Awesome, you just showed me why my compositions aren't that groovy... I have to pay more attention to the drums and their rhythmical synergy with the other instruments. Of course it is obvious that they have to work together but here realized how crucial it is and that i have to fix a lot in my producing habits! Thank you!
as a singer-songwriter-bedroom producer I definitely picked up some new tips and workflows for producing tracks with drum loops, which is very new to me! mostly I've worked (lovingly and laboriously) with MIDI drum programming in the past, and I like it. But time to learn some new tricks
Something important, which wasn't mentioned, is gain structuring. This is an important step to start mixing with static levels. Personally, I make sure everything peaks between -18dB to -12dB. This allows for plenty of headroom. EDIT: After watching more of the series, this is mentioned briefly in video 4: "Acoustic and Electric Guitars."
Big thank you to you and Joe Gilder for videos like these. They were a big help to me. I was able to record album of 10 songs at home using Reason 8, and I am very happy with results. Most of my drums were loops in the octorex player and I was able to finally record songs that I had been sitting on for a couple of years. Excited that I was able to send the songs of to Distrokid today! You and Joe played a big part in it!
So, it really is best to have a scratch track (of the entire song - with all the nuances) before working with drum loops. I'm gonna have to test this out w/SD3 soon. Thanks for sharing!
I like to work around the drum loops, Drums and bass first, I use simple loops that don't feel too distracting and let the bass build the mood of the song. I do some editting but not this much, I'll try and make more edits like this, it really opens up the posibilities for the song.
Excellent - very clear. (Actually just started "trying" to use Cubase and stumbled on this video - but the concepts are very compelling so stayed to watch as its applicable to any DAW IMHO). Thanks for posting.
If anyone would like real drum tracks, I would love to help. Send me a message and lets get connected. Otherwise, enjoy Graham's excellent videos and endless wisdom!
Marc Zinzen I would be happy to help you out as well. I have one video up right now if you'd like to listen to how my drums sound (recorded with one mic)
Yeah, send me a message through my reverbnation or soundcloud profile. I don't think RUclips does private messaging anymore. www.reverbnation.com/ericschweitz soundcloud.com/eric-schweitz Lets chat and see what we can do!
Great tips and advice. Funny coincidence as I've got a new computer now and for some strange reason, it will not let me load my MK Power Drum Kit, so I've been using loops till I can figure out what I'm doing wrong loading my drum sequencer back into the machine. Talk about "Perfect Timing" :-D
Just a thought I am new to the learning process that you are showing I have understood everything your putting out the problem if you really want to call it a problem is you call out in the videos "part 1" "part 2" can you name or label the videos in the order they should be watched to get the most out of them? Also it helps for those of us taking notes to reference back to exactly what you said to get a desired result other than that I am learning more than I thought I would and thank you for sharing your knowledge
Can you do a video on Pro Tools Short Cuts like you were doing in this video to help newbies like me who want shortcuts to get faster. I hate drop downs...
I'm very confused about this stereo/mono thing. So if the drum loop is stereo, is there any value in converting it to mono to stay consistent? Isn't a stereo file only useful when you have multiple mics?
As a drummer I want to get better at loops/programmed shit just for the sake of writing and general utility. Insanely powerful considering how anti-portable a kit is
Hey Graham, we use Spitfire audio drum sound library, but have very little skill on programming drum notes. Can you recommend us piano players where to find a few awesome midi drum patterns to use for free? Thanks :) Blessings
How do I make my daw show the drums audio wave format I'm using EZ drummer 2 or Ugritone drums and they usually appear as midi dots on the screen. Nice video and nice edits though!
I’ve been using the free tabit software to program drums and import the midi into my daw and set it to one of the drum voices in the daw. Is there a better way to custom map drums using midi? I don’t want to use preprogrammed drum loops, I like creating the drum parts to fit my song perfectly.
PLEASE ANSWER! Should I get a midi controller or keyboard workstation (I know the differences between them) to make the effects, drums, etc. in my song?
So, it's really best to lay your scratch keys or guitar track first before adding drums, correct? Kinda dumb question, but I'm asking anyway. Thanks for sharing!
Marco Dalena I don't believe Pro Tools First supports MIDI or at least third party plugins, so that might be the main reason in this series, EZdrummer for the win though.
I use Steven Slate drums, and for my music a custom kit I made. It sounds great by itself though I did mix them to fit the music. Love the natural sound of Steven Slate Drums (Started with Superior Drummer which sounded like a machine gun)
I know this is jumping ahead a little bit, but should you eq the drum loops when you get to that stage? Or are they already good to go for the most part?
