I'm think I'm great at drumming on my desk. I get into the zone, and surprise myself quite often. So I'm thinking of just mic'ing it, then use sound replacement by velocity. It will also give me a good feel to align MIDI drums to. Professionals refer to practices such as this as it "Clownf***ing"

raito wrote:

Often, trying to make drum parts without being a drummer is like trying to make horn parts without being a horn player. It's not too hard to learn a bit about how a drummer goes about his business, and apply that.

When the most popular song I ever wrote got recorded by a band, the drum part changed completely because the drummer literally couldn't play the part as written. That was partly because he didn't have enough technique, but also partly because it wasn't written the way a drummer would have played it.

Another cool option in EZ Drummer is that you can tap in a beat, fairly half assed and then select from a drop down menu of similar beats which are quite often much better and more natural. In the demo video it seemed quite effective

Cheers,
Jeff

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raito wrote:

Often, trying to make drum parts without being a drummer is like trying to make horn parts without being a horn player. It's not too hard to learn a bit about how a drummer goes about his business, and apply that.

When the most popular song I ever wrote got recorded by a band, the drum part changed completely because the drummer literally couldn't play the part as written. That was partly because he didn't have enough technique, but also partly because it wasn't written the way a drummer would have played it.

Before I started arranging drum parts, I consulted with a friend who played. He taught me what went where and basically how to construct my own beats. For surf, I watched a few drumming tutorials on YouTube to learn how to do iconic surf beats and went from there.

I get the nagging feeling that some of my surf stuff isn't as "authentic"-sounding as it could be, but what would any genre be if it weren't for people pushing the envelope? I used a sitar pedal on leads once, fer cryin' out loud.

"Stop Me Before I Surf Again" at Band Camp.com

surfaholic wrote:

Does anyone on here have any experience of Native Instruments VSTs?

I'm tempted to pick one up, as all the sampled/synthesised drums I have are far too modern and processed sounding, but I'm torn between the Abbey Road 50s and 60s kits.
Logically, the 60s kit would be best as it's of the era, but based on their demos, the 50s kit has a bit more "looseness" in the toms.

Here's a backing track I used the NI 60's in. I thing they're great, but like most sampling solutions - get somewhat tiring after a while, ear/brain fatigue, and there's just not enough depth. (disregarding my own lack of talent as a human sequencer...) The cymbals, although beautiful solo, hard to make sit right. Still, better suited than most 'non-vintage' drum packs.
I demoed the 50's, and for my taste, they're more 'specialized' - can be a great augmentation to the palette, but not necessarily as the main 'surf' kit. They might just be the more 'period correct' drums, if we're talking what was already in place in studios when the 1st wave hit... You're right about the toms, and the whole kit sounds 'jangly' and very lively. Layering between those two libraries can give commodious options.

BTW, general tip: Re-amp everything! Playback the drum track in your monitors, record a mono or stereo with room sound, and parallel mix back in. Better than NI's own mic/room sims, and to give it your own flavor/stink.

Last edited: Nov 05, 2015 13:45:28

Ron wrote:

Anyone tried a "Beat Buddy"?

http://mybeatbuddy.com/

Yes, I just got mine a couple weeks ago. It is designed primarily as a live performance tool but my plan is to audition it for use on an upcoming 13 song instrumental recording project.

So far I am very impressed with it. It contains 200 pre-programmed drum patterns, each with four different available fill patterns and 21 different drum kits, all played by human drummers. That negates "digital perfection" which is what makes a drum machine sound so obviously like a drum machine. Based on my experience so far, this one provides some pretty dang convincing real sounding drumming.

There is some cool MIDI stuff it will do and custom patterns can also be programmed via it's SD card slot. The pre-programmed patterns are on a 4GB SD card that comes with with it.

There is a lot of good information about the Beat Buddy online. Check YouTube for some good videos on the subject. If you buy one, make sure to get the optional 2-button footswitch. It is very useful.

I was intrigued with it because my recording setup is pretty old school with a Alesis HD24 hard disk recorder into an old Mackie 8 buss 24 channel board. I have an interface and the software for digital recording but I still like to record instrumentals the old fashioned way. If I ever switch over to the modern way, I'll buy dedicated drum software. For the time being and based on my initial impression, I think the Beat Buddy will work fine for what I intend to use it for.

For live work with a duo or trio, this thing would be killer....and it won't show up late for rehearsal or a gig, take a long time to set up, play too loud or try to steal your girlfriend.

Jack Booth
(aka WoodyJ)

The Mariners (1964-68, 1996-2005)
The Hula Hounds (1996-current)
The X-Rays (1997-2004)
The Surge! (2004, 2011-2012)
Various non-surf bands that actually made money (1978-1990)

Last edited: Nov 05, 2015 19:00:05

If you have to use a drum machine, try this little trick: only program the bass drum, snare, and toms. record that to a cassette tape. Overdub all the crashes, hi-hat, and ride. Then pull it back off the cassette tape and put it back into whatever format you normally use to record. It'll end up feeling more real than any drum machine you've ever heard.

I know this an old topic but what's everyone using nowdays for drum software. Looking to purchase some very soon.

Last edited: Jan 16, 2017 16:18:52

I use Superior Drummer 2.0 in Cubase 5, I think that with good results. I program all de kicks for the drummer, is easier with practice.
An examples:
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Lie To Me Cover

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The Phantom Dragsters

I've been looking for backing drums to play long with and don't know what would best suit my needs.
I've had a Digitech trio and have never really bonded with it. I'm not sure if a beat budy would be much better.
Is there any drum freeware worth trying to make my own tracks? I'm just a basement hack looking for a simple setup.

Slate is my main drum plug in. I also have a bunch of others and mix and match and also hire real drummers.

It’s a good question because it brings up the aesthetic of the music, to stay traditional or “venture” into different creative territory. The classic surf canon is live kit. The tempo floats.

I’m debating this question now as I prep some instrumentals. I’ve got live drums on some of the tracks already. They sound great. The question is whether that’s where I want the music to live. It’s tempting to add non traditional elements to expand the palette. That’s a personal vision thing only I can figure out. Although I’m always open to ideas on the subject.

But it’s a meaningful decision from a production viewpoint. A snare sound can determine the decade of the sound. One choice and you can displace your intent by thirty years.

If the sound of live drums is desired, use live drums. Record the demo. Hire a remote drummer to record live and send back multi tracked drums. Then be prepared to re-record any parts that need adjusting to groove with the real thing. Sometimes it hurts to have to re-record a fave part. But groove is king. Don’t be lazy.

If you track to a loop, you are not limited to it.

Drums are a big part of surf. A lot of surf is power trio - minus the vocal. So these decisions are important to the music.

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