Drumagog and Hihat articulation

[ZenLizard]

Since the Auria version doesn't automatically detect open/half/quarter/closed hat, how does one go about replacing a hihat track with Drumagog while still maintaining open and closed hat? I have been experimenting with it this evening, using a simple track with open, closed, and pedal hat articulations (it's a very clean track with no bleed from other instruments). I can live without the pedal, but the open and closed hat is replaced only with closed hat unless I move the slider to quarter, half, or open. If there is a workaround or manual solution, I'd really like to know what it is. I read somewhere that the slider can be automated, but I don't know how. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I didn't find the solution in the Auria guide.

(I sure hope that Drumagog sequencing will become a reality in Auria. It would save a huge amount of hassle and aggravation)

[richardyot]

Automating is pretty easy: to record automation simply look for the grey buttons with the letters R and W at the top of the plugin window. When you press the W button you can record automation while the track is playing, just move the fader as the track plays. Then disable the W buttons but keep the R button active and your automation will be played back along with the track.

Although doing this for the hihat for an entire track might get a little tedious, it might be worth breaking your drums down into loops and then bouncing the automated loops to a new track (so baking the automation into the audio) and then rebuild the song from the bounced loops.

[RobB]

(I sure hope that Drumagog sequencing will become a reality in Auria. It would save a huge amount of hassle and aggravation)

+100 on this. Just imagine an interface like iGog or pads with some sort of velocity sensing articulation control driving Drumagog tracks - brilliant!

[richardyot]

Shame iGog has been abandoned, I use Impaktor to record drum performances and then replace the samples with Drumagog. If iGog was Audiobus compatible I could do the whole thing in one step.

[69strat]

I got tired of the drum situation as well. I picked up Toontrack Ezdrummer and do my drum tracks in Reaper. I export them as individual wav files and do the iTunes share thing. It's a little cumbersome but working with EZdrummer in Reaper is really easy and it sounds great. I then finish it in Auria. It works for now until something better comes along.

[ZenLizard]

I didn't want to believe that moving the slider as the track plays was the only way to do it. Getting the timing right over the course of an entire song isn't something I really want to do. I avoid using loops because I lose all the dynamics of the performance that way.

So for now, at least, I'll just have to live with hihat tracks as they are.

[Rim]

You don't need to move the knob yourself while the track it playing. In Auria, you can just as easily draw your own automation curves in the editor, and these can work for any of the plugin parameters.

Rim

[ZenLizard]

I haven't spent any time learning how to do that, but now I'll go back to the manual and retread the automation instructions. Thanks @ Rim! And everyone.

[ZenLizard]

Ha! As an ancient, old man, I sometimes fear "new-fangled" things (like automation instead of manual mixing). It couldn't be simpler, though, could it? I had it going in no time. Still, it is missing some of the open hats even though I can see the fader moving up and down, following the edit curve. I suspect I'll need to experiment with the placement of the nodes.

One more question I have is; is it possible to get that hat closing sound? Right now It sounds like two different hi hats, one playing the opens (with full decay) and another playing the closed, so the open sound is still playing it's tail when the next closed hit occurs. I'm looking for that classic "sssshhhhtt" sound, if that makes any sense.

[Rim]

Make sure when your drawing the curve for the articulation knob that you're making the knob actually go to the position you're interested in. The articulation knob in Drumagog is unique, in that it's a real knob, but it only represents a fixed number of positions (for example 4 articulations). You might be in between numbers when you draw your curves I believe Drumagog rounds to the closest number in that case.

The HH swish sound is possible with the right hi-har sample set. It's just a matter of finding one that has those recordings and use that articulation. If you email info at drumagog.com, Matt or Chris should be able to help you find the right sample if we have one.

Rim

[ZenLizard]

@ Rim

Thank you. I have 3 hat gogs that Chris sent me links for, but so far, none of them seem able to make the "hit and shut" sound that the original track has.

In my experimental track, sometimes the hat is closed after a sixteenth and sometimes it closes after a quarter or a half note. Can Drumagog actually deal with that if the right gog file is loaded, or am I asking a bit much? Should I be asking Chris these questions instead? I feel like I've already taken too much of your time.

[Rim]

Not a problem. Drumagog simply plays whatever samples are loaded, so if you have a gog that contains that swish sound, it will play it. Remember that the articulation control simply tells Drumagog which set of samples to play.

Rim