I tend to use Logic drummer without fills, cut where I want fills, go to Logic loops for fills and slot them in. If fills are not quite right I alter them in piano roll.
@@RayyMusik I've found Logic matches the project sounds not the loop sound. If you use live recorded loops with effects inbedded they can be tricky. Logic drummer uses midi as you may know so midi loops are best. I find it takes too much time fidling with logic drummer to fine tune it, so I just get it roughly right.
Fantastic thank you! I love Drummer and expect Apple will someday soon allow for custom kits (i.e. more Toms or double bass) with libraries. Drummer is always better than a real human drummer because you don’t have to deal with his girlfriend…Tiffany. lol
@@gonebymidnight2881 Superior Drummer is so pricey though ... and it's such a large amount of data to store if you want the full library. Is it worth it?
Where have you been in my life…I’ve been searching for a realistic and flexible drumming solution - you’ve delivered it here in spades! Your solution and your thorough explanations are nothing short of spectacular. New sub - can’t wait to dive into more of your treasures. Thanks.
I’ve been doing what you do for a while now, but not beyond chopping parts smaller than a verse or chorus, and not using the step editor. I’ll have to try your techniques. Good video.
I’m in the exact boat! Home solo musician who plays bass, guitar, piano and drums. I even bought and expanded an e drum kit. After 4 years I’m just not cutting it on them. Enter logic drummer! I replace the drum plugin and pipe it into Superior Drummer’s area 33. Sounds good, but lacking that human touch. Thanks for the tips!!
@eflatmin7 thanks. I get it a few ways but check this. Great BASS TONE Was Lurking in the BASSMENT! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uWMtONSZPmU.html
Thanks! Check my channel. I have demonstrated the occasional bass tone :) Here's one example: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uWMtONSZPmU.htmlsi=ZwveXSnzYzSaP6zb
Hi, hope you are very well. I was wondering how you can use step editor with Logic's Drummer, because Step Editor is Only for midi. I have been trying to do what you have done in the video with the step editor and all my attempts have been unsuccessful. The Step Editor always appears gray. I have selected the small regions as you show in the video but it does not allow me. I'm on version 10.5.1 of Logic
Yes, this has been a common comment. When I made this video, the version of Logic I was using allowed you to edit Drummer in the step editor. I wasn t aware Apple removed that feature in the update. But not to worry. Follow every step in the video as I described and then save those finer tweaks for the piano roll stage. I often do it that way anyways. The key is still to make as many edits as you can while in drummer and have the performance very close before you bounce it to midi. Hope this helps!!!
drummer is mind blowingly good - the only way you'd possibly do better is with an A list session drummer recording in an A list studio - and no amateur musicians will ever have access to that!
Hello, very helpful video. I can't seem to open the step editor on the virtual drummer track. When I do, it's blank and does not show any of the drum hits. Has something changed? Any help appreciated. thanks
Yes. If you fish through the comments this has been asked numerous times. For some reason this feature has been disabled since the version I used here. Not sure why. But still follow my steps and save the fine tuning for the piano roll stage. Still works great.
Glad it helped! Yeah. They removed that function. But not to worry. It was kind of clunky anyways. Just edit your drummer track as tight as possible then flip it to the piano roll for the fine editing. It works just as good if not better to do it that way. Cheers!
Sometimes, drummer, the AI, just has a mind of its own. Isn’t that the point? 😀 Could you just cut the region and let drummer add the fill at the end line me you want anyway?
In a way yes...but sometimes it goes off and plays a different song. Unfortunately cutting out sections often changes the bits before and after. That's why I like to cut Drummer into as many regions as I can before I tweak the parts or you just end up going in circles...
Glad it helped! An no. Logic Drummer and EZ Drummer don’t talk to each other. Once you flip it to the piano roll it maps seamlessly. But you can tweak that too if you want. But it’s easier to change the drums within EZ Drummer. Hope that helps!
Wwoh absolutely greatt learning. Wiith tthiis u took me frm a noob to ultimate pro level in Logic Pro. Thnks a lot. Pliz keep making more videos. New subscriber here. 🔥♥️
Great video. The most creative use of Logic Drummer that I've seen on RU-vid so far. This is a really deep and advanced subject involving serious understanding of drum grooves, rhythmic patterns, dynamics, etc. and editing in Logic tracks and also MIDI. I'm a long way from that level, but you've really shown me where you can take it.
