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Question on Drum Programming (For Cubase/Battery Users)

Guys,

Any suggestions on what's the best way to program drums in Cubase using Battery? So far, I've been going back 'n forth between the Battery cells and the Cubase drum maps and it's kinda awkward. Perhaps, I've been spoiled by Reason's Redrum which made auditioning samples and programing the 4/4 patterns a breeze. Is there any way to get that sort of streamlined programming in Cubase? Or maybe Battery isn't the best choice for drum lines?

Thanks in advance for any comments/suggestions...

I'm not sure what exactly you are asking here...
Any specific questions?

I use cubase and battery for my beats exclusively.

Choose your samples and lay them out on the matrix how you want.

then record your drum parts...

I set up 7 midi tracks in cubase, each assigned to battery

kick, snare, clap, hats, cymbals, percs, sound FX

this way i have full control over each drum sound and can mute parts throughout the song and bring them back and so on..

then i stick all these tracks in a folder track called 'drums' or whatever so it's neat and organized.

the battery number of outputs will be up to your discretion and where you want to route each cell for processing

Thanks for the input.

I guess what I was really asking is if there was any way to get Battery to work like the Reason's Redrum in term's of laying out the drum patterms, but it sounds like the answer is no....

tecnolover: do you record your drum parts thru the midi keyboard or do you draw it in the drum editor? thanks

use cubase with reason rewired thats what i do. really good for using the redrum for your percs and drums then in the cubase mixer you can add the necessary effects.

quote:

Originally posted by dj_kane use cubase with reason rewired thats what i do. really good for using the redrum for your percs and drums then in the cubase mixer you can add the necessary effects.

I'm just learning cubase, and i can't understand the whole rewire thing.

I can open cubase, select reason from devices, select the main channels, and then open reason, and the two programs are synced, but how do you actually get sounds from reason into the cubase arrangement?

you arrange your drum patterns and percussion in reasons squencer. thats how i do it. then say i want a synth to begin on the 5 bar id click the 5th bar in reason so its aligned then go back into cubase draw my midi then keep doing it like that. sounds complicated but its very easy.

there is the option of exporting your midi out of reason and importing it into cubase then routing the output to say the redrum although its too much unnecessary work.

hi. i use cubase sx 3 and battery 2 for my drums too, and i think this is the best way to work on percussions. battery is a great program, its so much better than redrum, just a little harder to get the hang on,but once u do, the options for editing the percs are the best. just dont quit, dont try to use it as redrum beacause they are very different and my suggestion is to erase all ur redrum experience from ur hard drive, and start using battery with a fresh perspective. i know its hard to give up something u really like, but ur music will thanck u. if not willing to do that, well u can just use rewire and stick with redrum. although i think its it simplicity that makes the drums sound so "programed", with battery u can make them have more expression.
cheers

So is there a way to record what comes out of reason, or a certain channel in reason, as audio, in an audio channel in cubase?

All i've been doing it rendering it to wav and dropping it in cubase, but its pretty annoying doing this, because all you can do with it is audio edit it once its in cubase.

Also, are you saying that there is a way to bring the midi sequence into cubase, and be able to edit/redraw that midi sequence, and still have it trigger the samples in redrum? That would be awesome.

quote:

Originally posted by beats and beeps Also, are you saying that there is a way to bring the midi sequence into cubase, and be able to edit/redraw that midi sequence, and still have it trigger the samples in redrum? That would be awesome.

yea you can do that by getting your drum loop in reason export it as a midi file the import midi file to cubase. your input will be your sound card or midi controller try both then the output is the redrum you have running in reason.

although thats the complicated way. when you record into your reason sequencer then do a mix down in cubase it mixes down your reason sequncer to thus saving time on you having to import etc. hard to explain it.

quote:

Originally posted by beats and beeps So is there a way to record what comes out of reason, or a certain channel in reason, as audio, in an audio channel in cubase?

yes man, u can export audio just like u do with vsts, just setup ur devices -- reason-- then solo the rewire channels on cubase. then on reason put between markers in reasons sequencer the loop u want to record and solo them. then just do an audio mixdown in cubase. then an audio channel with the recorded loop from reason will be created.
it also records any automations done in reason..

Re: Question on Drum Programming (For Cubase/Battery Users)

quote:

Originally posted by bbounce Guys, Any suggestions on what's the best way to program drums in Cubase using Battery? So far, I've been going back 'n forth between the Battery cells and the Cubase drum maps and it's kinda awkward. Perhaps, I've been spoiled by Reason's Redrum which made auditioning samples and programing the 4/4 patterns a breeze. Is there any way to get that sort of streamlined programming in Cubase? Or maybe Battery isn't the best choice for drum lines? Thanks in advance for any comments/suggestions...

Ableton Live's built in drum machine is great. I would try it out.