Hi Graham, can you tell me which Big Fish drum loop package you were using for this video? I have reviewed their catalog and there are soooo many drum loop downloads. Many thanks!
Any tips on how to manage this copy/past technique in Logic Pro? I've found how to edit the drum set of the preset "drummers" but not how to edit individual regions.
Hey Graham! I recorded a real drummer in a very small room of my home studio. Is there a way to make them sound bigger other than using reverb, saturation? Is there a plug in I can get that's not $199 like steven slate drums?
I usually use Addictive drums 2.0, simply because I am really bad with drums so is there any much difference in sound between those two types of loops?
Hey do you have any info on copyrights because nothing is worse than spending years writing a song just for someone to still it I have a lot of riffs that have been released in songs but not by me
Pablo Frangella Usually, the snare and the bass kick are kept in the middle but the toms and especially the cymbals, when you record them in stereo, you can hear them left and right and that gives you a wider sound. When you sit behind a drum kid, if you're right handed, the hi-hat is on your left side and the ride on your right side. Some engineers like to pan it that way, others prefer to pan it from the side of the audience but either way, most people prefer to have the drums in stereo.
Hey there, good video, but i have a doubt about something else and hope you can help me: I am looking for a smartphone with a flat sound, you know, just like my monitors, i had an iphone but i noticed that the bass frequences are way too high, i don't know if they do that for marketing purposes, and i was thinking in a S7 edge, but i don't know if is the right call you know? What phone are you guys using?
ArasMX Is it your phone or your headphones? I once found a pair of in-ear phones in the bus, new in the box (those that come with an iPhone). I never used them because I had my own but then, my headphones stopped working and I tried the white, Apple headphones that I had found. I noticed how bass heavy they are right away! I don't have an iPhone, I have an iPad but I guess that you have the same functions on both. When I was using the white Apple headphones, because they are so bass heavy, in my EQ settings, I chose an EQ with less bottom end (less bass). It's still heavier in the bass but it's close to what I was used to with my other headphones. I would suggest to change your EQ instead of changing the whole phone.
Hey mate, thanks for answer my question, well actually i know that the apple headphones have a very heavy bass frequences, but also the device have the same problem, let me explain, i have my monitors (headphones from the scarlett studio, a beginners pack from focusrite), and they have a good flat sound, not a perfect one, but good, but when i used them in the iphone, to listen my tracks, i can notice that the bass still too heavy, by the way, iphone eq sucks because you can't change the parameters, only select between many preconfigured eq's like "rock" "pop" "metal" "movies" and that kind of stuff. Now i don't have that phone anymore, but i was thinking about chose a new one based on wich can be more "production-mix friendly" with the user, you know, let you hear your songs in flat sound.
ArasMX I just learned something. I had no idea that different phones had different frequenices responses. What I know is that electronic devices that play music (phones, mp3 players, etc..) have something called a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) and that some DACs are better than others. However, I thought that pretty much all phones used the same kind of DAC, usually the cheaper ones. But maybe it's something else that makes the difference, I don't know. If you find out more, let me know!
An alternative straight-forward method to creating your own MIDI tracks. Can anyone recommend me a program to create drum MIDIs? I don't need nothing fancy, I just need the smallest program possible, the minimal disk space usage possible for creating MIDIs. I use WinXP (new laptop) and I prefer old programs.
Seriously you have to do all those steps to time stretch. Wow. I suggest you try Studio One 5 Prime. its free. the work flow is awesome. also why are your drums from a pad rther than an accoustic kit in waveform vs midi
I feel ya but there's also art in making organic out of the artificial and vice versa, I feel very lucky that we have so, so so so many options nowadays for making music to express ourselves
if I had to do all this I would lose interest in playing music and become an engineer. My whole songs take me 10 mins to do one fo them even got picked for guitar player magazine. im just to old and dumb and have no patience for all this computer stuff
Jesus play some music. I'm all for home recording and using tech etc but this is why all music now a days sounds like fekking robots, no soul no swing no variation in timing all stamped and cut and pasted to a fucking grid!!!
Check the description for links to free drum loop downloads (including the one I used in the video!)
recordingrevolution can you record with an electric kit?
That first drum loop, got a 'When The Leevee Breaks' vibe.. yippee!
Awesome, you just showed me why my compositions aren't that groovy... I have to pay more attention to the drums and their rhythmical synergy with the other instruments.
