Old 10-05-2018, 08:00 AM   #1
DarkFriendX
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Default Proper Routing/MIDI Setup for Drums

I'm interested in having one MIDI track with MIDI note events and notation as a controller for VST sounds on other tracks.

For example:

Track 1 - All MIDI notes
Track 2 - Kick VST
Track 3 - Snare VST
Track 4 - Tom 1 VST

I've been able to set this up where Track 1 controls the sounds on Track 2, but unable to get past that properly. Nothing else I do seems to trigger the sounds on the other tracks.

This would require the "master" MIDI track assigning different keys/notes to trigger different tracks. Traditionally, a keyboard triggers sounds on one track. I'm trying to do this were a keyboard triggers sounds on multiple tracks.

I could have MIDI note events on the Kick track, the Snare track, the Tom 1 track, etc., but that would be a massive pain to edit drum patterns.

Hopefully this makes sense. I'm sure it's possible within Reaper, but damned if I can't figure it out after a few days of trying every combination I know of.

Thank you for any guidance you can provide!
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Old 10-05-2018, 08:22 AM   #2
DarkStar
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Hello DarkFriendX and welcome to these forums. You'll find many helpful people here and a lot of useful information. Make sure that you:
Out of interest, which VSTis are you using for those sounds?

Anyway, to trigger the VSTis on those tracks you will need to
(a) Send MIDI from Track 1 to each of the other 3,
(b) make sure that the notes are at the correct 'pitch' (note number or name) to trigger the VSTis ,
(c) maybe, make sure that the MIDI channel of the notes is one that each VSTi will "listen to".

Many people use a single "Drum VSTi" with all the drum kit pieces, inserted on Track 1, and avoid what you have outlined. Have you considered that approach?
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Old 10-05-2018, 11:58 AM   #3
DarkFriendX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkStar View Post
Out of interest, which VSTis are you using for those sounds?
I'm using a range of drum sounds from Steven Slate to libraries in Kontakt from Native Instruments, etc.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkStar View Post
Anyway, to trigger the VSTis on those tracks you will need to
(a) Send MIDI from Track 1 to each of the other 3,
(b) make sure that the notes are at the correct 'pitch' (note number or name) to trigger the VSTis,
(c) maybe, make sure that the MIDI channel of the notes is one that each VSTi will "listen to".
Thank you. My question then is how to accomplish B and C above. I think I've got A figured out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkStar View Post
Many people use a single "Drum VSTi" with all the drum kit pieces, inserted on Track 1, and avoid what you have outlined. Have you considered that approach?
I've done just that for a long time, but would like better control over sounds and processing for each individual drum sound. Thanks again for your help! Much appreciated!
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Old 10-06-2018, 07:20 AM   #4
DarkStar
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(b) make sure that the notes are at the correct 'pitch' (note number or name) to trigger the VSTis,
Read the manual for the drum plug-in to see which MIDI notes trigger which drum kit pieces. Then make sure you use those notes in your MIDI clip.

(c) maybe, make sure that the MIDI channel of the notes is one that each VSTi will "listen to".
Read the manual for the drum plug-in to see which MIDI channel is used for the drum kit (it is often 10 for drums). Then open the MIDI clip in the MIDI Editor, select all the relevant notes and change their channel to the desired one (right-click to get the context menu).

Details for both are in the Reaper User Guide.

You will probably find that the note names in Reaper are 1 octave adrift. This is because different developers use different standards for Note Names. Try setting "MIDI octave name display offset" to -1 in Reaper's Preferences.
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Old 10-06-2018, 07:55 AM   #5
DarkFriendX
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Thank you, sir! I'm going to give it a shot today and see if I can get it working. I appreciate your assistance and time.
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