick drum sound in a Tracey Lawrence song and it was played once in the song all alone and we sampled it and put it in our song, it sounds friggin awsome.
 
i heard some great stuff that cooperman made up on a program called fruity loops... sounded great , i havent used it so best to ask someone who has ... produced a very clean drum sound .. apparently only about $30 US
check it out at http://www.fruityloops.com

cheers all
spider
 
As Spider said, Fruity Loops is great for programming stuff... and not only drums... any sound can be used. If you have a computer, a good sequencing program like Fruity Loops is a helluva lot more versatile than ANY drum machine and IMHO a lot more user friendly. The catch is finding good samples. There are number of good CD's out there that have individual drum hits recorded on them... but if you're a cheap bastard (like myself and many of us here) then you can find free samples off the net...
 
Friends, thank you all so much for all of these suggestions. Regarding Rev. E's question, I don't record on computer. I use a Korg D8 and a few other toys. I appreciate all of these answers, but I want to emphasize that it doesn't have to be a drum, snare, kick, cymbal, etc. I mean something that may not even be possibly replicated on stage. Think outside the box. It doesn't have to be "traditionaly percussion." I've definitely used a drum machine and synced it with my D8's metronome, but I gotta tell ya, I just moved to Chicago two months ago and started my first day at a new job today. I'll be able to afford a drum machine or other equipment that can make "drum patterns," but while I'm broke, what "trash" might I use to creates rhythms and sounds to make a song drive? Again, thank you for all previous replies.
I even considered making sounds with my mouth and EQing and adding effects.

Does anyone know who Tom Waits is?
 
Go to the nearest Toys R Us store and check out the percussion toys. Some are kind of interesting but you will probably spend as much as buying a used 'dinosaur' drum machine in a pawnshop or over EBAY. Other alternatives; find a drummer to play with that has a nice drum kit, bang on pots and pans, or wait until you have the cash to buy the right tools. Music is an expensive hobby sometimes and requires breaking out the checkbook.
 
I've heard some good rhythm sounds using a mic inside of a plastic trash can. Just hitting it with hands. Simulated a kick drum fairly well.
 
I also recommend toy stores very highly. In that past, I have used a weird plastic toy shaped like a bear of some kind, with drum pads in its stomach, each producing a different drum sound (bass, snare, cymbal, and hihat). I have also used the YakBak, which basically will record about 3 seconds of sound and then play it back through a little speaker. You can use it as a sampler, or beatbox into it and keep hitting "play" to make a beat. They also make different versions that allow you to change the speed or play your recordings backwards.
If you're going to go the route of banging on things, the bass drum is the easy part. Get a cardboard box, stick a mic into or under it, and whack it with a big wooden spoon (or a drumstick, I guess, if you want to be boring about it). Be warned, you can't just tap it, you have to smack it pretty hard. The hard part is finding something that will work well as a snare. Just experiment I guess.
Or you could go the old-school hip hop route and make a "pause tape". Find a song that has a drum beat that you like, that has a section where only the drummer plays. Record as much of this section as you want onto a tape, pausing the tape on the beat. Then start the section over again, unpausing the tape on the beat. Repeat forever, until you have a tape just of the drum beat. This is pretty hard to do well, but can have pretty fun results. You have to be pretty precise. There's probably an easier way to do this on a computer, which I'm sure one of our computer-glorifying friends can tell you about.
And yes, I know who Tom Waits is.
 
How about scratching various beats and sounds via
a turntable? Like these scratch DJ's do. You mite
find some very useful percussive sounds employing
this technique.
 
Lets see... you have a shaker a tamb. and you play gtr. Well
try turning your gtr upside down and playing it like a hand drum to get the basic groove. Then add the shaker and tamb.The idea with the plastic garbage can is a good one to. Also you could on a pass or two slow down or speed up the recorder when recording something and play it back at normal speed. This will give you different tones. Experiment. Whatever you have around the house that makes some kind of noise can be used in a rythmicall way. Milk jugs,canned goods, cereal boxes, pillows, and making sounds with your mouth will work to.
Have fun.

Bleach
 
Hey, everybody, thank you. This is exactly what I'm looking for! I appreciate all of these replies! I'd like to thank pirateking for all the info. I'll busy recording for a few weeks until I can afford something "traditional". Thank you all.
 
Running the teeth of a plastic comb over the edge of an ashtray will give you a pretty nice percussive colour. Try it! :)
 
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