Are you speaking about impulse djsentinel? I never actually tried it since I wanted to use battery instead but...are there any key advantages to it?

quote:

Originally posted by bbounce Thanks for the input. tecnolover: do you record your drum parts thru the midi keyboard or do you draw it in the drum editor? thanks

Neither actually, well not entirely. I already have my own made kick, hi hat, snare roll midi files on file. I just drag em into a track start makin music. why waste time writing in or recording these elements that you've made in the past? work efficiently. Most of these are the bread and butter midi parts of trance/dance music beats and are used over and over. later i just edit certain midi parts with the pencil tool for my unique fills and builds and so on.

I can't speak about Redrum but Battery is excellent imo, layering samples is a breeze, the volume envelope feature is a dream and realtime in-kit preview while the sequencer is playing makes auditioning drum samples from my library a breeze and quick. When you are auditioning hundreds of kicks, claps and snare samples for a certain song you need it to be easy and fast! Battery def meets my needs, only wish they would build in a small spectrum analyzer to determine the prominent tunning of each drum sample, it would be almost the perfect drum sample plug. I use a spectrum analyzer plugin for this in the meantime.

quote:

Originally posted by Lindo Are you speaking about impulse djsentinel? I never actually tried it since I wanted to use battery instead but...are there any key advantages to it?

Yep, Impulse is a very good drum machine. Here are my reasons...

- 8 slots
- Ableton Live Integration
- Multi-out routing
- Filter per part
- Effects per part
- Great sound shaping tools

www.ableton.com

I always prepare my Drums in Fruity Loops and then insert them in Cubase ... as for Battery ... well its still kind of the same (procedure), but still not that comfortable like in Reason i guess, cause you ll have to "draw" patterns there in cubase. I guess its just a question of time to get used to it

I guess that the question was if one is able to program battery
with inbuilt knobs on the GUI, Rebirth 909 style.

You can't.You have to resort to cubase drum maps or piano roll.
Weather that's good or bad is up to personal choice.

I tend to like and use the pianoroll, much less the drum maps, since I like to "see" the sound, velocitys and lenghts of the samples in one place together.

Abletons drum sampler is pretty much identical, but with less inbuilt features.

Why does cubase not include its own drum thingy (that crappy lm7 doesn't count) when most of the other similar programs do?

quote:

Originally posted by beats and beeps Why does cubase not include its own drum thingy (that crappy lm7 doesn't count) when most of the other similar programs do?

there are tons of vst instruments to create drum parts, either samplers or dum synthetizers (like waldorf attack)..

what i see here is a tendence to stick the old school approach of the step sequencers, because they are ceirtanly more straight forward, intuitive and easy to program. on the other hand , midi controlled instruments (like battery) are indeed more complex and require some learning and adapting, but imo its really really worth it. step sequencers sound to me very artificial, square and to "mechanic sounding). when u learn how to control every parameter in midi editing as well as the excellent filters and envelopes in battery, ull fing that drums, even though being programmed can be given a very natural and fluid sound. i mean theres nothing wrong with beat boxes if thats what u aiming for. but for a carefully and detailed drum construction, drum samplers like battery are the way to go. its really not that complex. give it a shot

Do you have a midi controller? Battery is for use with a midi controller, if your not gonna use a midi controller might as well skip battery and just lay your drums down on audio tracks.

quote:

Originally posted by mysticalninja Do you have a midi controller? Battery is for use with a midi controller, if your not gonna use a midi controller might as well skip battery and just lay your drums down on audio tracks.

i dont agree man, i have a midi controller, and mainly use the pencil tool to draw all my patterns in the midi editor! although many people feel more comfortable just using the audio samples directly in the audio track as stated above, its a matter of taste. i prefer battery cause is easier to modify ur sound or replace it at any time.

i use battery 2 wiv cubase sx and had used reason 3 but no more, just load ur fav samples into the matrix of battery, arrange ur own drum map in cubase and ur flyin, dont understand how its slow! wiv the samples loaded in battery ur just simply drawing in wat u want and were u want it in ur drum map, and if u dont like a sample replace it, dead easy and a brilliant tool

no more excuses and start rocking that battery!!!
the only way to learn is just using it.

quote:

Originally posted by Reconceal I guess that the question was if one is able to program battery with inbuilt knobs on the GUI, Rebirth 909 style. You can't.You have to resort to cubase drum maps or piano roll. Weather that's good or bad is up to personal choice. I tend to like and use the pianoroll, much less the drum maps, since I like to "see" the sound, velocitys and lenghts of the samples in one place together.

Ye, Reconceal hit it right on the head...My initial question was precisely about the ability to program Battery thru the use of drum pads - the way that Rebirth and Redrum have it set up. Now I can see that you can't but have to stick to the keyboard or the drum maps/editor, which, as I am finding out, isn't all that bad, though I'm definitely gonna miss the way you can easily audition different patterns in Redrum when you have the sequencer running...

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