I have sonic synth (i.e. Sampletank LE), as well as LM-7 with cubase.

1. Where can I get some nice or interesting dance drumkits? I'm fed up of the bog standard 909 and 808 kits, and most sample kits I have are real live drums, which don't really sound techy enough most of the time.

2. Or instead: Does anyone know how to make my own? I'd like to put together a bunch of my own samples to use in the drumkits sometimes.


3. Also... I tried SlicyDrummer out a couple of days ago, but was slightly disappointed with the level of sophistication of the breaks. I tend to use more full or complex rhythms than those available. I'm not necessarily looking for a tool to save me time, rather something to give me ideas on how to create a well-integrated drum track, since I'm not a drummer by trade. Can anyone point me to a more sophisticated MIDI drum library, (particularly dance-funk oriented if poss!)?


Thanks!

There was a cool little standalone freebie called 'DrumSynth' years back. Really detailed and involved ADSRs and filters to make and shape your own electronic drum sounds (and pretty good presets too!)

I make my own drums from odd .WAV's and ADSR shapes by and large on my own 'hardware' (Ohhh, like saying 'the sun' to Dracula! )
But even for all the soft 808's and 909's, I'll run them through insert effects like Cyanide or ring mods etc. to give them some new flare. Have you given that a go yet?

The electronic kit Battery expention is pretty good. You need something it will work in. So far I thing the only instruments that load Battery kits is Battery and DR-008.

Robert

I've been using Drumatic v2 lately.
http://www.e-phonic.com/
Ben

I second the Drumatic 2... I love the sounds this thing puts out. Simple, elegant, funky.

Another vote for Drumatic 2. It can produce some really tight sounds, and for free you really can't go wrong.

I'm posting just because I'm also from Vancouver.

Oh, VirSyn Tera can make some pretty tight percussion.

sluggo

Can anyone recommend any single hit dance/trance oriented drum sample cd's? I've been trying to find one, but they seem to always be one of the following:

- mixed stuff like cheesy arpeggiator loops, pads, bass lines and a 909 kit
- just plain electronic drum loops / breaks
- loops and hits of acoustic drums

So far I've made my own drums, but it's getting pretty old. I just need something with all the single hits that the (non acoustic) loop cd's are constructed of. Just single hit electronic/twisted drums, no loops, no acoustic ones. Anyone?

lindseyp wrote:

Or instead: Does anyone know how to make my own? I'd like to put together a bunch of my own samples to use in the drumkits sometimes.

The last issue of CM (the one with FL Studio on the cover) had a tutorial on building drum sounds using 3 different synths-- CM101, Triangle II, and Crystal. The techniques they describe would apply to pretty much any synth you wanted to use.

The DrumSynth008 in DR-008, and the DrumSynth Live in FruityLoops, are both descendants of the standalone DrumSynth you mention... all three were developed by Paul Kellett, who's also responsible for the MDA VST plug-ins.

lindseyp, did you check out the demo of DR-008 @ http://www.fxpansion.com ? One of the many cool things it allows you to do is to layer multiple SlicyDrummers along with its own onboard DDSequencers, which lets you build up complex grooves from simpler ones. You can even trigger two or more different SlicyDrummers at different points in the bar, to create overlapping rhythms, polyrhythms, you name it.

DR-008 also has approx. 10 different drum synth modules onboard, which make creating your own drum sounds a breeze.

sluggo wrote:

I'm posting just because I'm also from Vancouver.

Hey, man! Playoffs start tonight!

Yeah, I'm pretty excited about the playoffs this year. There are going to be some good battles, especially in the west. I saw some highlights last night, I hope someone pounds the crap out of Hatcher, I hate that guy. I also hope the Canucks have the depth in scoring to do it all this year. We shall see... Maybe one of the Sedins will become a Vancouver hero!


Back to drums....
Yeah, dr-008 is pretty kick ass. The included drum modules are very useable and good sounding. SlicyDrummer is so much more flexible than chopped loops (and Stylus I suppose) it's crazy. To get much more flexible you really need to write/create your own patterns from scratch. And then layer it with Slicy or ddsequencer...

sluggo

DR-008 is by far the best. lm-7 is the whole reason I spent wads of dough getting something better (I got LM-4 MkII and then Battery and then DR-008) and I sometimes go back to the other ones just for a laugh.

