How to make YOUR Programmed Drums more real!

[@modernaudioworks]

After years of watching you hate programmed drums with the fury of a thousand suns, then release your own samples, and now begrudgingly sort of accept that midi drums have become a norm, I have a very deep appreciation for this particular video. It really shows that you love music and the recording process and care about making all productions the best they can be. Cheers!

[@rivervaughanmusicstuff5771]

Glenn finally puts out a video for those of us who have close to no expendable income.

[@gilbertspader7974]

I have close to no expendable life. Sigh..........

[@rivervaughanmusicstuff5771]

@@gilbertspader7974 same here my guy

[@leoncorbett4553]

His budget guitars are 500 bucks

[@rivervaughanmusicstuff5771]

@@leoncorbett4553 Bro I'll tell you what. It's hard to find a good live and recording guitar for under $300 US in today's economy. It's got nothing to do with the quality and everything to do with inflation. I had a Dean Vendetta XM that cost me $120 US in 2010 and that thing was a beast until my father traded it for meth

[@leoncorbett4553]

@@rivervaughanmusicstuff5771 I should have thought before leaving my comment. Sorry. I hope the situation with your dad’s addiction is better, and/or that you’re in a safer situation.

[@slayabouts]

At this rate, Glenn’s just going to be yelling as an intro without saying any actual words and then cut right into the intro music I’m here for it

[@ICACJ]

It will evolve to continue past the intro, and then one day the entire video will just be the yelling.

[@slayabouts]

@@ICACJ One can only hope! ☺️

[@ManuSDP]

@@ICACJ I want this and only this

[@rekthan_2333]

This video is just what I asked for last week. Good job, glenn! You and the crew who made this software nailed it.

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

Ty!

[@JordonBeal]

Thanks for the kind words and shout-out Glenn. Beyond stoked we finally get to show everyone what we’ve been working on!!

[@nathan1x]

That bleed tool is actually so sick! What a great innovation!

[@jeremymull6138]

I agree it's a great feature, and it is indeed innovative. But it wasn't really an innovation here because other drum software has already had it for years. Such as Superior Drummer, which IS a bit spendy, but extremely amazing software that is worth every penny. Gonna be hard to beat SD3 in my opinion, particularly in the sample quality and flexibility departments. Which is why it is the industry standard drum software, particularly for triggering with an e-kit. But if this can come close at a cheaper price point, more power to them. And for the record, this does sound pretty good, in my opinion. And as long as it's more affordable, I think Glen could find some success with it. Seems like GetGoodDrums will be it's biggest competition. And while I have never used Kontact Player, so have no strong opinion about it one way or the other. But I constantly see people complain about it in comments sections of products that use it, so that could be a negative for some folks.

[@JordonBeal]

@@jeremymull6138 Kontakt player is excellent, easy to use, and very accessible. You only need to buy the library, not the full version of Kontakt, in order to use it.

[@jeremymull6138]

@@JordonBeal Good to know. Like I said, I have no opinion on it, since I've never used it.. I was simply pointing out that it seems to be a deterrent for some people, based on comments I frequently read.

[@JordonBeal]

@@jeremymull6138 Totaly! I wish that demos were possible with Kontakt libraries.

[@RobShannanigans]

The mix at the beginning was fantastic. Really enjoyed how each instrument was audible and filled its own sonic space.

[@unduloid]

Hmmm.. the bass is not that audible, really.

[@dindinbre]

@@unduloid dude it's perfectly audible, just the amount it's supposed to. But it's a mediocre modern metal bass sound anyway, so idk

[@unduloid]

@@dindinbre It sounds more like a down-tuned clanky guitar, not really like a bass at all.

[@dindinbre]

@@unduloid yea, I seriously dislike modern sansamp bleed shit they are doing with bass. It really does sound like that

[@unduloid]

@@dindinbre I don't think Sansamp is the issue here.

