Premier Rock Forum

Hi all. I’ve finally ordered a new laptop and intend to get on with doing music again.

One friction I’ve always had is drums, specifically programming drums.

My plan was to use GarageBand to start, Reaper has been mentioned.

Can I get some tips on learning to program decent drums with odd time signatures etc. Plugins, out of the box tools and so on.

For easily accessible, insanely deep, reasonably priced drum programming I cannot recommend Reason more highly. Even if you want to use Reaper for recording/editing/mixing, Reason works as a VST instrument inside other DAWs. The Roland X0X-style drum computer in reason is killer, and there are multiple other drum programming tools as well. Lots of youtube support videos, etc, etc.

As pointed out by Ben Adrian, the Kurt Ballou Signature Series drums Vol 2 sound fantastic if you want "real" sounding drums!

https://www.roomsound.com/products/kurtballou2/

you will need the Kontakt VST from Native Instruments, but you can simply use the free Kontakt player.

as for the drum programming, I would get a small midi keyboard (they can be had dirt cheap) to be able to play the drums on the keyboard along to your guitar.
this is much more fun than doing it with the mouse in the midi editor. once you have an idea, you can still quantize the midi notes and move them around.

you can also buy midi files (or get free ones) and then use/change them to your liking. groovemonkee has a lot rock patterns, including odd time signatures.
their midi files come in most popular drum VST plugins mapping, but not in the above mentioned Kurt Ballou drums mapping.
it's really a question if you want to DIY everything, but I think those midi files are really nicely played by real drummers. I sometimes pick some fills or beats and then arrange them to my taste.

https://groovemonkee.com/

bassdriver wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2024 7:17 am you can also buy midi files (or get free ones) and then use/change them to your liking.

These are great to have around for fills. Most beats are easy enough to program once you get the hang of it, but even dialing something standard like a snare roll/build up with convincing dynamics is very difficult. And the fills can still be customized (add or subtract an element) or chopped up to fit into weird patters.

I did most of my programming with EZ Drummer 2 (it's been pointed out many times that 'Alt Rock' pack is Steve Albini/Electrical Audio) but that is a bit "was hot shit 10 years ago" advice. I'm sure those other recommendations are better at this point.

penningtron wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2024 7:33 am

bassdriver wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2024 7:17 am you can also buy midi files (or get free ones) and then use/change them to your liking.

These are great to have around for fills. Most beats are easy enough to program once you get the hang of it, but even dialing something standard like a snare roll/build up with convincing dynamics is very difficult. And the fills can still be customized (add or subtract an element) or chopped up to fit into weird patters.

this! I would add cymbals and hi-hats, they can make a huge difference to whether your drum programming sounds mechanical or real.

bassdriver wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2024 7:38 am

penningtron wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2024 7:33 am

bassdriver wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2024 7:17 am you can also buy midi files (or get free ones) and then use/change them to your liking.

These are great to have around for fills. Most beats are easy enough to program once you get the hang of it, but even dialing something standard like a snare roll/build up with convincing dynamics is very difficult. And the fills can still be customized (add or subtract an element) or chopped up to fit into weird patters.

this! I would add cymbals and hi-hats, they can make a huge difference to whether your drum programming sounds mechanical or real.

My 'trick' for that (though I wouldn't go to this length for quick demos or whatever) was to quantize the kick and snare pattern, slow it down and manually record the cymbals but don't quantize them. If you've ever honed in on/slowed down most real drum recordings, things are never 100% aligned even if they're performed to a click.

penningtron wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2024 7:46 am

bassdriver wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2024 7:38 am

penningtron wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2024 7:33 am

These are great to have around for fills. Most beats are easy enough to program once you get the hang of it, but even dialing something standard like a snare roll/build up with convincing dynamics is very difficult. And the fills can still be customized (add or subtract an element) or chopped up to fit into weird patters.

this! I would add cymbals and hi-hats, they can make a huge difference to whether your drum programming sounds mechanical or real.

My 'trick' for that (though I wouldn't go to this length for quick demos or whatever) was to quantize the kick and snare pattern, slow it down and manually record the cymbals but don't quantize them. If you've ever honed in on/slowed down most real drum recordings, things are never 100% aligned even if they're performed to a click.

nice idea, I'll try that. I also tried the "humanize" function in the Reaper midi editor.
the Kurt Ballou Signature Series drums is a more detailed version of the Alt Rock' pack idea. recorded at EA with additional room mics. great sounding drums.

Amazing advice folks. Thanks.

PRF delivers

I guess that some of it would depend on exactly where it was that someone wanted to end up.

In "Guitar..." terms?

I would make a different set of suggestions if someone wanted to play something along the lines of Sonic Youth than I would if someone wanted to play the parts on the "Classic Coke..." King Diamond records.

bassdriver wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2024 7:17 am As pointed out by Ben Adrian, the Kurt Ballou Signature Series drums Vol 2 sound fantastic if you want "real" sounding drums!

https://www.roomsound.com/products/kurtballou2/

you will need the Kontakt VST from Native Instruments, but you can simply use the free Kontakt player.

as for the drum programming, I would get a small midi keyboard (they can be had dirt cheap) to be able to play the drums on the keyboard along to your guitar.
this is much more fun than doing it with the mouse in the midi editor. once you have an idea, you can still quantize the midi notes and move them around.

you can also buy midi files (or get free ones) and then use/change them to your liking. groovemonkee has a lot rock patterns, including odd time signatures.
their midi files come in most popular drum VST plugins mapping, but not in the above mentioned Kurt Ballou drums mapping.
it's really a question if you want to DIY everything, but I think those midi files are really nicely played by real drummers. I sometimes pick some fills or beats and then arrange them to my taste.

https://groovemonkee.com/

Just to point it out...

Oddgrooves also has some odd time signature options(and a "Fills..." pack...)


https://oddgrooves.com/