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[Kip Count]

I must testify that the Korg padKontrol is indeed awesome for working with Superior, and tons of fun when working with other virtual instruments as well.   If you shop around, ( novamusik.com ) you can pick these up for less than $140 US.   It’s a steal for what it’s capable of.

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

Thanks for the input.  I went ahead and ordered a Korg padKontrol.  Seems like a very cool unit for programming drums.  Can’t wait to get started with it.

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

Can anyone comment on the Korg nanoPad?  Seems to be a “cute” little unit, especially for the price.  But I wonder how usability stacks up against something like the Akai MPD18 that’s only a few bills more expensive?

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

Is there a way to use 2 MIDI controllers at the same time with Superior?  Say, my MIDI keyboard running thru my firewire audio interface as one, and a USB trigger pad control as the other.

The Zendrum looks really nice, but way out of my price range.  So I was thinking something like the Korg or Akai could work for me, and if I need some better action for something in particular, I could use the keyboard on my XP-30.

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

Your play-by-play below is very helpful. Thanks so much for posting this.
It’s made me realize I need to work less at making things over-complicated in order to sound more like a “real” drummer played the part.  Don’t get me wrong, I keep things relatively simple, but you now have me thinking more about accents rather than full-blown drum fills every time a transition comes around.  Thanks Chris.

Kip

ORIGINAL: Whitten

I’m not sure if there are any reference works.
Drumming is so subjective.
Every player constructs their part differently, and often the songwriter and producer will have an input.
It’s also highly dependent on the genre.
A progressive rock or fusion drummer will play a lot more notes and with more variation than a mainstream pop drummer.
horses for courses.
My own tenet is ‘less is more’.
I don’t regularly play jazz, fusion or progressive mind you.
But for basic rock I would start out with a simple part that fits your needs.
Keep it fairly simple throughout, but perhaps edit in changes when the music demands that you do.
Again, my own personal approach is to tell the story of the song through the drums.
like literature, there’s a beginning, a middle and an end.
A simple construction therefore might be – groove 1 at the beginning, groove 1+ for the first chorus or second verse (to taste). groove 2 for the middle of the story (this is often a ‘middle 8’, ‘bridge’ or instrumental solo section), groove 1++ for the last chorus or outro.
My little plus signs (+) might indicate a few more open hi-hat accents or a few ghost notes. A ++ (for the end chorus or outro) might indicate the verse groove but with a switch from hi-hat to ride cymbal.
You are building the story of the song.
My final comment is that drum programmers often make drum parts too detailed and over complicated.
The top studio players will zone in on a drum part that works perfectly for the song (and blends with the bass for example) and only embellish it when necessary. A fill from verse into chorus might be as simple as an open hi-hat flick, or a little snare skip.
The difference between the verse and chorus might simply be the difference between a tight closed hi-hat and a slightly more open hi-hat.

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

The Gunnerfeldt group of presets are very much in the vein of The Hives, The International Noise Conspiracy, White Stripes, etc.   Very cool presets.

I also find the PopCan preset a very good starting place for driving pop punk stuff (green day, etc).

I have seriously been blown away by the wide range of presets that come with Metal Foundry.  I expected like 90% metal and a couple that were more heavy rock, but the whole gamut of rock music is pretty much represented here.

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

No, SDX’s ALWAYS require the disks for the full install.  The reason a serial number only version is sold, is for people who already have disks, who just need a license.   

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

I’m also curious about this.  I used to have a bottom of the line Hart Dynamics Prodigy eKit.  But it was severely limited, and didn’t have very good feel either, so I sold it.  But down the road I’d like to know what I should be looking for if I want a good eKit able to take full advantage of Superior.

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

As a occasional user of Sony Vegas, I can tell you that it does NOT support VSTs. 

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

I can’t comment on the DTX, but I owned the DM5 and used it with EZdrummer along with a Hart Dynamics eKit and it worked awesome.  Wish I still had that setup but I sold it because my tiny one room studio just did not have a good place for it.

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

The amp plugin I’ve been the most impressed with, and use now is GTR3 by Waves.  It’s very affordable too. 

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

Should have my Trigger IO today.  Unfortunately I can’t hook it up just yet.  I’m dismantling my studio room to have new carpet put in, but once it’s back together and I get my E-drums set back up, I’ll post back and tell ya’ll how the Trigger IO is working.

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

Thanks for the reply on this.  I still haven’t picked up a Trigger IO, but I plan too, especially seeing as I just ordered S2.0.  I’ve got to get my Hart Dynamics kit set up again (if I only had more room in my 11’x11′ studio).

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Kip Count]

I got the 1.0 install sent to me.  Thanks guys.  Also, for any people reading this, the problem is only on my laptop.  I upgraded Solo on my studio desktop computer and I had no problem.  I would say my problem might be related to permission settings on my laptop seeing as it’s a corporate machine on which I have very little admin rights to do anything. 
 
But thanks Toontrack for helping me out so quickly.  I’ve never had a company’s service/support work so quickly, effectively, and with a smile!  Thanks guys!
 
– Kip

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

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