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This question is posed to those of you who are putting together your own music and using a drum machine of some kind. What are you using? Do you like it?

I am a guitar player, and I know basically nothing about drums. I'd like to start putting together some demos of some songs I'm writing. I need something for drums... Not sure what to get. Need something inexpensive, but decent.

Suggestions?

I use loops myself, rather than an expensive machine. If you bring a loop into software, Audacity, ProTools, etc. you can then slow it down, speed it up, etc. Then just copy and paste to expand it out. Of course, you won't have any fills, just the ryhthm, but at least you have that. On the other hand, I now find myself needing a drummer for real recording.

For loops, try PartnersInRhyme, or just google.

FJE

ColorsFade wrote:This question is posed to those of you who are putting together your own music and using a drum machine of some kind. What are you using? Do you like it?

I am a guitar player, and I know basically nothing about drums. I'd like to start putting together some demos of some songs I'm writing. I need something for drums... Not sure what to get. Need something inexpensive, but decent.

Suggestions?

I used to use the Boss DR-3 (DR. rhythm), but it was WAY too complicated for me, although, when I bought it, it clearly was the most authentic sounding machine over the rest, and it was less than $200. I sold it to a friend as we do more demos in the studio now and I rarely cut more than a scratch track at home.

So now I use the drum machine built into my gnx3000 pedal. Clearly a step down, but again.. I'm just doing scratch tracks, so who cares?

I use a variety of stuff all computer driven and these days increasingly Linux based. Being a drummer I found it hard and still do since I don't write the stuff I play it then wonder how I did it? Of course its reverse order now but I have learned a bundle as regards notation.

I don't know whether this will answer your question or not? I labour over 8 bars these days trying to get the right feel. It's no different to guitar, bass or whatever but the sad fact remains that a lot of what a real drummer does is overlooked even when he's a great drummer and there are many of them too.

Right now I have about 5 heads. Not a pretty sight or feeling and frankly I don't like it but wotcha gonna do?

Good luck with it Colors.

Steven Tant.

Zoom MRT-3
$100.
Optional foot switch - $40.
Use plug in AC, or batteries.
396 drum patterns.
Tempos from about 40bpm up to 160, I think.
120 bpm (beats per minute) is what most songs are written in . . .
Programable.
Plastic case; not super heavy duty.
I like it.
.
If you use a drum machine to record a drum track, I advise you to find 4 rhythms you can use with the song (same tempo).
Record a few measures of each pattern, and cut & paste as required.
You want to mix it up, or it'll sound like a machine.
Real drummers add variety.
But using this machine - and experimenting with different rhytms - will unlock hidden talents in you.

Thanks for the posts guys!

RhythmMan - very nice. I love YouTube - just went and found a review of the Zoom MRT-3... I love it. Might have to get that one.

I used to use Boss Dr 880

I use loops from now on.

If it's just a demo, more than likely your producer is just going to send all your work to his Recycle Bin anyways.

I think it depends on what your doing with your demo & who your producer is. I personally use the cheap 16 bit loops that come with my Acid Pro. & I just stretch the same loop from start to finish.

Just sayen, unless your able to get it broadcast qualtiy, it'll at some point need to be redone. So, I personally don't put any time in drum & bass tracks.

I never used a drum machine for demos. Any time I did any half serious studio work, I used a live drummer.
There have been occasions when I played live gigs with a drum machine.
Initially, I used an Alesis HR-16, then, I learned how to program my own drum patterns on my trusty old Yamaha SY-55. I successfully used that format, with the 55 playing preprogrammed bass, in a duo consisting of myself on live keys and vocals, and a live sax player. We had an incredibly fat sound for two people, and there was enough live action to compensate for the artificial drums and bass. That gig cost me many hours of programming drums and bass. The money was good, but, the downside of such a gig is the fact that you cant jam with the machines!
It was a good experience, but nowadays, I'll take live drums and bass!
(even if I have to settle for less bread!)

C.F.,
As far as demos go, consider getting a half decent little workstation like the Yamaha MM-6 or that thing that Craig Maxum uses. Those machines interface with your computer and can just about do it all. (The MM-6 goes for about $600, and, for that kind of money, is a very high value instrument, sutable for live performance as well as recording situations.)

