• SONAR
  • Electronic kit recording
2013/08/24 19:10:15
markminer
Going to use an electronic kit for a few sessions. Having never done  so, I assume the 'brain" simply plugs into the interface (Roland Cakewalk UA25EX). First off, is that correct and how do I assign drum pads, cymbals to dedicated tracks? Thanks everyone!
Mark
2013/08/25 02:05:59
melmyers
Since that Roland interface has only 2 inputs, you can only get a left/right audio mix from your electronic drums into Sonar and won't be able to achieve dedicated tracks of the kit's sounds. Even if it had more than 2 inputs, not every electronic drum module has individual outputs for each piece anyway. For example, the Roland TD20 drum module does, but the Roland TD-4 that I own does not.
 
If you want to record the sounds produced from your electronic set, just plug the left and right outputs from the drum module into the two inputs on your interface, You'll have to live with the stereo mix that it produces, because that's all you get.
 
That being said, with the gear you have, you actually can use the electronic kit to lay down individual sounds to individual dedicated tracks, but you'll need to do it via MIDI with software drums.
 
I'm always happier at mixing time if I have separate tracks for each drum and cymbal sound, so I never record the sounds from the module, and instead use the electronic pads via MIDI to trigger software sounds. To accomplish that, just plug your drum module MIDI OUT to the MIDI IN on your UA-25EX and make sure the UA is set up in Sonar as a recognized MIDI input. Then, open up a program like EZDrummer, Superior Drummer or even Sonar's built-in Session Drummer and trigger those sounds via MIDI to individual tracks.
 
Using Session Drummer as an example, when adding the soft synth to the project, checkmark "MIDI Source", "Synth Track Folder" and "All Synth Audio Outputs: Stereo" before clicking OK to Insert Soft Synth. That will give you an individual pannable stereo track for each piece of the kit.
 
Now, load the specific kit you want to use in Session Drummer. Then, to make sure individual sounds go to separate tracks, open the Session Drummer Mixer and assign each sound to a different track by changing the default "1" at the bottom of each slider to the number of the track where you want to send each instrument. You'll see list of choices when you click the downward arrow.
 
NOTE: If you make mixer channel assignments and then change the kit in Session Drummer, the darn thing will reset all of your outputs to "1". That's why I always make sure I've loaded the kit I really, really want before changing outputs.
 
Other drum software works pretty much the same way. EZDrummer and Superior Drummer make the mixer assigments a little faster, by giving the option to select "Multichannel" on the dropdown menu on the mixer page. When you select "Multichannel", the program assigns sound to different tracks all at once. (But like Session Drummer, it will reset if you change the drum kit!)
 
If you're not used to dealing with all of this, it'll probably be a pain for you the first time. The good news is, once you get everything set up, just save it as a Track Template. That way, the next time you want the exact same kit automatically set to individual tracks and ready-to-go, just insert your custom Track Template into a project. You won't even have to manually add the drum synth, because it's built-in to your Track Template! 
 
Like many things Sonar, once you get past the learning curve, it'll be a breeze.
 
 
2013/08/25 02:57:55
robert_e_bone
+1 to the above - that's what I do too.  I actually create and save custom kits as needed, with the drum cells I intend to use for a given song, with each cell routed to its own audio outputs.  In Battery 3, I get 32 audio outputs, so this works well for me.
 
Bob Bone
 
2013/08/25 05:35:27
mattplaysguitar
I recorded the drums on my album with an electronic kit via MIDI, but removed the cymbals and set up real ones and recorded that with a pair of overheads. The articulation you get on real hi hats and cymbals can't be replicated via MIDI. Keep this trick in mind, it sounds amazing. I used BFD for the samples. Even in a standard bedroom with no treatment, the blending of the cymbals to the rest of the kit was actually perfect and very realistic sounding.
2013/08/25 10:13:52
robert_e_bone
I agree on the limits of midi.  Steve Smith's variations on opening the high-hat, and other cymbal strikes during the Jean Luc Ponty song Mirage are pretty much beyond my capabilities at programming midi drums.
 
On the other hand, Battery 3 will hopefully never spontaneously explode.  :)
 
Bob Bone
 
2013/08/25 12:20:58
Sidroe
#1+, on the midi. Much more editing capabilities.
2013/08/25 12:44:37
AndyDavis
To the OP:
If you happen to use one of NI's Kontakt based drum sets, and you want to choke your electronic cymbals, you will probably want to read this thread.  I ran into that while I was trying to figure this out and the learning curve got pretty steep for a bit.
2013/08/25 12:48:23
AndyDavis
mattplaysguitar
I recorded the drums on my album with an electronic kit via MIDI, but removed the cymbals and set up real ones and recorded that with a pair of overheads. The articulation you get on real hi hats and cymbals can't be replicated via MIDI. Keep this trick in mind, it sounds amazing. I used BFD for the samples. Even in a standard bedroom with no treatment, the blending of the cymbals to the rest of the kit was actually perfect and very realistic sounding.



Have you ever tried the Zildjian cymbals that are drilled and muted and then use electronic amplification to bring the levels back up to speed?
 
I'm fairly new to drums and am playing an e-kit mainly so my family doesn't revolt.  I have noticed that the cymbals could be better.
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