Wait, the fills all the way to zero doesn’t mean no fills? We should have a button if fills is wanted and maybe some accents to be placed for the crashed etc
Yes, when I updated Logic the step editor is now greyed out for Drummer. Not sure why they did that. But you can skip that step, make all of the edits I demonstrated and tweak once you move it to the piano roll. You'll still be able to create a great drum part...
amazing vid, great stuff. however when i go to open step editor its greyed out for drummer regions. it worls for MIDI regions. how are you opening it for drummer regions? cheers.
Thanks! Yeah, a lot of people have asked about this. Logic removed this option since the version I was using to make this video. No idea why. BUT, you can follow all of my steps and make the fine tune adjustments in the piano roll. Just get it as tight as you can before moving onto that stage. I'm doing that now nad still getting great results...
Thanks. Might have been early days from this - Great BASS TONE Was Lurking in the BASSMENT! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uWMtONSZPmU.html
Yeah, I noticed that when I upgraded Logic. Not to worry. Do everything I showed in the video. Just save all of those little tweaks for the piano roll. You can still make great drum tracks...
I notice a lot of people using logic drummer but they seem to always want to use different kits that aren't the stock drums. Do most people not like those drum kits? They feel more natural to me than a lot of the stuff I hear from the other drum packs like EZ drummer etc. Can Logic's kits not be processed to have those tones or do they just suck?
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it! There may be a way to automate the levels in midi but that’s too much brain work for me. Move the crash to its own track and automate the volume. That’d do it.
Thanks! Yeah, since this was video was done they removed the option to edit Drummer in the step editor. But not to worry. I just edit the drums as tight as I can and then flip it to the piano roll and make the tweaks there. I actually don't miss that step editor anymore....
@@LonelyRocker thanks for answer. my piano roll is also greyed out for drum region. althou it's synced and sounds when i press, but no events, no edits. for MIDI regions - it works, for drum region - no... i'd like to stay in a drummer mode - because of that feeling of a live drummer, that Logic's AI provide ) love it much!
Great job and tutorial, thank you. Do you then take your piano roll midi and separate each instrument for processing and further mixing (i.e. snare, overheads, kick to specific routing)? I'm experimenting with Drummer Producer kit
Excellent tutorial! Thank you so much for creating and sharing this! One question: When you bring up the Step Editor around 17:52, is there something I might be missing if the step editor menu option is grayed out when I select a drummer region and try to access it? I have advanced settings turned on, just having a hard time getting the step editor to display. Thanks.
Thank you and my pleasure!!! I've had a few people commenting about the same problem. Are you on the latest version of Logic? I haven't upgraded because I'm planning to buy a new Mac soon. I'd like to figure this out.
Yeah, I'm on 10.7.2 and just discovered that the only way to make the step editor work is to first convert the drummer region to a midi region. It then allows you make the edits, but loses them if you need to convert back to a drummer region. Ah well, I was really excited to be able to go in and make a few minor adjustments, but looks like they have to be done in midi regions without the possibility of reverting back to drummer. Thanks again for a great tutorials!
@@GregLinhares I wonder if that’s a bug. Why would they pull that feature? Regardless. Everything still applies. Make as many edits as you can to get it close. You can be just as effective making these changes in the piano roll. Once I convert I never go back anyways but I always retain a copy of the drummer track in case I want to grab anything from it.
@@LonelyRocker Perhaps it is a bug. I completely understand the point of no return in this workflow and I love it. However, I also really love the idea of being able to make some subtle adjustments in the step editor prior to committing the the next phase. I'd really love to be able to add a few simple edits while still being able to adjust the drummer settings before converting to midi, but looks like that option is no longer available. I'll just have to adjust as close as possible and then convert to midi to make any minor adjustments for now. Thanks again!
Yep. Didn't know you could use step editor for a drummer region, and experimenting... but no, it DOES appear that if one was able to use Step Editor, that cannot now be done. Have no idea why this would have been removed, but definitely looks like it. Shame. Brings me to a thought I have had for some time. It's a shame that Apple haven't expanded on Drummer since they added the Percussion players, a while back. Could have been a great idea if they had opened up the API to 3rd parties so that others could create new drummers, as it looks like Apple are not going to. Would have been great to have a Reggae Drummer group, or a Latin drummer, or other styles.
Thank you! And Yes. A lot have asked about this. Apple removed this feature in the version after the one in this video. I don’t know why but not to fear. All the steps apply. Just reserve the fine tweaking for the piano roll stage. Still works very well.
