I bang a pillow and my leg while stepping the "kick" when composing and record that with my cellphone. Then I reproduce that in BFD and add "humanization" (sometimes by hand, sometimes automatic, I made a macro for it in SO3). If that is you question I believe that could be a good solution. Now if your question comes in hand with the sound and mixing part... do what your song is asking for... sometimes (and some genres) ask for noticeable sample-sounds... sometimes they ask for electronic drums... and sometimes for "real" drums (the real line is blurry because samples today sound waaaay too natural and can pass inadvertised in any good mix)

 

I own a big acoustic set,e.drums and a pad controller.
VST drums are a huge time saver,also you dont have to spend years practicing real drums like i did and spending tons of money for equipment.
Is it handy?Sure.
Though there are people who cant hold a basic 4/4 rhythm on real drums yet they manage to program very lively,dynamic sounding drums in a DAW.
My suggestion,get at least a pad controller,as it will be still you creating a drum beat.
Drum beats with a pad controller can be a time saver,watch some DJs on YT how fast it can be done,select a few bars,loop it and record fast while quantizing automatically if needed.
Still better than premade midi tracks imo.

 

My nephew is an great drummer in the mould of Stewart Copeland, and also very versatile regarding different styles, so I get him to play the V-Drums through a VST kit which seems to be the optimal solution to me. Of course, if I had the budget and a pending hit, I may consider rerecording live drums and vocals in a professional studio, but the Kemper Profiler, synths and VST's seem to have leveled the playing in all other areas. Also some kinds of music only require programmed drums, making the topic less of a headache.

 

Last edited: Mar 6, 2016

i would like to confirm what @Von_Steyr said bout recommendeing getting a pad controller will help A TON!
ones you passed the beginning phace and you start to feel comfortable playing the drums on the pads, you will start to get blazing speeds creating new drumparts and get new ideas and trying stuff out.

its so much fun too!

 

Drums are the most time consuming instrument to record(real drums),not only do you need a good drummer but you also have to know what the fuck you are doing.
Weak recorded drums will destroy your production like nothing else.
You can even get by with shittier guitars or bass guitar,but drums and vocals need to sound right.
Roland makes the best e-drums though even the best e-drum module can not match the sounds of VST libraries like Studio drummer,Addictive drums 2,Studio Drummer etc.
The best thing to do is just to wire the module trough an usb/midi adapter to your pc and you have a studio booth worth tens of thousands of dollars(in sound).

Also what @reliefsan said.

 

That's why I said I would re-record the live drums (and vocals) in a professional studio if required. I only ever use V-Drums at home, through a VST (AD2, SD3). You need to know when to outsource But V-Drums still give you an exceptionally useful guide track, even if you do intend to replace them with real drums later. There is something about a human body with 4 limbs that is hard to replicate, it seems to take on a rhythmic life all of it's own Tip: Always have a friend who plays the drums, it can save a lot of headaches

 

Last edited: Mar 6, 2016

Ofcourse man,was speaking generally for those who dont know
Unfortunately the majority of people dont know any musicians since they work alone ITB.
Its an amazing feeling playing the drums,especially when you finally master the instrument,its the best feeling in the world.
E-drums cant really replicate an acoustic set and its dynamics,but it can get very close with todays VST sounds.
I like playing both though,each instrument has its place in music production.

 

Yeah, as you say VST all the way, unless you reach a unique situation where you really do need that extra real drum sparkle I love to watch and learn. My nephew started drum lessons at the age of 8 and practices every day, so at age 20 he now has over 12 years of experience. I think he can go far if he can find the right guys to play with (easier said than done). My brother-in-law also brews his own beer, so it's a win-win situation when I need to pop over with my laptop to record some drum tracks. It usually lasts for a few days haha

 

Yeah,he did it the right way your nephew.
Kids should start early.
I started when i was 15(34 now) and played 6/7 days,2-3 hours during the week and 4-5 hours on weekends,almost every day after school and later on in life.
Cant even imagine practicing so much now,but then again i dont need to,the knowledge stays
Cheers mate

 

I admire people like Prince and Dave Grohl who can easily change roles, but for people like me it usually goes something like this .. learn to play the guitar, sing a little, then try a bit of keyboards and bass, etc. Playing the drums just seems to be a step too far. But if you have managed it then I salute you

 

so i guess it helps a lot to have a pad/v-drums of some sort to play drums....
well i think i'll have to then get it to the top of my WISH-LIST....

thanks a lot guyzz....
especially @Zenarcist and @Von_Steyr for your "tips"....
and btw, i'm also a drummer (Intermediate tho )
haven't used Pads or anything like that, but the last time a demo-ed a ROLAND PAD i instantly swore to never get a PAD but if i get enough funds i'll get myself some better heads and probably expand my Acoustic one.... the simple reason was that you don't get to play with dynamics on cheaper sets (not talking about expensive ones..!!) and if i want flexibility then i'll have to go for a HIGH-END one, won't I..??

how has your experience been so far with your kits.??

