Why I’ve never been able to make a Drambo video (Audiobus Forum exclusive)

seonnthaproducer

So, here’s an odd thread. Drambo has been a hugely popular app since last year, but I’ve never been able to make a video on Drambo. I usually try and make videos from the perspective of a newcomer, and because the app is intense, it’s easy to get lost in technical terms that the user can’t understand much of what is going on.

But here’s a short video that I’ve been excited about. Drambo running on a Mac Mini in GarageBand. Yep, I finally got a Mac Mini after 3 years.

Calling a few Drambo users @Gravitas @jwmmakerofmusic @rs2000 @wim @McD - What are your thoughts about this?

Kept this video as an Audiobus Forum exclusive because idk...it’s one of those things that Drambo users will easily get but might be a bit...overwhelming to others?

rs2000

Thanks for asking. Good to see you making a video about actually making music with Drambo 😊

I'm certainly not a good judge for how your video helps newcomers but I'll leave a few comments nonetheless.
I would add a few informational bits:

• The fact that modules are automatically connected in the order that Drambo "thinks" it makes the most sense. Given the freedom of a modular system, this doesn't always work so manual intervention can be necessary.
• The fact that signals always go from left to right. You can't connect the output of a module with the input of a module located left from it, except if you're using a feedback sender and receiver (but that's advanced stuff already).
• I would tell the watchers a little bit more about what you're doing and what's the purpose of each action.

Cheers
rs

Gravitas

@seonnthaproducer

I will add to your 1st Drambo
lesson for beginners.
Before adding an oscillator first
put an ‘ADSR’ in place or turn down
the Track or Master volume.
It was the most annoying thing
when I first started playing with
Drambo was having the oscillators
blasting out at full volume.
Good when you’re tired.

Unless you’re doing something
really specific then play with it.
Have fun explore the modules,
see what they can do and the beauty
of using Drambo or MiRack is that
one can explore modular environments
without getting the hardware
especially as many of the ports
are direct replicas in regards to code.

Good to see Drambo on the Mac mini,
talking about the Mac mini,
how are you finding it now?
Is it becoming more comfortable to use?

seonnthaproducer

Great points @rs2000 This helps a lot. I know for sure I’ll do a small series on Drambo...I just need to find a way so it's clear and concise.

Thanks as well @Gravitas . Agreed on the versatility of modular systems and having access to it in a compact form.

The Mac Mini is okay. Coming from Windows, I didn't really gain anything that I was missing, except for access to Xcode, and Garageband, which were the main reasons I needed it.
I do like how cohesive everything is, although I miss having access to a ton of Windows based applications, as some of the work I do use proprietary software.

Oh, and getting used to new keyboard shortcuts, haha 😂

McD

@seonnthaproducer said:
@McD - What are your thoughts about this?

I like your narrative, conversational stye of presentation. Too many videos loose focus and
I get frustrated with:

1. the sounds presented
2. the lack of musical taste
3. the tendency to tell me what I'm going to hear for minutes and then delivering something I didn't even want to hear

The melody you input was catchy... how many other videos serve up something catchy?
I dig that melodic style with syncopations to sit well over drums and a hot rhythm section.
We just got the melody which inspires us to craft other tracks to support this idea.

As a Drambo tutorial it's rushed but maybe it would encourage someone to jump in... because for most of us it's results that are key to really digging into an app. Either immediate results from a test drive or a video showing you the power of something really deep like
Drambo for creating a unique result.

It's was interesting to see the Mac M1, GarageBand and the power of a real hardware keyboard for an interface you can really get things done in quickly. I work within the iPad's
touch interfaces but a solid keyboard UI can be really productive after getting the right
keys embedded in your muscle memory.

jwmmakerofmusic

The constructive criticism - I think you may be going a little too fast. To someone like me who has dabbled in Drambo the past couple of months, what you presented is easy for me to understand in an instant. But the me before July would've been like "...okay, hold up, what'd he just do?" And I'd probably have been pausing the video a lot.

Now that the critique is out of the way, what you did that I like - the conversational style of presentation as @McD pointed out. I like that it's a straight-forward, no-bullshit getting started video that helps a beginner get results in an instant. Something that blocked me from learning Drambo over a year ago was that none of the tutorials seemed to give me instant results. Once a person starts with the basics and gets instant results, that encourages them to dig deeper. Kudos!

seonnthaproducer

Great points @jwmmakerofmusic and @McD

Speed is certainly something I should work on, because it's easy to get overwhelmed with a lot of information.

Great point about making it personable. There's no way I'd be able to dive into the application as an advanced Drambo user, but it'll make sense to show how I'd use it in my workflow.

Awesome. Appreciate all the feedback. I think I have a good idea how to approach Drambo in a video. Thanks again.

jwmmakerofmusic

And good luck!