However, I'm more interested in real sounding drums than synth drums, but I agree that so many synth drums sound weak. Drumatic has some sounds that I like. I haven't delved too deeply into DR-008's synth modules but I think that I should.

If you ever do find something that you find to be really kick-ass, let me know because while most of what I do is non-electronic, I also have a love for big, bad electronic sounds that will have to be fully explored some day.

Drumatic 2 and Element P are good for synthetic drum sounds. also, try getting some old CM mag CD's, they usually have loads of free stuff on there that may be of some use. I got a shit load from there, and the old Kavala site.

there is always the standalone ST converter that will convert to patches for ST from AKAI 1000 and 3000 CD's and there are a lot of drum kits on those, no?

Wow, I can't believe no one has mentioned Stomper yet!

http://www.lysator.liu.se/~zap/stomper/index2.html

That was what everybody on-line was using 5 years ago & it's still much more versatile than any of the VSTi drum synths. We were listening to a track a couple of weeks ago & trying to figure out where we heard that meaty, nasty, dirty-as-fuck bass sound before. It was Stomper.

Phew, Man I wasn't expecting so many replies. Thanks a lot.

So.. the conclusion is try Drumatic (free! ) and DR-008. I'll give them both a try for sounds. Thanks again guys!

As for patterns... 2 x Slicy, I'm not convinced. I like the kind of riffs a highly skilled real drummer can pull off, as well as the 32T sloshy slappy rrrrattaSPLAT! kind of riffs you can pull off in your sequencer, but have to plan the whole thing, not just bung together separate bass, snare, hihat etc. and hope they fit together. I realise what I'm asking for is usually dished out as sample loops, but I'd rather get them in midi for maximum tweakability. Sample loops to me just reeks of 'cheating'. OK maybe midi loops are too, but I think I'd learn much more from them than just using samples. As I say, it's not the time/effor thats the issue, it's the lack of knowledge w.r.t how to put together a tight-sounding drum pattern.

lindseyp wrote:

I realise what I'm asking for is usually dished out as sample loops, but I'd rather get them in midi for maximum tweakability.

hey - JUNEBUG from www.electronisounds.com here -
if you have some time, you may want to check us out. we have a midi loops collection which might be just what you are looking for. we also have heaps of downloadable .wav samples if you check out the DEMO packs for each of our .wav format sample CD's - you'll find drum sounds AND loops in the DEMO packs for our CD's.
hope you'll find something in this resource useful!

JUNEBUG
www.electronisounds.com

Synth1 does a good job on kick drums..

you can also make 'hats too...

Uncle E wrote:

Wow, I can't believe no one has mentioned Stomper yet! http://www.lysator.liu.se/~zap/stomper/index2.html That was what everybody on-line was using 5 years ago & it's still much more versatile than any of the VSTi drum synths. We were listening to a track a couple of weeks ago & trying to figure out where we heard that meaty, nasty, dirty-as-fuck bass sound before. It was Stomper.

ooooohh that one looks interesting, i hope he;ll hurry up witht the java version to use on me mac.

Another way would be to buy the Ensoniq ASR-X Pro sampler/resampler, which has Stomper built in....
woooawh mann

For dance drums, DR008 is the best for making yer own kits.. Battery is nice too.. DR008 is easier but battery can import those soundfont drums you find on the net pretty much flawlessly! Sampletank comes stock with some lovely dance drums and Stylus, I don't have, but it looks to be the monster of dance drums!


Real drums hey.. well one of the best one that you can get is actually free

get it here http://www.nskit.com/

other super drums are PlugSound 03
Sampletank (the ones you get when you buy the full blown sampletank)
The Sonic Implants drum soundfonts
Drum kit from hell
and probably some on Stylus.. Dunno.. That seems to look like a be all and end all of drums lol

using battery with just about any sounds you can get a tech sounding kit using loop points, pitch and amp envelopes, tuning, layering, etc.

lindseyp wrote:

Where can I get some nice or interesting dance drumkits?

1. buy rekkids

2. sample said rekkids

3. go to step 1.

peace

red