I'm looking to make, sequence, and loop drum sounds with a simple pc-based program. This is mostly to back up live musicians who are going to be fucking around and need a backbeat. I've tried stuff like Reason and found it too difficult. Do I just need to bite the learning curve and figure out one of these more difficult programs, or is there something simpler to use? Thanks dudes.
― jergins (jergins), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 01:24 (nineteen years ago)
Try FruityLoops. The drum module is very easy to program.
― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 01:45 (nineteen years ago)
another vote for FL Studio. It doesn't get much easier, and the more you learn, the more you realize how powerful it can be.
― Good Dog (Good Dog), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 21:39 (nineteen years ago)
Hammerhead Drum Machineis very easy, free and only slightly dated, the not-completely free update,
Tunafish by Bram Bos (the creator of the legendary Hammerhead rhythm software) has released a stripped down VSTi sequencer/rhythm machine.
― dewey, Wednesday, 28 December 2005 21:41 (nineteen years ago)
three years pass...
i can never get a decent drum sound from FL Studio.. any tips? i tried to use the "real drums" sound sample as everything else sound electro and i am actually after some soft drum sound to back up indie schmindie tracks!
also the lack of time signature change feature in FLS is annoying!
― ken "save-a-finn" c (ken c), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 13:03 (sixteen years ago)
I don't know anything about the setup in FL, but might have some general tips, depending on what your problem is -- do you just not like the sound of the samples, or is there a particular issue, like "too harsh," "too wimpy," "don't sit well in mix," etc.?
― nabisco, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 23:32 (sixteen years ago)
Actually, wait, I guess I might have some across-the-board suggestions:
- if FL lets you, it might help to separate certain drums and mix them individually, doing stuff like compression / EQ / effects separately for the kick, snare, and maybe a group of cymbals...
- if a certain drum sound is bad or wimpy on its own, try combining it with other sounds to get something that works -- e.g., if you have a kick drum that sounds nice but lacks low-end thump, maybe you double it with a kick drum that's nothing but a low-end thump
- you can also combine whole drum/percussion tracks this way -- e.g., imagine you have a nice airy open-sounding drum pattern with lots of stuff going on, but it's hard to hear the details ... so you add another drum track that's nothing but a firm, loud kick + snare to reinforce the central beat
- if the drums are sticking out too much or aggressively in the mix, make a deep, thin EQ cut and sweep it around the middle frequencies to see where it might help; there's a range in there where cuts can really make drums take a big step back and mellow out. If the drums are too dry or airless, try adding reverb to smaller, higher details like hats or shakers, and add carefully to snares. (It might help to EQ that reverb so that it's mostly high-end)
It seems like maybe you just don't like the sound of the samples themselves, so those two middle ones about layering things might come in handy.
― nabisco, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 23:49 (sixteen years ago)
I haven't used FL Studio for a while now, but it's definitely possible to add effects to individual drums. Also, as nabisco says, layering sounds is a good trick. I pretty much ignored the built in drum samples and downloaded my own from various sources, mixing and matching to get the overall sound I wanted.
― snoball, Thursday, 21 May 2009 08:41 (sixteen years ago)