Need help, want to use samples live

[mach1 03]

Hi, I came very close to upgrading my td20 to a td30, but after listening to samples I know that is the direction I want to go. However, I am completely new to this and have a lot of questions. I know I want to get ssd4 and CLA. I am looking at getting a touchscreen laptop with an i5 processor and 8gb ram and focusrite scarlett 6i6. Does this sound like a good combination? Has anyone used a touchscreen laptop? Also, what daw would be best for live use and not cost a lot. Do the cymbals still have bow and edge sounds and can you do cymbal swells? How does cross sticking work/ does it work. Does the ride still have different sounds for the bell, bow, and edge? Can you do rim shots on the snare? How long does it take to load a different kit? If the computer would freeze/crash, can you easily switch back to td20 sounds. For example, if the computer freezes, could I just unhook the midi and turn up the volume on the td20 or would it require restarting the module or going into menus to be able to use the inboard sounds of the td20? How long would it take to switch back to using the module sounds (could I do it in between songs)? Do I need anything else/need to know anything else? Btw, I play in church and I don't need bullet proof reliability, but I do need to have confidence that I can make it through a service without problems most of the time. Ps, sweet water has ssd4 for only $129. Thanks, Brandon

[mach1 03]

Sorry for the block of text and double post, I am on my iPad and it is not working well on this site. I had the text broken into paragraphs, but when I posted it, the formatting changes.

[Cheddies]

I can answer a couple of these. I use a similarly specded laptop, and loading kits (I have addictive drums) takes about 2 seconds. Fast enough for between tracks.

sWitching back to module is as easy as unplugging audio out from laptop and plugging into vdrums - both are played at the same time ( you can have audio out of drums and midi out feeding a vst simultaneously). Touchsdreen on my laptop works fine but the vsts are not designed for finger prodding so can be a bit tricky.

[hairmetal-81]

Welcome to the forum, mach103!


There are quite a few members using ipads with VST-software. If you search around the forum a bit, you will find lots of valuable VST-expertise!

One of our own Forumites, 'angr77' even uses a Windows tablet (Surface Pro) successfully running 'Addictive Drums.' I hope if he reads this, he will chime in...!


Almost mandatory, I'd have to annotate that VST-sounds even can be used completely bypassing computers during performance today!

(I purposely won't name any brand name now, being polite ...but read around the forum, and sooner or later you will stumble upon the 'secret' module! *hint hint*)

The Focusrite interface is a mighty fine choice!



HTH

[mach1 03]

I can answer a couple of these. I use a similarly specded laptop, and loading kits (I have addictive drums) takes about 2 seconds. Fast enough for between tracks. sWitching back to module is as easy as unplugging audio out from laptop and plugging into vdrums - both are played at the same time ( you can have audio out of drums and midi out feeding a vst simultaneously). Touchsdreen on my laptop works fine but the vsts are not designed for finger prodding so can be a bit tricky.

That's good news, thanks.

[mach1 03]

Welcome to the forum, mach103! There are quite a few members using ipads with VST-software. If you search around the forum a bit, you will find lots of valuable VST-expertise! One of our own Forumites, 'angr77' even uses a Windows tablet (Surface Pro) successfully running 'Addictive Drums.' I hope if he reads this, he will chime in...! Almost mandatory, I'd have to annotate that VST-sounds even can be used completely bypassing computers during performance today! (I purposely won't name any brand name now, being polite ...but read around the forum, and sooner or later you will stumble upon the 'secret' module! *hint hint*) The Focusrite interface is a mighty fine choice! HTH

I have not seen anything about using iPads with vst software, but I did read about using the Microsoft tablet with them. I looked into the tablet, but it was more than I was wanting to spend. I found that I could get a touchscreen laptop for a lot less and it would be more powerful. I have also looked into the module that you are taking about, but I am not ready to take that step yet. Any idea on the playability questions I had with ssd4?

[hairmetal-81]

Well, imagine you would have a small submixer:

• The drum module will go on a stereo-channel (let's say 1+2, for convenience)
• The outputs of your Focusrite will go on another stereo-channel, e.g. 3+4.

If your VST-system freezes, it's literally a matter of moving two faders!
You raise channels 1+2 to make the module heard, and pull down the faders of channel 3+4 to silence the stuck VST-system!

• If you utilize the mute-buttons for this, it's even quicker!
• If you've got more channels for each, the module and the interface, you just route the channels to subgroups or busses, to have them grouped this way (buss 1+2 for the module, buss 3+4 for the interface/VSTs).Then you just apply above strategy to the subgroup-faders or mute-buttons!

HTH

[mach1 03]

I'm not concerned with the channel layout. We have a digital board with plenty of inputs. I will run 1 channel for the td20 as a backup and 4 channels (into a bus channe) from the focusrite interface. As a bonus, I can control the mixer from my iPad so if there was a problem I can just reach down and turn the appropriate channel on or off. I am concerned wether or not ssd4 will allow cross sticking, cymbal swells, bell hits on the ride, and wether or not I can get the latency low enough for it to go unnoticed. I read that w8 had a lower latency than w7, so I plan to use w8 on a laptop that will only be used for this purpose.

[hairmetal-81]

As long as you have decent quality drivers, low latency should not be a problem. Focusrite interfaces are said to have very good drivers, not quite RME-quality, but still very good!

Regarding your SSD question, have you had a look at our forums' own 'SSD-4 thread'?
http://www.vdrums.com/forum/forum/ad...-slate-drums-4



HTH

[mach1 03]

What is the best and cheapest DAW for live use?

[hairmetal-81]

If I'm not mistaken, the Scarlet 6i6 should already come with a cut-down-version of 'Ableton Live'!
That will get you started...





EDIT:
There are plenty of very affordable alternatives that you can explore later on:

http://www.vdrums.com/forum/forum/performance/in-the-studio/968110-record-the-vdrum-module-versus-midi-in-addictive-drums?p=968543#post968543

[mach1 03]

I saw that it did, but I wasn't sure if it would work. That's really good news if I can start with that. After looking at the link you posted, I think I will get reaper when I do decide to upgrade. I know there is going to be a bit of a learning curve, but I am really getting excited to try ssd4 live.

[hairmetal-81]

I saw that it did, but I wasn't sure if it would work. That's really good news if I can start with that. After looking at the link you posted, I think I will get reaper when I do decide to upgrade. I know there is going to be a bit of a learning curve, but I am really getting excited to try ssd4 live.

Awesome!