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How do YOU program drums?


Awake77

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That's awesome Khazul :thu:

Who here has played both the Machinedrum and Microtonic? I'm currently with Machinedrum, and I love it, but lately I've been playing with Microtonic, and I'm thinking that it gives me enough of what I get from the MD, that I can sell the latter.

I'm not saying Microtonic is equal to Machinedrum; it isn't. But I mostly use Battery and the Handsonic, and having been a drummer, I'm more comfortable tapping out a beat than programming them into the MD.

I also just got Reaktor, so the MD might be becoming ~$900 of underutilized studio cash.

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Some good responses to a good thread. The Zendrum and TS, YUM!

Do you guys like to tap out drum beats and quantize because you have experience of drumming or because you want to make a beat that you can play live? A lot of people here seem to tap and quantize a lot. That's cool and all, just wondering why you guys like to do it that way instead of programming.

For me, often times I program a beat in grid mode on Logic and I'll come up with drum patterns I wouldn't have if I didn't program it. I use to use the RS7000 which was the best hardware sequencer I've used. You can do any kind of sequencing at 480 rez.

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Originally posted by stikygum
Do you guys like to tap out drum beats and quantize because you have experience of drumming or because you want to make a beat that you can play live? A lot of people here seem to tap and quantize a lot. That's cool and all, just wondering why you guys like to do it that way instead of programming.

 

 

For me, I find both work, an in a way I do both a lot, tapping them out to my MPC, and using step-seq. in the G2. The funny thing is USUALLY they are similar, but the details are a little different, for instance stuff I tap out, believe it or not, has a LOT more "zipper" effect-type stuff than step-programmed. I'm more comfortable doing it that way...

 

I guess it boils down to hand-tapped drums being more dynamic (velocities, zipper-stuff, etc...) and step-programmed being more evolving, tight, "robotic", etc... Depending on the system I feel like using that way, that's what I'll do...

 

I guess in short, I am ok with doing both on any given day, and gladly accept the outcome of either method, but also acknowledge that both methods are different and have their strengths in performing certain tasks or producing certain results...

 

Hope that answers the question sort of...

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Different than most people.
I have been sequencing since I first got an Ensoniq VFX-SD, back in 1990 (and all the headaches that went with it).

Having a good grasp of drumming, in general, I got real good at playing drum maps, live on the keys.

When I do a sequence, I first map out the song in real time with a piano-type sound and quantize it.

Then I'll add bass, and other backing sounds, then once I am satisfied with the bed track, then I will go and play my drum track as a live performance...usually without quantizing.
That way there is no repetition in the tom fills and cymbal patterns...it sound more like an actual drummer.

Then, I will erase the original guide track and either go back and record that track on top of everything, or just play along, live with it, at the gig.

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For me, often times I program a beat in grid mode on Logic and I'll come up with drum patterns I wouldn't have if I didn't program it. I use to use the RS7000 which was the best hardware sequencer I've used. You can do any kind of sequencing at 480 rez.

 

 

Ive always sequenced and programmed drums, until recently when I got a PadKontrol to try my hand a tapping out rhythms. Its pretty cool - I come up with different stuff when I play live/quantize then when Im programming.

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Lately, I've been using the drum kits in Reason and using Reason's sequencer. I always record in parts. The hi-hats are usually recorded and quantized first. Then, I would tap the bass drum and snare while the track is playing at a slow tempo(**cheater!!**), usually w/o any quantization.

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