Big big big request - more flexible Drum Rack pad routing

Vance · Post by **Vance** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:35 am

It would be really great to allow "Audio To" routing for pads in the Drum Rack...
The main purpose would be to allow you to bus say 3 or 4 Drum Rack pads to a single bus for compression/EQ/whatever... at the moment this is impossible, even with send/returns

At the moment "Audio From" routing is possible but that means you are limited to routing 1 Drum Rack pad to 1 audio channel (e.g. create new audio track, specify "Audio From Pad X")...

A possible workaround would be to have a pre/post switch on the Drum Rack return chains - that way you can route multiple pads to a Track return pre-fader and just mute the pads to effectively create a bus...

The other option is to just extract the particular pads to a new Drum Rack, but this also means extracting & isolating the MIDI data of those particular pads, which really interrupts workflow for drum programming...

onslaught · Post by **onslaught** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:41 am

Select the chains in the drum rack you wish to be 'bused' together, then press control/command G. They are now grouped together and can now have effects applied as a group.

Vance · Post by **Vance** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:51 am

Didn't know that one, will check it out... thanks!

Vance · Post by **Vance** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:28 am

This is definitely a good tip, but it still does not permit bussing of multiple pads because there is no option for pre-fader sends to Drum Rack return channels, meaning you will always be able to hear the dry signal...

A pre/post switch would be great, but the ideal situation would just be to allow drum rack pads to be routed like any other audio track - to soundcard outputs, to other audio tracks, or to 'sends only'...

Pretty please!!!

Electronathan · Post by **Electronathan** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:45 pm

I'd like some pre-fader action as well - just becuase I think they're rad.
In the meantime if I want multiple pads grouped to a return, aka a submix, I use the "I-O" button (show/hide input/output section) and this gives you the option to route any pad to anty existing return.
peace.

longjohns · Post by **longjohns** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:54 pm

you don't use the sends/returns in this case.

if you want 100% wet fx on a group of drum rack sounds, group them as suggested above, and put the fx directly at the end of the chain

Vance · Post by **Vance** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:37 am

**bump**

is there any possibility this kind of routing could happen?

longjohns · Post by **longjohns** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:54 pm

I still don't understand what is missing, except I know you are looking for a little routing box..

Route to soundcard outputs: use an external effect plug on the end of the chain

route to another track: select the drum rack chain as the input of the recieving track

apply insert fx to multiple drum rack chains: group them first

route multiple drum rack chains to a track: group them first, select that as input on the recieving track, or drag the entire group out to a new track

Vance · Post by **Vance** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 3:51 am

This is what's missing:

The "audio to" menus are greyed out, so you can't route individual drum rack pads to other audio tracks...

Routing to soundcard outputs won't really work if you're using a laptop's internal soundcard on the road - only has one output...

Routing to another track using the "Audio In" menu is, like I already said above, really restrictive because you can only route one pad to one audio track that way... so you can't bus, say, kick and snare and hats all to one audio track using this method...

"apply insert fx to multiple drum rack chains: group them first" is needlessly complicated

"route multiple drum rack chains to a track: group them first, select that as input on the recieving track, or "drag the entire group out to a new track" - this fucks up workflow for drum programming - if you have your hats and snare as a separate drum rack with a separate midi channel, how can you realistically edit all your drum midi at the same time? you can't...

there's plenty of workarounds for sure, but wouldn't it be better to just have 'audio to' routing? or do you prefer doing things the hard way?

longjohns · Post by **longjohns** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 6:22 am

the whole idea behind the drum racks and the inline mixer is that there isn't really any need to bring things out to other tracks!

I'm not necessarily saying that your request is completely invalid,

but is hitting ctrl+g actually "needlessly complicated"?!?!

you're the one who wanted to route to soundcard outputs, and now you say you don't have any to route to...

The bottom line for my arguments is that you have not provided a single example of something which you'd like to do that is not already possible. easily..

Vance · Post by **Vance** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 8:23 am

longjohns wrote:the whole idea behind the drum racks and the inline mixer is that there isn't really any need to bring things out to other tracks!

Actually dude I think routing drums to a separate bus track for compression. or eq counts as a situation where you need to bring pads out to other tracks...

longjohns wrote:The bottom line for my arguments is that you have not provided a single example of something which you'd like to do that is not already possible. easily..

That is very true... so let's get rid of Render to Disk, coz resampling to a new audio track already does the same thing...

And let's get rid of Flatten as well - after all, you can just create a new audio track and then go into the project folder and browse through it until you find the right WAV to drop onto it, right? Right?

It's about workflow buddy... I'm making a suggestion for something that seems a bit more intuitive than the current options, because the whole program is built around being intuitive, and so it feels a bit incongruous for drum racks to have such a clunky way of dealing with bussing Drum Rack pads...

With your attitude I'm sure you could land a mad job at Steinberg though mate

longjohns · Post by **longjohns** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 3:26 pm

edit: not wanting to get negative

I'm really not trying to be a dick, I just get the feeling from the things which you are writing that you are either not actually trying these methods, or that you are not understanding some things about a drum rack

-pads are a representation of effective note mappings, they are not things in and of themselves, i.e. we are actually talking about drum rack chains

- you want to route different chains of a drum rack to a separate audio track for processing. this function _already exists_ within the drum rack. why go to another track?

by grouping any number of chains:

-the pad layout is not effected
-the midi clip is not effected
-you gain a new inline mixer bus fader for the group, just like an audio track
-you can route 'from' this bus in an external audio track (although I still insist there is no reason to)
-all drums are contained within a single track which can be folded/unfolded as needed

longjohns · Post by **longjohns** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 3:30 pm

i think you are not after workflow, you are mentally hung up on seeing an empty box which you can't use..

Vance · Post by **Vance** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:27 am

I'm not trying to be a dick either, just for the record

Also, I'm already bussing pads by grouping them together and setting the group as the input on a receiving track in 3 projects I'm working on at the moment, so it's not like I'm stubbornly refusing to use the existing methods...

I just see that this is one way in which Drum Rack channels are dwarfed compared to "proper" audio tracks, and it would be great to be able to route them like any other track in Live... Is that so crazy? Would you really revolt at the idea?

longjohns · Post by **longjohns** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 2:10 am

So if you are grouping the chains already,

why exactly are you then routing that group to another track?

That is what I do not understand.