Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll have a look at these over the weekend.



You're misunderstanding. I am after an alternative to Cubase as I am looking to move away from it, rather than upgrade/continue with it. But I like using grid drum editors, so I will only move from Cubase to another DAW that has a grid drum editor. So I was asking for suggestions as I haven't had much luck.

I don't know how relevant this is, but my favorite drum machines (iDrum and MicroTonic) have pattern editors built-in and drag and drop midi to your DAW piano roll. I really prefer this since I may switch DAWs but I can still use the same systems I am used to. Also my 'real drums' in Studio Drummer and EZDrummer also have drag and drop, so getting patterns to any DAW piano roll is easy. That said, I do wish Studio One had a better drum editor. I think piano rolls with 'fold' where you hide unused notes is ideal for drum programming. Reaper is pretty easy to deal with in that respect.

OMG.
Please, check out the functionality of this in your search.
http://www.image-line.com/support/FLHelp/html/stepsequencer_ gredit.htm
In some ways it completely blows the others away.
The Step Sequencer alone is nice. The Graph Editor inside it is completely addictive.

+1 for FL Studio
It is basically build around the Step Sequencer (this is where it started).

Together with the integrated sample browser it's really comfortable for generating beats/rhythms in no time.

I was a Cubase user for a couple of years, and I don't see what is special about it's drum editor. It is a piano roll, with drum labels in place of the keys. That's all it is. Reaper can do the same thing, and you can use blocks, diamonds, or triangles for hits, if that is something that matters to you. You can also save drum maps with track templates.

FL's sequencer is ok, but I see no quick way for changing the grid, say between 1/16ths and 1/64ths, or triplets, etc. You have to go into preferences to do that, unless I'm missing something.

Cubase is your friend here

Rob

Here is a good introduction to MIDI drums in Reaper:

part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaXLbwNtu2E
part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfmPRLg7slI

The image quality in the videos isn't very good, but the instruction is solid.

Its a far easier interface to use for drum hits. To me. I read a grid with hits far easier (for drums) than I do a piano roll. The fact that Steinberg (and others) have included it at all indicates I can't be the only one who thinks that.

I'll check out the reaper vids, thanks. I did have a play with reaper a while back and couldn't get far with it but I hear a lot of good things from people.

For the record, FL Studio I'm not especially keen on. Fine for beats but I can't write music on a grid. Not tried it in many years though so I'll take a look and see what's new on it.

That ol' Fruity rep still has some strength left.

Well, dont let a years old first impression casually dissuade your from checking it out, cuz the FL Step Sequencer absolutely fukking smokes anything mentioned here.
Just sayin.

Check some youube vids. Its funny.
I literally LOL at how drums work in Cubase and Reason. No wonder so many people love premade drumloops. I would too.

Well you know the thing about premade drumloops...

Someone else made 'em...

Have you looked into Cubase' Beat Designer yet ?
Wouldn't that be close to what you're looking for ?

(sorry if it has been mentioned already and I missed it)

http://media.soundonsound.com/sos/mar09/images/Cubase5_08.jp g

Well that FL step sequencer is fine for what it is but that interface never did much for me. Horses for courses and all that; a mate of mine has created some genius stuff with FL for years.

Appreciate the suggestions of drum instruments but I already bought and have Battery 3 and Toontracks software for my drum sounds. Toontracks drag and drop is great but I like to edit the patterns too.

Must admit out of all the suggestions so far, Orion looks like its worth checking further.

Thanks for all the suggestions (and opinions!)

My Cubase predates that. Must admit it looks like they're going with the FL method a bit there.

Sorry, but no it does not absolutely smoke everything else. It's a step sequencer. The OP is asking about Cubase's Drum Editor, which is completely different than a step sequencer. Honestly, it doesn't even make sense to compare the two. Step sequencers might be nice for sequencing hip-hop/electronic loops made out of individual samples, but they're not really suitable for laying out full-kit drum tracks using things like Superior, EZD, Addictive, and such.