[@Emory_Powell]

This drum pack kicks ASS! I've recently gone from an Audacity and.....garage band.... setup to Reaper and Kontakt. It's been a night/day difference and all for the better. The UIs are better. The samples are better. On top of that, I don't have to use the damn iMovie app anymore! Thank you so much for giving us great content with information that's actually useful!! Loving the ELE pack and still exploring the Reapack plugin you demo'd! For the people like me doing solo projects: Free apps can give a decent sound with a lot of work, but they can only get you so far.

[@Giraffinator]

The energy Glenn puts in the beginning of his videos is obnoxious... ...ly contagious. I love it.

[@JeshNyx]

I have been wondering how the hell to program better midi drums so I can stop yelling at myself for being an idiot... And now I finally started to get a better idea about it from another guy who also yells at idiots. Thanks Glenn! 🤘

[@marcoh984]

I’ve been waiting for this since I started watching your channel

[@CreativeMindsAudio]

Wow this is like a middle of the road between GGD and superior drummer 3! and it sounds amazing too! Great job Glenn and friends!

[@kevinxpowell]

I’m impressed with how they sound NOT routed out individually!

[@KyleSevenoaks]

Good to see I've been doing it right so far. Thanks for setting a good example for those of us without the means for real drummers!

[@RedHeadGuitar]

I've got another one for "how to (not) behave when playing shows"...so last week the following happened to me: We played a show opening for another band at a local bar, and after our set we of course immediately started to get our amps and stuff off the stage to make room for the other band. Soo, after returning from carrying my guitar and fx board back stage real quick to pick up my amp, I wonder where the hell it has gone. About a minute later I found it dumped in front of the stage by the feet of some beer drinking visitors. After some quick asking around I found out that the guitar player of the other band had arbitrarily put my amp there, explaining "I just wanted to clear the stage quicker for us, you know, we're the main act, maaan". So, moral of the story: If you play a show with other bands and you want to help with hauling gear, you are often very welcome to do so. But for f***s sake if you think you could be helpful, don't EVER be too cheap to use your big goddamn mouth to actually ASK if that is okay and what exactly to do BEFORE even thinking about touching other people's gear or moving it places! If you don't, you're not helping anybody, you're just a douchebag.

[@Powermad-bu4em]

Duuuuuuuuuuude. That's one of the cardinal sins of band life. Whoever that clown is he's going to have a REALLY bad day in the future.

[@forkless]

@@Powermad-bu4em Some a-holes really do not realize how small of a world the music scene is.

[@rivervaughanmusicstuff5771]

Those guys are the worst. I had someone try telling me my amp was his. I had a Line 6 and dude had a Marshall. Yeah, real easy to get those mixed up...

[@RedHeadGuitar]

@@rivervaughanmusicstuff5771 Im this case I would have happily swapped amps with him :D Wow...Man, I wonder what substances some people smoke...

[@rivervaughanmusicstuff5771]

@@RedHeadGuitar 150w Line 6 versus 50w mini Marshall? Nah. Now if homeboy was running a stack? Different story.

[@latheofheaven1017]

For years, I've been picking through my drum programming, beat by beat, tweaking velocities and timings. It takes hours and hours, but it's been worth doing. THIS sounds like the answer Glenn. Just putting together a new DAW/computer, and ELE may well be on my list of extras. FUGlenn!

[@demoninkstudios7735]

Perfect timing, just got your ELE kit last night and been wanting to improve my midi programming!

[@JordonBeal]

Hope you enjoy the kit!!

[@demoninkstudios7735]

@@JordonBeal Loving it so far, the rock presets are pretty close to the sound I'm trying to get so there is very little I have to do in the way of balancing. Same for the metal presets for my metal covers. Been trying them out on various covers I've already got midi on. Great job to everyone involved on this plug-in!

[@7kepticc]

Glenn you beautiful bastard. I was literally thinking in my head the past few days on how to get programmed drums to sound human. As someone who’s looking to make music, your channel has been extremely helpful on what and what not to do. Still got a lot of stuff to research and set-up, but I’m definitely getting ELE. Cheers and have a good one.