Of course it is obvious that they have to work together but here realized how crucial it is and that i have to fix a lot in my producing habits! Thank you!
looking back at this 5 years later brings me back to where I first started....just crazy to think at
as a singer-songwriter-bedroom producer I definitely picked up some new tips and workflows for producing tracks with drum loops, which is very new to me! mostly I've worked (lovingly and laboriously) with MIDI drum programming in the past, and I like it. But time to learn some new tricks
Something important, which wasn't mentioned, is gain structuring. This is an important step to start mixing with static levels. Personally, I make sure everything peaks between -18dB to -12dB. This allows for plenty of headroom.
EDIT: After watching more of the series, this is mentioned briefly in video 4: "Acoustic and Electric Guitars."
So much goodness thank you for taking time and highlighting equipment and programs that the working man can afford.
I'm getting the sense that this is one you prepared earlier. Either way it sounds great and thanks a lot for sharing your hard work with us.
Big thank you to you and Joe Gilder for videos like these. They were a big help to me. I was able to record album of 10 songs at home using Reason 8, and I am very happy with results. Most of my drums were loops in the octorex player and I was able to finally record songs that I had been sitting on for a couple of years. Excited that I was able to send the songs of to Distrokid today! You and Joe played a big part in it!
These videos and these series are just fantastic, Graham.
the drums sound almost too perfect for your riff. did you write the riff while listening to the drum loop?
That's what I was thinking too! That double bass hit on the 3rd beat seems too perfect.
Probably for the video sake.
So far, the best tutorial I’ve seen!
So, it really is best to have a scratch track (of the entire song - with all the nuances) before working with drum loops. I'm gonna have to test this out w/SD3 soon. Thanks for sharing!
your channel is so awesome! thank you, Graham, for every single tutorial!
Nice to know you can edit loops like this without creating too many syncing problems, especially if you cut/paste exactly on the beat.
I like to work around the drum loops, Drums and bass first, I use simple loops that don't feel too distracting and let the bass build the mood of the song. I do some editting but not this much, I'll try and make more edits like this, it really opens up the posibilities for the song.
Excellent - very clear. (Actually just started "trying" to use Cubase and stumbled on this video - but the concepts are very compelling so stayed to watch as its applicable to any DAW IMHO). Thanks for posting.
Love your videos. Thanks for making them.
awesome guide, man
Drummer in Garageband or Logic seems to me a much better way to do this step. I'm glad I'm using that.
Love the way you work and this song is killer🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
If anyone would like real drum tracks, I would love to help. Send me a message and lets get connected. Otherwise, enjoy Graham's excellent videos and endless wisdom!
count me in, please
Marc Zinzen I would be happy to help you out as well. I have one video up right now if you'd like to listen to how my drums sound (recorded with one mic)
www.reverbnation.com/ericschweitz
That's my profile on ReverbNation. Send me a message and let's talk more!
weeschwee hey can you help me out on a few tracks
Yeah, send me a message through my reverbnation or soundcloud profile. I don't think RUclips does private messaging anymore. www.reverbnation.com/ericschweitz soundcloud.com/eric-schweitz
Lets chat and see what we can do!
Hi very good vid's , But would have helped to number each video in order been a pain trying to find each video and in order :)
This is MAD Cool! Thanks so much!
Great tips and advice. Funny coincidence as I've got a new computer now and for some strange reason, it will not let me load my MK Power Drum Kit, so I've been using loops till I can figure out what I'm doing wrong loading my drum sequencer back into the machine. Talk about "Perfect Timing" :-D
By the way...for those folks who don't have the $$ to spend on EZ Drummer, MK Power Kit is just as flexible as EZ and is FREE!!
Very tedious but awesome!!!!!!!!! Never thought of most of these tips
Really awesome video - learning a lot from these.
Just a thought I am new to the learning process that you are showing I have understood everything your putting out the problem if you really want to call it a problem is you call out in the videos "part 1" "part 2" can you name or label the videos in the order they should be watched to get the most out of them? Also it helps for those of us taking notes to reference back to exactly what you said to get a desired result other than that I am learning more than I thought I would and thank you for sharing your knowledge
I really appreciate what you do! Thanks so much!
that guitar is actually pretty catchy
Its kind of 90's ish ...but pretty sweet.
JDChicago why does it matter if it’s “90sish”?
is your all mix tip and tutorial can helpful in EDM and progressive house mixing
Great video
Wow this method is so new to me.