@@LonelyRocker Thank you for the quick reply! I will think about the best work flow for me to do this. I guess copying the drummer part to a MIDI track while muting (and preserving) the original drummer track could be the way to go 😊
Yes. Push the editing with drummer as far as you can take it and then flip it to midi for the final customization. That's what I do. I keep the original drummer track muted but I almost never go back to it. Have fun!!
Great tutorial! We had developed a similar workflow but you added the idea of cutting up the regions and applying different fill settings before converting to midi. Couple points... in converting between drum programs how did you handle the different formats used? I think drummer defaults too GM. We'd like to import the midi to the Abbey Road kits in Kontakt. Also, I was unable to open the Step Editor for the drummer regions, only midi worked. Running version 10.5.1 of Logic. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful! Truth is I'm not a power midi user. 99% of my midi work is what you see in this video. Occasionally I'll lay some keyboards down but not often. Once the performance is on a software track it should apply to any VST. Sometimes you may need to reassign the instruments but midi is generally mindless within the DAW. If Kontakt works as a VST on a track you should simply be able to drag the midi onto the Kontakt track. You can also export any midi track in your projects to an external midi file that you can then import into any other application. You access that from the file menu with the track highlighted. As for the Step editor I just open the Step Editor and highlight the track I want to edit and it works. I've seen others asking about this. For some it's greyed out. I'm not sure why. I can't replicate this issue.
The 1 thing and probably the only thing I don’t like about drummer is that it’s too many crash cymbals (I can’t get rid of them) another thing is you can turn the regions to midi to take out what you don’t want (I just don’t know how to reverse it back out of midi) WELP at around 20m in you spoke on it ! So there we have it lol hahaha good job. I didn’t know about the step editor
@@LonelyRocker 🤣🤣🤣🤣 this video def helped b/c then symbols crashes were killing me! I’ve had logic for years and had purchased addictive drums! Had no idea logic had its own drummer till this year of 2023 🤦🏾♂️
I’ve been using Logic for many years and your process for editing Drummer is almost identical to mine. I had the same issues with drum fills. Logic automatically plays fills at the end of a bar in relation to the assigned time signature, not the length of the selected region. So after making cuts the drummer still caters it’s fills at the end of the bar and not where we want it. I usually find that dialing the fill level down instead of up helps find an appropriate flow and keeping it minimalistic makes editing in midi easier. Once your happy with your drums you can easily bounce the midi file into individual audio tracks for every drum for better mixing. My favorite lazy trick…. If you have EZ Mix 2, put “Master 2” on the end of your drummer track and it sounds amazing with one click!!
Nice! Yes, it can be finicky. I play with the fill level, intensity and complexity until it starts to work. And for mixing, I do that too. I didn't get into mixing in this video but I split them out as well and mix it properly as if they were real drums. I've never tied EZ Mix...maybe I should... :)))))
Also note that moving the fill dial and then moving it back to the same place creates a new variation, I’ve had near perfect moments lost by slightly bumping it😳
Yes. Drummer is designed around the edit points. Best to make all of the edits first, get those working and then tweak the performance. NEVER get attached to anything until you have followed that order. The attempt at making drummer more “human” also makes it more unpredictable. That’s just how it is….
Another first rate video from the lonely Rocker. This guy really knows his stuff. Please keep these great videos coming. Look forward to the next subject.
I got you! On the newest version of Logic it seems they have removed the ability to use the Step Editor with Drummer. I just upgraded and see that too so you're not going crazy. But not to fear!!! Do everything I said in the video and save those customizations for the piano roll at the end. Truth is you have no need to go back to drummer once there and you will get the same results. Good luck!
This was a really good video on how to get a lot out of Logic drummer. I'm mostly a Studio One guy, but you could almost vidicate buying Logic just for the drummer program. I was using Jamstix, but they have not updated the Mac program in a long, long, time. Maybe it's because of Logic drummer.
Glad it helped! Yeah, Logic removed the ability to edit Drummer with the step editor in the version after the one I was using for this tutorial. No idea why!! But no worries. Save the fine editing for the piano roll stage. Get it as tight as you can with Drummer and then flip it to midi and make the subtle edits there. Still works great...Good luck!
Thanks for creating this video. You are sharing some wonderful tips! Logic Drummer is very cool. I'm hoping its algorithms will be improved upon in future Logic versions. An additional tip I can offer for others - if you want to quickly hear another pattern without adjusting any parameters just right-click on the region and select "refresh region". A new phrase will be created with the same dynamics.
