JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Recording Studio and Gear Forum PC Drummer vs ?

Okay, so before my recent Massive System Failure I had been using PC Drummer Pro for my drumming needs. I liked it well enough -- Actually, I kind of like being able to go in and lay out a song measure by measure with full control over every little tick of a high hat, etc. Setting up looping tracks seems to make me lazy and the end result sounds far too synthetic.

ANYWAY -- Between the crash and a recent chaos of moving, I had lost my proof of purchase key and the software company is less-than-helpful, so I'm stuck having to either buy PCD again or something else.

What are similar options out there?

First off it pays to back up all software and files and keep a note of product keys etc just in case of theft or crash and burn. I am sure you have learned this lesson now.
Sad that the company is less than helpful to you...most companies can tie in product registration with an email addy and unlock/reinstate your product key.
I have not used PC drummer but have used many other drum progs. When choosing any such prog many things should be considered. A lot is down to personal preferences, the application and style of music you want to play, cost, the users skill level and knowledge and what is available. First thought is to go with what you know and what works for you. That said maybe it is time for a change and upgrade.
Toontrack EZ drummer is pretty good.
I would also recommend Addictive drums. These software progs are a bit more expensive than PC drummer or what you may want to pay but are well worth the extra.

Sounds like you want somethig organic opposed to synthetic. Of course the good stuff costs more. I think nothing on the market today beats Superior Drummer and Steven Slate Drums.

I spotted EZ Drummer on sale for 49.99 (!!!!!)

Sadly, my budget doesn't have any 'Music Stuff' wiggle room at the moment. Here's hoping it stays on sale for a while.

Another vote here for EZ Drummer....Once you get to it you might want to do Supperior drummer,,, Much luck.
Cheers.

Get EZ drummer first. Then buy superior drummer as a crossgrade. There are many differnt add on packs, Such as Nashville, Music City,Songwriters fillpack etc. With Superior drummer you also receive an independent 16 channel mixer. You can set the drum mix to approimately what you want. Then, assign each individual drum to an output, beginning with output 3-4. In your DAW, set up auxilliary tracks for each of the drums, overheads and ambient mics. You can then use great presets from EZ mix 2 to give each drum its own flavor and reverb. The result is a very convincing drum sound, without the hassle of another person's personality. For me it has become Man's best friend. Good Luck-Bobby

Hey Bobby,

I am using EZ Drummer and I think it is excellent.....but what is the advantage of assigning separate auxiliary tracks versus just using the mixer and placing everything on one track?

Thanks

Another vote for EZ Drummer, though Spectrasonics' Stylus is my first choice when recording. If I can't find an appropriate Stylus beat, then I use EZ Drummer.

Hey Colin- There is a huge difference in the sound, it enables you to have different reverb on each track, different EQ, etc, plus the use of the multiple Toontrack presets. It is absolutely worth the money.

Bobby,

Thanks I'll try setting it up that way.

Hey Colin- If you need my help, let me know. i'd be happy to help you!-bobby

Bobby,

Thanks for the offer. The next one I record, I will use the separate drum channels and call on you if I have problems!

Not to sound like a broken record, but.....

ToonTracks Superior Drummer is outstanding! And EZ Drummer (the light version) is a good starter kit. I'm running both on ProTools HD and DP on an Intel Mac.

Hey Colin -

"but what is the advantage of assigning separate auxiliary tracks versus just using the mixer and placing everything on one track?"

I am a mixer & engineer for a living, but I am also a musician first, so I am always looking for the delicate balance between the two.

If you are doing a quick demo, chances are the single track will be fine. But if you are going for a real mix, then separate tracks become more important. Your mixer will thank you.

I have done many hundreds of live drum tracking dates. This gives me a good perspective when I need to program. For virtual drums, I use Superior Drummer and I have found that if I record the separate outputs on separate tracks (including room tracks) and I adjust the leakage to what I expect from a live date, I can create a multi-track drum kit that is hard to distinguish from a live session. It takes a fair amount of finessing (which may be more trouble than just hiring a real drummer), but the end results can be pretty impressive.

Jes' my 2 cents!

Tom

Hey Guys- There is a great video on You Tube about how to do this. The AUX tracks are added in your DAW.I normally use 15 tracks (aux) in digital performer8. On Superior Drummer, go to the bottom of the mixer where the outputs are. Output 1-2 go to routing the source to your designated output. The first kick channel is assigned Out3-4, 2nd kick out 5-6, continue across and you'll end up in the ambient room settings. What is the difference. Being able to plug in Pultec EQ to any track, 16 different reverbs, and EZ mix 2 is available in 64 bit, where as the superior has 16bit. when you get to the end , there is a much deeper depth to these tracks. Could just be me, i would never claim to have the answers, but to my ears, and 40 years of playing, this sounds convincing...Merry Christmas to all-Bobby

The advantages of using VST over a real drummer are many. It is cheaper....you can get exactly what you want and not have to rely on live drummers foibles or styles..you have almost infinite different kits and styles to choose from....you can control the final output of each drum or cymbal track by track rather than a bleeding leaky mix where mics pick up all other drum sounds. It is getting more and more harder to distinguish between real drums and virtual or sampled tracks. Ok it takes a bit of setting up to begin with but once done you have the templates forever.
All that said there is nothing like playing live with a real band using real instruments......sadly in recording that is almost a thing of the past.

I'm stradling the line between live and Midi. I use a Yamaha dd65 as the controller for Superior Drummer/Steve Slade midi. This way I get the best drum sounds and have a real drummer playing them.........[ Sidenote: The DD65 actually has some decent drum sounds included...I have just used #83 direct out and it sounds a lot like the mono takes used in the 60's by people like Ken Scott]

travark: I kinda just had the same problem. When switching files to my new computer I had a brain fart and hit 'format' instead of 'transfer'. There went 500gigs of music down the drain. But I do have a clean media drive now ughhhhhhhh.

PS to Jim: Microsoft has screwed up the audio engine for Win 8. My Echo 12 can record at 24/192 with Win 7, but is limited to 24/96 if I had Win 8. This fits with the original test done by Cakewalk that showed greatly diminished results from Win 7 to Win 8. Glad I had them load Win 7 on my new monster.

Not in our case for the most part! (Mike Caro's sessions)! I've even laid down some drum tracks for several songs produced by Mike Appel and Mike Caro, as has Mike Caro MANY times. They LOVE REAL! *when it works, of course.

When we do need to go non human drums for any given reason, we don't program, but rather, play in real time using fingers on the keys. That gets the human touch in there, with all the dynamics of us feeling each beat and all in between, (for ghost hits too).