Miscellaneous Creating Drum Tracks

[MikeS]

Anyone had any success creating good sounding drum tracks?
I've created nicely timed tracks in Audacity, but the drum emulation sucks
I've created nice sounding tracks in Hydrogen, but getting a real swing feel escapes me.
Audacity and Hydrogen use two very different approaches.

In audacity, you enter drum music just like you would any other music, You select a time signature, Metric modulation then enter "Notes" on a staff. The notes being each different drum, or cymbal. The sound bank leaves MUCH to be desired

In Hydrogen there is no way to set a time signature or metric modulation (so it's hard to get a true swing feel). You enter each drum hit on a time line, which theoretically should work, but I have yet to find the right combo to give a true swing feel.

Here's my audacity shuffle: Audacity Shuffle

Hydrogen Shuffle: Hydrogen Shuffle

 

[aleclee]

I'm pretty happy with Drummer in GB/Logic

 

[PapaRaptor]

I'm getting familiar with Impact XT in Studio One. I took one of their jazz drum kits and tweaked a few things to my ears.
For shuffle tracks, I don't put much emphasis on the triplet feel of a shuffle except on fills and breaks. Most of the meat and potatoes are essentially kick-snare-kick-snare on the beat.
Here's 12 bars from one I've been working on. It ain't fancy, but I ain't no drummer, either. I think it's at 105 bpm.
https://fuzzypinkstrap.com/forum/Bass-Drums-Mix.mp3

 

[BigMike]

I use the NI Abbey Road drummer package for mine. It takes a bit of setting up in the DAW but the actual drum tones are great. I have also used some of Drumdrops samples in Studio One Impact XT and they are very good, especially their Slingerland kits. Both are recorded really well in good studios with many hit variations on each drum.

 

[Cowboy Bob]

I use a combination Superior Drummer 3, or BFD triggered by my edrum kit. ie I usually play in what I want.

EZDrummer (also by ToonTrack) is really easy, and they have many midi packs with different drums performances.

You can also find thousands of GM midi drum patterns that will work with virtually any drum instrument. Groove Monkey comes to mind.

 

[Many Moons]

I use Superior Drummer 3 also, but EZ Drummer would have been more than sufficient. Very easy to use.

 

[Ted_Zeppelin]

EZ Drummer 2 for me. I have not gotten real in depth with it yet but pretty simple to figure out and the drums sound really good to me. I am also looking at EZ Bass (also from Toontrack) to complete my rhythm section, just not sure that I am ready to shell out the $179 bucks for it just yet.

 

[PapaRaptor]

EZ Bass (also from Toontrack) to complete my rhythm section, just not sure that I am ready to shell out the $179 bucks for it just yet.

For that, you could find a used Squier bass and make your own, (says the guy with a complete drum kit sitting in his music room that he has never played).

 

[Ted_Zeppelin]

For that, you could find a used Squier bass and make your own, (says the guy with a complete drum kit sitting in his music room that he has never played).

I have an old Yamaha bass that my son-in-law gave me. If you heard my bass playing, you would understand why I am looking at EZBass.

 

[jmin]

Thanks for the encouragement, Mike! I use GarageBand and have always wondered about “creating” full jam tracks...starting with the drums. I just created this super-simple drum and bass 12 bar track using GB’s “auto” instruments on my iPad. I don’t know what this sounds like to you (or me - I’m using my iPad speaker!), but it was fun to do and pretty simple!

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/5iadfi2i0xs3u25/Jmin GB BT in C.m4a?dl=0

I’m actually having a harder time getting this link into this post! (from an iPad).

 

[dan5150]

Another vote for EZ Drummer. They have sales pretty often so you can pick up their midi and drum sound packs at a discount.

 

[Many Moons]

I don’t know what this sounds like to you (or me - I’m using my iPad speaker!), but it was fun to do and pretty simple!

Simple is good. Sounds perfectly acceptable to me. (although the fill was in the wrong place for me)

 

[CaptainMoto]

On a scale of 1 - 10 I've rate myself a 2 as a guitar player.

As a drummer, I don't even make the scale.
As a drum programmer, I'm still off the chart.

I have EZ Drummer and It should be easy , they sound great but, I just haven't bonded yet.

 

[MikeS]

Thanks for the encouragement, Mike! I use GarageBand and have always wondered about “creating” full jam tracks...starting with the drums. I just created this super-simple drum and bass 12 bar track using GB’s “auto” instruments on my iPad. I don’t know what this sounds like to you (or me - I’m using my iPad speaker!), but it was fun to do and pretty simple!

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/5iadfi2i0xs3u25/Jmin GB BT in C.m4a?dl=0

I’m actually having a harder time getting this link into this post! (from an iPad).

That sounds great! Unfortunately I'm not an Apple person.

 

[MikeS]

Honestly, If Audacity had better sounding drums, it would be exactly what I was looking for. I like the idea of writing the drum part like any other piece of music. So far everything else I've seen wants you to look at the music as a sound engineer would, not as a musician would.
I love the drum sounds in EZ Drummer and Garage band, but each for its own reason, they aren't for me.

 

[MikeR]

I've been using Band-in-a-Box. They don't have a lot of blues styles that use their Real Tracks, but I can usually find something close to what I need and the "real" drum tracks they have are pretty good. I also have EZDrummer as a backup. Still learning it all though.

 

[CapnDenny1]

Not to get all old school, but how about getting an electronic drum kit, and just learning to play it. They cost about what the software costs. Then you can get it exactly how you want.

 

[Elwood]

Boy, I hate to stick my neck out and ask...but...
Is something like a beat buddy totally out to lunch? None of you mention any device like that as a possible option.
I had to ask. Now you better understand my level of sophistication with this stuff.
I have actually thought about one of those in my moments of weakness and despair.

Not quite on OP, depending on how strict you are with the definition of "create". Still the same objective, kinda, at the end..

edit: just got a reply from a drummer buddy of mine. Right off the bat he said Ez drummer (he knows I'm not a mac guy) would be better, unless I was heading out to torture folks at a local eatery or something. I hold no grievance with them and am sure they have suffered enough, I'll play for the dogs..
Hit me with the dummy dart.

 

[sdbrit68]

now, be kind, this is from a new song for the band when everything lets up, so it was only me working on it.............video is a little strange but it makes sense when you understand the song is about child sex trafficking, but I used the drums in my DAW

 

[sdbrit68]

Boy, I hate to stick my neck out and ask...but...
Is something like a beat buddy totally out to lunch? None of you mention any device like that as a possible option.
I had to ask. Now you better understand my level of sophistication with this stuff.
I have actually thought about one of those in my moments of weakness and despair.

Not quite on OP, depending on how strict you are with the definition of "create". Still the same objective, kinda, at the end..

edit: just got a reply from a drummer buddy of mine. Right off the bat he said Ez drummer (he knows I'm not a mac guy) would be better, unless I was heading out to torture folks at a local eatery or something. I hold no grievance with them and am sure they have suffered enough, I'll play for the dogs..
Hit me with the dummy dart.

I have a trio I never bonded with, honestly I hate it and rarely use it except like a metronome