Dad3353

Your location may be a factor. London..? South-East..? Outer Hebrides..?

AD is very good if you're happy programming in the manner of a 'beat box', letting the tempo run and pressing the keys to get the element to sound at the right time. Very quick'n'easy, but rather too 'mechanical' for my tastes. The sounds are good, though. Edit : A closer look makes the latest version more interesting; I'll install and try it out with the 'live' kit. AD2 seems to have many improvements, so it's a 'maybe', then. The real upgrade from EZ Drummer would be to take the leap to Superior Drummer 3; the difference is enormous. Very wide control of all elements, whilst retaining the option of using the fine 'default' kits. Well worth the upgrade price, in my view. Just sayin'.

Salt to the wound; that's all I have to say...

I basically use three methods, depending on the part I want and the time I have to do it in. The easiest, and quickest, most of the time, is to play what I want on my electronic kit, directly into the DAW. One needs a MIDI-compatible kit for this, and to be able to drum. The second method, for the simpler stuff, is to use a keyboard (I have several, but for 'quick'n'dirty', a tiny M-Audio Keystation Mini32 does the job, on my lap. I tap out the pattern I want, in real time, and go back over it to add stuff I couldn't do, such as a hi-hat. The best way, in my opinion, is to use the piano roll, and 'draw' the patterns individually. Often enough, I'll do a 'real-time' keyboard base, for the bass drum and snare fundamentals, then go into the piano roll and add ghost notes, hi-hat lifts, whatever... The piano roll addresses all the kit, all at once, but the output can be spread out to many tracks, one for each element of the kit, if the Vst has a 'multi-track' option. I can use one MIDI chanel for all, or split into many MIDI channels if I wish I have several drum Vst's, and usually 'default' to Superior Drummer 3, but use this same technique for just about all of them. I'd make exception for M-Drummer, which has a different way of working at its core, whereby it'll compose darned good rhythms on its own, so I usually just let it rip (for jazzier-style stuff; it does that quickly and easily, with a result that pleases me...). For myself, I see no need to do anything of the sort in the drum Vst, as I'd have to learn so many different ways of composing and editing. Doing it all in the DAW gives me just one method to use, and Reaper has all the editing functions I need (cut/copy/paste, edit velocities, quantising or 'humanising' and more...). I also have the option, using the DAW, to have as many tracks, mixing as many kits or percussion elements as I wish, with individual control over the elements. Using 32-track output, for instance, I can add a slap-back delay to the snare alone, or a subtle phaser effect to the cymbals. I can add a track to have orchestral drums, for adding tympani, and ethnic drums for Japanese Taiko-style, or a Middle-Eastern Darbuka. I'm pretty much allergic to Djembes, however (I've attended too many festivals where they featured boisterously..!). If you've any better system, please share; I'm always willing to improve and learn stuff. Hope this helps.

Good evening, AH ... S'been a while since I used EZ Drummer 2, but here's how I do the things you're doing. I don't know how you're 'programming' your grooves; I use the DAW for that. I couldn't even find where to try it in EZD, so... A picture is worth, it is said, a thousand words, so here's a picture... I hope that you can see, in my DAW (Reaper...), I've set up two drum tracks, each with an instance of EZ Drummer 2 added. Each track has a MIDI pattern, in 'piano roll' format, which I quickly cobbled up, using the DAW Editor (the window with the piano keys...). I took the time to add the drum affectation to those keys, which show me where each element of the kit is to be found. I've set a different kit for each instance; I could have chosen any kits in stock, but I've not a Latin kit with this version; the principle goes for any kits, however. I've uploaded the resulting render, so you may hear the two kits playing in turn. Yes, the beat is a simple one, just for demo purposes; it only took me a couple of minutes. Does this help at all..? EZ_Drum_01_1-002.wav

'The Eagle has flown'. I repeat : 'The Eagle has flown'.

Some folks have a link to their Feedback topic in their Signature. That would be the 'easy' way to get it out there. Hope this helps.

