Drum Programming

[razorsuppository]

First off, what do you guys use? I imported some samples into Fruity Loops 3.56, but it sucks because I can't use triplets or switch time signatures. Somebody told me to use Battery, but I can't find a copy anywhere on the net (I have about $0 to spend). Does anyone have any solutions?

[Wolfram]

Reason

[mccabekyle]

I tried reason, and it just seemed so... complicated? I'm casual about my home recording, and I feel like I might have to read a 500pg book to master that program.

Personally, I use a freeware program call HotStepper, which can be downloaded at www.hotstepper.de. It's a pretty sweet program... kinda bare bones, but all the essentials are there. Of course, you'll definitely want to load your own samples up. I might even be able to host some drum samples if you're interested in getting them.

But yeah, I create basic rhythms, export them to wave, and drop them into Sonar. It requires a little work, but I have a lot more control over everything in the end.

The best thing about HotStepper is how easy it is to "humanize" your samples. There velocity and attack levels can be independently edited as they "hit" along the main timeline. Pretty simple. Just let me know if you want some samples.

Best Regards,

KM

[Ferrous Lepidoptera]

Like almost nobody else, I use a program that I wrote myself (only works on linux).

http://gneutronica.sourceforge.net

It's GPL'ed, so the price is right for you. (But probably not the OS, and it's strictly MIDI, has no sounds of it's own, so you'd need, at a minimum, a softsynth too.)