Multiloops - Discrete Drums - Reel Drums

[davidp158]

I know that Bassmac has had some good sucess with Multiloops. I'm interested in getting one of these products, and curious if others have tried any of them.

The Reel Drums product looks impressive, and like Multiloops, its set up in ProTools song file format. Their website offers a batch of samples you can download, but not much info on how the song files are assembled or if there is a stereo audio CD for auditioning the files.

http://www.multiloops.com/index.html
http://www.discretedrums.com/index.htm
http://www.reeldrums.com/home.html

thanks in advance,
dave patterson / knobville

[Chris R]

Dave,

While I can't tell you which product to buy, I can answer your questions about Reel Drums.

The Pro Tools Sessions are setup in four to five sections. Everything is mulitracked on 14 tracks for the single kick sessions, 16 tracks for double kicks.

Section 1 is a 2-3 minute arrangement so you can open up the session and jam along. It includes loops, fills and crashes from the session in a song format so that its user can "get the creative juices flowing".

Section 2 is a modular fills section. Everything is tempo mapped in Pro Tools, and the fills can be copied and pasted pretty much at will using grid mode. There are "clicks" at the downbeats for the fills which don't come in on one.

Section 3 is different ending crashes with a kick. Again, perfectly on the downbeat in grid mode.

Section 4 is the loops section. Most of the loops are 8 bar performances and can be copied, pasted, and duplicated.

Section 5, which are included in some sessions are no kick patterns. They mainly consist of tight hi-hat, sloshy hi-hat, and ride. Each have snare tracks. These are cool because they don't lock you into a set kick pattern.

We are finishing the stereo loops CD right now. It will be available with each package of Reel Drums, and as a free upgrade to existing owners.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to email me or call.

Thanks for your time,

Chris Richmond
[email protected]

[davidp158]

Chris,

Thanks for the prompt reply. I like the idea of the tracks that exclude the kick drum...good idea, there. Are there ambient/room mic(s) tracks? How about single hits? What are the tempo ranges that the tracks are recorded at, and approximately how much can you time stretch them before they get ugly?

thanks again,
dave patterson / knobville

[Chris R]

Dave,

I'll post the tracks below. I also received your email that you sent to [email protected]. When I get back into the office tomorrow, I'd be happy to address any questions which I haven't answered here. I can also send you a word document of Joe Franco's Liner notes, which includes the tempos, and a brief description of the style of playing. We do include a multitracked Single shot session of Every drum used (including cymbals).

Regards,
-Chris

1) Kick e602
2) Kick D112
3) Snare Top
4) Snare Bottom
5) Tom 1
6) Tom 2
7) Tom 3
8) Tom 4
9) Overhead Left
10) Overhead Right
11) Hi Hat
12) Depth Mic
13) Room Left
14) Room Right

We include the Mics we used in the comments of the Mix Window.

[davidp158]

Bassmac,

Are the files just one, full length file, or are there any pre-cut sections? It seems that it would be a hassle to locate the start and end points of the section you want to use.

I looked at the Multiloops demos, and they look very easy to work with. The Reel Drums product looks good, but again, I'd like to know how the files are cut up. The Multiloops product makes it very easy to use what you want, and its already in a ProTools session file. I belive the Reel Drums are taking a similar approach, and an email reply I got indicated that they will post some screen shots on their website.

Email regarding the Discrete Drums. I may be interested in buying it, anyway.

regards,
dave patterson / knobville
email: [email protected]
t: 425.746.7245

Originally posted by bassmac:
Dave,

I have the 12 CD DiscreteDrums set, and I'll sell cheap to anyone who want's it. It sounds killer, but it's just audio files, so you'll need to cut your own loops from it. To me, that's a PITA, so I don't use it. I don't like the company either. I paid a fair amount for what I thought were drum loops, but it's just basically audio files of a guy playing drums. When I called them about it, they just said sorry - no refunds. I think if you're not going to offer a refund, you should at least provide a demo version so the customer can *see* what they're getting.

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[bassmac]

Dave,

I have the 12 CD DiscreteDrums set, and I'll sell cheap to anyone who want's it. It sounds killer, but it's just audio files, so you'll need to cut your own loops from it. To me, that's a PITA, so I don't use it. I don't like the company either. I paid a fair amount for what I thought were drum loops, but it's just basically audio files of a guy playing drums. When I called them about it, they just said sorry - no refunds. I think if you're not going to offer a refund, you should at least provide a demo version so the customer can *see* what they're getting.