Anyone got recommendations for idiot-friendly drum/beat programs? Currently just have the Garageband drum options, which suck even for me.

Thanks

What kind of end results are you looking to get?
Some software tries to be a fake robot drummer for you, with input on when fills happen and feel/genre stuff.
Other software provides drum sounds only, and you determine when every drum is hit.
Do you want it to sound like a normal rock drum kit? Or are you looking for alien sounds or hand percussion or something a little more off the beaten path?

I like EZ Drummer (2) for this, but the emphasis there is tons and tons of loop libraries (which can be used pretty creatively, and even with only minor edits you can make "your own"). Some people like programs with infinite tweakability but I personally prefer to get up and rolling with the (usually) pretty decent sounds.

for "real" drums, FXpansion BFD 3
for electronic drums Native Instruments BATTERY 4
and yeah, EZ drummer is great too, and a bit cheaper than the other 2 plug-ins.

I love EZ Drummer 2 as a songwriting tool for a dumb guitarist. It actually inspired me to get a real drum set because I was having such a good time programming drums and actually started to really pay attention to how drums work besides that sounds cool.

I use it to make great rough demos that I send to the guys so they understand my intent of a new song and the drummer takes my rough idea and makes it better. Then we tear the song apart and understand what works, what could work better, what needs to be played less (or more).

EZ Drummer 2 is also really easy to figure out. Biggest snag is you can't really change BPM through the song (at least I haven't figured it out), but it hasn't really been a problem for me.

I have Slate SSD 5 which sounds good but overall, I should have gone with EZDrummer or BFD. The interface in SSD 5kinda sucks. It does come with a library of "Grooves" that you can pull in and edit to fit your needs, and there is a stripped down free version that has a limited number of kit sounds. if you want something like these just to play around with, I suggest Manda Audio MT Power Drumkit 2. It's free and easy. Not the most realistic, but not terrible. As for drum machines Sitala is a easy, free vsti drum machine that allows easy sample browsing and DR-910 is a pretty easy and basic 808/909 ish machine plug that is also free.

Owen wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 1:08 pm EZ Drummer 2 is also really easy to figure out. Biggest snag is you can't really change BPM through the song (at least I haven't figured it out), but it hasn't really been a problem for me.

I think you have to make the BPM changes in your DAW. EZ Drummer just follows the MIDI clock, right?

tommy wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 1:42 pm

Owen wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 1:08 pm EZ Drummer 2 is also really easy to figure out. Biggest snag is you can't really change BPM through the song (at least I haven't figured it out), but it hasn't really been a problem for me.

I think you have to make the BPM changes in your DAW. EZ Drummer just follows the MIDI clock, right?

I just treat these instances as multiple song snippets and assemble them in the DAW/recorder.

That's if you export the sounds out of EZ Drummer at least, which I do more often than using it as a plugin within DAW

Thanks a bunch.Trying to modify Garageband drum patterns to work with guitar parts has not been inspiring so far. Looks like I should check out EZ Drummer 2. Anyone else know if you can adjust BPM during different bars of a song though? Would like to speed up a chorus or an outro, etc.

I do want ability to program hits -- build patterns from scratch and not just tweak set loops and patterns. That said, if the pattern/loop library is a lot better than Garageband's, maybe it would suffice for me.

At this point, I'll mostly be going with straight drum kit sounds because that's what I understand best and naturally hear behind guitar parts I write. Maybe FXpansion BFD 3 is better for that(?) I'd be into less standard rock beat sounds/percussion too, but it's not a priority for me at the moment.

Oh, missed the new posts about BPM and EZ Drummer.