[@BrainDeadTX]

Great product at a great price, thank you spectre digital team! 🤘

[@potestoniko]

there is something oddly beautiful about being a fan of this channel for over 7 years at this point, and it is the fact that you can see Glenn change his perspective about certain topics along the way during the years, as new technology arrives or new ways to do stuff appear. always willing to change his mind when there is new evidence about it.

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

Ty! Always be willing to try new things!

[@JordonBeal]

Having worked with Glenn for only 6-7 months, now, I can safely say that he is incredibly open-minded.

[@TheScienceOfBand]

I don't have the best space to do drums, but I still mic up the whole kit, process everything as best I can, then blend in a kick with the real kick, and a snare with the real snare, add some good parallel comp, keep the toms and over heads real, and I feel like that's the best of both worlds. I really can't stand drums with the midi set to 127 the entire song, but I do know some people like that effect. I feel like slightly blending can re-enforce some weakness of having a poor room, or technique possibly, and still get that punch you're looking for without taking away the personality of the drummer. EDIT: Learning to embrace the bleed was one of the best things I learned over time. Great video Glenn!

[@kotogray8335]

Just the fact that you learned how to record killer drums live means a lot more than being able to substitute samples and make it sound real-ish

[@dudeinamask]

SPOT ON! I am a drummer that started and played for years on acoustic drums but about 10 years ago I purchased some roland V drums. I LOVE THE V DRUMS! They are so clean you must be on for there are NO PLACES TO HIDE IN THE ACOUSTIC NOISE. I have to say V drums make you better. ALL imperfections show. I have corrected timing and hits. I only want to hear what counts and V drums are the way to come correct. The drummers that can't play on V drums hide their imperfections in the noise be it timing or accidental stick hits. Clean is the way to be......save your party for after the session. ROCK ON GLEN!

[@matiosmi137]

Daaaamn, that was ear opening! As a guitarist I've always kinda been deaf to drums, just aware that they're out there in the mix but unable to tell if they're off time or contrarily - too on the grid. Now I'll definitely make use of that AKAI MIDI keyboard that's been sitting for far too long on my desk and go play some semi-live drums myself - and of course come for help when I hit a brick wall. Many thanks to you!

[@joerojas5448]

The Drums sound awesome! Will get it this week.

[@duncansmith69]

I think Glenn might be the only person on KZbin I would take advice from on how to program drums.

[@Wildlands1212]

Sounds great! I think I will buy it soon

[@ivyhallquist3159]

We don't deserve Glenn. He's the man who has the balls to tell us what we need to hear rather than what we want to hear.

[@johnpatitucci7919]

That's been a challenge for me in programming my own drums. Working the subtleties on velocity and humanization has helped a lot. Having some drum experience, I tried to always think like a drummer and what they are doing. I found that I was using the drummer third arm technique a lot early on. Now I scrub through my drum parts over and over making sure I don't miss anything. Steven Slate drums are what I use in my productions. However, I may cross over to ELE for the bleed control. That's a nice touch!

[@capawesome3d988]

Gleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen! Thanks for you videos and humor. Because of some of your talks i´ve been practicing more and improving a hell of a lot, even getting lessons (after 23 years playing guitar). Keep the awesome job!

[@Metaljonus]

I was about to get the mixwave Gojira kit but this sounds sick! These will be mine ohhhhh they will be mine!

[@codycreepcore]

one thing about humanization of midi I learned from Misha Mansoor, was that say a kick and snare hit at the same time perfectly..... They don't sound like 2 different drums at the same time. They sound like one instrument. So the humanization moves the transients enough to hear them both and gives the drums more clarity.

[@DennisAlvarezMusic]

Great useful content Glen. I was aware of most of these techniques, except adding the "bleed" factor back in. Nice touch there!

