I have some older, completed recordings in Garageband 10, which I made using Apple drum loops for percussion. I would like to replace these drum loops with more authentic drum parts. Could I use a Drummer track to achieve this? I have tried it, but ran into synchronisation issues. Any thoughts or ideas? I'd be grateful for any help.
ontradio :-)
What kind of synchronization issues?
The Drummer is based on a drum pattern generator. You can't enter specific MIDI events like with a Drum Instrument Plugin loaded onto a regular MIDI Track.
On a Drummer Track, you enter modify parameter in the Drummer Editor (more of this, less of that, etc.) and based on the chosen Drum Patch, the result will be played by the Instrument Plugin "Drum Kit Designer" which is a sophisticated Drum Sampler Instrument. Different Drummer Patches load different drums samples, so you can choose what type of sound you are looking for.
Regarding the sync issues. If every other Track in your Project is in sync to your tempo, then the Drummer should fit in perfectly.
Hope that helps
Edgar Rothermich
http://DingDingMusic.com/Manuals/
'I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.'
What kind of synchronization issues?
The Drummer is based on a drum pattern generator. You can't enter specific MIDI events like with a Drum Instrument Plugin loaded onto a regular MIDI Track.
On a Drummer Track, you enter modify parameter in the Drummer Editor (more of this, less of that, etc.) and based on the chosen Drum Patch, the result will be played by the Instrument Plugin "Drum Kit Designer" which is a sophisticated Drum Sampler Instrument. Different Drummer Patches load different drums samples, so you can choose what type of sound you are looking for.
Regarding the sync issues. If every other Track in your Project is in sync to your tempo, then the Drummer should fit in perfectly.
Hope that helps
Edgar Rothermich
http://DingDingMusic.com/Manuals/
'I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.'
Thank you, Edgar. I should have explained my issue a little better, but, what it amounts to is this. I had a number of of Garageband projects already recorded, in a previous iteration of Garageband, (6.05), prior to the release of Garageband X, (which comes with the new Drummer facility), and I was a little careless with setting parameters, since these projects contained only audio files, (guitar parts and vocals), and setting tempo, (BPM), accurately was not crucial at the time I recorded them.. The drum parts of these were simple beats played 'by hand' using a midi controller, just kick drum and snare, which I 'played' to 'match' the feel of the audio files, or, in a couple of cases, using Apple drum loops. My plan was to replace these 'drum tracks' in each project with 'Drummer' tracks to produce more authentic drums, with fills, etc, by loading the projects into Garageband X, but, I now find that I cannot do this, since the audio files do not match the BPM of the project, as set in the original settings of each project... So, simply inserting a Drummer track does not work well, as the 'Drummer' is following the BPM setting of each project, but not the actual, (real), BPM of the audio regions.
I seem to have made my musical life a little complicated, by not working in a very careful, rational way!
It's kind of you to try to help, but it seems I'll either have to re-record this work from scratch, or find some other work around. Whatever, I've learned a good deal from this experience, and I'll certainly be much more careful in future! :-)
Many thanks,
ontradio. :-)
PS, Sorry I took a while to reply, but I've been away, and offline for a day or two.
In that case you need the "Beat Mapping" feature in Logic. GarageBand doesn't have that.
With Beat Mapping you create a grid out of your audio recording (that was recorded without a click). This will result in a variable Tempo Track that is applied to your song so it matches the fixed bars/beats grid. Now you can add tracks with a click, add Apple Loops or the Drummer which follow the Tempo Track. You can even use the Score Editor to print the music in notation.
Edgar, thank you very much.. it is my intention to buy Logic, but I don't have it, just at the moment, because I have been using Garageband X as a preparatory learning curve, before buying Logic. I'm certainly interested at looking at the Beat Mapping approach you suggest, since it would very much suit my way of writing; I prefer to work with a click, or continuous drumbeat, initially, as it allows me to get ideas down before I lose what is in my head. Unfortunately, I never did master much Music Theory, so a pencil and stave is not really an option for me. I really appreciate your help, so, thank you, once again.
Incidentally, I'll be adding some positive comments, to Amazon and iBooks, (over the weekend, actually), about your Garageband books, (iPad and iMac), which I have found really, really useful. Both are exceptionally well written and produced.
Thanks and best regards,
ontradio
ontradio wrote:
Incidentally, I'll be adding some positive comments, to Amazon and iBooks, (over the weekend, actually), about your Garageband books, (iPad and iMac), which I have found really, really useful. Both are exceptionally well written and produced.
Thanks for the compliment about my books.
The upgrade from GarageBand X to Logic Pro X is pretty easy. It looks exactly the same, just with more features. You can even disable all the advanced features first and add them when you are ready. Logic Pro also adds the wooden side panels at that state to really make the GarageBand user feel at home.
I guess I'll see you soon over at the Logic forum.
Edgar Rothermich
Can I use a Drummer Track to replace a drum loop?
