we bought a drum machine on ebay to replace our old one
we had a dr rhytyhm so we thouht if we buy a more up to date dr rhythym we should be able to understand it easily…right? …WRONG!!
this frigging thing is so complex ive tried for 2 days to program it & its nothing like the old one… i dont even like the colour of it
why do musicians now have to be super inteligent nerds to play music now
this sort of thing is a real problem for us & realy puts us of trying to get better gear
im so fed up… i have ideas & i just want to record them but if i go back to the old drum machine now ill never get the new one out again
just having a moan
Why dont you try the drum machine built into your new fancy-schmancy effects pedal/guitar workstation?
Well… I’m supposed to be doing other things but this is more interesting.
Have a good at hooking up the drum machine by midi to ntrack (or any other DAW). It will open a world of new possibilities for you.
For starters you can tap in a pattern on the drum machine and record it as midi (I think the one you have has touch sensitive pads which is great). You can then fix up the patterns in the DAW. Cut and paste as required.
Then you can play it out via midi to the drum machine. You can then change patches etc, etc, to get the right drum sound. Also, if you decide to edit the song and add/remove sections then you are good to go. Or even just to go back and add a few extra fills or change things around you have that flexibility.
Another thought. Boss/Roland often make videos that you can buy to help you get started. Perhaps one of those will help?
Quote: (bright lights tonight @ Jan. 25 2011, 7:32 AM)
just having a moan
Aww, man and I've just done what all blokes do - try to solve the problem rather than just listening.
Forgive me :- )
Dude on the R forum has this in his signature line;
"When I had a cassette four track, I wrote and recorded songs. Now all I do is fiddle with plugins…"
Sometimes when technology opens a door, another is closed. It’s up to you to keep both doors open…
UJ
Just get a bunch of pots, pans, bongos, and garbage can lids, and bang out your grooves next to your mic. Besides, it would prolly sound cooler than one of those sterile digital drum machines anyway. 
yea - do that… then send them to UJ and he’ll convert em into midi and (does it have midi in/out?) presto - drums
Bring IT!
UJ
or you could use da melodyne plugin and do it with a guitar chord.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG4-Mre9LnQ
Quote: (Unblown_Jonson @ Jan. 25 2011, 8:14 AM)
"When I had a cassette four track, I wrote and recorded songs. Now all I do is fiddle with plugins..."
Ain't that true.
Although I think I've got passed that.
But the pots/pans-UJ-midi idea sounds like fun.
Quote: (duffman @ Jan. 24 2011, 12:38 PM)
Why dont you try the drum machine built into your new fancy-schmancy effects pedal/guitar workstation?
the dude doth maketh dos good point.
Open Ntrack
File>Import Midi file>Local disk C:>Protracks Projects>GNX4 MIDI FILES>
(pick the beat the suites the genre)Metal, Rock, etc etc...
I just noticed the tempo comes in at 100BPM on the GNX4 no matter what it is set at....no matter you can make them any tempo you want but I digress cause I don't know where I was going with that....if you get those files in there right click the track and Click Piano Roll...in there is where you can map out a beat or copy paste the sections for loops, once you get it mapped out you change it to Midi_0 format and load it back into the GNX4 MIDI folder on the CF card (the GNX4 is F: drive when it is plugged in VIA USB...once it's back in the GNX4 you set up a song number press[song Setup] and spin the wheel till you see the name of that file you put in there and play the song/beat through any one of the drum sets, (Rock, Alternative, Power,Heavy,Pop,Studio,Jazzbrush, etc etc...)while the drum beat is playing out the GNX4 you can press your foot on #5 and tap tempo to get the tempo to change.
Anywho Tina, you don't gotta be smart if you have friends and have ambition you're a fighter you'll figure it out!
dontcare
Quote: (Poppa Willis @ Jan. 24 2011, 1:48 PM)
or you could use da melodyne plugin and do it with a guitar chord.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG4-Mre9LnQ
Wow, that is cool. Not sure what use it is, but it sure is cool.
Quote: (TomS @ Jan. 25 2011, 9:16 AM)
Quote: (Poppa Willis @ Jan. 24 2011, 1:48 PM)
or you could use da melodyne plugin and do it with a guitar chord.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG4-Mre9LnQ
Wow, that is cool.
