Roland V Drums & Ultrabeat

[jonnythynne]

I'm fairly new to Logic but starting to get my head round it all.

I'm trying to set up my Roland V drums to play Ultarbeat. I can get the drums to play the sounds but wondered what's the best way to change which drum triggers which sound and also if there's a way to make the hi hat trigger the open closed sounds when using the pedal?

 

Cheers

[eyesaw]

Hey Jonny,

 

Which V-Drums? It makes a big difference. With something like a TD-7 kit, which I used for years, it's easy. Note assignments are much the same as general midi.

 

With the TDW-20 I use now, it's a whole bunch more complicated. Main kick and snare and toms are pretty much the same, but the TDW uses heaps of extra note assignments. Centre of the snare is a D1 note for example, but a rimshot (not a cross stick) gets you a E1 note. Ride cymbal expressiveness means it uses three different midi notes. Hi-hat? I think that is three notes as well.

 

All of which can be worked around, but I think for the TDW-20 to be compatible fully with Ultrabeat, you'd need to change the note assignments in the TDW-20. It's something I've shied away from.

 

Reason? As far as I know (and I could be wrong), the bottom note you can use in Ultrabeat is a C1, and the TDW-20 uses a whole bunch of notes in the octaves below that for its expressiveness stuff.

 

My workaround is that I do some basic playing of patterns into Ultrabeat using the TDW, and then supplement with programming within the arrange page of Logic. Kinda gets you the best of both worlds without too much head scratching a brow furrowing!

[rjtemple]

I have the TD 10 and I just wrote some transformers into my Default Logic template (in Logic's 'environment') that interrupts input from the VDrums translating any A#-1 (the default hi-hat pedal down note from the v-drums) to be translated into a G#1 or F#1 depending on what sound you want for the hi hat pedal down. I also created templates for some other drum sets in Kontakt.

 

I also did some re-arranging of the assigned midi outs for some of the pads in a few TD-10 patches. It wasn't too hard after fiddling with it and the manual for a bit. Then I'd save the presets in the TD-10 as "UB 1", or "Kontakt Dr". I even made some presets for Storm drum patches and orchestral tympani.

 

It does pay to learn how to quickly adjust the midi out trigger notes from the td-10 (or what ever module you have with your v-drums). It only takes a few button presses and allows you to modify your set while sitting at the v-drums.

[jonnythynne]

Thanks for the info, I'm using a TD9 so probably not as in depth as the TDW-20....

 

I've worked out that in ultrabeat you can easily just drag and drop the sounds onto the corresponding keys using the piano layout on the left.

 

The only thing i'm stuck on now is how to get the hi hat to play the closed sound when foot on and open when off?

 

Also if there's any way to crossfade the samples so it would be possible to to play half open and trigger a certain amount of each sound?

 

Any ideas?

[fader8]

The only thing i'm stuck on now is how to get the hi hat to play the closed sound when foot on and open when off?

 

Also if there's any way to crossfade the samples so it would be possible to to play half open and trigger a certain amount of each sound?

 

Any ideas?

While Ultrabeat is very good at being a drum synth, it's sampler features like the ones you mention, are very limited. The EXS24 Sampler is more appropriate for the kind of voice switching you want to do. You can still design your own synthetic drum sounds in UB, then record them to a track, cut them up and create your own sampler instrument in the EXS. But there's already some nice kits in the EXS that can get you started. If you're new to sampling, there's a bit of a learning curve. It's worth it though.

[jonnythynne]

Thanks again, i'll see if I can get my head round the EXS24.