Hi, I’ve now explored Pattering 2 a fair bit and am very, very impressed. My first exposure to it was with the default kit and my instinct was this would be fantastic for creating electronic beats.
But I am a guitarist and am seeking acoustic-drum sounds to do so heavier rock/metal sounds so this is my thinking at the moment:
Patterning 2 is a fantastic tool for making a rock demo. It’s easy to quickly create interesting and sometimes unexpected beats, create off-time patterns, and to quickly put together a song arrangement. And then you can export it to WAV. Brilliant for me and my non-that-computer-literate sound engineer friend.
It’s so good it makes me want to consider using it beyond a demo level: for the finished recorded product. But…
8 drum instruments/loops will never suffice for a finished rock-drum product. Even if you’re doing AC/DC (one of my fave bands) it’s still not enough. Though Rudd may only hit a handful of drum instruments, he’s not limited to 8 sounds. And velocity is not enough; and as great as randomizing pitch is, that’s not enough either.
I was looking at Superior Drums 3 (yes, it’s about 20 x time the price) but was blown away to see that each kit could offer up around 20 differing Hi-hat voicings or sounds. And this is integral to realism: a variety of sounds other than a binary open/closed. Without it, listeners will unconsciously pick up that drum parts sound that same all the time.
So I think for P2 to be elevate for me (and others) beyond a sketchpad or quick demo tool, it would need…
More loops to accommodate drum kits with far beyond 8 instruments or sounds.
I don’t need (I don’t think) 20 differing Hi-hat sounds per kit, but a few. And the same would go for the snare as well. And more hardware. Right now I’ve created a custom kit with kick, snare, open hat, closed hat, 3 toms and a crash. And it’s very good for 90 percent of what I need but not the whole deal.
And it would need some step-nudging functionality which Ben said is on the list.
Also, one of the many beautiful things about P2 is it’s a standalone program. I messed around with Logic for a couple of years but was not intuitive for me and I suspect a “stand-alone” drum solution is very attractive to many people. So If you don’t offer the drum sounds, I would need to buy the samples somewhere else but have it work seamlessly with P2. That would mean, for me, video tutorials on how to import the sounds and really make it dummy-proof.
I imagine that if this can be built with 8 loops/sounds, the architecture is there to build an enhanced (rock) version with 16 or 20 loops/sounds, for example. I’m not certain of the number but perhaps that’s enough for rock-drum realism.
Is there an appetite from both the music community (I think so) and the developer? Or is P2 meant primarily meant for electronic musicians and it was only meant to be a sketch pad for rock musicians?
Obviously, it’s more work to do what’s I’d love to see and time for a developer must mean money. I was looking at ezdrummer 3 and was willing to spend close to $200 on that but the lack of customization drove me away (it’s limited with time signatures which is deal breaker for me; and it seems like it’s not ideal for creating beats from scratch). But that price tag was reasonable for what I want.
So if I could get a P3 or a “Rock Upgrade” I’d gladly pay another $100 to have the means of recording realistic-sounding beats that can reflect an entire kit and different voicings of certain instruments (hats, snares).
I’d have to buy the samples elsewhere so that puts something of a cap on my spending. But if P3 could easily host other samples, and more loops this could be the answer for rock musicians who need virtual drums.
Further, if P3 did come with pro-quality samples so I never had to go elsewhere, I’d easily spend $200 for this functionality with the range and quality of sounds I need to capture the realism of a rock kit.
I really can create beats and fills on this way easier than with my DAW. It would be a shame if Patterning never got elevated past “demo-tool” status. And as good as Superior Drum looks I’d love to keep making beats using the Patterning method.
And if I wasn’t clear, what Patterning 3 can do right now for the cost is simply insanely good value. It’s the best $25 or $30 I’ve ever spent on something related to creating music.
I know this is probably a pipe dream but I thought I’d ask/rant all the same. Thanks for reading.
