



Option 2: Recording MIDI in Loop Playback Mode (with MIDI Merge engaged) Even if you don't play anything on your MIDI keyboard you will see Pro Tools clearing the MIDI data from the MIDI clip as the playback cursor moves along. Without the MIDI Merge function engaged what happens is that fresh MIDI data is recorded into the existing MIDI clip, which replaces what is there already. To trigger patterns you can use MIDI notes from C3 upwards.Choose '˜Loop' by right-clicking the Play button If you want a 3/4 measure instead of 4/4 you can do that by clicking on the little triplet enable button next to the speed selector. You can also listen to your patterns at double speed or half speed via a selector right next to the start/stop button. You can create up to 16 different patterns and trigger them via MIDI notes. Each instrument has a set of controls that are common on most hardware drum machines: level, tone, decay and panning. Below you can control the general swing,īelow you can control the general swing, volume and dynamics via three controls. On the left side of the UI there is a matrix which let’s you see easily how the 16 steps of each instrument are filled up.

The number of options per instrument is 10 so basically you have 10 different kits and you can combine the elements of each one in any way your heart may desire to. Each instrument has sound options and control parameters with which you can edit the basic sound of each option. It is basically a drum machine with 10 instruments and a 16 step sequencer. While Xpand! is the Swiss army knife synthesizer in Pro Tools, doing everything from kicks to tambourines to bass tones to strings and so on, Boom is your typical drum machine, reminiscent of famous hardware such as the Roland TR-808. Pro Tools comes ready packed with two awesome tools for sequencing drums: Xpand! and Boom. Some might argue that Pro Tools already offers great tools for creating beats inside your projects and that is absolutely true. Now, with the ease of use and ridiculous prices that virtual drum machines go for it is essentially too easy to get an awesome beat groovin’ to your new song. Before the dawn of electronic instruments if you wanted a great beat on your record you first needed to recruit a great drummer. A great beat? Yes, that’s the one – a great beat. What do all successful records have in common? Great production? Not all of them.
