Using Drum Replacer

Typical workflow

To create a Drum Replacer Region FX clip

To open the Drum Replacer editor

To load a replacement sample

To isolate a drum sound

Editing triggers

To scale trigger velocities

To trigger a soft synth

Typical workflow

1.	Select an audio region or clip you wish to process with Drum Replacer. To select a region on the timeline, use the Smart tool or Select tool and drag across the bottom part of the clip(s). To select an entire clip, simply click the clip. For details, see Selecting clips.

2.	In the Track view, click the Region FX menu, point to Drum Replacer, then select Create Region FX.

The selected audio region is converted to a Region FX clip, and the Drum Replacer editor appears in the MultiDock view. If you close the Drum Replacer editor, you can open it again using one of the following methods:

Double-click the Drum Replacer Region FX clip.

Right-click the Drum Replacer Region FX clip, and select Region FX > Drum Replacer > Open Editor.

Click the Region FX clip icon, and select Open Editor on the pop-up menu.

3.	Press Play to begin playback.

Drum Replacer displays the waveform of the incoming audio. The louder the audio, the higher the waveform is on the display.

4.	Determine which drum sound you want to replace. If multiple sounds, adjust the Filter control for each row to isolate different drum sounds. For details, see To isolate a drum sound.

5.	Click the Sample picker and select the desired replacement sound. For details, see To load a replacement sample.

6.	Adjust the Threshold control until it is below the softest drum hit. You should now hear Drum Replacer trigger samples on every hit.

7.	Adjust the Interval control, if needed. Reduce the value if Drum Replacer is missing quick flams or ghost notes. Increase the value if Drum Replacer is adding extra hits.

8.	Disable individual trigger markers, if desired. For details, see Editing triggers.

To create a Drum Replacer Region FX clip

1.	Select an audio region or clip you wish to process with Drum Replacer. To select a region on the timeline, use the Smart tool or Select tool and drag across the bottom part of the clip(s). To select an entire clip, simply click the clip. For details, see Selecting clips.

2.	In the Track view, click the Region FX menu, point to Drum Replacer, then select Create Region FX.

The selected audio region is converted to a Region FX clip, and the Drum Replacer editor appears in the MultiDock view.

To open the Drum Replacer editor

To open the Drum Replacer editor, do one of the following:

Double-click the Drum Replacer Region FX clip.

Right-click the Drum Replacer Region FX clip, and select Region FX > Drum Replacer > Open Editor.

Click the Region FX clip icon, and select Open Editor on the pop-up menu.

The Drum Replacer editor appears in the MultiDock view.

To load a replacement sample

Drum Replacer includes a library of replacement drum sounds, and you can also import your own sounds (.wav, .flac, .aif, .aiff, .ogg, and multi-sample .sfz files).

By default, Drum Replacer loads one of its stock sounds. To change a row’s replacement sample, do one of the following:

Click the Sample picker control and select a sample from the menu.

Drag a .wav, .flac, .aif, .aiff, .ogg, or multi-sample .sfz file to the sample waveform display.

Drag an audio selection from the Clip’s pane to the sample waveform display.

 

Tip: You can drag audio data from Sonar’s Clips pane to Drum Replacer’s sample waveform display. This is very useful if you want to keep the original drum sound, but replace all hits with a specific “favorite” hit throughout the entire drum track. Perhaps some of the kick drums are weak. Simply locate and select your preferred recorded kick drum hit in the Clip’s pane, then drag the selection to Drum Replacer’s sample waveform display. All kick drum hits will now be replaced with the “favorite” hit.

To isolate a drum sound

Drum Replacer makes it easy to reduce microphone bleed from other instruments, and to isolate individual drums in a stereo mix.

The Filter, Threshold, and Interval controls let you fine-tune the trigger detection. Use the waveform display as a guide for fine-tuning the settings.

1.	Open the Drum Replacer editor and press Play to begin playback.

Drum Replacer displays the waveform of the incoming audio. The louder the audio, the higher the waveform is on the display.

2.	Decide which drum sound you want to replace. For example, the snare drum.

3.	Adjust the Filter control to fine-tune the frequency range of the drum sound you want to replace.

4.	Adjust the Threshold control (or drag the horizontal line) so it is above the noise floor and below the softest drum hit.

5.	Adjust the Interval control, if needed. Reduce the value if Drum Replacer is missing quick flams or ghost notes. Increase the value if Drum Replacer is adding extra hits.

Note: The filter does not affect the samples being output; it only filters the incoming audio, making it easier to detect triggers.

Editing triggers

Each transient that is above the threshold gets a trigger. Trigger markers are shown in a strip below the waveform display. To enable or disable a trigger, simply click the trigger. Disabled triggers are half the height of enabled triggers.

There are two types of triggers: auto-detected triggers, and manual user triggers.

Triggers are color-coded as follows:

= Automatically detected and ON.

= Detected and OFF (disabled).

= Manually inserted.

Detected triggers are shown in the top row, while user triggers are shown in the bottom row.

Figure 490. Triggers.

A. Automatically detected and ON (enabled) B. Detected and OFF (disabled) C. Manually added D. Click an empty space in the bottom row to add a new user trigger

There are several ways you can edit triggers:

To disable a detected trigger. Click the orange trigger.

To disable multiple adjacent detected triggers. Right-click and drag across the triggers.

To enable a disabled trigger. Click the short trigger.

To insert a user trigger. Click in the row below the detected triggers. The minimum distance allowed between user triggers is determined by the Interval control.

To remove a user trigger. Right-click the yellow trigger.

To remove multiple adjacent user triggers. Right-click and drag across the user triggers.

To specify the velocity for a user trigger. Click the yellow user trigger and drag vertically. The current velocity value is shown while dragging.

To scale trigger velocities

Drum Replacer automatically tracks the incoming drum hits and adjusts the volume of the replacement samples according to the volume of the original hits. The Dynamics controls lets you scale the dynamic range of all triggers. The valid range is 0-100%. The default value of 0% represents the trigger’s original velocity. Increase the value to add a more consistent feel to an overly dynamic performance. With a value of 100%, the replacement sample is played at a constant volume, regardless of the original track’s dynamics.

You can also adjust an individual user trigger's velocity. To do so, click the yellow trigger and drag vertically. The current velocity value is shown while dragging.

To trigger a soft synth

You can convert triggers to MIDI note events in order to trigger a soft synth such as Session Drummer or Addictive Drums.

1.	Insert the soft synth that you would like to trigger the replacement drum sound(s). For details, see Inserting soft synths.

2.	In the Drum Replacer editor, assign each row to the desired MIDI Note number. The MIDI Note control is located above the sample waveform of each row.

The following MIDI Notes can be assigned:

35: Kick 2

36: Kick 1

37: Side Stick

38: Snare 1

39: Clap

40: Snare 2

41: Low Tom 2

42: Closed Hat

43: Low Tom 1

44: Pedal Hat

45: Mid Tom 2

46: Open Hat

47: Mid Tom 1

48: High Tom 2

49: Crash 1

50: High Tom 1

51: Ride 1

52: China

53: Ride Bell

3.	Drag the Drum Replacer Region FX clip to a MIDI track or Simple Instrument track.

The triggers are converted to MIDI Note events and a new MIDI clip appears in the MIDI track. Make sure the track is assigned to the correct soft synth.

4.	To avoid triggering both the replacement sample and soft synth, mute the original Drum Replacer Region FX clip or adjust the Drum Replacer Dry/Wet control all the way to the left (0%).

 

See:

Drum Replacer editor

Drum Replacer

Using Region FX

ARA Audio Random Access

Melodyne