My pleasure but sadly the step editor was removed for Drummer in more recent versions of Logic. Not sure why!!! But moving the tracks to the piano roll is the way to finish it anyways....
Fantastic video thank you! I've used Sup Drummer 3 for years and I'm still fairly new to Logic. This video has truly inspired me to utilize the power and creativity that Logic Drummer has to offer. Well done!
Great video! One thing, Step editor is greyed out when I have a drummer track selected. I have a new install of Logic on a new computer and can't see any way to get into the step editor without converting to midi... I'm wondering if they removed this or I'm just doing something wrong.
Thanks! No you’re not doing anything wrong. Logic has since removed Drummer access to the step editor. No idea why. But you can just save the fine editing for the piano roll. Works just as well. I’m doing it that way now.
@@LonelyRocker Hmmm, that's interesting. I had tried the piano roll, and I can see the names of the drums along the left margin, but no notes are visible. I had another look with no luck. I wonder if that ability has been removed too in a point update? I'm on 10.7.7.
No it’s there. I use it everyday. You have to copy the drummer track to a midi track first. I demonstrate that in the video. Then clicking on each segment you will see the events in the piano roll.
Someone else asked that question. I've tried to replicate this and I can't. With my Step Editor open I can easily step through each segment and edit the elements of the drummer part. Is the track locked? Frozen? Might be a good question to throw into one of the many Logic forums. Let me know what you find out...
Your programming skills are excellent, my only suggestion would be detune the snare a bit so it has a bit more thud and less crack. Mer de Noms by APC has a perfect drum sound, so natural and under compressed.
I create a track using a drum rhythm sample that I like. I then create a groove track using the sample track. I then set drummer to follow the drum track, then mute the sample track. You can get some amazing results
it is far easier and BETTER to just go to like Fiverr or Upwork and hire a professional drummer. I mean it's really cheap these days to get a great player to create parts from their instrument perspective. If you can't afford $30 bucks for a drummer to record his parts you should probably think about getting a second or third job so that you can take music seriously. Software drummer is for helping you create rough draft music and work on arrangements, NOT for the final song!
I'm 100% for a real drummer. I said so multiple times in this video. But, Logic Drummer is a thing and people use it. And that's why I made this video :) Plus my music can be complicated. Not sure if I would find the right drummer on Fiverr. Maybe I should do a video about it!! :)
Absolutely bonkers video brother! excellent presentation and really helpful content. Immediate like and subscribe. PS: I noticed the Rush figurines, represent!!
Hi Dan, your tutorials rock and the sounds are great. I’m very much in the same boat as a multi instrumentalist engineer etc. I have one conundrum that plagues me; is there a way, with Logic’s drummer to craft a part I already hear in my head without rolling the random dice? This is the only thing that bothers me about Logics drummer. Its like a game of chance and because I’m a dinosaur songwriter musician; I go crazy wading through the randomization when I know what I need. Formerly used EZ Drummer and may go back to that, but I dont want to give up just yet… any clues?
Thanks! Well the point of drummer is it is like a virtual session drummer that you can guide. If you’re looking to compose a drum part need to do it from scratch. Try this. Tap out a beat that you here in your head and get the idea together. Then get the drummer to follow your drum part. You need to tweak the complexity slider to home in but you may get some interesting results that way. Good luck!
What a great gem on YT - Thank You !! Never thought to chop drummer that extensively and export to Midi. That inspires big time. Need to convince my 13 year old son now to divert from German Rap to a proper rock song 😄. At least for one lol.
Thank you so much!!!! Glad you found this helpful. Yes, keeping the kids on track is a challenge. I got to mine early trying to inspire them with the value of practise and great rock and roll. They bought in early but influences from friends and what they hear at school is a formidable force!!! They now like "both" ....arggghhh!
Very nicely presented video, gives a lot of inspiration. I will try this method out. Just got Bob Rock's drum pack for EZdrummer so that will be a blast! Subscribed!
Super helpful, I somehow managed these exact steps a month ago with my last release and wasn’t sure what I did ended up frustrated this weekend trying to use drummer on another song. I’ll be approaching it again with the splicing, edit and midi clean up in mind. Thx u! new to ur channel, another solo rocker here, will be checking ur vids! Keep rocking!
Great video! I’ve been trying to get Drummer to hit a crash on the and of 4 for weeks, but it kept defaulting to hitting it on 1. Thanks for making this! It really takes Drummer to the next level, which can take a song to the next level. I’ll be checking out more videos!
