Drum machine/midi

[funky8884]

Hi guys,

 

I am looking for a rhythm solution to play percussion backing tracks if popular hits,

 

Is there a good way to buy midi tracks and play these through a drum machine then into the PA ?

My laptop as busted and I have an old windows desktop that can be used to download midi's,

Can I use and old sequencer ?

I'm not looking for ultra high quality sounds

Thanks 

 

[BigRedX]

Do you already have a drum machine? If not what's you budget? I assume that you already have a drummer (since you talk about percussion rather than drums) have you considered how you are going to keep the drums and programmed percussion in time? Can your drummer play to a click track?

 

Edit: And if you have all of that sorted out why not program your own percussion parts? If you are copying existing parts off recordings it's hardly difficult (and free).

Edited November 28, 2022 by BigRedX

[funky8884]

Hi big red , thanks,

 

I'm just looking for a home practice tool that can be used on a duo setting that can play midi files , I was thinking of buying a midi player and using an alesis sr 16 as the drum module, I don't need anything fancy,

[BigRedX]

What MIDI file player are you looking at? I have to admit it's been 25 years since I last owned one, but it was the most useless and unreliable piece of music technology that I have ever had the misfortune to own and try and use. 

[funky8884]

No idea on the midi player yet. Was hoping someone could advise on one they are using , I may have to buy a laptop and use a DAW

[whizzzy]

Several years ago when playing in a small function band we used a Yamaha MDF2 with an MU50 sequencer for keys fill. That worked well for us and was very reliable. Looking on the internet at second hand units they seem to be holding their value so a more cost effective option for you could be to get a cheap laptop, load it up with an older version of Cakewalk or other similar midi software and get a USB to midi interface, something like an Erirol UM-1SX which will then connect to your Alesis module. 

[BigRedX]

11 hours ago, funky8884 said:

No idea on the midi player yet. Was hoping someone could advise on one they are using , I may have to buy a laptop and use a DAW

 

TBH this is the simplest and IMO best approach. It's an all in one solution, getting your MIDI files into the DAW will be easy and you'll get more options for drum sounds that way. I wouldn't chose a laptop unless the portability is required, as you get far better value for money when your computer isn't being built with being small and light as the primary design criterion.

[Bassassin]

Laptop/PC + Reaper + MT Power Drumkit (or similar inexpensive DAW/plugin pairing) should do what you want.

[sammybee]

An Akai MPC will do this (play downloaded .mid midi files). But it's not a cheap option (expect to pay £400+ even for a used unit), might be a little OTT for what you need - but it does tick the boxes

[BigRedX]

But you still need a computer to download the files in the first place.

[sammybee]

1 minute ago, BigRedX said:

But you still need a computer to download the files in the first place.

OP says he has a windows desktop

[funky8884]

Thanks guys 

[tauzero]

I think there are some Android apps that will play MIDI files via the USB connector - just trying to work out what will do that and how at the moment. More news when I've experimented further.

[Baloney Balderdash]

Don't have any suggestion regarding inexpensive drums, I'd warmly recommend EZDrummer, but that's not exactly cheap, for programming midi though I can't recommend the free DAW Reaper enough (do have the decency to pay the maker the small amount of money (compared to commercial solutions that isn't one bit better) he optionally asks for though, for making such a great music creation tool available for free), in my experience as great as any commercial DAW (it's my preferred one). 

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[mcnach]

On 27/11/2022 at 10:35, funky8884 said:

Hi guys,

 

I am looking for a rhythm solution to play percussion backing tracks if popular hits,

 

Is there a good way to buy midi tracks and play these through a drum machine then into the PA ?

My laptop as busted and I have an old windows desktop that can be used to download midi's,

Can I use and old sequencer ?

I'm not looking for ultra high quality sounds

Thanks 

 

 

If you want the drum tracks of existing songs, you can separate any song into 5 individual tracks (drum/percussion being one) using Moises:

 

https://moises.ai/products/moises-webapp/

 

It works very well.