Thanks Graham !
Can you do a video on Pro Tools Short Cuts like you were doing in this video to help newbies like me who want shortcuts to get faster. I hate drop downs...
I'm very confused about this stereo/mono thing. So if the drum loop is stereo, is there any value in converting it to mono to stay consistent? Isn't a stereo file only useful when you have multiple mics?
You the man
As a drummer I want to get better at loops/programmed shit just for the sake of writing and general utility.
Insanely powerful considering how anti-portable a kit is
You should check how Tim Henson wrote goat
@@tijolex thank you, will do, awesome jam, any video in specific?
@@Tyro_ making of goat on tim hensons channel
Hey Graham, we use Spitfire audio drum sound library, but have very little skill on programming drum notes. Can you recommend us piano players where to find a few awesome midi drum patterns to use for free? Thanks :)
Blessings
Why do you use pro tools instead of garage band? Is it better?
How do I make my daw show the drums audio wave format
I'm using EZ drummer 2 or Ugritone drums and they usually appear as midi dots on the screen.
Nice video and nice edits though!
I’ve been using the free tabit software to program drums and import the midi into my daw and set it to one of the drum voices in the daw. Is there a better way to custom map drums using midi? I don’t want to use preprogrammed drum loops, I like creating the drum parts to fit my song perfectly.
PLEASE ANSWER! Should I get a midi controller or keyboard workstation (I know the differences between them) to make the effects, drums, etc. in my song?
So, it's really best to lay your scratch keys or guitar track first before adding drums, correct? Kinda dumb question, but I'm asking anyway. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Graham, why do not use midi? Usually I use midi track to do drums part, it is more simple for me to edit them in terms of tempo and dynamic.
Marco Dalena I don't believe Pro Tools First supports MIDI or at least third party plugins, so that might be the main reason in this series, EZdrummer for the win though.
Pro Tools First supports up to 16 MIDI tracks i believe, where the paid for editions have up to 512.
But pro tools first does not support external plugins, so you can't use something like ezdrummer. Which sucks.
scott james But you can create the beat track in EzDrummer, export it and load it in although it is a lot of work.
I use Steven Slate drums, and for my music a custom kit I made. It sounds great by itself though I did mix them to fit the music. Love the natural sound of Steven Slate Drums (Started with Superior Drummer which sounded like a machine gun)
You've given me a reason not to hire a drummer. I'm a new subscriber.
I know this is jumping ahead a little bit, but should you eq the drum loops when you get to that stage? Or are they already good to go for the most part?
Hi Graham, can you tell me which Big Fish drum loop package you were using for this video? I have reviewed their catalog and there are soooo many drum loop downloads. Many thanks!
you have alot of videos & i wanna learn mixing & mastering, where do i start?
They're filtered by playlists. Go to the beginning, start there
He’s got a mixing playlist
It's there anyway to get ur drumset sample in wave file zip i really like drumset sound please
Hit "SHOW MORE" - the links are all there.
I always construct the drum track then add my guitar and bass around it
I use an old EZdrummer mostly
I saw that you grabs you drum loop from audio SSD. Is that Stephen Slate Drums?
Any tips on how to manage this copy/past technique in Logic Pro? I've found how to edit the drum set of the preset "drummers" but not how to edit individual regions.
how can i make my drum loop stereo or only some parts like cymbals stereo? is that impossible?
Hey Graham! I recorded a real drummer in a very small room of my home studio. Is there a way to make them sound bigger other than using reverb, saturation? Is there a plug in I can get that's not $199 like steven slate drums?
I usually use Addictive drums 2.0, simply because I am really bad with drums so is there any much difference in sound between those two types of loops?
Bojan Aleksić addictive drums loops are in midi format
Hey do you have any info on copyrights because nothing is worse than spending years writing a song just for someone to still it I have a lot of riffs that have been released in songs but not by me
Shouldn't the tempo be fixed as you go? Won't it potentially throw everything else off if the tempos are off here and there?
Hello Graham!, sorry for my ignorance, why do you keep the drums stereo? greetings from Argentina. :)
Pablo Frangella Usually, the snare and the bass kick are kept in the middle but the toms and especially the cymbals, when you record them in stereo, you can hear them left and right and that gives you a wider sound. When you sit behind a drum kid, if you're right handed, the hi-hat is on your left side and the ride on your right side. Some engineers like to pan it that way, others prefer to pan it from the side of the audience but either way, most people prefer to have the drums in stereo.
you made editing the drums look really easy lol..
