How are you doing drums?

How are you doing drum rhythms?

A lot of the recordings here sound like custom rhythm arrangements. Are they programmed?
 
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I use BFD2, program and record in Logic. It doesn't have a particular sound like for instance Toontrack stuff does, which btw you hear everywhere now days. BFD is a really versatile setup, highly recommended.
 
I use Superior 2.0 but I replace/layer nearly all the drums (not overheads) with some of my own samples I've acquired over the past few years from studios or recordings I've done. Which makes it sound like it's not superior. Then I always use the hi Hats from the new york expansion because they actually sound real. Combined with using multi out and using a ton of my own plugins I'm SUPER happy with the drum sounds I get
 
Actually I'm curious... does BFD2 also come with a mechanism for editing patterns, or is it simply a 'sound collection'?

Thanks!

Pete
 
I write them note for note. I've been doing it for a long long time and it's just second nature to me. What I usually do is write the basic beat for the corresponding part, I record guitars/bass/etc and then I go back and edit it to make it work with the music. It can be tedious sometimes but because I also play drums, I always know what I'm going for.
 
Actually I'm curious... does BFD2 also come with a mechanism for editing patterns, or is it simply a 'sound collection'?

Thanks!

Pete

It has it's own sequencer, sort of like an eazy drummer. But I prefer to program/record the MIDI events in Logic's piano roll. BFD2 also has a humanize function, which really makes it sound more alive and lifelike. It has a built in mixer and really cool plugins. You can do basically whatever you want with BFD2, anything short of progressive and/or metal stuff, which it doesn't do as good. But for anything pop/rock oriented it's the bomb me thinks.
 
I assemble and sequence all my drums using individual samples I've taken using an Akai MPC 2500. It's tedious and sometimes frustrating but I don't know any other way... I've just always used hardware samplers of some sort.
 
I write them note for note. I've been doing it for a long long time and it's just second nature to me. What I usually do is write the basic beat for the corresponding part, I record guitars/bass/etc and then I go back and edit it to make it work with the music.

This is basically what I do with S2.0 in Cubase SX. Usually just something fairly simple, although sometimes I might already have a more specific idea in mind for the drums. Either way, I usually just whack in a few bars, copy and paste, and then go back and fix things up later on.

I started sequencing in MIDI pretty much when I started playing guitar, then when I graduated to recording picked up DFH, then Superior when that came out, and now Superior 2 (and various SDXs).
 
Most of the time I use real drums and a real drummer and write the charts. When I don't I use Battery 3 and program them myself.
 
My son and I have been using our roland kit (midi) into superior.. we play the drums as good as we can, and then tweak / quantize them in pro tools.
 
I use superior drummer 2.0
Mostly I'll program it in ableton as a midi clip.
I have tried using an electronic
Drum kit using midi cables, Really
Makes it feel/sound human.
When i program I also variate the velocity a bit, either manually or using the midi options from your DAW of choice.
 
I use Superior Drummer 2.3 with Reaper. I use the piano roll in Reaper's MIDI editor to program the drums. I program what I would play. I try to pay attention to velocities. Generally, I use a velocity somewhat less than the max so I have somewhere to go if I want the drum part to play harder. Other than that I may modulate the velocities of the high-hat or ride within a fairly narrow range. I also take some time to put in the fills I would play to try get away from one pattern for the verse, one pattern for the chorus, repeat, repeat, repeat kind of thing.

It is taking forever, due to my real job, but my music room is coming together and when that happens the plan is to record real drums.
 
I hate wasting time. I like the sound of real drums and the interaction between real drummers and the music. I can spend/waste a ton of time trying to recreate what a great drummer would play, but I'd MUCH rather spend my time writing the chart and hiring or cajoling a drummer to my studio.
 
I use EZDrummer and Logic 9. I have a bunch of the fill packs and sound packs for EZD as well.
 
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