MDrummer 5.02 update

Official support for: meldaproduction.com
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

Bearing in mind that you can move drum tracks up or down by left click/drag in the list on the left, I can see why double click is used for selection.
And as notes on the grid can be duplicated/extended both horizontally and vertically by left click/drag, I can see why left click/drag is not used to change note parameters...
the bottom bar is excellent for all that...you can swoop across with left/click drag drawing an envelope for all the selected notes..very fast.
I must say I really like the diamonds..looks like a nice drum chart.
One thing not mentioned in the docs (I think) is that you can quickly un-select all selected notes by clicking outside the grid (with Ctrl if in pencil or eraser mode).
I can see why people would like solo/mute buttons in the editor but I do like the recently added Ctrl or Alt click (Mute or Solo) thing.
And Vojtech, thanks for edkilp's zero velocity thing...brilliant.

Post

when you click to move tracks I don't see any reason why this would not also select track and notes.
In beat designer left click drag left/right inserts notes but left click up down changes parameters which I found much better for creating beats.
yes the bottom bar is very good but when writing the loop and been able to change the parameters while placing notes is very intuitive.
Yea I'm not against the diamonds but an option to use set blocks would add a lot to the editor.
These changes would also improve touch screen compatibility

Another thing would be individual drum track offset if I wanted a lazy hat or snare that track can be offset by a set amount. I can only find a global offset and individual note offset.

Post

goldglob wrote: And Vojtech, thanks for edkilp's zero velocity thing...brilliant.
I'm still trying to decide if it works properly or not. The change log says: Minimum velocity for MIDI command notes now forces choosing a random loop and if random loops are disabled. Reaper uses velocity level 1-127. There is no '0'. So, does 'minimum velocity level' take into account those strange folks who don't adhere to 0-127 or 1-128? It seems to be picking random loops some of the time, but other times it just plays the same one. I need more time with it.

Post

It definitely works and just as I hoped it would. I can have as many loop variations in each loop box as I want, set the velocity to '1' (Reaper has no '0'), and it will randomly select loops from that box. If I set a specific velocity for the fills or even the loops, for that matter, it will play the loops/fills i selected. Absolutely awesome!

Post

edkilp wrote:..... If I set a specific velocity for the fills or even the loops, for that matter, it will play the loops/fills i selected. Absolutely awesome!
Awesome..I agree, and thanks for thinking of it.
I take it that when you say 'loops' above you mean 'beats' (as opposed to breaks).
I sometimes put lots of loops in beat loopboxes as well as break loopboxes (as I think you do from what you say).
However:
I've noticed that the 'velocity commands' (and I mean any velocity value..including the new minimum value for random loops) don't work when playing beats (as opposed to breaks etc) unless Sequencer mode is turned off, even though Sequencer mode is I believe redundant when using midi commands (they over-ride it).
There must be some strange logic here :?:

Post

I noticed that, too. You've said before that sequencer mode has nothing to do with midi command method, but I think I'm going to disagree. It effects it in some ways. The first being that if sequencer mode is Off, you MUST provide MIDI command notes, or the last note you insert will continue to play over and over. So if it happens to be a break, that same break will just keep goin.

Yes, loops are beats, breaks are fills. It's all interchangeable!

The Min Velocity thing is a huge step forward as far as humanizing is concerned. You can have several slightly varied 'beats' (better? hehe) in each loop box. By letting MD randomize these, it's more apt to sound like a real drummer, playing a measure here and there slightly different. I really like it a lot. I'm glad you do, too! I must have milliseconds of genius! LOL

Post

edkilp wrote:I noticed that, too. You've said before that sequencer mode has nothing to do with midi command method, but I think I'm going to disagree. It effects it in some ways. The first being that if sequencer mode is Off, you MUST provide MIDI command notes, or the last note you insert will continue to play over and over. So if it happens to be a break, that same break will just keep goin....
Ah yes, quite correct, I remember that discussion now :dog: :tu:

Post

Hi,

I'm having some trouble installing this update from clean.

Everything installs as expected, and the VST is working fine, but the Factory samples, although present on my system, are not at the 'Factory' location in the plugin (or standalone). All I get is a single hihat.

When I go to the kit editor I see there are no samples listed in the Factory folder. How do I get Mdrummer to point it's 'Factory' folder at the default sample sets? I'm lost :P

Thanks in advance...

EDIT: I know I can use custom folders, but this way I can;t access the Kit generator...

Post

You should start a new thread for this.

Post

OK, I'm a little behind the schedule here :D. So to dark-i's stuff (I won't mention the discarded ones, simply because I already said enough about it).

2. Ha! Interesting :D, didn't know that :D. Ok, I'll add that to to-do list.

3. Ctrl/Alt + click (or the menu), that's how it is, no more cluttering of the loop editor GUI.

5. Possible, but either it will collapse everything or nothing.

7. Are we really arguing about appearance of a note symbol? :o If you want something, send me an example of how you want it. If I'll like it, then... If I don't, sorry. Yeah! I'm important again! :D

About Beat designer - it is a simple "n x m" grid, good for primitive loops, techno mostly. It's pretty obvious that the whole concept is pretty useless for something that advanced as MDrummer's loops... Simple things have always simpler workflow...


