Some folks simply enjoy playing music for the purpose of playing music, so the "my way or the highway" mentality is a bit over the top in my opinion. There are many non-destructive solutions available.

Ozz
Paulo, your idea is intriguing but would be a lot of extra work on MY end..lol
 
 

Yep, maybe so, but you already said that he ain't gonna do it. ;)
 
I guess him buying a drum machine with midi out would be the best of both worlds then - he can do his own thing but he can then give you the midi as well as the audio so you can tidy it up a bit / a lot.
 
I don't know much about drum machines, but IIRC the Alesis SR18 got decent reviews for it's reasonable price and if you're gonna switch the sounds out , I guess what it actually sounds like isn't the end of the world anyway.

Actually it's his "friend" who has adopted the "my way or the highway" position here. He's been and is continuing to force his more modern pal into a smaller and smaller corner. I've got a buddy just like him. Great keyboardist but for years and years he continued to play the same old DX7 he bought in the 80s using the same ever more outdated sounds. No matter how much coaxing, cajoling or prodding his band mates (also buddies of mine) gave him he held steadfast to his outdated and worn out board. Then after nearly twenty five years they could stand no more...get a new axe or get canned, they told him. Reluctantly...pissing and moaning the whole time...he bought a new Motif. And the scales fell away. He was quite literally gobsmacked by the new features and abilities. So much so that he went and bought another one. He uses both now on every job and sounds great. His band mates are happy. And he personally thanked every one of them for making him get out of his rut. Of course he's still himself so he'll probably drop dead before he buys anything else. Sometimes an intervention can work wonders.

I feel pretty secure in saying that if you are already using those programs, he will probably have to relent to the upgrading idea. It's a shame that you don't live close enough for him to see how much more efficient your workflow is compared to his. That would probably seal the deal. Maybe do a project or two with your drums programmed with your tools. Hopefully, he might hear the sonic difference and tighter feeling rhythms. On the other hand, if he hasn't caught on to the drum tracks not really working well after all this time he probably won't be able to tell the difference anyway.
This is a tough one. I think you have enough suggestions to figure out what the answer may be.