Yes Learn also that 'wire' has only one conductor, 'cables' have more. You have red and black speaker 'wires' (only one conducting core...), the blue 'cable' has at least two. You can help yourself by using the correct terminology; it'll make communication much easier, and maybe even safer, for yourself and others. Just sayin'.

It's fine. Your present one is fine, too. Is that a guitar jack cable you're using for the speaker..? It'll work at low volume, but should really be a speaker cable. See about changing that while you're at it.

I see that the drummer has been chewing cactus gum again.

... but those are the result of a somewhat disgraceful medical condition, I think.

Thank, Lurks; glad you liked it..! Some of the others are not bad, either..! ...

I have a few chocs still; can it wait a week or two more, please..? No..? OK then; I'll polish 'em all off as best I can, and hope some buddies drop by to assist.

Indeed, so it's clear who is responsable for sparking this off. Topics take on a life of their own, so one should think carefully before unleashing the Dogs of Iniquity.

I'm not sure on what grounds, to be honest; the silliness started with the OP. We'll see what develops, I think ...

On the other hand, as we get older, we have less and less time to 'waste' 'trawling', and tend to target more immediately-suitable stuff. It's too late for me, for instance, to even consider starting on any kind of appreciation of Disco-Funk, EDM or Punk. There's so much more 'classical' orchestral stuff that'll 'float my boat'. Just sayin'.

Good evening, xxxxx , and ... Welcome back..! Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

This bloke knows what he's on about ...

It's the spring (or springs...) in the pedal that return the beater, and these would be adjusted to the tension needed, depending on how one plays. At first, a fairly strong spring is required, but, as one's finesse increases, the tension is backed off, to enable more 'ghost notes', and a more precise control of the pedal. Too soft, and one gets double strokes and poor rebound control. Too hard, the ankle is fighting for control. Best a bit hard at the beginning; this tones up the muscles involved, which are not used to this stuff yet. Same for the hi-hat; the ankle soon tires, so exercise is needed just to build up the hitherto unused body parts. Yes, drumming becomes quite athletic, and needs preparation and progressive training. Eight-hour sessions are not a good idea at the start..! Medium-short sessions, with rests (or changes of target...) are recommended.

If you're serious about getting pretty decent at drumming, have a look at these, please... That's a page taken from the Max Abrams method. Have a look, show it to your tutor, and see if it inspires. This doesn't replace the 'four to the floor' playing in the video, but is the key (or rather, one of many...) that unlocks drumming in its entirety. The exercises on that page are Rudiments, for the snare, with bass drum, but are equally valuable played on other elements, such as the Hi-hat, toms, or even bass drum, using a double pedal. They are simple, but powerful. Just a thought; see what the tutor thinks of such an approach.

@DaytonaRik... Pump up the volume. No, not the overall volume (the generic is quite loud enough, thank you...); your mic volume. Get it closer, or use a Lavalier-style mic..? It doesn't matter that it's in shot, s'better than straining to catch the quips. Just sayin'; subscribed anyway.

There's probably no flippin' truck, either.

That's darned good, and pretty much rock-steady. The key is to go s-l-o-w-l-y, as you're doing; it's by far the fastest way forward. S-l-o-w is the new fast. A word..? There are two schools of bass drum pedal: heel up and heel down. I see that you're 'heel up'; it might be worth doing exactly the same exercises 'heel down'; this brings into play different muscles and tendons, and is very useful for expression and finesse. As it is, you're 'burying' the beater into the skin; it's useful to have the beater strike, then come off the skin, without rebound, in the same way as your sticks don't stay down on the drum head. Discuss, maybe with your tutor..? A looser grip of the snare stick (a more supple wrist..?) would be something to think about, too, right from the start. Again, your tutor will have advice on these minor points. Good Stuff; here's my usual encouraging phrase... 'It's the first forty years that are the hardest, after which things, sometimes, tend to get slightly better'. You're doing well.

That's way too loud, tinnitus or no tinnitus, in my opinion.

There's new music..?