Award Sounds

• Drumlessons.net
• Rockdrummingsystem.com
• Expertvillage.com

Shavano has an old but still useful article for anyone wanting to program drum midi patterns

Drum Plug-ins

I mentioned drum plug-ins above. I don't use the more advanced plug-ins so I can't really comment beyond that I've heard some very positive reviews including from some good drummers. From the demo samples I've heard, they introduce a level of realism that is difficult to achieve on your own with midi programming. There's a range of drum plugins offering different functionality.

The simplest are just sample triggers where you select the samples to be played and place them on a midi track. This is the basic type that you'll find with a lot of DAWs. If you're lucky, you can select from different drum sets, create your own, change the relative volume and/or pitch levels or even modify the envelope of the individual drums.

More advanced plug-ins allow you to select more authentic-sounding drumsets, designed to sound like specific Pearl or Ludwig sets and so on. They'll also give you the option of room sounds, microphone types and microphone placement. Extra features include the ability to blend the mic mixes. As they get more advanced, the plug-ins interpret the midi input into something more like what a drummer would play. This is the type that interest me more than others.

• Fxpansion.com
• Toontrack.com

Some include drum patterns in a variety of styles, giving you the ability to compose the song's rhythm very quickly. They may even include intro and fill patterns. Remember the basic sampled drumkit on the old casio homekeyboards of the 80s? Well, this feature's a more advanced and flexible version of that. It's ok for using when keeping a beat, especially as a more interesting clicktrack, but I wouldn't use them in the end product.

Part of a series by Award Sounds offering a selection of creative ideas to kick-start or rejuvenate a composition.