Programming Drums - AD, Superior et al

Chewie5150

Chewie5150

Fractal Fanatic
curious how most people program drums on their DAWS...aside from micing up a real drummer of course. I'm mainly just a hack hobbyist and drums are my weakest point. I can finger drum decently enough and get basic timing. I'm looking for a simple setup that would allow me to use, preferably, a hardware step sequencer that could be linked to a VST like Addictive drums 2 (that I have) . I use Cubase Artist 8 and I know there's the piano roll etc but I hate using a mouse to program drums. My brain wants to just play along as I approximate the drum beat I hear in my head and fix afterwards with quantizing etc.

I use Mac also. Thoughts? what do you fine folk use?
 
I use Superior Drummer 2 and program it using the Score Editor in Pro Tools. I only use the Piano Roll Editor to tweak the velocity of the notes for more realistic sounding hi hat and ride patterns. No need to quantize with Score Editor.
 
My current way is silly. I start by writing MIDI drums (sometimes other instruments too) in Guitar Pro and then I export the MIDI to my DAW. I can't handle the piano roll method with a mouse and keyboard and my current MIDI controller keyboard doesn't feel good for drums either. That's part of why the release of the Maschine MK3 has me seriously considering getting one or a Maschine Studio (which are going used for $250 - 400 right now).
 
It does not get a lot of mention around here but Jamstix interfacing with any drum software is second best to a real drummer. A bit of a learning curve but once you understand the workflow it is hard to beat. Logic Pro X is the same concept but and gets in the ballpark but no where near the results you can get with Jamstix.
 
79_limited said:
It does not get a lot of mention around here but Jamstix interfacing with any drum software is second best to a real drummer. A bit of a learning curve but once you understand the workflow it is hard to beat. Logic Pro X is the same concept but and gets in the ballpark but no where near the results you can get with Jamstix.
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I remember looking at it when it first came out thinking it looked pretty cool but it was Windows-only at the time so I put it out of my mind and haven't looked at it again. Looks like they've got OS X support now. I should check it out again.
 
I use SD 2. I program using a TD12 kit and then quantize whatever I need to or get get a real drummer to come in and play the kit.
 
Jamstix has a fairly steep learning curve but once you get it you are like "wow I was I had this all along."

My favorite part about Jamstix is you can pull in a basic static groove from Super Drummer then let the Jamstix brain do its thing. So for example you can setup a basic song in Superior using verse, chorus, bridge, etc using the stock Midi grooves. Jamstix will then follow those grooves as the foundation then make it its own.

I like using Superior first because with the new interface it is fairly quick to set up the basics to the song. Once you have the song sketched out I pull in Jamstix and drop in the intro, verse, chorus bridge, etc. I do not let Superior do any fills because this in an area where Jamstix really shines is the song part transitions.

If you do go the Jamstix route there are a lot of extra drummer packs available for cheap that I highly recommend. You can mix drummer styles inside the same song which can really make up for some interesting things.
 
79_limited said:
It does not get a lot of mention around here but Jamstix interfacing with any drum software is second best to a real drummer. A bit of a learning curve but once you understand the workflow it is hard to beat. Logic Pro X is the same concept but and gets in the ballpark but no where near the results you can get with Jamstix.
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This looks really cool. I was impressed by my friend's Logic X drummer as a great tool for songwriting, but I'm a Pro Tools user. This could be the answer for me :)
 
Jamstix has me a bit intrigued here. Doing some research on it this morning and I like how there is a simple step sequencer and the fact you can integrate with whatever VST you have.

Side note: anyone have any experience with the Arturia Beatstep? Its a hardware midi controller /step sequencer. scratch that it seems its only monophonic so don't think this will work for more elaborate drum patterns. I am looking into the Akai MPD232 which has a simple built in step sequencer. I think this is the kind of application I'm looking for. Create simple beats as loops then import them into my DAW and tweak there
 
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Superior Drummer 3 here. It's a game changer.
Today I was working on a tune. I had the drums down for it from about 5 years ago so I imported them into SD3 then sliced them up and threw them at the Tap2Find feature. It came up with some stuff I really liked and through the copy and paste feature which allows you to copy and paste individual kit pieces from a loop I managed to come up with some really good results.
It ended up being a big mix n match. Can't love this plugin enough.

 
I'm using the latest Steven Slate Drums and the Midi Editor in Pro-Tools. Once you get used to programming you'll never go back.
 
Having tried many DAWs I always came back to using Cubase, I'm used to using its drum editor and it seems the most intuitive for my preferences. Drum editing can take a long time but the great thing about spending time with this is you can reach incredible results.
Usually I'd use a drum groove and repeat it like a loop, then record guitar, keyboards, bass, vocals,.. Then edit in Cubase to create what a real drummer would achieve. I use Toontrack EZD, Kurzweil and Roland's for drum samples. The Kurzweil can create amazing bell tree, Indian drums, tympani, china gongs,.. as used by many recording artist. Stevie Wonder, David Foster, Trent Reznor, Pink Floyd, Kansas, David Bowie, Elton,..
 
Well I ended up buying the Akai MPD232 and its a great midi controller. the pads are really responsive and works well as a step sequencer. I have been learning the drum editor in Cubase also over the weekend...not as difficult as I used to think. This was the missing piece I needed for my work flow.
 
Chewie5150 said:
Well I ended up buying the Akai MPD232 and its a great midi controller. the pads are really responsive and works well as a step sequencer. I have been learning the drum editor in Cubase also over the weekend...not as difficult as I used to think. This was the missing piece I needed for my work flow.
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Are you using a drum map? Highly recommended you load one of those into cubase if not.
 
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