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Drum Software for Rough Demos

blastjv

blastjv

Jan 8, 2010
1,465
20
Philly Area
#1
I'd like the following for developing rough ideas into songs. I have no need for anything wacky. Just want it to sound like a good acoustic drum kit. Heavy music, if that matters:

- VERY simple (really don't feel like dealing with a steep learning curve)
- Compatible with Reaper (which I currently use and love with Amplitube plugins)
- Great, realistic sounding Drums
- FREE
- Midi compatible (I know NOTHING about midi, but I'd like to be able to export what I come up with to my guitarist's Rolland drum machine so he can further refine the basics ideas.)


I have searched, but not found very useful information... This stuff confused my little brain...

-John
 
#8
If you need something FREE, try Hydrogen.
http://www.hydrogen-music.org/?p=download

This is basically Linux/Mac software, but Windows installer exists. I have tried that, it works. You cannot use Hydrogen as VSTi for Reaper. But you can export your drum groove to WAV, then import it easily to Reaper.

But I really recommend that you buy XLN Addictive Drums (Adrenaline), especially if you can get it for $99. I paid the full price of $250 (or whatever it is priced in Euro) and liked the program so much that I later bought Punk Rock extension, too. Now I want to buy the Jazz extension.

Addictive Drums are very easy to be used by a newbie. But it is astonishingly advanced program. As any GOOD digital drum software it gives you possibility to produce a stereo track (driven by MIDI patterns) or multi-track (each "microphone" is treated separately). You can even get down to the smallest detail of sound mixing if you like. But a newbie would just select a drum set, tone, beat and press PLAY or drag and drop a beat to the track in Reaper. I love this program. Especially the current Adrenaline version that gives tons of new capabilities, also to a beginner.

EZ Drummer is highly acclaimed. It did not impress me very much. Operation is simple, but it gives you very little on the advanced side. I found it very hard to make EZ Drummer sit well in the mix. No problem of this kind with XLN AD. Unless you need Heavy Metal or some Ethno music. Then try EZ20. EZ20 uses up to 20 GB of hard disk space, and I believe loading EZD is slooooow.

This foreign song ;-) has been made with DEMO Jazz sample beat of XLN Addictive Drums Adrenaline with Punk Rock Kit tone! [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
In Reaper.
 
#9
I am using Addictive Drums and it's pretty awesome, paid way more.
I actually use it for heavy stuff (most of the time technical death metal or groovy, more doom inspired things)
you just have to use the 16 channel output thing so you can use more vsts afterwards on every channel
and not only the in-built effects, you could even use a sampler (there are different free ones) on the bassdrum track for example to use another sample for that part.
You have to tweak it some time, but you can get pretty good sounds out of it.
If you don't know much about all the tweaking stuff, you can get at least acceptable sounds, too.
The included beats are not that bad, too, use these a lot for my guitar student.
That way, I can create a "ok" drumtrack very fast for an easy song with new chords or stuff like that.
 
#10
@StefTD: All you say is very right.
Since the best way to operate digital drum software is being a drummer and playing (and recording) MIDI via digital drum set, I -- as a non-drummer -- prefer using ready-made beats and modifying them by editing MIDI in Reaper. This does not spoil the beat concept (for example the strength or "velocity" of individual drums and cymbals) but makes the groove the way you need it.

What I found in this kind of programs is that for some reason they "play" drums from stereo perspective of the band, while I would expect to play drums from the stereo panorama of the listener. EZD includes simple button to reverse the stereo pan. I cannot find it in AD, so I move the drums by hand in Mixer of AD. But it is very minor deficiency.
 

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