A player can use the "Rock Band" drum set to play or record an infinite number of realistic drum kit sounds by using a Windows computer, MIDI messages and a few simple steps,
1. Into the available USB port on your desktop or laptop, plug in the "Rock Band" drum set. There is no need of PS3 at all in this process as the Windows XP computer will auto-recognize the drum set as a joystick.
2. From your "Rock Band" drums, convert the joystick inputs into MIDI messages by plotting the different colored drum pads and the kick pedal to keys on your keyboard by downloading a free program called Joy2Key. Run a search on it, making sure to get it from the official developer website.
3. Open your audio suite, as well as the Joy2Key program that have just been downloaded. Load a software MIDI-based drum kit. In Ableton Live, any of the Impulse drum kits will work. For a REAPER, try Native Instruments KORE. Redrum will work in Reason as well. Now, enable computer keyboard control of MIDI if it is not already. Run your fingers along the center row ("A" through ";") of your keyboard and you should hear the drums sound off, one by one. Note that to which computer keyboard keys correspond to each snare, kick, tom, hat, cymbal tone, etc.
4. Move onto Joy2Key to configure the drum set, which is being handled by your computer as a joystick, to convert inputs with the drum sticks into keyboard messages. Without closing the audio sequencer software hit the drum set's four colored pads, and kick pedal, one by one. Note the on-screen button that flashes when you hit each of your drum pads as each will correspond to a joystick button numeral; e.g., the kick pedal is "5."Double-click on the buttons that correspond to the drum set pads, drawing them to the keyboard keys you have decided to correspond to the MIDI drum samples you want to use in your audio sequencing software. Do not close Joy2Key. Go back into the audio sequencing software and try hitting the pads. If nothing is heard, go back over the steps listed and make sure everything is done correctly, or consult the help files associated with the specific software.
5. It should be noted that there will be a downside to this process, no matter how good of a soundcard is being used; there will be a slight delay, which is virtually inaudible when playing slow, but noticeable if the player is really banging away. To avoid spoiling the playing, try killing the volume on the track your drums are located on, and just jam along with your bass lines, or any of the MP3 files. Simply listen to the sound the pads make when struck to making sure to stay in rhythm. Turn the volume on the track back up, and take a listen to what have been played. This is not only a great way to make drum beats that sound "human," but players can practice their rhythm and hand coordination also.
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12 years, 7 month(s) ago