Not sure what use it is, but it sure is cool.
Tom you don't need to have a use for cool things. They are just cool. That's good enough.
It’s too easy to get caught up in the technical aspect of making music…
It takes all the creative space of making music…
At some point-in-time you have to decide just what you want to do…
Learn how to program drums OR
Make music… OR
Ask phoo to make some tracks for you…
Send that Drum Machine over to me…
I’ll see if I can Clone it…
Bill…
[edit] Sorry Bubbagump…lol
you guys are realy sweet i just wanted a moan & i get 14 replies giving advice…its men are from mars women are from venus!
& please dont be offended but if i cant understand a drum machine manual do you think i can understand midi…cos i cant & ive realy tried… our brother bought us addictive drums & we gave it back to him to flog after a year …we couldnt work it out… so embarasaing!
my excuse for this has always been girls arent ment to understand technology made by men
& duff the gnx4 is
so scary i just ignore the drum machine & recorder… with jerms help ive learnt how to use the guitar presets…but thats all
ill look for videos but often they seem to be harder than a manual
ill get there but i realy just wanna play music not read a frigging book
many thanks for the well intentiond advice & encoragement
hum a few bars and I’ll send ya a drum track 
Quote: (bright lights tonight @ Jan. 25 2011, 10:40 AM)
you guys are realy sweet i just wanted a moan & i get 14 replies giving advice...its men are from mars women are from venus!
& please dont be offended but if i cant understand a drum machine manual do you think i can understand midi...cos i cant & ive realy tried... our brother bought us addictive drums & we gave it back to him to flog after a year ..we couldnt work it out.. so embarasaing!
my excuse for this has always been girls arent ment to understand technology made by men
& duff the gnx4 is
so scary i just ignore the drum machine & recorder.. with jerms help ive learnt how to use the guitar presets..but thats all
ill look for videos but often they seem to be harder than a manual
ill get there but i realy just wanna play music not read a frigging book
many thanks for the well intentiond advice & encoragement
Come on... we can do this.
So, first question, does your PC have MIDI in and out
Should look like plugs or sockets like this:
Yep ur rught der Tina,
Midi does have a bit of I learning curve to it, but the main thing is just mastering getting files in and out of the GNX4, be they midi, wav, or presets, and setting up songs, once you get the hang of that you’ll have the ability
to unlock what the device is capable of, as drum machine learning how to get the Midi files into the device and get it play them (you don’t have to know how to make a midi file or edit/change one) because there are so many of them already out there…
Sometimes if I am working on a song I just get a midi file that has a close beat for an already written song and put that in the GNX4 and change it’s tempo to match my own groooove.
try any one of these:
BEasty Boys
Kings of Leon
Steely Dan
Rolling Stones
If you load one of those into the GNX4 midi folder then go to SONG 1 in play mode (both Pattern file foot pedals RED) click [song set up] spin wheel until one of the names of the songs comes up (you’ll only see the first
8 letters, so for Kings of Leon the song is called “somebody” once it’s set up with the tempo you press play and BAM! the beat for that song is playing out your drum machine all my beats have some sort of count in, but you can set one up yourself in the GNX.
Those files are already set up for the GNX4, but they have other tracks on them if you import them into Ntrack you’ll see that there is a bass track, a lighting track and other tracks that change parameters like the GNX4 FX settings for the guitar, good luck!
dontcare
Quote: (Mark A @ Jan. 24 2011, 4:11 PM)
Quote: (bright lights tonight @ Jan. 25 2011, 10:40 AM)
you guys are realy sweet i just wanted a moan & i get 14 replies giving advice...its men are from mars women are from venus!
Come on... we can do this.
So, first question, does your PC have MIDI in and out
Should look like plugs or sockets like this:
HEy Mark, the GNX4 acts as a midi interface via the USB cable it plugs into the computer with.(provided it is set up in Preferences as the MIDI INPUT device)
You could arm a MIDI track on Ntrack (provided it has the right BPM set up) play a beat out of the GNX4 and the midi data records into the computer. (along with any other midi data you send since the GNX4 has a midi in)
I actually find that easier than bringing in the midi loops from PRotracks that came with it and copy pasting the patterns...I just play the song and punch in the beat I want at the right time, wee bit O lag sometime....just slide it to left, slide it to the left...
dontcare