Members u6crash Posted November 9, 2005 Members Share Posted November 9, 2005 Is that what everyone will tell me if I use a drum machine on my recordings? The thing is that I have a drumset, but I'm not very good with it and micing it is a nightmare with the stuff I've got. And actually, it won't be a drum machine so much as it will be Garageband drums. I'm throwing this question out here because it didn't really strike me a drums forum question. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orourke Posted November 9, 2005 Members Share Posted November 9, 2005 I write all my songs with a drum machine, and then I bring them to my band and let my drummer and bass player develop their parts further. Half the time I like my demos better, my drummer uses too many cymbles. The gear doesn't matter, it's the song that counts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elsongs Posted November 9, 2005 Members Share Posted November 9, 2005 Originally posted by orourke I write all my songs with a drum machine, and then I bring them to my band and let my drummer and bass player develop their parts further. Half the time I like my demos better, my drummer uses too many cymbles. Haha, don't you hate it when they use the ride cymbal too much and it just "softens" the groove? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grogthecaveman Posted November 9, 2005 Members Share Posted November 9, 2005 listen to early They Might Be Giants records - would those sound the same with real drums? Where would rap be if it didn't rely on artificial music and rhythms? everything has its place, just be tasteful about it. It depends on who your audience is. If you're writing electronic music, synth drums are the way to go (or loops of real drums). If you're writing rock music, it's harder to pull off good sounding synth drums, but you can do it. I record demos for my band either to Garageband drums or a metronome if the rhythm is too far from 4/4 or 12/8. Then we re-write the song using the parts on the demo, or we just wing that mother till it sounds good. I play metal, so real drums are a requirement. but i used to record my own music and I loved my cheap-o drum machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members keka Posted November 10, 2005 Members Share Posted November 10, 2005 just be tasteful... If your audience if mostly Metalica head bangin metal dudes.They tend too be very close minded.. I am a big fan of electronic music and complex drum patters soo I like it.Most rock music just doest seem too care about the drums or bass and they seem too be hidden sometimes... Bring up the geetar solo more and turn down that bass!! yes I am a bass player Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TornadoShaunUK Posted November 11, 2005 Members Share Posted November 11, 2005 Def Leppard are a good example of what you can do with an electronic drum kit right? The drums for pour some sugar on me are class... full of tone which you can't often say about drums as its not really what they are meant for... Im not sure if tone is the right word, basically I'm trying to say I actually think electronic kits sound fuller.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted November 11, 2005 Members Share Posted November 11, 2005 Originally posted by orourke I write all my songs with a drum machine, and then I bring them to my band and let my drummer and bass player develop their parts further. Half the time I like my demos better, my drummer uses too many cymbles. The gear doesn't matter, it's the song that counts. Heh. I've often said I'd rather hear a well written drum machine part than a crummy drummer. Next year (or maybe the one after) will be the 25th anniversery of the purchase of my first drum machine, the original Dr Rhythm (although I think the Boss electronic metronome I bought not long before was also called "Dr Rhythm")... the one with hi-hats that were either off, 1/8ths, or 16ths and a snare that sounded like air escaping a small pneumatic tube. Over the years I've wrestled with a number of drum machines and other rhythm sources (Oberheim DX digital but non-MIDI d.m., Alesis SR-16, Alesis DM5 module, drum modules in various synths, Soundfont kits, and, now, BFD. Almost no loops, though, despite the fact that that's probably the very easiest way for someone -- particularly someone who doesn't understand what goes into a good drum part -- to whip up some realistic sounding drum tracks.) I've lavished many, many hours trying to get d.m.'s to sound like real drums and sequences to sound like real drummers -- and I've come, you know, pretty close more than a few times. (I've fooled my share of drummers.) I've also gone the other direction, whipping up hybrid kits of synth drums and real, going totally post modern where I thought I could get away with it -- or just had a burr under my saddle. There's no shame in making music with whatever you've got. If you spend some time, you can probably fool some of the people some of the time. But, honest to gosh, these days, I don't think a lot of folks notice or care. Just do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mfergel Posted November 12, 2005 Members Share Posted November 12, 2005 I think it really depnds on the kind of music you are doing. Even then, it can still depend on the song. A lot of the stuff I've been doing lately is a combination of loops that are very machine styled and then mixing them with real drum loops. Kind of a pop, rock, industrial mesh. Think Collective Soul but a little bit harder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wpear1 Posted November 17, 2005 Members Share Posted November 17, 2005 Originally posted by elsongs Haha, don't you hate it when they use the ride cymbal too much and it just "softens" the groove? YES!...or when they stay on the high hat where the song should open up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members discount star Posted November 17, 2005 Members Share Posted November 17, 2005 Originally posted by orourke I write all my songs with a drum machine, and then I bring them to my band and let my drummer and bass player develop their parts further. Half the time I like my demos better, my drummer uses too many cymbles. I have the same problem with my "dummer" (no, that's not a typo). I got so fed up with it the last time we recorded, I hid all the cymbals except for the hi-hats. He was so pissed off about it but it was the best he ever played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fishfartz Posted November 17, 2005 Members Share Posted November 17, 2005 and there are ways to sweeten up a drum machine when recording. i use a drum machine for recording all the time- but i dont have a drum set and dont plan on buying one. i did a little gigging playing guitar in a few bands before i broke my back when i was 18. but since then i just record at home for fun, so i just deal with a drum machine not always sounding as live as the real thing but like with the alesis SR-16 drum machine i have, i can pre-program my songs and have the fills and drum rolls where i want them in the song (after verse, before chorus, etc.) and choose between different fills, i