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Old 07-26-2009, 08:08 PM   #1
TubeTone74
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Default WAV based VST(i) drums. Do they exist????

Hi everyone. I've really been beating my head against a virtual wall here trying to figure out how to get good....or any drums recorded with MIDI VSTi stuff. I just can't get my brain around all this MIDI stuff, it makes no sense to me and I'm tired and frustrated....all I want is drums.

Here's what I need: a VST plug-in, preferably free or close to it, where I can arm the track for audio, make a repeating, good sounding natural drum loop with an audio signal that gets recorded to the track I've armed. My intention here would be to build several different but corresponding audio tracks like this and cut and paste them together the way I want them in Reaper, then just play my other instruments over this audio track and be done. This is what I did a few years ago before my SR-16 gave up the ghost - I recorded it straight in as audio, not MIDI. Simple.

I would just go buy another SR-16, but I don't have the cash and I never really liked the unnatural sound of it anyway.

Does such a thing exist in VST land?

Many thanks!
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Old 07-26-2009, 08:32 PM   #2
dub3000
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http://www.bluenoise.no/mydrumset.html

insert w/ full routing (right click empty area of reaper track view and select 'insert virtual instrument' i think). drag everything into a folder, record-arm the folder and set folder to record output.
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Old 07-26-2009, 11:42 PM   #3
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Yea, I'm a bit lost here. I'm not sure what you mean by "drag everything into a folder" what "everything" are you talking about and what "folder?"

Even after putting the mydrumset file into the proper spot in Reaper/Plugins/FX, I can't find it. I tried dragging and dropping the file out of Explore window right onto the track and that doesn't work either. Sorry, I know your trying to help, but I'm still lost. I can record audio, process it, even render and record a CD, but I just can't get a drum track to save my life.

Thank you for your help and any further clarification.

best,
j
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Old 07-26-2009, 11:45 PM   #4
dub3000
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Originally Posted by TubeTone74 View Post
Yea, I'm a bit lost here. I'm not sure what you mean by "drag everything into a folder" what "everything" are you talking about and what "folder?"

Even after putting the mydrumset file into the proper spot in Reaper/Plugins/FX, I can't find it. I tried dragging and dropping the file out of Explore window right onto the track and that doesn't work either. Sorry, I know your trying to help, but I'm still lost. I can record audio, process it, even render and record a CD, but I just can't get a drum track to save my life.

Thank you for your help and any further clarification.

best,
j
the reaper/plugins/fx folder is for the internal JS effects that come with reaper. the file supplied is a vst - put the DLLs in your VST folder (which is configurable, check the reaper options - on my machine i put all my VSTs in C:\VST). take the DLL out of the reaper/plugins/fx folder btw, or you'll slow down your startup.

by folder, i mean - make a new track in reaper and drag other tracks "into" it (shift-select tracks in track view (not mixer view), drag into the bottom part of any other track and they'll feed into that track - it works both as track routing and as a logical way to group files).
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Old 07-27-2009, 12:02 AM   #5
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MyDrumset is brilliant but wouldn't you still need MIDI to get it to actually make a sound? Maybe I misunderstood the original question but wasn't he trying to avoid MIDI altogether?

I would've thought that if you want to avoid MIDI, plugins are out of the question as they all need a MIDI signal to trigger the right drum sounds. With the exception of drum replacer plugins, I guess. You can use them to have an audio track (rather than MIDI) trigger a drum VSTi (like the aforementioned MyDrumset).

You can find some info about free drum replacers here: http://www.hometracked.com/2006/04/2...rum-replacers/

If that doesn't fit bill, maybe try loops instead. They're just audio files and you can make your beats by slicing the loops up and rearranging the slices. Drumcore Free (http://www.submersiblemusic.com/Temp...x?contentId=65) comes with a small amount of audio loops (as well as MIDI). Other than that, I don't know where you can get good quality loops for free (well, not legally anyway).
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Old 07-27-2009, 12:18 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by taigablues View Post
MyDrumset is brilliant but wouldn't you still need MIDI to get it to actually make a sound? Maybe I misunderstood the original question but wasn't he trying to avoid MIDI altogether?
you can use the virtual midi keyboard built-in to reaper and bash away using the keyboard while recording or possibly even use a usb gamepad with the buttons mapped to midi notes.
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Old 07-27-2009, 02:03 AM   #7
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dub3000: thanks, your suggestion makes sense, but when I tried to make a new file to hold the Mydrumset, I cannot seem to access it at all from the FX menu. I'm not at all sure how I would trigger the sounds anyway once open.

Taigablues: I have been trying to use a stripped down version of Mdrummer, the free version with no editing ability or tempo control. I can get it to repeat in the FX window and load the verse 1,2,chorus and even respond to MIDI control, but there is no ability to control what it does with MIDI. Sometimes it just starts playing after hitting a key on the Reaper virtual keyboard and won't quit, other times it just makes one or two drum hits and stops. I cannot seem to edit it in Reaper the way I'm used to with audio. I've attempted working with MIDI several time over the years (w.Cubase) and I've never made any progress. You folks must have the golden touch or I'm just cursed one of the two. The whole thing is alien to me.

Analog loops could work, I like this idea...it's closest to what I know and understand. (thick head here) So far the closest I've come to being able to do anything with drums is play back drums repeating from Mdrummer in the FX window of an audio track, take the send from my Tascam mixer and send that to the line inputs on the same mixer and record the audio to a stereo track in Reaper. To get around the lack of control of tempo in the "teaser" copy of Mdrummer, I'm going to experiment with adjusting the global pitch in Mdrummer to offset changing the speed on the transport bar in Reaper. I'm just now experimenting this, so far it's working. I'll experiment with reapers routing to see if I can't avoid running cables on the board.

