virtual drums

[jc7]

Looking for advice. I currently have 001 w/PT6.4, I'll write midi drum parts in Pro Tools and send those to a Alesis D4 as a sound module. My questions are these - How exactly do the drum programs (Battery, BFD, etc) work? Are they basically virtual drum machines/sound modules? I Don't really want to change the way I work, creating midi drum tracks in Pro Tools and that triggering the sounds. Speaking of sounds how do they rate compared to my old D4? Any info would be great!

[GothicV]

yes, they basically work like outboard drum machines. and they sound great, at least good enough for demos... I use BFD and it sounds good. I write my midi with a yamaha dtxplorer kit.

[Herkimer]

I write MIDI in ProTools using a keyboard controller and then send it to BFD lite. The work flow is simple and the sounds are fantastic. The velocity sensitivity allows for realistic, expressive drumming.

[spkguitar]

I have both BFD and the D4; the audio outputs of the D4 aren't even hooked up anymore, only MIDI for the triggers.

'nuff said.

[spy2520]

i really like BFD, the drums sound pretty realistic to my ears and i write midi using a keyboard into protools, and then to BFD, same process if i had an outboard drum machine.

[AJW]

The drummer I work with has a Yamaha DTXpress kit. The audio outs on that are no longer connected (like spkguitar's setup). I use the Reason RDK2 refill and the sounds are great.

I haven't messed around with the BFD lite that came with Protools. Maybe I should! I was originally going to buy DFH Superior, but the RDK2 refill was a cheap way to get started and I haven't felt the need for anything more.

Since you are using Protools to create the midi parts your workflow wouldn't change much at all. You would just output the midi to a Rewire virtual instrument instead. Piece of cake.

[jc7]

Wow! Thanks for all the help. Little bit more though, please. How exactly do these programes (BFD, Battery, DFH) show up in my Pro Tools session and how is it that rewire works with them?

[spkguitar]

I use BFD as an insert on an instrument track. Since you are still on 6.4, your setup will be different:

MIDI track
AUX track with the instrument as an insert (just like any other plugin)

Once inserted on an aux track, it appears as an output on your MIDI track.