Software solution to replace DR770 drum machine

[j20056]

I own a DR770 drum machine, and usually use it via MIDI with PTLE. When I'm really finished with the exact sound I'm after, I print to audio tracks.
What I'm looking for is a software package that can do everything the DR770 does, i.e. have a MIDI interface, a drum synthetizer, and some pre-programmed patterns. Ease of use is also key, because I don't want to spend too much time learning the package. What's out there?

[gabriel_p]

Q: What's wrong with the Dr.770, What diff results would you like? Just curious.

[Hadjipita]

Reason by propelerhead is good for prog. drums ... and has some decent synths and such onboard ...

also Fruity Loops is used quite a bit ...

latah ...

[out1ear]

I program all my drums manually. I have some wav's of really great drum sounds, I set the songs to grid and record to a click. It takes time, but the drums sound like a live drummer, not like a drum machine!!!!

[j20056]

gabriel_p,
nothing wrong with the DR770, but it's just that you can't save setups easily, like drum kits. It's nice to use PT as a sequencer, ideally there would be a plugin drum module. For the moment, I'm looking at an intemediate solution, i.e. a drum module that runs on its own, but can take MIDI In/Out, and output sound back into PT.
I dunno, it seems like the most obvious way to retire my 770 and have one lesser box in my studio, as long as the software sounds good.

[pk_hat]

I second Reason 2.0

no matter what angle you look at it from, this thing can do just about everything. Sample your drum machine, each hit, sound, etc. Trim them all nicely and create a folder to neatly put them all in, and once you get Reason, you can just trigger them in many different ways.
You'll also be able to automate filters, create interesting rhtyhms that would have taken ions with the drum machine alone and to top it all off, write some incredible music with all the synths and samplers provided with the program. You can then import each track into a PT session and add any live instrument you want after the fact.

There's many Reasons it's so popular [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

-$250 new in a box
-very easy to use
-you can automate everything (literally)
-works great for any type of music, not just electronic (which sadly, is what many people assume)
-very flexible
-load any sound you want, you'll never get bored with just presets
-upcoming upgrades will make it even more delectable.

[da BaSsTaRd!]

Originally posted by pk_hat:
no matter what angle you look at it from, this thing can do just about everything.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">actually, i think it can do everything. [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[steals]

I got it to do my dishes. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Try it with a M-Audio 2496 sound card

[Kirkland]

Combine all the cool things about Reason with the new Akai MPD-16 controller and you have a totally killer drum makin' package. The MPD-16 for those of you who havent seen it is essentially the pads off of an MPC2000 with a 5 pin MIDI out and a USB MIDI interface built in... It's totally sweet and runs about $300.

[j20056]

Well, I spent my afternoon downloading and trying out the free demos of:
* SampleTank
* Reason 2.0
* FruityLoops

My conclusions so far, after trying each module for an hour is that:
* Reason is very powerful, and although I didn't do it, I understand that it can be controlled by the PTLE sequencer. I personally like to have the drum MIDI tracks in PT. However, I don't think the drum module itself is as friendly as FruityLoops.
FruityLoops: Really good for Drums only, and cheaper than the other 2. Doesn't seem to have any MIDI capability, at least to interface with PT sequencer. Probably the best if you just want drums, and don't care about having drum MIDI control in PT.
SampleTank: If you are a PT user, this is just incredible, because it is obviously integrated. You can have any reverb or effect on each track, and save with each mix. The only possible weakness is that it doesn't seem to have any utility to either create a custom drum kit, or even use you own wav samples. But I have not confirmed this with IK. If it can do that, I think it is a winner. Having said that, you have to create patterns from the PT MIDI sequencer, which is obviously not great. I am planning to dump a bunch of drum sequences from a drum machine, and have a sequence library. So this matters less to me.

So I think for my own requirements, SampleTank may be the best choice. But I can see that Reason has so much to offer for about the same price. SampleTank is $299 at Musician's Friend right now.
BTW, the free plugin package with the Digi002 is really incredible: you get AmpliTube, Reason and Waves Renaissance, and even more I think. Hell of a deal...
The MBox will come with nothing but the Digi stuff, which is a survival kit.