can change tempo in the middle of a song if i want (think early metallica), even change between beats in a song - and store 100 pre-programmed songs like that. it also has midi capability but ive not dabbled into that area of it yet. you can also decide where you want each drum/cymbol panned, ill pan the high tom hard left, the mid tom in the middle, and the low tom to the right, and when listening it sounds like the drums move around you, kind of like they do in the studio. you can even tune the drums low for that sound if you'd like i find that when i record the first track in a PC/studio project, i record the drums i pre-programmed and then save that - then ill change some of the drums in the set (of same pre-programmed song) like change the kick drum to a heavier one with light reverb - and so on. then ill record that track - its the same but with some of the drum sounds in the set changed. then ill leave 1 of the 2 very low volume - and only crank that one up in the mix during a fill or something where the drums would naturally get louder with a real drummer "digging in". sometimes the results are very good and make me happy that i at least have that because i dont have a drumset or mics for drums. other times it still sounds like a drum machine - but like mentioned those sounds have thier place as well. and the best part is you dont have to pay a drummer for using his chops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PintoMusic Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 To much ridicule from my peers, I record all my home-demos with my SR-16. It hasn't stopped me so far... but soon I think it will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MaineEvent Posted December 3, 2005 Members Share Posted December 3, 2005 Of course if you are using the same programs to record as some drummers on here, why not just ask them to lay down a track for you if you sent them your stuff... and see where that goes???? I have a studio and work as a drummer. I always thought that would be a good idea to do this in some form... to help other musicians. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kingwilly123 Posted December 5, 2005 Members Share Posted December 5, 2005 get JAMSTIX it will change your life...200$ with a gig of good samples....quick...realistic...seriously, check it out...it made me a better person all the way around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Uma Floresta Posted December 5, 2005 Members Share Posted December 5, 2005 there are a lot of drum programs nowadays that sound pretty realistic. No one is really going to pay much attention to the drums anyway, unless they're obnoxiously bad.... get a good program with real samples if you don't already.... that should be good enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tullsterx Posted December 5, 2005 Members Share Posted December 5, 2005 Originally posted by u6crash Is that what everyone will tell me if I use a drum machine on my recordings? The thing is that I have a drumset, but I'm not very good with it and micing it is a nightmare with the stuff I've got.And actually, it won't be a drum machine so much as it will be Garageband drums. I'm throwing this question out here because it didn't really strike me a drums forum question. Thanks. Screw what "everybody" tells you! Do what you want. The fact is, only musician freak losers will even notice. I write and record my stuff for normal people. Normal people, the people who really count, won't notice. . . Oh, but use a good one if you're looking for that naturalistic sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CrazyL Posted December 6, 2005 Members Share Posted December 6, 2005 If people love the sound, then they shouldn't care. I know I wouldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AaronF Posted December 8, 2005 Members Share Posted December 8, 2005 Satch's first album was recorded with a drum machine. Check out "Ice Nine" Great song, good sounding drum machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Todzilla Posted December 8, 2005 Members Share Posted December 8, 2005 A couple of other posters got it right IMHO. It depends on the song and the feel you want. I've certainly used drum machines on songs that really wanted a real drummer and it showed (or should I say, sounded?). Still, there are plenty of hip hop tunes, Nine Inch Nails and my secret crush Bjork, that would sound a bit dodgy with a real drummer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members strat0tele Posted December 15, 2005 Members Share Posted December 15, 2005 There is nothing wrong with using a drum machine, it's just as valid to be used as any other thing that makes a noise. Perhaps using a drum machine wouldn't work too well when you're trying to do a jazz record, but in many cases it works well. I used to feel like I wasn't creating real music by putting a drum machine behind my music, but then I found Ween. A band that kicks ass and two fo their early albums exclusively use a drum machine. Hell they even used a 4 track, and to me they are both great albums. If it sounds good, it sounds good. Doesn't matter what was used IMO. I used to be closed minded about it, believing if it isn't a "real" instrument and it isn't played by a human in real-time, it's cheating. My stance has definitely changed, but if I were able to i'd definitely like to record with real drums when I felt the song could use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mateo150 Posted December 16, 2005 Members Share Posted December 16, 2005 I have the Home recording for dummies book , written by a pro drummer, he admits that he uses a drum machine a lot of times and that drum machines are incredibly good at duplicating a realistic drum sound if you know what your doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members martingibson70 Posted January 10, 2006 Members Share Posted January 10, 2006 You use what you got to get the demo recorded before you loose it. By the time a drummer got set up and miced you will have: grown a full beard, eaten 3 meals, taken a nap, broken up with your girlfriend, earned a master's degree....and forgotten the song altogether. There's always room for improvement later. Seriously, 1 thing I do to make my drums sound more organic is to overdub with some real shakers, clavas, or tamborine. I pan these hard to 1 sde or the other. It really helps, especially during the chorus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members happycannibal Posted January 10, 2006 Members Share Posted January 10, 2006 I think a drum machine is fine for home recording, given the sheer difficulty (I have experienced, at least) of getting good 'in your face' drum sounds at home. Drum machine is useful and easy to record. What I have found for natural sounding recording: less is more, use simple beats and solid fills, and vary the volume on the ride and high hat to accent certian beats (I cant stand that constant PING PING PING of a static volume drum machine ride!). More like this: PING ping PING ping PING ping... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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