Getting a drum track to trigger another drum app
Since it got virtual MIDI out and audio tracks, I've been using BM2 instead of NanoStudio to assemble songs from other apps. With AudioBus, it'll be even better. Meanwhile:
Here's what I have:
- a multi-track song with one drum track
Here's what I'd like to do:
- make the drum track drive another drum app (such as DrumJam, FunkBox, or MoDrum)
Can BM do this? I can already use BM to sequence other synthesizers (both other apps and hardware), so I'm familiar with MIDI routing. But so far, I don't hear anything when I send BM's MIDI output to one of my drum apps. I have checked to make sure that the drum track is broadcasting on the same MIDI channel (10) as the drum apps.
What am I doing wrong?
Here's what I have:
- a multi-track song with one drum track
Here's what I'd like to do:
- make the drum track drive another drum app (such as DrumJam, FunkBox, or MoDrum)
Can BM do this? I can already use BM to sequence other synthesizers (both other apps and hardware), so I'm familiar with MIDI routing. But so far, I don't hear anything when I send BM's MIDI output to one of my drum apps. I have checked to make sure that the drum track is broadcasting on the same MIDI channel (10) as the drum apps.
What am I doing wrong?
Comments
Also on how to do it in the other direction (drive the midi output from DrumJam/Funkbox/etc. into the BeatMaker 2 drummachine via MIDI IN ).
INTUA: can you weigh in on this and/or drop some help w/ this?
Thanks,
Dan
The support at DrumJam posted the following yesterday:
Not to start a bad blood between Intua and DrumJam's support teams. <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt=":)" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) --> But, it looks like Beatmaker 2 has some percussion mapping issues currently that make it impossible to receive DrumJam midi data so that it actual works with BM2 drum sounds (unless I map drum sounds to the keyboard?). I'm guessing this holds true from other drum apps. I'll try my other drum apps out today.
BM does a lot of MIDI stuff really well -- it's very flexible -- but as of this writing, it won't remap MIDI notes for an instrument. Temporary solution: buy MidiBridge, which does remap notes (and a lot more). For this experiment, I made BM drive another drum machine app, MoDrum, but you could use a different app, or a real drum machine, so long as you know which notes it expects. (MoDrum follows the GM standard note mapping for percussion instruments.)
First, I set my drum machine in Beatmaker to output MIDI on channel 10. (This is standard for drum machines, and for many drum apps, but you can use a different channel, so long as your drum machine uses the same one.) I opened MoDrum, then MidiBridge. I then used MidiBridge to remap the notes coming from Beatmaker's drum machine. Where do you do this? On MoDrum's input. (This is key. I tried it using Beatmaker's output, and it didn't work.) On the same page in MIDI Bridge, connect MidiBridge on the left side to MoDrum on the right. In BM's MIDI settings, make sure that output for the MidiBridge device is turned on. In MoDrum's MIDI settings, set MoDrum to receive MIDI voice (notes) from the MidiBridge device as well. There may be a way to get BM and MoDrum to communicate directly, but I haven't found it so far. Play your sequence in Beatmaker. If you're getting chaos or double-hits, check your MIDI settings in Beatmaker to make sure you're not stuck in a MIDI signal a loop. (While I was doing this, I turned all MIDI inputs off in Beatmaker.)
