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Easiest way to replace drummer with midi on a gig

#21
If this is due to personality and not technical problems (he can play well) then just record him next practices and gigs. Now you no longer need him. Mwa hahahaha :spit:

I sequence stuff and it takes a loooong time and since I’m unwilling to pay big bucks for soft synths the drums sound decent but not realistic.
 
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#22
Ant Illington said:
Oh, I am aware of drum tracks. And I'm aware of pizza places paying guys using them in lieu of a real drummer. I should have emphasized #2 being the operative part of my post!
Click to expand...

Other venues are available...
IME you get out what you put in. Stringing together a few prefab patterns and fills that have the right time signature is half-arsed and will always sound that way. By taking time to consider all aspects of every beat, to EQ each voice individually in the mix and to include subtle tempo/offset variations it is possible to get results that are more than passable.
It takes time but there are other benefits - I get to know the music and arrangements inside out and as a band we benefit from greater confidence in the repeatability and consistency. I can build in cues that ensure good flow, and we can use instrumentation that would simply not be available to us any other way. How many horn/brass players can also double as cellists or percussionists, and how many bands can afford a set of tubular bells or a concert harp and have someone play them individually, let alone at the same time?
Don't get me wrong - all things being equal I would choose a good drummer over a machine any day, but things are not equal... I try to take as much pride in my programming as I do in my bass playing, and a good sequence is better for us right now than nothing at all. YMMV.
 
#23
SteveCS said:
Other venues are available...
IME you get out what you put in. Stringing together a few prefab patterns and fills that have the right time signature is half-arsed and will always sound that way. By taking time to consider all aspects of every beat, to EQ each voice individually in the mix and to include subtle tempo/offset variations it is possible to get results that are more than passable.
It takes time but there are other benefits - I get to know the music and arrangements inside out and as a band we benefit from greater confidence in the repeatability and consistency. I can build in cues that ensure good flow, and we can use instrumentation that would simply not be available to us any other way. How many horn/brass players can also double as cellists or percussionists, and how many bands can afford a set of tubular bells or a concert harp and have someone play them individually, let alone at the same time?
Don't get me wrong - all things being equal I would choose a good drummer over a machine any day, but things are not equal... I try to take as much pride in my programming as I do in my bass playing, and a good sequence is better for us right now than nothing at all. YMMV.
Click to expand...
What soft synth do you use?
 
#25
Ant Illington said:
Oh, I am aware of drum tracks. And I'm aware of pizza places paying guys using them in lieu of a real drummer. I should have emphasized #2 being the operative part of my post!
Click to expand...

I think you missed it. These MIDI files were played by Real Drummers (many are well-known session drummers), not pizza makers. Most files are 2-4 measures, with oodles of fills. If you are slick, like me :woot:, you will become very good at altering these MIDI files to better suit what is needed.

And, you get superbly recorded drums. Which are tuneable, dampable, move mics, mix in room mics -- TOO many variables, actually!

NOTE: These are not drum machines. Quantizing is completely left up to you.

Probably most of the recordings you are listening to, the drum tracks are what I speak of. Plus, tons of altered & looped bass tracks.

Remember: Nothing is Real ~ John Lennon
 
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#26
Blissful_Lad said:
I think you missed it. These MIDI files were played by Real Drummers (many are well-known session drummers), not pizza makers. Most files are 2-4 measures, with oodles of fills. If you are slick, like me :woot:, you will become very good at altering these MIDI files to better suit what is needed.

And, you get superbly recorded drums. Which are tuneable, dampable, move mics, mix in room mics -- TOO many variables, actually!

NOTE: These are not drum machines. Quantizing is completely left up to you.

Probably most of the recordings you are listening to, the drum tracks are what I speak of. Plus, tons of altered & looped bass tracks.

Remember: Nothing is Real ~ John Lennon
Click to expand...

I caught everything. You missed my joking but legitimate point that, IME, the "drum track scene" for live performances around here are pizza joints. I've seen everything tracked in good clubs... but never drums. Emphasis on good* clubs, not pizza places or restaurants with a guy and a keyboard that does everything.
 
#27
Ant Illington said:
I caught everything. You missed my joking but legitimate point that, IME, the "drum track scene" for live performances around here are pizza joints. I've seen everything tracked in good clubs... but never drums. Emphasis on good* clubs, not pizza places or restaurants with a guy and a keyboard that does everything.
Click to expand...

Okay!

I don't visit pizza joints for music consumption.
 

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