i have only ever done my drums in reason, wich is great dont get me wrong. i love redrum and i love how easy it is to make awesome beats in reason. but i been hearing som things about dudes using like straight audio clips for beats sequenced in cubase or sumthin. i was just wondering if there is any cool methods for making beats (other than reason) that i been mising out on.
I use an NN-XT in combinator with each type of drum hit routed through their own compressors / eq's.
I have various aux fx devices set on a 14:2 mixer like different reverbs, delays, distortion etc which I can control the dry / wet values of.
As for the beats I like to manually draw them into the Reason sequencer using the pencil tool rather than using the ReDrum pattern sequencer.
Also if you have Reason 4 you also have the ReGroove mixer which allows you to make your beats sound much less robotic by adding some slight human perfection (mistakes) to them. (shuffle & displace the hits by a few ticks to the left or right, the strenght a note is hit (velocity) etc)
Also you can load up a Dr Rex loop you like and copy the pattern to track, then open up an NN-XT and load the same rex loop you like in the NN-XT then on the Reason sequencer, drag the pattern from the Dr Rex channel to the NN-XT channel.
You can replace any of the hits with other samples you prefer within the NN-XT & also you can edit each individual hit.
Actually I got 3 different approaches to making beats within reason in my Reason step by step section right HERE.
tbh I don't think it really matters what you make your beats in.
Personally I find making beats in Reason fairly quick and easy to do due to both what Reason has to offer and the easieness of the sequencer.
I used to use samplers to make my beats but since switching from fl to reaper I just drag samples into the time line, arrange them and bounce when necessary.
I've found that you have more control when using audio instead of midi because you see everything in front of you: all the transients, envelopes, etc.. Instead of just looking at loads of rectangles in a piano roll.
Plus it's far easier to do things like reversing samples, or adding reverse reverb, with audio.
Not to mention per item fx.
There is no best way though, whatever you're most comfortable doing is probably best.
This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by selig: 05-12-2009 18:18.
Originally posted by selig
I used to use samplers to make my beats but since switching from fl to reaper I just drag samples into the time line, arrange them and bounce when necessary.
I've found that you have more control when using audio instead of midi because you see everything in front of you: all the transients, envelopes, etc.. Instead of just looking at loads of rectangles in a piano roll.
Plus it's far easier to do things like reversing samples, or adding reverse reverb, with audio.
Not to mention per item fx.
There is no best way though, whatever you're most comfortable doing is probably best.
HaHa Martyn (Demure) keeps trying to make me switch from Reason to Reaper.
But then again I'm a wee bit stuck in my ways and I've always prefered Reason over any other DAW I've tried.
TBH I'm not too fussed about not being able to use VST(i)'s.
If I really wanted to I'd just open one up in Live 7 or SX3 and bounce the damn sample into Reason. (not like I bother mind)
Originally posted by selig
I've found that you have more control when using audio instead of midi because you see everything in front of you: all the transients, envelopes, etc.. Instead of just looking at loads of rectangles in a piano roll.
Plus it's far easier to do things like reversing samples, or adding reverse reverb, with audio.
Not to mention per item fx.
Yeah I honestly wish FL Studio had the option to do this sort of stuff. I watched some videos of SX3 I think it was, where each sound was rendered on screen as the actual waveform itself (like Reaper) and changing the envelopes and getting them just right was a breeze..
As far as Reason goes, most people agree that the NNXT is the way to go once you get your head around Reason simply because it expands your options 100x fold for each individual hit, it allows you to make much more complex, better sounding drums if you know what you're doing.
