Benefits of using a drum machine

[FNG]

Hello everyone

I have a question about hardware and software drum machines that I hope you can answer.

What are the main benefits of using them compared to creating beats with samples? With that I mean placing one shot audio files on separate tracks in your DAW.

Thanks!

[DJ Warmonger]

- Easy to play on drum pad or other controller
- Swing
- Velocity sense
- Sampler functions for easy customization, automation and special effects

Placing samples in DAW is neither efficient nor effective. You want to make groove swing and make it fast, then swap patterns back and forth with ease.

[RichieWitch]

It really depends on your workflow.

I have a hardware drum machine that I use to make my own samples. This allows me to modify those sounds to match any idea I have in head, and allows me to create beats that evolve over time or contain elements of randomness.

Some DAWs can do these things as well, so you really have to ask yourself what your preferred workflow is.

For me, it is faster to just create the sounds I want, rather than digging through a thousand kick drum samples to find the one that I could tweak to taste.

[zerocrossing]

If you use a DAW like Live, it comes with a very nice little way of creating a sample based instrument based on included, or your own, samples. Even so, I find working with tools like Maschine or MOTU's BPM to just be a very nice and full featured way of getting a drum machine like feel, but without the limitations of most drum machines.

[Ghostwave]

As has been written before, it's much easier to get a nice performance using one-shots inside a drum machine or a sampler like Kontakt and you can save your kits and settings.
The Korg padKONTROL + FXpansion Geist is the best combo I've ever used. The pads are fantastic and the software outstanding.

[Outre Lights]

Timing, being able to easily edit things, any sounds you want, and not having to deal with drummers

[NystagmusE]

Unless the drum machine has good MIDI sync as both master and slave and unless it has individual outputs, you'd probably get frustrated with it pretty fast. I assume you're talking about hardware drum machines.

[GHOST19]

Many quality producers just place samples in their daw tracks. It has some advantages, preshifting drums is usually easier this way.

[FNG]

Hello everyone

Thanks a lot for your input!

[2ZrgE]

Hello everyone

I have a question about hardware and software drum machines that I hope you can answer.

What are the main benefits of using them compared to creating beats with samples? With that I mean placing one shot audio files on separate tracks in your DAW.

Thanks!

Almost never use them, have never been happy with programming/sequencing different patterns. I guess no benefits for me here.

Normally I arrange kick, snare, hats, percussion on different tracks with midi, so I have access to every single sound throughout the song. I'm too lazy to program let's say a software 909 and then sequencing it within its own sequencer and then sequencing that in my DAW.

[Atza]

I don't think that ones should limit himself exclusively to either drum machines or samples. Both have their place. Of course with drum machines you have full control,but if you like particular loop/sample than there isn't other option than to use it.

[ramseysounds]

What are the main benefits of using them compared to creating beats with samples? With that I mean placing one shot audio files on separate tracks in your DAW.

Ever since I saw a pro producer working this way, I never looked back. So easy to move sounds around creating different grooves. Also, putting different sounds on different tracks allows you to process differently, although if a drum machine has separate outputs you can do this with a machine as well. IMO it's far easier than using a drum machine, as long as you start with a good set of samples. YMMV