[@DigitalChemistryBand]

Oh YEA!!!!! So as a long time drum programmer, by hand, with Cool Edit as a daw... then later in Acid with real samples... I would hand set the sample volume for each section... now, I can draw a velocity for any midi drum I use... I also like using a master velocity curve in tandem with individual velocity for items ... let's me get those Peart rolls right.

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

I used Way Cool Edit with Digital Wings way back in the late 90s!

[@alterofcain]

Thank you!!!!! I'm new to midi and programming drums, this is great info

[@kyleriddle4504]

Holy FUCK is Glenn mixing programmed drums? I thought I'd never see the day Fuckin Aye Glenn! Get it!

[@EXSENTRIX]

Killer shit happening here Glenn! You must feel like a proud Father with this drum program and rightfully so man.🤘🏼💀🥁

[@anthonymetcalf660]

I swear Glenn is a natural vocalist. I would love to hear that shit for real.

[@theelmagoo]

Congrats on the new product launch!! Always nice to see something you've been working on for a long time come to fruition! I wanted to mention 2 tricks that have helped me in my drum programming journey that you might like. 1) Turn off snap to grid when programming. By doing this, you're automatically getting some humanization, plus you can purposefully lag / lead the performance based on what you're looking for. 2) Take an older song that you like the drum performance of and import it into your DAW (you want a song that has not already been quantized to hell and back). Then create a tempo map for the song so your grid will follow the tempo swings and stay in alignment. Then using any drum sample software you want, re-create the drum beat with it so it matches the song as perfectly as you can (definitely turn off snap to grid for this). After you've done this, thanks to the tempo map, you can see exactly how in-front / behind the beat the drummer played the performance compared to the tempo! I found this to be really inspiring and informative as to when drummers might tend to rush or lag the tempo, then I can use that knowledge when I program my performances :)

[@Agoraphobia2day333]

The intro on this makes me feel like I'm playing video games from the late 90's to early 2000's with that impressive lung capacity

[@gnumarco]

Bought ELE, moved from AD2 to ELE using the same exact midi tracks. I am a drummer, I have been playing for almost 25 years, and I like to program my drums with the real velocity and timing imperfections that I would have if I would play them. I have to say that ELE is by far the best drum plugin I have had so far.

[@rockyrucker2789]

This sounds great! I’m patiently waiting for your bass plug-in! Those tones are so good!

[@hunter00143]

Glenn Ive been watching your videos a ton in the past week, my mixes already sound almost passable - for a guy with also only a week experience using a real DAW. Good shit keep it up man

[@phreakadelle]

I love that humanizing feature in Reaper! I'm always programming drums exactly on grid and then apply some humanizing afterwards. And it's instantly so much cooler than before! ALWAYS!

[@kudus9235]

Me too. I always fiddle with midi. Especially with humanizaition.

[@DouggieDaDucker]

That "Good Morning" intro was awesome!!!!!

[@GeneralMiller92FIN]

Holy shit! I learned today how to humanize properly. Stupid me have been going trough every single drum hit one by one until this moment. I'm even scared to calculate how many hours I have wasted in my life because of this.

[@Kat-Kobold]

Really wish i'd seen this earlier, when i was programming drums

[@mfkrwill]

I was already curious but then i saw it can come with the drum programming course as well for less than the course itself. Now im very interested

[@kordtone]

My birthday is coming up soon. After I get a new interface (upgrading from firewire to thunderbolt), this is the exact thing I need to work on my compositions from home!

[@michaelsnydermusic]

Congrats Glenn and company. Sounds real to me thanks in large part to the Bleed Control. Brilliant.

[@jasonz9902]

Intro: scream...... Wife: leaves room with dirty look Me: smiles

[@TheDaveDodsonProject]

Wow! The drum bleed makes a big difference. Great job Glenn! SpectreSoundsStudios upping the ante again!

[@SMFilmStudios]

Thank you for the great advice. Programmed drums have been the weak link in all my mixes. Taking this advice and resubmitting my mix next week. The only negative comment you made about my mix was the drum programming. Thank you again.

