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MT Power Drum 2 -- free, very cool, but needs better samples

JimmyM

JimmyM

Apr 11, 2005
127,256
125,177
Plymouth NC
Disclosures
Endorsing: Yamaha, Ampeg, Line 6, EMG
#1
Found this terrific little program for quickly putting together drum parts that sound like actual drums called MT Power Drum 2. It only has one drum set included, but does let you use 3rd party drum sounds.

The one drum sound it has is too tight and jazzy sounding for my tastes, though, so I'm looking for a (free) sound pack with drier and looser sounding rock drums. Think Tommy Ramone, Keith Strickland from the early B-52's, Alan Myers from Devo on their first album. Trashy but thick. The included set makes me think of Tre Cool from Green Day, whose drumming I love but I want less ping and more thump.

I have no idea what's good and bad in drum sample libraries these days, but if any of you who's more knowledgeable than me can point me in the right direction with some suggestions in that vein, I can get to making the magic happen with my banjo power trio a lot quicker!

TIA!
 
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#3
@JimmyM
You should check out EZDrummer. I demoed it earlier this year and quickly bought the full version. It has really done several amazing things for me:
  • Helps me learn what drums are really doing in terms of beat/times/styles
  • You can basically tap out any rhythm you want and it will come back with lots of patterns that might work
  • Easy to build from single loops to full songs
  • You can import midi as full drums or it can import as individual drum tracks (snare/bass/cymbals/etc)
  • The samples are amazing in terms of quality. You can switch easily between different kits with same beat

I have been writing like crazy now and it is easy for me to get into the pocket. Friends have noticed.

Anyway, I have no financial interest in the company, but it is the best plugin I have every bought.
 
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#5
@Basslice , you know what? I just finished programming my first song with MT Power Drums and I've decided to go with it. I've developed a taste for the one drum set sound it has, and it took me a little over an hour to program a beat for a song that has breaks and time changes. I'm looking to burn through as many songs as I can in a short time and not be too fussy, so I'm just going to go with the Tre Cool vibe :D
 
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#8
Dang, Jimmy, the post says the recording isn't available. Do uploaded files such as that and some pics "expire" at some point? I really wanted to hear it!

On MT drums, I like them because they are fast and a quite decent drum sound/kit/track can be made pretty easily and quickly. I've done the demo of EZ drums and Superior Drums and I like them a lot, but as they are pretty involved (Soooooo many options!), I'll have to be doing a project where the programmed drums will be the final track, not a bed for a live drummer to come back and overdub over. That may be coming soon(er than I think)!

Please post the song you mentioned again, or send it to me somehow. Thanx!
 
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#9
Geri O said:
Dang, Jimmy, the post says the recording isn't available. Do uploaded files such as that and some pics "expire" at some point? I really wanted to hear it!

On MT drums, I like them because they are fast and a quite decent drum sound/kit/track can be made pretty easily and quickly. I've done the demo of EZ drums and Superior Drums and I like them a lot, but as they are pretty involved (Soooooo many options!), I'll have to be doing a project where the programmed drums will be the final track, not a bed for a live drummer to come back and overdub over. That may be coming soon(er than I think)!

Please post the song you mentioned again, or send it to me somehow. Thanx!
Click to expand...
Hey brother, go down about 5 or 6 posts in that thread and you'll see it again. I tried to replace the old mix with a new mix, ended up not being able to edit the thread with the new link by then. Also, I posted another mix later on in the thread, but between sounding like I'm about to pass out on some lines and getting a new banjo bridge that really ups the brightness and choppiness, I'm doing new versions.
 
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#10
Jimmy, would you believe it, I still program my songs on a DR770.
I have many patterns/breaks that work fine. According to the song I just need to change the kick or (rarely) to create new patterns.
Then I record the midi in Cubase element, and record one instrument at a time from the midi controlling the DR or the TD27 of my son. Yes, I have one audio track for snare, one for kick etc...
It might seem tedious, but I like it this way: when it comes to mixing I only have audio tracks.
Nothing that needs to sync etc....
Still having the midi tracks allows to mod the structure if necessary. Or to choose different drums later (still audio recorded...)
I never got the feel of creating a pattern with a mouse.
 
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#11
Bertr said:
Jimmy, would you believe it, I still program my songs on a DR770.
I have many patterns/breaks that work fine. According to the song I just need to change the kick or (rarely) to create new patterns.
Then I record the midi in Cubase element, and record one instrument at a time from the midi controlling the DR or the TD27 of my son. Yes, I have one audio track for snare, one for kick etc...
It might seem tedious, but I like it this way: when it comes to mixing I only have audio tracks.
Nothing that needs to sync etc....
Still having the midi tracks allows to mod the structure if necessary. Or to choose different drums later (still audio recorded...)
I never got the feel of creating a pattern with a mouse.
Click to expand...
I get that entirely, Bert. I didn’t think I would like it at first, either. But I darn sure do now! Splitting everything into separate tracks With it is a bit of a chore, but it always has been as far as I’m concerned.
 
#13
Patrice B said:
Wow, this drum kit fits really well in the mix. Hard to tell that’s not a real drummer if someone is not aware…
Click to expand...
Thx man! Can't take much credit for the sounds but programming drums to sound real has always been the bane of my existence. My first instrument was drums but I can't play them at home due to obvious reasons, so I'm way out of practice. And I'm not about to go hire a drummer to do music that won't make me any money anyway :D
 
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