Okay here goes - i was listening to some patterns that i’v made on Digitakt last night. I decided that not many of my own compositions are workable as backing tracks for guitar / trying to play the keyboards. I guess i was just uninspired / tired after a days slog.
IN general - i love the Digitakt - wildness - out there vibe - audio quality : but finding it a little difficult to use in a contemporary music sense. I have a Beat buddy and find its more orientated for rock , blues. style Just want to use the Digitakt as alternative to BB.
Any body got any tabulated sheets / ideas for more main stream backing tracks / contemporary patterns to use with Digitakt?
I don’t really have any tips at the moment but I’ll tell you my style is a mix between a jam band and electronic music, and my AR probably sounds much more like a drummer than what a lot of people would make it sound like for electronic music… I guess I just make more straight banging beats and don’t use as much modulation and locks and stuff. I save that to apply just occasionally more for variation or using like effects…
I know you have a DT instead of AR, but the concepts are similar…
There are two volumes of that drum pattern book. Volume 2 can be found in pdf form with a quick Google search. The books are great jumping off points, like it’ll show basic patterns then your brain can twist them up, add stuff etc. One other cool thing is the book comes with blank pattern pages for jotting down ideas.
DT here and can relate. It’s so easy to want to use “all the features” and then you end up with some crazy out-there thing that might be cool but, like you say, isn’t usable in a more traditional sense.
I think it basically comes down to like @Open_Mike says, be more conservative with using “special features”, use more straightforward beats. It will probably feel boring when you’re programming them in. That’s something I’m having to wrestle with myself
Just remember the drums are just one part of a greater whole and they don’t have to be some mindblowingly amazing centerpiece (in fact probably 90% of the time SHOULDN’T be…)
- will check this out.