DRUM MACHINES

Drum Machines are a good way to get a good drum sound without the major hassle of micing an acoustic
kit. You get tight upfront sounds which can(depending on your machine)sound better than micing the
drummers kit. Some drummers will have a hard time with the idea that "Those aren't MY drums we're
recording" but you have to assure them that they are still the one playing it!

Also if you have a good sequencer, you can record the drum parts(via drum triggers)right to the
sequencer & play it back thru the drum machine. This way you can fix minor mistakes & get them the way
you want them before you record them. NOTE: If you do it this way with a 4 track & want the rhythum
on 1 or 2 tracks, the rest of the band will have to play along with the drum sequence while you record
everything. So you'll need some kind of a "click" to tap in the beginning of the song so everyone can start
together.

You can also sync the sequencer to your tape machine via "SMPTE" time code, this will lock your tape
machine & sequencer together so when you play the tape the sequencer will play along with it in sync.
You will, if you have a 4 track, have to consider whether it's worth giving up a track to do it, because
you'll need to record the time code(sync tone)on one of the tracks in order for it to work.

I have been using this method on our latest CD, & it's very cool! Though we do use an ADAT so I don't
have to give up a track to do it, which makes it worth while.

The way I have it set up is, I run Cakewalk to sequence the drums which via MIDI syncs to my ADAT
through my J.L. Cooper Datasync2(this turns the ADAT 48kHz clock into MTC & SMPTE time code
which cakewalk syncs to)this way I don't use any tracks for drums, Cakewalk plays the drum sequence
back thru the drum machine when I play/record on the ADAT! Also if I decide I dont like a particular
drum sound or part after everything else is recorded, I can change it, very cool!

I also use Cakewalk, via MIDI, to change programs & parameters on my effect devices so effect changes
can be repeated exactly the same every time... you can even play programed keyboard parts if you have
keyboards, the possibilities are endless!!!

MORE COMING SOON!!!!!!