Do your cymbals seperately on a different track with any samples. Pull your drummer track down to a midi file. Then just move it where ever you want. Simple
I’ve looked back on this video and have noted it took me a bit to get to the point. I’ve adjusted that in more recent videos but always appreciate constructive feedback.
Thank you for this thoughtful video.Cool presentation !..I'm after that 'heft' a live drummer gives , not necessarily heavy but very spirited 'heft'.Ha.That's the only way I can describe it.Loved that bass line too !!Lots of fun
Yes..ln a recent Logic upgrade they removed the ability to use the step editor with Drummer. I have no idea why!! But not to worry. Follow all of the steps in this video and do the fine edits in the piano roll once you move it to midi....
So for anyone confused about not being able to use "Step editor" with Drummer. This was removed after update 10.5.x. Instead we now have Step sequencer and it can actually be used with Drummer. But there are some limitations. The region has to a few bars or it is too long and can't be converted to and from MIDI. There is a video on this by MusicTechHelpGuy
Yeah, I did this video a while ago and noticed that feature was removed. Though I actually don't miss it s I go straight to the piano roll. With the step sequencer can it load existing drummer patterns. I only played with it for 5 minutes but it seems to create a new region and not edit the existing drummer pattern...
I remember when I first found this video and I got so excited, because of the limitation in Drummer with certain hits. And it was greyed out and I was like NOOO! 😂 Someone even said this is a bug that they fixed it in the update, I don't know about that. It was kinda what I had been missing, so I was a bit bummed out learning it was removed. Just tweaking certain hits in a region is awesome! If you create a Drummer region and make sure it's only 4 bars long (I think, it won't work with longer, converting it will be greyed out), drag it to an empty MIDI track, edit something, then right click the region and choose Convert - Convert to Pattern Region. Then you can move it back up to the Drummer track again and mix it with Drummer regions. @@LonelyRocker
OK, I see. Well, for what I do I'm OK to bypassing the set editor/sequencer step. I edit the Drummer tracks as tightly as I can then flip the whole thing to the piano roll for fine tweaks and edits. That's been working great for me. I actually don't miss the step editor step and I'm not limited my bar size so I can do what I want/need...but thanks for the tip. I never even opened the step sequencer. I may give that a go for very custom sections. Cheers!
Yeah, same here! But it's an option, and you can get really creative, especially with electronic music, with random and backwards notes and what have you, haha! But yeah, for some custom sections I can see it being useful! 🙂Have a good one! @@LonelyRocker
Hey! I'm new to Logic.. coming from a different DAW is challenging, but this feature alone is motivation to switch. capturing a live feel is important to me.. quick Question.. How do get the drum parts single to mix??
Welcome to Logic....once you flip the drum parts to the piano roll you can split events based on note/midi channel etc...hard to explain here but once you do that you can put each drum ona. different channel and mix them old school...maybe I should do a video about that;)
Hey Lonely Rocker, that was an excellent tutorial !!! It is extremely similar to the way I do Drums in LPX, I have literally tried every drum plugin known to man; just wanted to give you an FYI that I discovered and I never saw on any tutorials; you can load a drummer track with regions and then literally "reset channel strip" and then load BFD, EZ Drummer or Kontakt on the same track and still have the full functionality of a "drummer" track (auto fills, swing, etc) on your preferred drum samples, of course in the end you will convert to MIDI for scalpel editing, but my approach gives you a better representation before converting to MIDI :)
Awesome...thank you. Glad you enjoyed that. Yours is a neat tip too. I do A LOT of editing in the piano roll to really customize it and now in LPX you can't use the step editor anymore to edit the Drummer track. Not sure why they took that feature away. I find no matter what I do I can't get it perfect with just drummer. It gets me maybe 70-80% of the way there and then I do deep editing in MIDI to take it up one more notch. Thanks for checking this out!
@@LonelyRocker I forgot this last issue in LPX, when converting "Drummer" tracks to MIDI, you will notice that that the HIHats of Notes with the same MIDI velocity can sound totally different and drive you crazy... there is a hidden value (in the event list) of the "articulation" this value basically sets which Hihat sample is played, drove me nuts, I once had closed hihHats that all sounded like open hats due to a different "articulation" when drummer converted to MIDI
Awesome,im also a multi instrumentalist, but don't have drums at the moment..So thank you very much for explaining how to do it , you gave me what I needed and opened up more ideas God bless subscribed for sure!
