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Retro drum machine?


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Hi!

Does anyone have any tips on drum machine software -- preferably VST and free -- with a retro sound? I'd love something simple with a bit of a '70s and '80s sound that I can create drum loops with.

I never use MIDI, so I'd prefer something that produces "pure" audio, but I'm open to check pretty much anything out.

Edit: I already play drums with a fairly realistic sounding drumfont on my keyboard, so I'm not looking for something that sounds like real drums -- only something that sounds cool and fun.

Thanks!

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Rebirth may be something that would interest you. As far as I know though, it only operates as a standalone, not as a plugin.

http://www.rebirthmuseum.com/

I never use MIDI, so I'd prefer something that produces "pure" audio, but I'm open to check pretty much anything out.
Maybe you mean that you're looking for audio samples instead of synthetic sounds? If so, there are tons of good soundfonts out there. Don''t remember where I got it, but I have a generic but useful Roland drum machine soundfont that I could give you if you send me a PM.
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There's an entire range of drum machines that can be called "retro" - do you mean synthetic of sample-based? 70's gives you synthetic (CR. 80's gives you TR909/808/606 for synthetic, TR707, E-mu Drumulator and Linn Drum for sample-based.

Instead of free, get cheap - http://www.goldbaby.co.nz/sp1200.html - they're recorded at far higher quality than any free drum kits floating around on the 'net. Just use ShortCircuit to load 'm up in, which is free.

I never use MIDI, so I'd prefer something that produces "pure" audio, but I'm open to check pretty much anything out.

MIDI does not make any sound. It is to audio what sheet music is to a CD - it tells you what to play, not how it sounds. The soundcard in your computer has the so-called General MIDI soundset (which is also sample-based).

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I've used soundfonts a lot, mostly for realistic sounding stuff. But I'll look for some more that might be interesting. I guess I'm mostly aiming for synthetic stuff rather than sampled-based, but the end sound is what matters.

MIDI does not make any sound. It is to audio what sheet music is to a CD - it tells you what to play, not how it sounds. The soundcard in your computer has the so-called General MIDI soundset (which is also sample-based).

I should have written that I don't use a sequencer. Obviously, I do use midi signals with my keyboard, but all my recordings are wave audio. In the end, I guess this donesn't really matter at all regarding this thread topic.

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For pure synthetic drum sounds, there's Waldorf Attack, which is part of a (relatively cheap) bundle (you get PPG 2.V with it, and the D-Pole filter).

http://www.e-phonic.com/plugins/drumatic3.php and http://www.e-phonic.com/plugins/drumatic_ve.php might do the job for you, too. The other route is to take a relatively advanced synthesizer (you need lots of modulation routings and adjustable envelope curves) and construct each drum sound separately (which is kind of a black art in itself).

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http://samples.kb6.de/downloads.php

all the vintage drum machine samples you'll ever need are here, for free. He's also constantly adding more. If you want ALL of them you'll have to donate but that's worth it. Though, most of the popular samples from the 808 and 909 for example, are easy enough to find - hell, FL Studio comes with them.

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Thank you kindly! Especially for that link, OverCoat.

However, I have no experience of using wave samples, other than pasting them by hand in Audition.

Does anybody have any tips for software (preferably VST) where I can load drum samples and play them on my keyboard (as I do with soundfonts through an SF2 player).

Or, can anyone suggest a good (free) drum loop program in which I can construct loops and fills from the wave samples?

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