 

Well i have a Cmc-Pd on the left side of my keyboard for quick browsing and playing.
Its small, very responsive to the touch and silent compared to some of the pads.



If you can afford get something like this for more dynamics;


Or just replace your acoustic drum heads with mesh heads + triggers and you get the best of both worlds for the most dynamics.



Or if you have the ability to play acoustis drums at home buy only triggers,though you also need a drum module,though you can get a module very cheap these days.




From my experience.I have tried everything even made my own cymbals and triggers.
Imo its just not worth it as its just better to buy triggers on ebay or thomann.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Mar 7, 2016

You could get a good groove going with a cheap second-hand Roland V-Drum kit used in conjunction with VST software like AD or SD. As I said earlier, there is something about 4 limbs working in unison that is hard to replicate. It's a timing thing, the body takes over from what the mind is trying to create.

 

The Nord Drum 2 looks great. Thanks for reminding me that I need one

 

Haha,no problem mate!
Yea, Nord makes amazing keyboards,stage pianos and drum pads.
Swedish company.
Nord is on my must buy list as well.

 

I bought a inexpensive E- Kit, as long as it has MIDI out it should work. A great combo is E-drums with real cymbals.

 

hell I most of the time still start off with my trusty and by now pretty naff (but so nostalgic) Alesis SR-16 and guitar, Just jam along and diddle around until I come up with some riffs that I like along with programming in different rhythms, time signatures and obviously tempos, That gets recorded into either my laptop if I'm in my house somewhere but not my mankave studio space, If I'm not at home, I still haven't caught up with all these iPADs and Android things at all, Shit even the mobile phone I have can do loads of stuff if you know how but all I want it to do is make and recieve calls, send and recieve texts plus the camera is useful, That is all. So I usually have the good old SR-16 in my rucksack/backpack (which is probably as old as the SR-16 and has never broken/split like so many others have, finding a good quality backpack to carry stuff in these days is not easy) along with the almighty Zoom H2N which I use to grab things I reckon might be useable. Primitive I know but it's enough, Kind of wish I had attempted to get on the tablet and swissarmysmartphone band wagon in hindsight but I didn't so alot of the time I am blissfully unaware of what I am missing.

Other than that, The methods described already pretty much cover how I go about getting the drums down and tracked, Having a drummer that can actually play what I need/want and the sort of music/style demands is not the easiest but even so there is nothing like just jamming out live with a fellow human being or being's in a rehersal/practice space, For me even if it's the simplist of uber doom/sludge riffage with a drummer just holding down a groove but we're having a good time it trumps all over the top technical stuff. So in a jam room I'm plenty having fun rehashing sabbath riffs and channeling Electric Wizard, EyeHateGod and Iron Monkey than I am in the studio upto more tempo shifts, rifforama's along to polyrhythms, blasts and whatever else.

Main thing is to have a template ready or a selection of templates ready to go for when the creative spark/urge hits :tu:

All the best to all as always

Dean

 

After messing around with SlateDrums, AD2 and SD2 back to breaks/samples here, sounds much better (to me). I layer them with self made analog drums and/or mfb tanzbär lite. Maybe i also get this nord drum 2. Thats of course for electronic music - i can imagine for kind of jazz/funk/rock-style drums these drummer plugins do a OK-job (but then i would record a live drumset with a professional drummer).

Btw. for those who dont know - there is a way to let the drummer plugin in logic (with the grooves+ variations played by professional drummers) play any other drummer plugin.:

lets hope they add more drummer (+grooves) because i think its great. Tomorrow i will try triggering my analog drums with this.

 

Last edited: Mar 9, 2016

based on the feedback, i think i'll definitely try to get a Pad of some sort or as @Von_Steyr said above... will try out triggers (heard aboout it for the first time tho )..... well i think i'll just play around with my stuff and utilize it fully and then thjink about getting something....
trying to prevent GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) after looking at ya'll gears... hehe

PEACE

 

Both.