How do you know which notes to remap where in MIDI Bridge? Look at your BM drum pads for a second. The first pad, A1, sends MIDI note 0. If that's a kick drum, and your drum machine expects the standard note assignments, map it to 36. Now do the same for the rest of the pads: A2 = MIDI note 1, A3 = MIDI note 2, and so on. Your drum machine (or app) should have a list of which MIDI notes do what, but the standard MIDI assignments are as follows (from Wikipedia):
35 Bass Drum 2
36 Bass Drum 1
37 Side Stick/Rimshot
38 Snare Drum 1
39 Hand Clap
40 Snare Drum 2
41 Low Tom 2
42 Closed Hi-hat
43 Low Tom 1
44 Pedal Hi-hat
45 Mid Tom 2
46 Open Hi-hat
47 Mid Tom 1
48 High Tom 2
49 Crash Cymbal 1
50 High Tom 1
51 Ride Cymbal 1
52 Chinese Cymbal
53 Ride Bell
54 Tambourine
55 Splash Cymbal
56 Cowbell
57 Crash Cymbal 2
58 Vibra Slap
59 Ride Cymbal 2
60 High Bongo
61 Low Bongo
62 Mute High Conga
63 Open High Conga
64 Low Conga
65 High Timbale
66 Low Timbale
67 High Agogô
68 Low Agogô
69 Cabasa
70 Maracas
71 Short Whistle
72 Long Whistle
73 Short Güiro
74 Long Güiro
75 Claves
76 High Wood Block
77 Low Wood Block
78 Mute Cuíca
79 Open Cuíca
80 Mute Triangle
81 Open Triangle
0 --> 0 (KD)
1 --> 0 (KD)
2 --> 1 (SD)
3 --> 1 (SD)
4 --> 5 (RM)
5 --> 4 (CL)
6 --> 2 (CH)
7 --> 3 (OH)
8 --> 7 (tom)
9 --> 8 (CY)
10 --> 8 (CY)
11 --> 3 (OH)
12 --> 7 (tom)
13 --> 7 (tom)
14 --> 7 (tom)
15 --> 7 (tom)
DM1 only has one tom pad, so all of the Beatmaker toms are getting mapped onto the single note. The next trick will be: how to record the performance in DM1? Audiobus, when DM1 gets it, will be one obvious solution.
I've been trying to get drum pattern sequence I created on Beatmaker 2 to drive Drumjam and can't get Drumjam to generate a sound. I tried remapping using MIDI Bridge and still get no sound from Drumjam. To see if this was a problem between BM2 and Drumjam, I created a basic sequence on Genome to see if it would drive Drumjam, and still can't get any sound out of Drumjam.
I followed sonosaurus' brief YouTube video tutorial on how to get MoDrum to trigger drumjam, and it works just as demonstrated in the video. Modrum sequences trigger the lower pads on Drumjam without any problem. When I tried to duplicate the process substituting BM2 for MoDrum and then Genome, no sound from Drumjam. Drumjam is clearly connecting with BM2 (it appears to be in sync and the tempo in Drumjam changes to match the tempo in BM2), but I can't get the drums in the lower pad area of Drumjam to sound.
Can anyone tell me why Modrum is able to sound the lower pads of Drumjam while Genome and BM2 won't. I realize that if I messed up the MIDI mapping in BM2, that would explain it wrt to BM2, but the sequence I created in Genome didn't have any mapping issues, and still no sound. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
All I want to do is create drum sequences that use Drumjam as my drum sound module.
Is there something I am missing in the settings of both BM2 and Drumjam or Genome and Drumjam?
After I posted my question last night, I made another attempt to get Beatmaker to work with Drumjam, this time with a sequence I programmed on a keyboard instrument set up in BM rather than one with the drum pad mapping numbers, and I was able to get Drumjam's lower pads to sound and even be triggered by the sequenced track I had created in BM. This only lasted for one hit of the play button in BM, however. Once I hit the stop button in BM, Drumjam would no longer respond from any key activity in BM and would not be triggered again when I hit the play button for the BM sequenced track. In order to get Drumjam to respond again, I had to close DJ, close BM and reopen both again, and then again Drumjam was only responsive for one hit of the play button in BM.
Another thing--while I had Drumjam responsive to notes hit in BM I tested every key and it turns out only a limited number of DJ sounds would respond. The main sound that wouldn't respond in DJ was the open hi-hat, which would limit DJ's use as a drum module with what I'm trying to do..
Does anyone had a recommendation for some decent commercially available or shareware acoustic drum samples (on par with the drumkit sounds in DJ) that I can load into Beatmaker2? I'm fairly resigned to writing off DJ as nothing more than a limited live performance toy at this point. And a very limited performance tool at that. Too bad since the drum kit sounds are really nice.