MDrummer: hints for having realistic ride cymbals ?

[Lairyboy]

I would like to add as a one time drummer, you do not randomly hit the bell of a ride cymbal. You decide when you are going to strike it as part of your rhythm. You should think of the bell as a different sound, as a drummer would. Unless the ride is very heavy being hit lightly, you will get a swell and this contributes a lot to the different tone you get as the hits build. For realism, round robbin for individual hits with a swell building on another layer/track and a different sound triggered for the bell hits with a small reduction in swell because vibrations are not generated from a bell strike as much as a bow or edge strike. The bow is everything between the edge and bell.