[@Maxiamaru]

Cant wait for the day we get a video that's just a full 10 minutes of Glenn going "Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood morningggggggggg eeeeeeeeeeeeveryyyyyyyyyyyyybodyyyyyyyyyyy"

[@RaddDadd29]

Can't wait to try it out man! Now im going to have a dream about a three handed drummer...thanks!

[@RaddDadd29]

How about no!!!

[@mk7073]

That opening scream was reminiscent of Noddy Holder! Slade are cool, so that's a good thing 🙂👍 Cracking good episode BTW

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

Ty!

[@rhettosbment2384]

My headphones were cranked when I started this, thanks for the tinnitus Glen

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

Well, at least you’ll remember the video!

[@bradzillarocks]

My computer won't support Kontakt but I'll be buying this for the channel and for the TCI files. Nice job!

[@alexnasla]

Wait what? Why doesnt it support Kontakt?

[@xamislimelight8965]

God damn, that intro was impressive! I was expecting the plot twist of Glenn being a Super Saiyan. "For you see, bassist. You're not dealing with your average Glenn anymore!"

[@bakelite-era705]

Well done, it's so hard to actually make a Drum Plugin.... I know from spending 2 1/2 years never finishing making one. I hope you guys make millions from it!!! Sick!!!!!

[@BobbyJamesCote333]

Fuckin Right!!! This is Kick Ass Glen.. Hands Down the Best Sounding Programing I've Heard Yet.. Sweet 😁

[@TheRantingsofaMadman]

I wish I had 84USD right now because those drums do sound sick. I already do the other stuff in this video, seems like the missing element is the bleed for sure. I'll be on close look out for the other videos in this series to see if there are any other tricks you bring up I've missed.

[@mingmerci6103]

Peace sells to me was more effects for drums than drum samples. I could be wrong but that's the way I see it. As for the song you played the one thing I noticed straight away was the bass drum beats, you could hear the pedal control... Amazing job dude I'm looking forward to getting this. Now can you make something that stops people using the same guitar sound 🤣

[@majmat]

Bleed and a slight bit of swing makes drums sound more human like.

[@genepooll7610]

Gotta hand it to Glenn; doesn't like the way modern drum programs sound - puts his money where his mouth is and makes a better product. Well done, sir. Well done. And thanks!

[@Oblixom]

my speakers glitched during the scream and it lasted for a minute and I was just sitting here thinking, that dude has some strong lungs!

[@thomasbeerakis2168]

Amazing stuff dude, really nice job

[@francescoideo9330]

that intro shows some great technique

[@kimfalch2976]

Gonna buy your Plugin Glenn, the bleed effect sold me on it

[@MrTfuzz]

great video! when we recorded our drummer we used to trigger the toms snare and kick...we would record the room performance as well and sort of blend the 2..sounded pretty damn good that way

[@devilslab]

Great work! This drum sound really nice

[@newdivide6770]

That scream got me goosebumps, you are a great vocalist.

[@Eric_Sayers]

This just might be the greatest thumbnail I’ve ever seen on KZbin. I can’t stop laughing!!

[@meanhighlevel3940]

It would be really interesting to hear some of the cool patterns people are coming up with using ELE. Maybe some description of "how the sausage was made". I'm sure there are amazing ideas people are working on using ELE.

[@doublestrokeroll]

Cool. 10GB for a single kit sounds pretty good in terms of samples. How many velocity layers were sampled for each piece? For me that's what separates the truly great sample packs, like Platinum Samples, from lesser packs like ezdrummer which rely too much on scaling. Got to say, these sound very natural based on the demo. Well done.

[@JordonBeal]

8 round robins, and 8 velocity layers for most kit pieces. A few things, like chokes or snare side-stick, have fewer velocity layers.

[@napoleonsmith3028]

Been waiting for this!

[@TheGuySonny]

Hey @Glenn someone’s on your mix review video saying people including me won a give away. I am pretty sure that they are trying to scam people just a heads up. Broke my heart a bit but, still love you brother rock on.

