Guide to software drums please

Regardless how you do it, ultimately you have to have a MIDI track to drive the drums. There are many ways to get there.

Personally, I start with the step sequencer, using it to create a basic pattern that will serve as a click track during recording. Throughout the composition process, I add stuff to that basic sequence: fills, accents, breaks, variations in timing and velocity. Eventually, the track bears no resemblance to the original track. Instead of just a beat, it's actually interacting with the other instruments, hopefully mimicking a real drummer.

This method is quite time-consuming, though, and I will typically spend as much time on drums as everything else combined. There are products that let you accelerate the process, but IMO they do not yield comparable results.

One method that everybody has is SONAR's pattern brush. With it, you can just drag across the PRV painting MIDI notes. It's fun, but not terribly satisfying from a creative standpoint.

Many drum plugins feature pattern libraries. Same concept as the pattern brush: they're canned MIDI sequences you pick from a list. The main difference is that some products make the process easier than others. Session Drummer, Superior Drummer, EZDrummer, Addictive Drums, BFD - all the major players provide this functionality.

One product stands out as something different, and that's Jamstix. This innovative product actually makes up patterns on the fly based on preferences you set up, and optionally playing off whatever you're playing. For example, you could tell it to switch from hats to ride whenever you exceed N velocity on a MIDI keyboard. There is a learning curve for this functionality, as it's fairly deep. But it's a lot of fun when you're working up ideas, and of course you can transfer what it plays to a MIDI track.