so I got EZ drummer at the weekend and added the metal machine pack. just wondering, what would be the usual way to create drum tracks for songs, what I mean is - the standard 'rock/pop' default setting has a ton of beats and loads of fills in the groove library, I can see me being able to use that quite a lot but the groove library with metal machine is a bit different, it doesnt have the same amount and each section seems to be in a song structure.
so is it more common to just use the kits and build your own drum lines from scratch or are people taking say a drum line from a verse section in groove library and then modifying it?

does that question make sense? it totally does in my head

It does make sense man, don't worry !

I haven't used Metal Machine and don't use grooves.. I always write the drum lines completely from scratch as it's the only way I know !

Find a groove that is close to it and modify.

Also check out other places to find/buy grooves, like groove Monkey and Platinumsamples

that's pretty cool. the stuff Ive heard of yours has really good drumming. Ive only ever done one drum line and it was from scratch, it was okay-ish but I struggled with fills.


I'll probably try modifying some of the grooves. I did wonder coz from all the demos Ive heard from guys using metal machine I kinda expected a massive library of stuff!

I have used it only a few times, and build everything from scratch, because I knew exactly what I wanted.
If one of the grooves fits then use it, but I haven't done this yet

Something that might help is Groove3.com have a training course called Drumming Explained which teaches you how to approach programming drums like a drummer

For me the easiest approach is to find a groove that is close to what I have imagined and then go in and edit the details.
Ez Drummer has some cool add on midi groove packs like Monster Midi Pack which were really nicely done.

thanks for the pointers guys, most helpful

Just to get started, open up the GROOVES by clicking the grooves button. Pick one and drag it in to your DAW. Some folks try to launch EZ drummer, then launch the DAW for some reason. Don't do that Launch it within the daw.

That's about it

Once you get ready to actually make some song backings, you'll need to go in and edit with mouse clicks to make fills and such and to keep the track from sounding to "Drag and Drop" which is easy to fall victim too. You can use the grooves as a starting point, or create your own from scratch. Most folks mix and match.

Todd

Hey man! Personally I do all my drum tracks from scratch. I find the EZD beats useless since in the time it takes to find what I want in the groove library (which is always CLOSE to what I want and not EXACTLY what I want) I could've just written the groove and already be working on drums for the next section, or writing the drum fills that go into it.

This also makes it a lot easier for you to learn about how to play drums properly. It forces you to think about what a drummer is actually capable of, instead of just having 5 things on one beat when the drummer doesn't have enough limbs or something.

It's a good thing to learn, it will make a better musician, but if using the groove library works for you then do that! Whatever makes your own creativity and workflow work for you and not against you is the best way to go.

This is exactly what I was thinking about while writing drum patterns from scratch. I make sure not to outnumber his/her limbs. It would be better if a real drummer could guide me.


Any tips on writing fills, GMC? This part is what I struggle with. What do I write? I am starting to get away from draggin and droppin. I like to write my own grooves now.

Brandon maybe learn to read drum tab and search tab out!

ok

Listen to songs and bands you like and try writing out some of those drum fills. That's what I do, I just picture a fill I want in my head and copy it out into my DAW.

Cool idea!

Once you make some fills/beats you like, save the project itself, or several to a separate folder. You can bring it up later and copy and paste from it in to a new composition and make modifications. You can have 100 drum tracks each named like Track1 230bpm files, track 2 double bass grooves, etc. Just solo the track to preview. Makes a handy way to build your own library.

If you want to get a bit more advanced you can export the midi sequences themselves. But the project thing is quick and easy.

Todd