Old 10-17-2007, 07:42 PM   #1
RichardM
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Default Drums for Dummies

Just starting to look into using some sort of drums in my recordings. From looking through the multitude of posts, it seems that there are many options ... midi, samplers and purchased loops. Not sure that I understand all of the differences or exactly how these different types are used.

Would anyone be kind enough to give a brief, simple explanation of the different ways to add drums to songs in Reaper (other than a real, live drummer - I don't have a big enough recording setup for a drum kit).

Thanks in advance.
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Old 10-17-2007, 08:31 PM   #2
jamester
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There are two basic ways to make drum tracks, and they are what you mentioned: loops or a midi controlled virtual instrument. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and once you understand the key differences these points become fairly self-evident.

In short, loops provide ready-made beats that can simply be imported into your song and arranged to your liking. They are fast and easy, and are available in every style/genre you can imagine. Also many are available for free (legally), all it takes is a little searching! The downsides are that you have little control over both the rhythms being played and the individual parts of the loop. Any processing must be done globally to the track, and aside from some creative cut/pasting you are at the mercy of what's offered to you. In addition, another downside is the tedium of auditioning loop after loop trying to find the ones that might best fit the groove you have in your head.

The other alternative is to take matters into your own hands and use a virtual instrument (either dum synth or sampler) and program your own beats with midi. Obviously the big advantage here is complete control, over both the rhythms and the kit/parts and their processing. The downside is that this requires more work, time and effort on your part. Virtual drum instruments, like loops, are abundantly available from prices ranging from free to quite costly.

For an easy introduction to the latter, check out the ReaDrums concept in my sig... HTH!
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Old 10-19-2007, 08:58 AM   #3
JasonTheron
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jamester View Post
The downsides are that you have little control over both the rhythms being played and the individual parts of the loop. Any processing must be done globally to the track, and aside from some creative cut/pasting you are at the mercy of what's offered to you.
That's not entirely true.
I've applied the concepts in PipeLine's "ReaFir To The Rescue" video to loops very succesfully.
But I would definitely agree that 99% of the time, you could program your own beat from scratch long before you would be able to find the appropriate loop.
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Old 10-19-2007, 09:00 AM   #4
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Default jamester

Oh and jamester,
Thanks for ReaDrums!
I use them quite frequently.
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Old 10-19-2007, 09:34 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonTheron View Post
That's not entirely true.
I've applied the concepts in PipeLine's "ReaFir To The Rescue" video to loops very succesfully.
But I would definitely agree that 99% of the time, you could program your own beat from scratch long before you would be able to find the appropriate loop.
Yes, but realize my response was to someone asking about the bare basics. Sure there are advanced loop manipulation techniques, but it is of little value to "go there" with someone who is still trying to learn what loops are in the first place.

To be truly thorough I should mention that loop-slicing is another option which combines both realms; take a loop, slice it up into pieces, load those pieces into a sampler, make new rhythms out of one loop! But again, was trying to stick to the basics before...

As for ReaDrums it's funny, cuz I use them frequently also, even though I have Guru and few other "pro" drum solutions. ReaDrums is so simple and elegant (and fast!), I prefer it to the others. If Justin goes on to enhance the Sampl0matic/ReaDrums concept, I'd end up doing most of my work with it. Thanks for the commment, I'm glad people are getting good use out of it! :-)

BTW, I uploaded a new improved version last night, click my sig if interested....
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Old 10-19-2007, 09:56 AM   #6
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Default Nice.

Cool.
Just grabbed it.
ReaDrums is actually what inspired this post:
http://www.cockos.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13841
Maybe you can answer it.
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Old 10-19-2007, 10:16 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonTheron View Post
Cool.
Just grabbed it.
ReaDrums is actually what inspired this post:
http://www.cockos.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13841
Maybe you can answer it.
Okay, jamester.
I'm really taking my noob knocks here.
I just read through your ReaDrums thread and I realized ReaDrums was already set up to accomplish what I was trying to do in this thread.

I'm an idiot.
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