Non-drummer looking for drum beats and fills to use in recordings.

[jbnuk]

Hi,

I want to record some random riffs and potentially come up with some short songs, but the problem is I have no experience with drums (like really zero). Therefore was wondering if there could be some recorded drum beats and fills I could just copy / paste in my DAW tracks and "build" some sequences...some type of free or even paid library. Does something like this exist? Or maybe some software to be my drummer...?

I think otherwise the only option would be learning drums and then programming through samples in my DAW.

My goal (thinking of drums and rhythm) is around prog-rock/metal, hard rock, classic metal - nothing too modern (more 70's, 80's and 90's tones). I am using Reaper and the idea is to use the drum beats to inspire me and build something on top of them.


Thanks!

 

[TedEH]

I think a lot of drum libraries come with loops you can just drop in. My old copy of SD2 has something like this. Alternatively, just play to a click and don't worry too much about drum fills until later. It's equally valid to create the fills to match the guitar as it would be to write the guitar parts to match the fills.

Or, you could build up your own library of drum bits -> Just watch some drum playthroughs and program some short loops that match anything that strikes you as cool sounding.

 

[jbnuk]

I think a lot of drum libraries come with loops you can just drop in. My old copy of SD2 has something like this. Alternatively, just play to a click and don't worry too much about drum fills until later. It's equally valid to create the fills to match the guitar as it would be to write the guitar parts to match the fills.

Or, you could build up your own library of drum bits -> Just watch some drum playthroughs and program some short loops that match anything that strikes you as cool sounding.

Thanks for the advice! By libraries you mean things like ODDGROOVES (can't post the link as I am new to the forum)? I tried playing just to a click but it doesn't feel as inspiring if you know what I mean.

 

[jbnuk]

I think now I got it...I could use some VST library like MT-PowerDrumKit and it will come with the loops so it is easy to build blocks? Will try that

 

[TedEH]

I wasn't familiar with oddgrooves, but it looks like the right kind of thing. If you need a drum plugin anyway, I imagine most of them will come with some kind of loop library.

 

[Ordacleaphobia]

EZDrummer 2 had something like this, pre-canned patterns that you could drag and drop into your project. I'd definitely scope out the Toontrack stuff.
If you had riffs already, I'd say you could send them to me and I could try throwing something together for you, since I'm a drummer who just pretends to play guitar.

There's also loads of guys on YouTube that just do drum loops, I'm pretty sure most of them sell them too.

 

[jbnuk]

Thanks @Ordacleaphobia and @TedEH!
I installed MT-PowerDrumKit VST (free) and it has patterns I can drag and drop etc. Works fine and sounds good. Also can drag and drop the midi files from Oddgrooves in my track (the midi files are the patterns, organized in folders, so almost the same thing as with the VST).

@Ordacleaphobia as soon as I can come up with some decent riffs I will ping you! Thanks again!

 

[jbnuk]

Here is how it sounds: http://www.mediafire.com/file/ux3tvtveom51qb8/test-drums.mpeg/file

I think given how easy this was to set up and my total lack of drum skills, I couldn't ask for better sound

 

[Iron1]

I've been using Beta Monkey drum loops for years.

Click here for song sample from my SoundCloud library - Wretched Man

Here's another with a more dynamic mix of drum beats

You can drag & drop real loops (actual drummers' pre-recorded loops), enhance them, or create your own from scratch.

 

[jbnuk]

I've been using Beta Monkey drum loops for years.

Click here for song sample from my SoundCloud library - Wretched Man

Here's another with a more dynamic mix of drum beats

You can drag & drop real loops (actual drummers' pre-recorded loops), enhance them, or create your own from scratch.

Sounds great! I am starting now with recording actually, I hope I can achieve similar level of awesome sounding mix some day
Thanks for sharing the Beta Monkey - I will definitely check it out!