Happy New Year!
Howlin'

I agree with Howlin.

Unless you know drum skills your guitar work will sound same ol. Sorry just the way it is. A beat gives you impetus, that together with good melodies are a rhyme.

That said some with knowledge will make it feel as though a drummer was there but he wasn't. A conundrum if ever there was?

I didn't want to use the same loops all the time. I used the acid loops for about a year, then ran out of usable loops.
My music is alive and breathing; I don't want it to sound canned; need a greater variety.
. . .
And some of the Acid loops had an echo, which didn't match the echo I wanted for my song.
But - all that being said - Acid fits my needs.
All my posted songs are recorded on Sony Acid Music Studo, even "Folks I Knew (If You Catch Me Crying)".
.
Anyway, those drum loops fit my purpose for a while, but now I use the Zoom.
.
btw, I'd love to work with a live drummer - if I could ever find one who is experienced enough, adaptable, available, and . . . will finish a song at the same tempo they start it!
They all seem to speed up . . .
And, it'd be nice if the drummer knows more than 10-15 different rhythms . . .
God, we cycle through about 50 very different rhythms, and a drummer with less experience than we require will deflate the whole character of a song.
.
In the mean time - there's 5 of us in the group, now, and no drummer.
BUT - the tempo and the rhythm are both always perfect.
. . . . umm - unless I start a song too fast.

Sometimes my personal time sense is faster than the rest of the world, and I have to re-adjust my 'internal clock' and think slower, before starting a song.

ColorsFade wrote:
I am a guitar player, and I know basically nothing about drums.

Suggestions?

C.F.
I've been doing a little thinkin' about your question, and realized that there are many good inexpensive drum machines on the market, so you are bound to find something that suits your needs.

however...

Your statement "I know basically nothing about drums" does not bode well for anyone attempting to lay down tracks! Simply stated, you absolutly need to learn drum basics! I'm sure that seasoned programmers will agree that there is no substitute for knowing basic drum rudiments. The irony is that it's really not that hard to learn.
Assuming you own your own computer,you're just about home free.
try this.
first check out this basic instructional vidio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRdXzmVf ... re=related

Now you can check out all the countless other free lessons that pop up, and you will soon have a handle on what drumming is all about, even if your intent is programing drum patterns with no desire to actually pick up a pair of sticks!

I learned drum programming with the aid of instructional books, but these free vidios should work just fine for you.

Howlin'

HowlinJ wrote:Your statement "I know basically nothing about drums" does not bode well for anyone attempting to lay down tracks! Simply stated, you absolutly need to learn drum basics!

Well, it may not bode well for people who are morons I am at the opposite end of the IQ curve though - I learn stuff real well. Which is why I made that comment - you have to admit where you are at when you're starting something new, yeah? So I know that *right now* I know nothing about drumming. I want to be able to program drums for my own songs. I'm happy to learn!

And I appreciate you posting the link! I'll get to it when I have a better internet connection.

Because this is about me being able to do something for myself. I write music, but only guitar parts. I input them into Guitar Pro, and they sound (as they should) incomplete without the drums.

In my new band, we write everything into guitar pro, and our chief songwriter knows a lot about every instrument, so he can write drums and that's great. I probably need to see if he'll teach me what he knows.

But even then, I am not sure how they would sound. Guitar Pro offers a realistic sound engine comprised of samples, but I am not sure how the drums sound. So I was trying to see what else was available in case there's something easier for me to use.




I appreciate all the input from everyone, especially the tutorial links! I will get to learning!

thru the years I've owned many...
boss dr660
boss dr5
boss dr770
alesis hr16
zoom 123
zoom 234
and as far as real sounding drums... none of them sound real... but if I had to pick based on sounds alone I'd probably lean towards boss.

if I had to pick based on the pad layout - ie best one to play in real time... I'd pick the zoom 234.

None of these devices will compare to a good sampling of real drums, so if you are primarily interested in recording I'd go another direction.

IMO get fruity loops... go try the demo... it's easy to write drum tracks... you can use any sample you like... you can import drum loops and customize them... then output these to wav and import to gtr pro.... (I think you can actually use fruity as a vst in guitar pro... but this is probably going to be too complicated.)
hunt down a few copies of future music, music tech, and/or computer music to fill out your sample collection.