How Can I Easily Record a Drum Track?

Cubase
#1

Obviously I am new to Cubase (I have Cubase LE4) and I simply want to record drums that I have playing on my computer onto a track on my Cubase project.

I have GrooveBox and would love to record in Cubase LE one of the grooves that comes with it. But it has proven to be beyond me. I tried reading through the help, but to no avail. I tried creating it on a MIDI track, an Audio track and an Instrument track too, none worked.

I created a new bus (hitting F4 while in Cubase) and that didn’t work.

The closest I came was when I exported the groove as a midi file and then imported it into Cubase. It kinda worked, but when I played it back it was all messed up, like jumbled. Why is this? I did the same with a .wav file and that didn’t work either.

Please help!

#2

Reading the getting started portion of the manual re: setting up audio and MIDI would go a long way. You don’t say what exactly Groove Box is as far as program hardware, VSTi etc. so it’s hard to help you.

#3

Thanks for responding. I did go over that again but couldn’t find a solution.

Basically, Groovebox is a little applications that I downloaded that plays various drum beats using drum sets. It can play jazz beats, or rock or funk beats and rhythms, etc. In other words, it’s a fancy metronome that plays more than just the down beat. It is by Red Devil.

Let say I buy some software online that makes drums beats. How do I get those drum beats to record on a track in Cubase LE4? I have my instrument hooked up and recording fine in Cubease, I just need to get the drum app’s beats to record on another track. It ain’t working when I try.

#4

Ok, that’s a stand alone app so recording from it to Cubase would require a soundcard that let you Record What You Hear or had its own routing mixer. Alternately, you could physically route outputs of your soundcard to inputs and record into Cubase like that. It’s not the way most people do things. What they do is use a drum VSTi to play back MIDI files that were either drawn in an editor, drag and dropped into Cubase or recorded via a MIDI controller. The other way is to import audio drum loops to an audio track to make a song.

#5

Again, thanks for taking the time to help me mashedmitten.

  1. How can I determine if my soundcard that let you Record What You Hear? (I doubt it has its own routing mixer).

  2. What’s involved using use a drum VSTi to play back MIDI files? Sorry to so uninformed, but what exactly is a VST?

  3. “The other way is to import audio drum loops to an audio track to make a song.”
    I tried to go that route but when I exported the groove as a midi file and then imported it into Cubase, it kinda worked, but when I played it back it was all messed up, like jumbled. Any idea what’s going on?

  4. Oh yeah, and probably an important piece of info: I am using a Lexicon I-Onix hardware which is hooked up using USB to my computer that has the drum beats. Shouldn’t Cubease just “hear” the drums when I play the app on my computer? Is this what you mean by “you could physically route outputs of your soundcard to inputs and record into Cubase like that”

#6

Your best bet is importing the MIDI files to an Instrument Track loaded with a drum VSTi like LM7 which can be downloaded from Steiny’s ftp site or Halion One. Problem with HO is that it’s not general MIDI format so you’d need to move MIDI data around to get it to play all sounds.

Re: 4, no. You’d have to route Windows to use one out of your interface and connect a cable from that output to an input and use Cubase to record the audio from that input.

#7

Your best bet is importing the MIDI files to an Instrument Track loaded with a drum VSTi like LM7 which can be downloaded from Steiny’s ftp site or Halion One.

Thanks, so I ought to go to the download area and grab a drum VSTi (not sure what that is but ok) like LM7 and then load it into Cubease?

I am surprised that it’s so hard to get a drum track (or any standalone app) recorded by Cubease.

#8

A VSTi is a virtual instrument. MIDI is data and not sound. You need something to play the data, which is a VSTi.

It seems complicated to you now, but once you catch on you’ll see it’s easy. Most people either record live drums or use a VSTi like Addictive Drums or Toontrack or DFH Superior etc. for drum tracks. This is so each drum can have different EQ and effects applied as needed. Recording a whole kit to one track like you’re trying to do is not desired for that reason.

#9

I Love Toontracks Superior Drummer 2.0. IT’s a VST and in my opinion much better then a drum machine.
It works great with Cubase Le4. Check it out.

http://www.toontrack.com/products.asp?item=30

Jack :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

#10

Well I have the Toontrack solo EZ Drummer Lite Edition. But it seemed hard to use and I couldn’t really create a beat. Is that the way to go? Can you easily create simple drum beats and then pipe them into Cubase?

#11

To create your own beat you need to create an event on an Instrument track and the double click on it to open the Key Editor where you can program a beat or right click on the event you created and open the Drum Editor or drag and drop MIDI loops from EZ Drummer to the Instrument track in Cubase.

#12

Re: How Can I Easily Record a Drum Track?
Yes Ditto to mashedmitten

I basically record a 4 or 8 bar Loop in Cubase Le4 , quantized, played on my keyboard or even my Drum machine pads and using the Drum editor in Cubase Le4. Some people use MIDI DRUMS hear. I just connect a midi cable (no audio cables) FROM MY KEYBOARD or Drum machine MIDI OUT to my tascam US-1641 midi in. The sound I hear is from toontracks Superior drummer 2.0. I then copy that Drum loop by pressing CTRL + D enough times to to get a good basic drum track down. I usually add TOM fills and cymbles as the song progresses.

Question joconnor

  1. Have you used a drum machine in the past? :question:
    This helps to to understand drum recording, PATTERNS -COUNT OFFS - INTROS -FILLS --ENDINGS --SONG MODE ETC

  2. Read all you can and keep watching http://www.youtube.com videos
    on Cubase and Drum Recording

Hope this helps

ps: joconnor Toontracks – EZ DRUMMER LITE hardly gives you anything
but it’s better then nothing. Check out EZ PLAYER ALSO. THERE’S ALL KINDS OF PRESET LOOPS in EZ PLAYER.I store alot of my own Drum midi files in EZ PLAYER and then drag them into
cubase Le4 when I need them.

Hope this helps



Jack :smiley: :smiley:

#13

ok, cool, thanks, I’ll give it a try.