 

[Bandersnatch]

You're on your way, which is good. I've stopped using canned patterns because I found that they can't suit the guitar riffs I've written so I've started programming my own midi drum tracks. My general starting point is the kick drum. I add in hits where I think they should be and it just turns into a whole track with nothing but a kick. Then I start adding in other elements. The one rule I keep in mind when programming drums is that a drummer only has two arms and two legs. If what I'm programming can't be played by a real drummer, the pattern doesn't stay in the song.

 

[jbnuk]

Thanks for the advice @Nicki; probably I will learn more if I start with a simple approach as starting with kick and then building on top of that. I noticed that the canned patters really don't "fit" with the riffs...they don't bring the feel I was expecting. That's why a real drummer is so important and maybe why I should learn a bit more about drums to build something a bit nicer But to be honest my riffs and stuff are just rubbish at this point so I will focus on having at least some good ones before I replace the canned patters. Still my focus is the guitar haha

 

[Bandersnatch]

Thanks for the advice @Nicki; probably I will learn more if I start with a simple approach as starting with kick and then building on top of that. I noticed that the canned patters really don't "fit" with the riffs...they don't bring the feel I was expecting. That's why a real drummer is so important and maybe why I should learn a bit more about drums to build something a bit nicer But to be honest my riffs and stuff are just rubbish at this point so I will focus on having at least some good ones before I replace the canned patters. Still my focus is the guitar haha

Sometimes even just making a kick drum line and building a guitar riff on top of that can inspire some pretty creative riffs. You could also try that approach.

 

[jbnuk]

Hey @Ordacleaphobia just wanted to check if you fancy putting some drums on a riff I recorded: https://www.mediafire.com/file/yrl8u9v1ya804yw/riff-1.wav/file

It is exactly at 125 bpm. Not a problem if you are busy or have better things to do (probably) - but if you would like to contribute I would really appreciate it. I will try to build more parts on top of this idea moving forward...

Of course everyone else is invited to help me with drums haha

Thanks!

 

[jbnuk]

Slightly better take: https://www.mediafire.com/file/iv9dnty7mkqgf0e/riff-1-take2_.wav/file

 

[Iron1]

Slightly better take: https://www.mediafire.com/file/iv9dnty7mkqgf0e/riff-1-take2_.wav/file

You should get a Soundcloud account so people don't have to trust that they aren't downloading a virus trying to hear what you're working on.

 

[jbnuk]

You should get a Soundcloud account so people don't have to trust that they aren't downloading a virus trying to hear what you're working on.

I actually have one...but I saw people sharing through media fire in this forum and thought was like the "standard" - here is the soundcloud link: https://soundcloud.com/jeronimobn/riff-1-take2

 

[MoJoToJo]

Not sure who this drummer is but he kicks ar*e..
Would love to hear his covers just drums only & minus the BT.
Maybe he could help you out if you contacted him/her. Hard to tell with the mask but probably a him. But best to be politically correct. https://www.youtube.com/c/DeltaEmpire/videos

 

[Solodini]

Sometimes even just making a kick drum line and building a guitar riff on top of that can inspire some pretty creative riffs. You could also try that approach.

This.

 

[Drew]

You're on your way, which is good. I've stopped using canned patterns because I found that they can't suit the guitar riffs I've written so I've started programming my own midi drum tracks. My general starting point is the kick drum. I add in hits where I think they should be and it just turns into a whole track with nothing but a kick. Then I start adding in other elements. The one rule I keep in mind when programming drums is that a drummer only has two arms and two legs. If what I'm programming can't be played by a real drummer, the pattern doesn't stay in the song.

This is all prettyy good advice. Our proicesses are a little different, I usually throw together a drum beat complete with kick, snare, and some sort of ?(usually) hihat groove, and then go through and program it in earnest after I've sketched out an arrangement, but with some practice (especially with paying attention to note velocity) you can do really convincing work creating drum grooves from the ground up using your mouse and a piano roll.