Members Willyguitar Posted September 4, 2014 Members Share Posted September 4, 2014 So, given the inherent unreliability/absence of our present drummer, I have been discussing doing a duo with our lead singer again, who, like me, is keen not to go on stage having only rehearsed once every three months. He said he recently saw an act which used a foot operated drum/bass machine, and I wondered if folk on here knew of this kind of kit and what the good options are? I have found this, but would welcome other thoughts http://www.production-room.com/product-details/Korg-VOLCA-BEATS?gclid=Cj0KEQjwm6CgBRC0zOmrydrqmosBEiQA_xoLRvS2HAvfXJ_n2MOLHCqLNfslObXarwjHpFGYLyf7eagaAqgQ8P8HAQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundcreation Posted September 4, 2014 Members Share Posted September 4, 2014 So, given the inherent unreliability/absence of our present drummer, I have been discussing doing a duo with our lead singer again, who, like me, is keen not to go on stage having only rehearsed once every three months. He said he recently saw an act which used a foot operated drum/bass machine, and I wondered if folk on here knew of this kind of kit and what the good options are? I have found this, but would welcome other thoughts http://www.production-room.com/product-details/Korg-VOLCA-BEATS?gclid=Cj0KEQjwm6CgBRC0zOmrydrqmosBEiQA_xoLRvS2HAvfXJ_n2MOLHCqLNfslObXarwjHpFGYLyf7eagaAqgQ8P8HAQ A strong laptop with software. BFD3 or Superior drummer. Something like that. The sound is real drums and you can program it to your hearts desire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted September 4, 2014 Members Share Posted September 4, 2014 Korg makes some very good sounding drum machines. I have a Zoom 123 I use for recording solo stuff and its very realistic, unlike many older units that sounded synthetic. Its got 300 stock drum beats, 200 different sets and 100 banks where you can build and save your own beats. It does have bass too but I haven't used it much since I can play bass to record. For someone who hasn't got a DAW setup it would do the job nicely by plugging into a PA. Its got an assignable footswitch where you could scroll through the beats your setup without a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Willyguitar Posted September 4, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 4, 2014 Thank you for these suggestions. Are any of these foot pedal operated in a way that you could use in a live situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted September 4, 2014 Members Share Posted September 4, 2014 Our praise/worship band has gone through quite a bit of turnover with drummers. In between we have been using an Alesis SR-16. It works and is fairly realistic sounding. I really dislike using it, but sometimes you do what you gotta do. I's seeing a lot more solo and duo acts using backing tracks and drum machines. And you might not land the big paying gigs that a full band might, but you only have to split it two ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted September 4, 2014 Members Share Posted September 4, 2014 Not sure about the one you posted because its analog. The zoom 123,or 223 etc are digital. It has 100 user banks you can set up. The switch can be programed for a number of different functions. In my case, I have the switch set to turn the unit on and off. There are other modes you can select like changing banks and getting drums to sound. It all depends on what you need. You can download the manuals and look it up easy enough. You can even use a DAW, and hand tap the pads and record it along with the song you plan on playing to. Then mix it down to a CD, thumb drive. Then use a remote control playback unit you can use from the stage. You can even put something like garage band on phones these days and play back multitracked drums from those programs. There's so many options available these days including samples and virtual drum programs there are many options that can suit you needs. I'm an older guy who doesn't like messing with samples. For me the simpler the better. I do have a studio drum set so I can record real drums anytime I want but for writing purposes, I'd rather scroll through the beats find something close to what I need and just record it. It winds up changing when my drummer plays the song anyway so I'm not too concerned about allot of fancy breaks. I can record midi too and just move the drum notes around on the various tracks to get the beats I need. I have to "Really" like a song to get that wrapped up in those details because they can become tedious and time consuming. Here's a couple of examples of the Zoom 123 sound quality you get from them. This ones just a preset.https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1682170/Trance%20In%20Vain%20Yall%20%5BMaster%5D.wav Another preset. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1682170/Paint%20It%20Black%20%5BMaster%5D.wav This ones a Winter tune I tapped out the parts manually. You can hear some human hesitations here and there but you get that from a real drummer all the time. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1682170/Out%20On%20A%20Limb%20%5BMaster%5D.wav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted September 4, 2014 Members Share Posted September 4, 2014 Boss makes a couple of models that would probably work although I have no experience with them: The DR-3 http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=530 and DR-670 http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=116. I'm assuming you're not talking about a "stomp box" where you have a box that produces percussion sounds when you tap on it, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted September 5, 2014 Members Share Posted September 5, 2014 /absence of our present drummer Ah the unfathomable mystery ... Get a good one, spend a few hours programming the thing. Base the parts on what your drummer does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burgess Posted September 6, 2014 Members Share Posted September 6, 2014 Have you considered getting another drummer? Seems like there are almost always musicians looking for work. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danhedonia Posted September 6, 2014 Members Share Posted September 6, 2014 I've explored this topic at (far too) great length previously. Ultimately, I settled on using apps on my iPad, and I am extremely happy with that. Floor-based and/or console models often sound terrific and usually have the best features. They are also expensive, and (my pet peeve) often do a few things quite well, but not many things. The iPad apps (specific apps in a moment) offer a different approach: far less pricy with a broad range of possibilities. I will break down a couple of my faves: 1. DM1 by Fingerlab. This is a basic drum machine app with several dozen kits from traditional tech sounds (Linn, 606, etc.) to realistic kits (Ludwig, garage kit, jazz kit), to whimsical (bubbles, marimba). My favorite aspect of the DM1 is it's flexibility: if you just want a waltz with an emphasis on the 1, or a four on the floor shuffle, you can get those going in moments. If you seek more complexity, you can use its composition template, effects, mixer, and other features to set up incredibly complex rhythm parts. Best of all, when I purchased it, it was $19.95. ~~I like the DM1 enough that it is my 'go to' when recording. I send the signal through a Sonic Stomp and it sounds fantastic. More info here: http://www.fingerlab.net/website/Fingerlab/DM1.html 2. Korg's iElectribe. Also $19.95 last I checked, this is one of MANY Korg rhythm machine apps available on IOS. Particularly helpful if you want to tweak the individual beat sounds, it features a full synth type set of controls. It does NOT do organic drum sounds well, though. If you are looking for a more modern rhythm sound, I have used this for everything from electronic dance music to doom. (honorable mention to Korg's iMS-20, a synth app with a sequencer that is complicated as hell but very musical). Both of those apps have an approachable learning curve as well as more depth to play with. In terms of sounds, they offer very different palettes but both sound very high quality through amplification / sound systems. Surprisingly so. Can you play them live? I'm not sure how to answer. Would you feel funny using your hands to start / stop the rhythm? If so, then no, they won't work live. However, both of those apps (and several others you can use from your iPad) would be very, very easy to start / stop / song-switch on a club stage. Here are my reasons for why I am dedicated to iPad-based drum machines:1. They sound great. Not good, great.2. The price is right: I can buy a single drum machine for a few hundred dollars or more - or get the apps for $20 apiece. Hmm ....3. Portability / form factor. Few things as easy to tote around as a tablet. Weighs next to nothing, and the touch-screen makes controlling during a live / band setting easy. And no need to mess around with SD cards or etc. -- it's on the tablet's memory.4. Easy learning curve. If all you want are basics, you can get that going in a few minutes. But most of the decent apps have a lot more musicality to them, once you delve into them. Being a major league gear slut and having worked in studios in the past, I cannot emphasize how much I appreciate not having to read one more manual - the iPad drum machine apps were all incredibly intuitive from the get-go.5. Do not fail to show up, nor sleep with other band members' partners. **************************************I also have a Korg Kaossilator 2, which is more of a looping / touch-pad type machine. It has limitations, but is also very musical and can now be found for cheap. If you feel you must 'play' the electronic drum sounds instead of programming them, it would be a good option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danhedonia Posted September 6, 2014 Members Share Posted September 6, 2014 Found while surfing: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Willyguitar Posted September 6, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 6, 2014 Have you considered getting another drummer? Seems like there are almost always musicians looking for work. Just a thought. This is going to be politically very difficult at the moment... for reasons that are rather complicated. But it is the obvious answer! Thank you for all suggestions so far - I have started researching all of them. Ipad route is very tempting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danhedonia Posted September 7, 2014 Members Share Posted September 7, 2014 If you have an iPad already, try the DM1. Better still if you can use a Sonic Stomp or other bass enhancing signal processor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Willyguitar Posted September 7, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 7, 2014 ^^ Thank you Danhedonia - really really useful answer, and I liked the last bit of your longer post!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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