Sequencer mode - well, it's more like historical :D. No, it's really about letting MDrummer play WITHOUT MIDI commands. If it is enabled, you just give him a command to play and he will, play breaks, jam and stuff... If you disable it, he will be kinda stupid :D and play the same thing allover again until you give him a different command. About the beats - you mean if you have multiple beats in a single loop box, MDrummer doesn't let you change the loop every time? I need to check that.

stimresp: Please write me an email or start a new thread.
Vojtech
MeldaProduction MSoundFactory MDrummer MCompleteBundle The best plugins in the world :D

Post

MeldaProduction wrote:........


Sequencer mode - well, it's more like historical :D. No, it's really about letting MDrummer play WITHOUT MIDI commands. If it is enabled, you just give him a command to play and he will, play breaks, jam and stuff... If you disable it, he will be kinda stupid :D and play the same thing allover again until you give him a different command. About the beats - you mean if you have multiple beats in a single loop box, MDrummer doesn't let you change the loop every time? I need to check that....
Yes, I understand Sequencer mode being for playing WITHOUT midi commands, but as edkilp pointed out, midi command functionality is affected by Sequencer mode on or off...to expain simply, say you have a midi item in your DAW with a few BEAT notes, then a BREAK note, then no more notes. If Sequencer mode is off MD just keeps repeating the break, but if Sequencer mode is on, MD jumps back to a beat after the break....this is in the DAW and using the space bar.
I realize that this is not a practical problem because when I write midi commands I define what I want on every bar..just pointing this out....seems like a short circuit or something?

About the multiple BEATS (not breaks or intros etc) in a single loop box, yes, MD doesn't obey 'velocity commands' unless Sequencer mode button is off. MD obeys velocity commands for multiple breaks, intros etc regardless of the Sequencer mode setting. Bug?

Post

Actually, it's functioning exactly as it should. With sequencer mode OFF, MD doesn't know what to do unless he's told. So if that break is the last MIDI command present, he'll just sit there playing it over and over until you tell him what to do next.

As for the other point, I also confirmed this. Multiple beats do not respond with Sequencer mode on. Multiple breaks do.

**EDIT** But to me, this also isn't a problem. I want the beats to switch between the subtle variations i have set up, but I don't particularly want MD playing random breaks, as I like to auditon the breaks that are available, and assign the proper velocity level to play the ones I want. Or program my own breaks and give them the proper velocity level. I leave Sequencer mode OFF just about all the time anyway. So, if it's a bug it's a bug, but I'm not having a problem with it personally.

Post

The sequencer mode is there so you can start MDrummer from your host and just press a MIDI command from your keyboard and let it do his thing ;). The velocities are ignored for beats, because you usually don't want the beat to change, but it appears to me obsolete now really. So I'll add to to-do list to make beats work the same way as breaks. We'll see.
Vojtech
MeldaProduction MSoundFactory MDrummer MCompleteBundle The best plugins in the world :D

Post

Of course you may do as you wish, it's your baby! But I really think it's fine the way it is. Maybe someone else would like both the beats and breaks to play randomly. When I suggested the minimum velocity thing, it was mainly for beats. A real drummer might (and does) vary the hi-hat accents, maybe add a kick here and there, or a snare drag from one measure to the next. We can now add these slight variations to the same loop box and set the velocity to minimum, and MD will switch between them like a real drummer. This is wonderful.

When it comes to breaks, I personally don't want MD playing these randomly, because of the obvious fact that some fit better than others, and I like the ability to choose the breaks I want. For myself, this isn't a problem. If I'm just starting a new song idea, then yes, I'll turn sequencer mode ON and let MD play whatever the hell he wants, but as the idea becomes more refined, sequencer mode is turned OFF and I take control over what MD plays.

So, it comes down to sequencer mode ON or OFF. No big deal. Now, after I play with this for a bit longer, then maybe something will come up where it hampers me in some way, but so far it's perfectly fine. What do you mean when you say it appears to be obsolete?

And while we're on the topic of breaks, who is this three-armed drummer you have there who can do all these intricate fills while hitting that open hi-hat on every beat?? One thing I have to do frequently is go through all the breaks in each box and delete that open hat track, because it's just not physically possible. Of course I mention this in good humor, peace, and love! Hahaha!

Post

You are probably right! And saying it is obsolete probably wasn't logical either ;)...

And about the hihat - well, I personally can play open hihat by foot ;). But of course I'm an awesome drummer!! :D :D :D
Vojtech
MeldaProduction MSoundFactory MDrummer MCompleteBundle The best plugins in the world :D

Post Reply

Return to “MeldaProduction”