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

If you’re a local death meal drummer, you MUST set your kick triggers low-end up to 10 and compression knob all the way to the right.

[@ItsDrewsif]

Best intro I’ve ever seen

[@jeremyvanengen3341]

You had me at the party scream

[@holaquetal3085]

fucking hell its 4am and ur intro woke my mom up😂

[@theplague1466]

as a beginner in the field of music production and mixing stuff is this video a very big help! thanks glenn! and you should think about a career as a vocalist :D that scream was metal af!

[@solo_dingo]

Well done. Hope it's a great success

[@MetalNeverDieswithMarkA]

Great stuff Glenn!

[@juanduplays]

I hate it when I get baited into a tutorial only to find it's only a sales pitch

[@jaydenspencemusic]

Bro that intro scream was tight. You actually have pretty decent vocal distortion.

[@dillonadelman2094]

Awesome stuff Glenn! Give me your thoughts on this: I use a single electric drum pad and record groove with dynamics then move it to different drums in the DAW (hats, toms, cymbals ect.) This way my timing and dynamics seem human and I can have my kicks and crashes in time with the performance. The only downside I have experienced so far is snare rolls don't translate that well...

[@roadrunnerplaying]

Whenever I have to program drums, I also use variable tempo together with humanising. Some bpm up and down every few bars. It helps a lot

[@NateBuker]

This reminds me of a joke us old sound guys have about the non-existence of the "Suck Button" on the console, LOL! This is great though, it's almost like you've invented the "Doesn't Suck" button.

[@DeangerSmith]

Great stuff Glenn, thanks.

[@tylerh598]

That’s awesome. Very informative. Price of the plug in is still a little steep for me though.

[@kingreidar]

An advice about timing bias (for guitarists/whatever): check your own “bias”; record yourself to a perfect metronome. I’m usually a bit ahead myself, so I set the humanizer a bit ahead as well.

[@bwahmp]

For someone who frequently shat on midi drums, you're really good at mixing midi drums, hmmm?🧐 Jokes aside, it's amazing what can happen when people keep an open mind and try new things! Great work once again, Glenn, looking forward to using Extinction.

[@barrry9]

I've not got access to a space to record drums and make music more for my own enjoyment. My process for programming drums (which I'm always refining) has the following steps: 1. Program the parts 2. Adjust velocities to account for double hits, ghost notes, flams and parts played with non-dominant hand, as well as drum fills 3. Take everything on beats 2 and 4, turn off snap to grid and bring them slightly before/after beat (depending on whether I want to push/pull the beat) 4. Humanise the timing and velocity of everything to taste 5. Automate global tempo changes (speed up/slow down) by a few bpm to simulate a real drummer's response to things It can be time consuming but well worth it to make something that sounds like a human and provides a sense of groove and feel to the song - personally, I feel like it actual gives me 'emotional weight' to the songs. Glen's suggestion of varying the samples (e.g. different parts of the snare) is something I've just started doing to add more dynamics to the sound so I'm glad I'm on the right track The stuff about the bleed was really interesting, so I'm definitely going to look at how I can do something like that Top notch content as always 🤘🏻

[@SamSan2256]

If Glenn does not pop a vein with his intro screams, dayum he's a solid dude. Love it tho!

[@keithsmith9889]

Ok Glen honestly that's fucking awesome!

[@StaticR]

something I recently discovered in reaper is a little JS plugin descriptively called "MIDI Velocity and Timing Humanizer" that does exactly that, but without changing the midi itself, although it will also be random every time so never exactly the same each playback. I use this plugin on a lot of my virtual instruments now because having those tiny random flams adds an incredible amount of character to instruments. Most recently I put it on a acoustic guitar and piano VST and it really changes a lot for those.

[@Xenogenocide]

God that intro was a bit metal. Glad I got here in time!

[@Rebar77_real]

Masterfully making modern metal matter more by the minute!

[@powernerdpro2064]

Instant LIKE on that OP scream.