Personally I always make my beats in FL and if I want some sounds from Thor or something because it is such a badass synth, I'll make it in Reason and then bounce it into FL. Probably any intuitive program like FL is a good choice, where you have access to good distortion plugins like CamelPhat or mastering plugins like Ozone. I've found making sick drums in Reason to be a bit more of a headache than FL, but listen to all the Reason users on this site - AMAZING drums. Just keep practicing making drums, doing what you're doing, and you will improve each time.
hells yeah! well i do love reason for sequencing drums. i too draw them out in the sequencer rather than just using the 16-step on the redrum. and i have gotten pretty good at finding good percussion too layer together and i have recently learned how to eq my drums right. and add a little mclass compression too. matter a fact i have recently learned how to eq all the elements in my mix better so there not all interfering with each other. wich has REALLY improved the quality of my sound.
but, yeah, i should try using the nnxt for my drums, i have never really thought of that.
and i guess your right, it dont matter how you do it, it is the end result that matters and i am most comfortable doing beats in reason.
i find Reason really easy to use for drum sequencing
for me its about one shots in the NN19s (for ease of processing each individual hit separately) and chopped up / re-arranged rex breaks
Originally posted by Ketz
i find Reason really easy to use for drum sequencing
for me its about one shots in the NN19s (for ease of processing each individual hit separately) and chopped up / re-arranged rex breaks
Eh you gone back to using the NN19 again Ketan !?
I've never used it in anything before tbh except in that timestretch *combi patch I made ages back.
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This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by Sentinel: 06-12-2009 16:39.
I use what ever i can get my hands on,
hats from hiphop packs, kick from that, snare from jazz, whatever.
sometimes throw drum samples in a slicer en mix stuff around, put mixer on it.
even heard people using pipes slammed together for snares etc.
It's crazy what you can use
I have a Roland V-Drum TD-4 kit hooked up via midi and audio to my preamp, so a lot of my drums start from there. I'm a drummer first, so beats usually come naturally. Then I either keep the midi or audio file, do some tweaking/layering, and viola. All in FL.
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Originally posted by selig
I've found that you have more control when using audio instead of midi because you see everything in front of you: all the transients, envelopes, etc.. Instead of just looking at loads of rectangles in a piano roll.
Plus it's far easier to do things like reversing samples, or adding reverse reverb, with audio.
Not to mention per item fx.
Yeah I honestly wish FL Studio had the option to do this sort of stuff. I watched some videos of SX3 I think it was, where each sound was rendered on screen as the actual waveform itself (like Reaper) and changing the envelopes and getting them just right was a breeze..
As far as Reason goes, most people agree that the NNXT is the way to go once you get your head around Reason simply because it expands your options 100x fold for each individual hit, it allows you to make much more complex, better sounding drums if you know what you're doing.
Personally I always make my beats in FL and if I want some sounds from Thor or something because it is such a badass synth, I'll make it in Reason and then bounce it into FL. Probably any intuitive program like FL is a good choice, where you have access to good distortion plugins like CamelPhat or mastering plugins like Ozone. I've found making sick drums in Reason to be a bit more of a headache than FL, but listen to all the Reason users on this site - AMAZING drums. Just keep practicing making drums, doing what you're doing, and you will improve each time.
well why cant you do this in FL? It has the same posibility. I make my beats in FL in the playlist (not using slicer or whatever in the piano roll) I just lay down all the samples i want (kick, snares, shuffles...) in the playlist and I see the waveform you guys talk about...you can add envelopes, automations etc. straight in there...
There is nothing to stop you doing this in fl but without per-item envelopes or effects, and basic tools like glue and group, it is very awkward and takes forever.
I'm not slating fl btw. I used it happily since version 3 its just that working with audio is not one of its strong points.
Originally posted by wrm
well why cant you do this in FL?
Yeah mate its definitely possible, but its not as simple. Imagine hovering your mouse over a waveform in the playlist and being able to edit the envelope and stuff right there.. it's really nice.
..And I'll answer the question while I'm here too!
I do my beats with Logic and ReCycle.. Chop up a breakbeat and load it into Logics Sampler, re-arrange it and layer it up with one shots from a few Sample CDs I got (if it needs it
) I guess you could do the same with a combination of the NNXT and Redrum..? It's more inspiring to work with a groove than a load of single shots, I find.
for me its about one shots in the NN19s (for ease of processing each individual hit separately) and chopped up / re-arranged rex breaks
