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  #1  
Old 09-02-2004, 09:17 PM
rpb rpb is offline
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Default bfd VS. Reason for drumming

right now i'm using reason to sequence drum on, but i'm considering buying BFD. any thoughts? is it worth the money to get BFD or am i fine where i'm at?

thanks

ry
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  #2  
Old 09-03-2004, 06:19 AM
rpb rpb is offline
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Default Re: bfd VS. Reason for drumming

is this just a dumb question...or does no one really have any opinions???!!!!!!

ry
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  #3  
Old 09-03-2004, 07:12 AM
jlcnyc jlcnyc is offline
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Default Re: bfd VS. Reason for drumming

I do not have Reason but I have BFD... and I love it! I use Stylus for loop based stuff but for a "live" drum vibe, BFD is great. I used to use Sampletank for my "live" drum stuff and there is no comparison. (Maybe Reason and Sampletank are similar sound-wise??) While BFD seems like it can be a little 'buggy", it's pretty close (sonically) to having a real drummer "on the other side of the glass". Whenever I play my BFD mixes for people, they ask me where I tracked the live drums!
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  #4  
Old 09-03-2004, 09:39 AM
Bluemoon Bluemoon is offline
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Default Re: bfd VS. Reason for drumming

You don't say what you are after. If you like urban grooves, then stick with Reason (ST2 is pretty good too for electric stuff), if you want to get as close as possible to reality, and already use real instruments in at least part of your creative process, nothing comes anywhere close to BFD, and with XFL even drummers get fooled.

I, however, am a greedy little bugger, and have all three (bought over a period of a year, and two of them as upgrades from the Digi editions I got with my rack), and I mix ST2 and BFD quite a lot for my drummie stuff (I mainly use the pads, fx, and other samples in Reason), especially using ST2 to add percussion, as the mighty BFD is pretty hopeless here, e.g. the blocks, cowbells, tambs, and snaps on XFL are well lame.

All in all, BFD is the most amazing thing, and if you don't like sweaty armpits, the absolute best way of getting fully expressive, natural drums. It takes forever to programme a midi file though, as the subtleties of the velocity layers (a full 128 on some pieces of the kit), mean that you feel honour bound to get it as real, and expressive) as possible, but it's worth every second, and every penny (or cent).
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  #5  
Old 09-03-2004, 10:48 AM
MarkH MarkH is offline
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Default Re: bfd VS. Reason for drumming

For around $99 you can get the new drum refill from Propellerheads. It is produced by the same person who did Electro Mechanical refill and I heard this new one is head-to-head with BFD. Personally, I like using Redrum more than any other drum instrument.

Check out the Prop's main page: Drumkit Refill

Regards,
MarkH
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  #6  
Old 09-03-2004, 11:57 AM
max cooper max cooper is offline
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Default Re: bfd VS. Reason for drumming

I use BFD and Redrum quite a bit. Redrum is really easy to use like all of the P-head interfaces. You can pretty much get a working sound going in a few minutes. That said, I prefer to set up drumkit sounds in the NN-19 since it's a lot more flexible. Besides, I don't ever use "loops". I use drum parts I've written in a midi editor. Repeating back and forth through patterns isn't the best way for me, but for certain types of music it's excellent. I let Reason read midi from the ProTools midi tracks instead of it's own sequencer. I just like having all the tracks on one page. One thing that Reason does that's great is that you can overdub when you're recording midi. To do the same in PT, I have to record onto a new midi track and do a "copy" and "merge paste".

BFD is great if you're looking for something that sounds like a DRUMSET. I feel like it's not processed as much as DFH (which isn't processed very much either). The great thing about BFD is that it's pretty much just naked drums. Anytime you her a drumkit on a record, it started out sounding something like BFD. I think the PZM pair is compressed at 3:1. An interesting thing about BFD that makes it stand out amongst the few modules that set out to make "real drum" sounds is that most of them sound like a solo-ed drum track whereas BFD often sounds like standing in a room with a drum kit (especially when I put the mix up on my bigs.) I read a post (on a different forum) where one user describe BFD as "garage-y" which definitely isn't the case (due to a pretty high-end bunch of kits, mics, outboard, etc.). I think the reason someone would use garage-y to describe it is because the only time most people who don't play in bands hear unprocessed drums is in a garage. The fact that BFD sounds haven't been messed with means that you have lots of flexibility. It also might take a little more finesse in mixing to get them to "fit" into the mix. It took me a long time to be able to mix real drums to my satisfaction, and I think BFD is also a great way to get experience mixing drums with rooms, overheads, etc. (of course, no replacement for the real thing) Also, fxpansion has excellent customer support.

I've never used the patterns that come with BFD, but like I said, I've never used patterns at all. I can't imagine that a pre-written drum part is just gonna drop into one of my songs. There's always some break or turnaround or accent that clashes. I can usually tell when I'm hearing a demo that has a pre-rolled drum part in it when the styles don't match. The other day I heard a Happy Mondays sounding demo with Steely Dan drum parts in it.

IMO get both. Besides, the most fun thing about Reason is the synths. I use the Subtractor to fatten up electric basses in loud sections.
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  #7  
Old 09-03-2004, 12:08 PM
rpb rpb is offline
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Default Re: bfd VS. Reason for drumming

hey thanks for all the feedback guys!!

i actually did go to the reason website. and looked into the new drumkits refill (and listened to some of the demos). it actually sounded pretty much just like the demos i heard for BFD.
so i think i'm just going to stick with that when it comes out (i can't seem to locate it in stores yet or online). but i'm sure it will be on the shelves soon.

thank you all so much. i TRULY APPRECIATE all of the feedback you have to offer. you guys are great!

ry
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  #8  
Old 09-03-2004, 01:36 PM
Homebelly Homebelly is offline
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Default Re: bfd VS. Reason for drumming

You can over dub MIDI in PT,, on the transport window is an icon that looks like a fork,,make sure this is lit and your golden,,
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  #9  
Old 09-03-2004, 03:18 PM
max cooper max cooper is offline
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Default Re: bfd VS. Reason for drumming

Dang...I know there must be a way...not like they would have forgotton something like that. I thought the fork meant "time to eat dinner!"

Thanks for the tip!

Max
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  #10  
Old 09-03-2004, 05:14 PM
MarkH MarkH is offline
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Default Re: bfd VS. Reason for drumming

Max - I found the most efficient way to work with Redrum is to make a pattern, then Right-Click on the Redrum module and select "Copy Pattern to Track" and now the midi notes will appear in the sequencer. It's a little quicker than playing on the keyboard and quantizing. Once the midi appears in the sequencer, I highlight the measure with the mouse, Right-Click and select "Group" so now the whole measure can be grabbed, and create multiple instances. I then just edit the midi notes in the last measure to create a fill.
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