drum machine (not virtual) w pt8?
 

ok, so i used to program a boss dr. rhythm drum machine for some of my tracks (about 8 years ago now) and found that it used to actually get the job done pretty well. the thing is that i like to make my own beats and build my own kit. also, i don't have the time or patience to sit and program fills. the boss dr. rhythm was great for that. i could come up with cool beats then add preset fills if it needed it somewhere and it sounded like it came from the same kit.

i currently have a few virtual drum programs (battery, stylus, strike, boom). they all have their pluses and minuses. the thing is that not one of them has the capability of programming your own beat AND adding a premade fill with a drum kit you've pieced together (strike comes close). maybe i'm mistaken and overlooking something? stylus has some fills but most of the drum patterns are wet w effects and difficult to mix and match the various patterns. strike has the option of tweaking a preset pattern to your liking and adding a fill. but dare i say i don't really like the strike patterns? also sometimes it's nice when you hear a beat and want to program it straight from your head without having to tweak an existing pattern (which might cause you to lose your original idea). battery and boom have no fills to my knowledge.

i'm actually considering buying a boss dr 880. the only thing is that it seems a bit dated these days (think it came out in 04). i'm just concerned about the quality of the fills and sounds. i'm also curious if there might be a better option? or if there's a virtual drum program that i'm overlooking with the capabilities i'm looking for (being able to build a kit from a bank of samples, programming your own beat and adding predesigned fills). thanks for your help.

Re: drum machine (not virtual) w pt8?
 

Maybe you just need some MIDI fills??

http://www.groovemonkee.com/home/

Any drum software or hardware that will respond to MIDI (like all of them) should be able to make use of these...

Battery is specifically a "Drum sampler", no? So build your kits in that and trigger with MIDI files... Except Battery isn't supposed to work with PT8...

Or, if you get the Dr 880, just use it's MIDI out to trigger whatever software you want.. I'm assuming that the 880 will output it's MIDI patterns...?? I admit to not being any kind of drum programming expert, but it sounds like you should have enough software already it you can just find a source of these fills that you don't want to program..

Re: drum machine (not virtual) w pt8?
 

thanks flommer, i'll take a look into your suggestion. i admit i'm not super savvy with pt and struggling along. but the journey is fun. i'll take a look for some midi files to help out. maybe even get both!? if the boss product has midi out i would imagine it would export midi patterns effectively to pt...? thanks again.

Re: drum machine (not virtual) w pt8?
 

it actually looks like bfd2 has all of the requirements that i'm looking for. it appears you can program your own beats, set up your own kit, and draw from a multitude of preset fills and grooves if you need them. how does it work with pt 8? i was also looking at addictive drums but it appears you can't program your own beats...

Re: drum machine (not virtual) w pt8?
 

I'm not positive, but I don't think you can use your own samples. You can build kits from their individual drums..

Re: drum machine (not virtual) w pt8?
 

You should also look at Toon Track's Easy Drummer.
But with any of the software systems, EZ Drummer, you should be able to use the software for the drum sounds, but your keyboard printing to a midi/instrument track to create your own beats and then edit/quantize etc..

p

Re: drum machine (not virtual) w pt8?
 

do you think it would be easier to program your own beats in bfd 2 or superior 2? or would it be relatively the same?

Re: drum machine (not virtual) w pt8?
 

BFD2 allows you to import your own stereo samples.

Works fine in PT8

Rail

Re: drum machine (not virtual) w pt8?
 

Superior has no Groove editor - you need to build your sequence in the host. They have a Groove playback utility - EZPlayer to sequence existing Grooves.

Rail

Re: drum machine (not virtual) w pt8?
 

thanks rail, so in bfd 2 there exists a way to program your beat inside the plug -in? i would prefer this to programming on an instrument track...