Trying to record V-Drums

otway

Member
Hey people.. once again, thanks so much for the moment of attention.. I am trying to record drums on my pc using: my laptop (which runs on vista), Roland V-Drums, FL Studio and this MIDI to u.s.b. cable - http://www.amazon.com/EM8780-Profes...8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1190947862&sr=8-6

From what i understand (and was advised) this is all i need to get the job done.. now i have absolutely no idea where to begin.. I know that there are a few people on this forum that record their Yamaha and Roland kits on their laptops so I was hoping for some advice..

Thanks

Nick
 
Hey people.. once again, thanks so much for the moment of attention.. I am trying to record drums on my pc using: my laptop (which runs on vista), Roland V-Drums, FL Studio and this MIDI to u.s.b. cable - http://www.amazon.com/EM8780-Profes...8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1190947862&sr=8-6

From what i understand (and was advised) this is all i need to get the job done.. now i have absolutely no idea where to begin.. I know that there are a few people on this forum that record their Yamaha and Roland kits on their laptops so I was hoping for some advice..

Thanks

Nick

I have vdrums and you don't need midi to record. You need to record through line out, where you would plug your MP3 player into. Then press record on your FL studio and you're all set. You might want to buy a soundcard on your laptop for a great sound.
 
Yeah...line out on the brain too line in on the computer would be better. MIDI can be a right pain to set up. Unless you plan on quantizing go MIDI. If you just want audio then go for the line out option.
 
Yes, if you want to record the audio you will need an audio interface for your laptop. MIDI cables only carry data, no audio. When you record your drums via MIDI to the laptop, you will end up with a MIDI sequence in your audio program. You can then play that sequence back using sounds on your laptop, or if you have the MIDI cable going back to the drum module you can hear the sounds on the drum module. However, to get the actual sounds from the drum module to the laptop, you will need to use an audio cable and an audio interface.

Quantization isn't necessary for recording MIDI. All that means is aligning all of your strokes to the nearest eighth or sixteenth or whatever note you choose. This also takes the human element out of the sequence, though some quantization features let you set a tolerance to allow some margin of error to keep some of that human feel. Personally I don't like to use quantization. If I have a stroke that is that far off then I will just nudge that single note over until it sounds about right.

Sometimes when I record with my VDrums, I'll record both the audio and MIDI. This way I don't have to settle on the sounds in the kit I choose at the time of recording. I can change them later if need be. Also, if I found a little mistake I can edit it as I mentioned above, then record that take again by playing back the MIDI sequence. If I goofed a lot, I would just do a retake with myself on the drums. It's much easier to do that than editing a bunch of notes in a sequence, but I don't mind doing it for one or two notes.
 
Hey There,

I did a recording the other day using 2 mp3 players. One was on line-in to play the backing track and the other I had it on line out (mono) to record. Then I brought the file to my PC and converted it to a 16-bit mono mp3 so that it would come out of both speakers.

Im using an acoustic kit with triggers and acoustic cymbals, so the recording I did didnt have any cymbals, but for the drum sounds and my playing, it gave me a good idea of where things were at.

check it out at http://www.drummerstix.com.au/sounds/whiteroom.mp3

In the new year I am looking at getting a behringer mixer and a couple mics so I can record small demos at home.


Cheers,

Andy
 
hey guys,
I do recording in my van, from my roland drums TD-6kx i think they are called, Anyways, the brain is a td 6v. I run two 1/4 lines (left and right) into a US122L and than into the macbook using cubase studio 4 software. The audio interface connects to the computer using a usb,
www.myspace.com/butterfliesandwaterfalls was the result.
I originally had a huge problem with the recording software because the macbooks run with intelprocessors so i had to go through a few programs until i found one (dual binary) that worked on my mac.
I know my knowledge is limited with the technology buy this works for me,
help any?

Justin
 
I have a TD-20 I use the direct outs

kick
snare
hi_hat
ride
toms
crashes

I record the audio on individual tracks. I use Cubase so I can actually still quantize if I want to. I actually prefer just punching in and fixing whatever I need to.

There are some advantages to recording MIDI as well, you can change any sound you want too after the fact. i have not played with that simply because I have a great sounding kit I tweaked just for recording. I record it dry and have great luck with it.

I hope this helps in some way
 
Can I use a 1/4 inch to usb cord to record my TD-6 onto my laptop? I have heard it works, but not well. Anyone have experience with this? Would it work with Audacity? Riffworks?
 
I have vdrums and you don't need midi to record. You need to record through line out, where you would plug your MP3 player into. Then press record on your FL studio and you're all set. You might want to buy a soundcard on your laptop for a great sound.

On my module, TD20, I use master out to record or amplify and line in for mp3
 
I'm wondering if any of this has helped the OP.

If you are recording midi, then the track you select to record it needs to be a midi track. Similarly if you go audio you need to open up an audio track.

I like the idea of midi but I always struggle to get my TD12 - Edirol UA - 25 EX - MacBook Pro - Logic Express - to function correctly.

Audio records easily with an audio track and just switching on record on the track and start playing. If you have a guitar or bass it might be easier to play around with the software with them first.

Cheers
Davo
 
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