Really well explained... But the problem is I have no knowledge about drums at all..
Hey there, good video, but i have a doubt about something else and hope you can help me:
I am looking for a smartphone with a flat sound, you know, just like my monitors, i had an iphone but i noticed that the bass frequences are way too high, i don't know if they do that for marketing purposes, and i was thinking in a S7 edge, but i don't know if is the right call you know?
What phone are you guys using?
ArasMX Is it your phone or your headphones? I once found a pair of in-ear phones in the bus, new in the box (those that come with an iPhone). I never used them because I had my own but then, my headphones stopped working and I tried the white, Apple headphones that I had found. I noticed how bass heavy they are right away!
I don't have an iPhone, I have an iPad but I guess that you have the same functions on both. When I was using the white Apple headphones, because they are so bass heavy, in my EQ settings, I chose an EQ with less bottom end (less bass). It's still heavier in the bass but it's close to what I was used to with my other headphones. I would suggest to change your EQ instead of changing the whole phone.
Hey mate, thanks for answer my question, well actually i know that the apple headphones have a very heavy bass frequences, but also the device have the same problem, let me explain, i have my monitors (headphones from the scarlett studio, a beginners pack from focusrite), and they have a good flat sound, not a perfect one, but good, but when i used them in the iphone, to listen my tracks, i can notice that the bass still too heavy, by the way, iphone eq sucks because you can't change the parameters, only select between many preconfigured eq's like "rock" "pop" "metal" "movies" and that kind of stuff. Now i don't have that phone anymore, but i was thinking about chose a new one based on wich can be more "production-mix friendly" with the user, you know, let you hear your songs in flat sound.
ArasMX I just learned something. I had no idea that different phones had different frequenices responses. What I know is that electronic devices that play music (phones, mp3 players, etc..) have something called a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) and that some DACs are better than others. However, I thought that pretty much all phones used the same kind of DAC, usually the cheaper ones. But maybe it's something else that makes the difference, I don't know. If you find out more, let me know!
What’s the software he’s using?
Where can I get some drum loops? I have PTLE8 Thanks
hahahaha i almost hit CTRL S while watching this
Whats the Software name please ?
am in uganda East Africa How can i get the mic
Hi Graham
Tried downloading the radio ready guide but the file doesn't seem to be working?
Same
sounds like Jack White's Freedom at 21
Gabriel Dominic Baygan jack white rocks
Where do I get some drum samples from?
Check out EZ Drummer, its free
An alternative straight-forward method to creating your own MIDI tracks.
Can anyone recommend me a program to create drum MIDIs? I don't need nothing fancy, I just need the smallest program possible, the minimal disk space usage possible for creating MIDIs. I use WinXP (new laptop) and I prefer old programs.
Cubase LE came with my synth. Still learning the ropes though...
www.steinberg.net/en/landing_pages/cubase_le_7/download_cubase_le_7.html
FeelingShred MT Power Drum Kit is free and pretty good
Thanks! Downloaded MT Power, will try it with Reaper...
does increasing the gain on my audio interphase for my mic help capture more emotion and emphasise of the vocal ?
You have byakugan. I just know it.
lol
How to mix drums when recorded with one or two mics?
reference the apogee videos where they did this while using the duet 2
There's a video on it on his page
Love your videos Graham but your eyeballs are freaking me out.
Seriously you have to do all those steps to time stretch. Wow. I suggest you try Studio One 5 Prime. its free. the work flow is awesome. also why are your drums from a pad rther than an accoustic kit in waveform vs midi
I'm sorry this is lat but can you make a video on how to take an instrumental off RUclips and place it on the software?
Cant use protools first
is anyone else having problems with dragging the drums file into pro tools?
I like the sterility of drum loops. I feel that modern music tries to hard to make artificial elements sound organic. I don't think it's healthy.
I feel ya but there's also art in making organic out of the artificial and vice versa, I feel very lucky that we have so, so so so many options nowadays for making music to express ourselves
if I had to do all this I would lose interest in playing music and become an engineer. My whole songs take me 10 mins to do one fo them even got picked for guitar player magazine. im just to old and dumb and have no patience for all this computer stuff
10 minutes? Can you explain a little more?
I'm a drummer and I feel I've been blind all my life
Jesus play some music. I'm all for home recording and using tech etc but this is why all music now a days sounds like fekking robots, no soul no swing no variation in timing all stamped and cut and pasted to a fucking grid!!!
beat not song