So, yes - I am in fact trying to avoid MIDI all together. I'll check out your links.

thanks for all your help.
best,
j
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Old 07-27-2009, 04:16 AM   #8
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TubeTone74
a good complement to reaper for songwriting/creativity which saves driving yourself nuts undrstanding midi
is realband from www.pgmusic.com
basically it gives you a bunch of session players to create songs with.
in its most basic sense think of it as a tool for creating bed traks fast (eg real studio drums/bass/other traks..) that you can then import into reaper n then massage n add your final upfront traks .
only downside is it can be a tad pricey.
it includes loads of instruments..not just real studio drums and bass players etc.
basically realband creates the traks for you.
i dont have time to go into all the features so just read up on it.
imho reaper plus realband is a highly potent songwriting solution.
while some folks spend days on a few midi traks..youll get many complete songs done.
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Old 07-27-2009, 07:39 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by taigablues View Post
I would've thought that if you want to avoid MIDI, plugins are out of the question as they all need a MIDI signal to trigger the right drum sounds.
Not necessarily. JamStix - www.rayzoon.com - will produce drums from an audio track.
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Old 07-27-2009, 08:20 AM   #10
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Not necessarily. JamStix - www.rayzoon.com - will produce drums from an audio track.
Yes, but Jamstix is still driven by MIDI (although hidden from the user somewhat)

also, the OP said Free or close to it. Jamstix is around $100 US
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Old 07-27-2009, 03:05 PM   #11
taigablues
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TubeTone74

if you wanted to give MIDI another go, it might also help if you got something like Drumcore Free or the demo of Addictive Drums (http://www.xlnaudio.com/?page=downlo...ge=demoversion) and use the MIDI files that come with those programmes to start you off.

Insert, say, Addictive drums as an FX on a track in Reaper and open it up. Click on "Beats" to display the list of MIDI grooves that come with the plugin. Just click and drag any of the items on that list into the reaper timeline and drop it on the track that has Addictive Drums inserted on it. If you now play you should be hearing the drum beat. If you then right click on the item and go to "Open items with built-in MIDI editor" you can edit teh groove by moving the black dots about with the mouse (and by deleting them and putting new ones in).

Hope that helps - if you are prepared to try MIDI again...
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Old 07-27-2009, 04:40 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by shemp View Post
Yes, but Jamstix is still driven by MIDI (although hidden from the user somewhat)
No that's not the case at all. JamStix follows the host application for its timing. You can use a midi file to tell JamStix what drums to play, but it's by no means obligatoy. You can also use an audiofile to provide dynamic information and the application will, essentially, make up the drum part as you go along - although there are ways to tell it exactly what you want it to do.

The output can be a midi file or just audio, that's the users choice.

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Originally Posted by shemp View Post
also, the OP said Free or close to it. Jamstix is around $100 US
Actually, he said 'preferably' free or close to it.

Well, I think you rather get what you pay for in this world and I reckon $100 is pretty close to 'free' for an app of this quality.
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Old 07-28-2009, 03:55 PM   #13
TubeTone74
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Default the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Thanks again folks for the suggestions.

Well I thought I had the following solution, but there are problems.

The Good:
Insert new audio track, insert VSTi, select Mdrummer "teaser" copy, approximate my tempo (for lack of tempo control in the stripped version) with the Speed selector ( 50%, 100%, 200%) then shift the Global Pitch control to offset the pitch altering that will occur in Reaper when speeding up or slowing down the project Track Playback Rate to arrive at the correct tempo. When trying this with "preserve pitch" it just sounds funny to me. Then I hit the IN button on the track and select Record Out > Stereo, then play back what I wish in Mdrummer while recording. This records an audio track of what I just played. Then I just cut, past, copy etc. as I need to construct the bones of the song. HOWEVER.....

The Bad:
This worked well the first time and again about 12 attempts later, but I'm getting all sorts of problems otherwise. For instance it will play back just fine, but as soon as I'm recording, Mdrummer does strange random things like play super slow or just stop. Other times it crashes Reaper or the whole computer. It's like Mdrummer knows I'm trying to record it's output and screws it up 98% of the time, as if its trying to be even more of a tease.

I'm removing Mdrummer Small from my hard drive immediately.

NEW QUESTION: Can anyone here recommend a good physical drum machine that sounds good and is easy to use having stereo analog outs? Again, my SR-16 died, and I want better sounds anyway.

The Ugly:
I'm so close to Tupperware, pot lids and wooden spoons it's not even funny.

I'm at wits end.

thanks for your help and tenacity.
john
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Old 07-28-2009, 04:09 PM   #14
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NEW QUESTION: Can anyone here recommend a good physical drum machine that sounds good and is easy to use having stereo analog outs? Again, my SR-16 died, and I want better sounds anyway.
Boss DR-880. Probably the best you can get for that money.
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Old 07-30-2009, 10:37 PM   #15
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hey tubetone,

a physical drum machine is really a miniature computer. so, its not physical. it just has a d/a converter in it, as well as a preamp. its just redundant to have both.

check it out. just use this:

http://www.odosynths.com/DRF2.rar

drag the contents of DRF2.rar to your vst plugin folder.

create a new track, create a midi item, and insert the instrument in the track.

this is better than a "physical" drum machine in many ways.

enjoy!!!
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Old 08-09-2009, 07:14 AM   #16
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you should look into a new Open Source called DRUMTRACK http://www.supercoldmilk.com/drumtrack/
It's not a VSTi, it's stand-alone drum software / machine, but it can import MIDI, export as MIDI or WAV
***Definitely worth a look into
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