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DigiStix2 questions
I am trying to program the drums for a song I have written.
One issue I am having is the pattern lengths. They are divisible by 16 beats up to 4 sections making a total of 64 beats.
My intro is 60 beats. Is there a way to cut off the last 4 beats of the 4th section?
I did check the manual and unless I missed it I do not see any information on adjusting pattern length
Comments
I can’t say for sure without checking but I think it’s only limited to the time signature/amount of steps provided in the drop down. I’d have to look into that one.
Could you shift the whole intro 5 beats, so it ends at the 64th beat and starts with 5 beats of silence instead?
Pardon my mistake the intro is actually 60 beats there is a 1 beat rest at the end
Yes, I had thought of that but there is also and issue with my verse my verse, it is 20 beats the main part is 16 beats and the transition is 4 beats
The intro is 15 bars of 4 =60 beats the verse is 5 bars of 4=20 beats
Time signatures are my Achilles heal! I cannot comprehend them, it seems to be some type brain malfunction with me but… I can count to 4! All of the time signature/amount of steps/beats are divisible by 4, but the smallest is 12 steps (3/4, 12 beats)
I have written a verse that is 5 bars of 4/4, I think ( I count it 1,2,3,4, 5 times) the accents are one the 1
The reason I am trying to sequence the entire song on DigiStix 2 is so that I can play my synths live along with with it
My drummer moved to the east coast and no longer plays. Writing was so much easier with him. I could say the intro is 15 bars of 4 and the verse is 5 bars of 4 and the accents are on 1 and he would just play it. I cannot however, figure out how to tell a drum sequencer the same thing 😭
My Roland TR8 does not have a “Song Mode” 😤
I usually jam along with a 4/4 pattern on DM1 but it is just a fancy metronome, no fills, accents or rests, definitely no time changes, fine for jamming and coming up with ideas.
Ok, let's break this down a bit.
"They are divisible by 16 beats up to 4 sections making a total of 64 beats."
This is 4/4 time, in a 16 bar loop. The words bar and measure are equivalent here. A single bar is 4 beats, each one a quarter note (each note lasts one quarter of each bar, hence the name quarter note).
Each quarter note is counted 1, 2, 3, 4 - one for each metronome click. A quarter note can be divided into 2 notes per single quarter note - these are called eigth notes. Eigth notes are counted 1 AND 2 AND 3 AND 4 AND. Typically you will see a + symbol substituted for the word AND. Two eigth notes happen in the same space as a single quarter note - two for each single metronome click.
These eigth notes can further be divided again into sixteenth notes, 4 notes per single quarter note. Sixteenth notes are counted 1 E + A 2 E + A 3 E + A 4 E + A (pronounced "one eee and uh", etc). Four sixteenth notes happen in the same space as a single quarter note - four for each single metronome click.
Each dot in the DigiStix2 grid represents a single sixteenth note. That's why you have 64 total notes in a 4 measure/bar pattern - 4 measures/bars of 16 sixteenth notes.
DigiStix 2 works best with groups of four since the grid itself is 16 beats per page. It is possible to do things like 5/4, 6/4, 7/4, etc but for me those things are harder to visualize given the 16 bar grid that is static.
What you are describing is a 61 beat phrase, correct? "Pardon my mistake the intro is actually 60 beats there is a 1 beat rest at the end"
The only way I have found it possible to do this with DigiStix would be to make the pattern 64 beats and leave the last 3 beats blank. Map out your full song in the sequencer then record the performance to a MIDI file. You can then edit out those 3 errant beats in your intro and have Digistix play back the recorded MIDI file rather than using the internal sequencer live.
I hope that helps - having a basic understanding of how music is broken down will only help you as you continue forward. If nothing else, it definitely helps communicate with other musicians what you're looking for - you'll all be speaking the same language.
I hope that helps!
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Actually it is a 59 beat phrase with a 1 beat rest at the end making it 60. But DigiStix2 only does 64 beats I just want to shorten to 60
If DigiStix2 did a 4 beat bar I could just use those
So I cannot use DigiStix2 by itself as drum sequencer to program songs
I have toured the U.S. a few times, Japan once and have songs in two movies. I have never had a problem communicating with musicians in those bands. Like I said I would ask the drummer to play the intro, 15 bars of 4 and the verse is 5 bars of 4 and the accents are on 1 and he would just play it but would add all the cool fills and syncopations.
I have worked with about 6 drummers touring and recording they all seemed to understand me and could understand them, it is just these machines that don’t want do to what I ask! dang it.
I really wish it did
Hmmm?
After reading this and only loosely grasping it, I think my problem may have to with the temp/BPM, it is set at 75 it should probably be at 150.
This is something I never had to discuss with the drummer, the tempo was set by the riff and then he would count out the tempo and we would come in. Later on when we recorded to a click he created his own click. We would record the song at what we felt was a good tempo with just me on keys and 1 mic in the room recording his drums. Then he would use a drum pad with a stick and trigger a cowbell sound to create a click track and play along to his “Live” drums, that had a natural flow, ramping up a bit into chorus’ and settling back down for the verse etc. I remember he tried to program clicks by putting in the bpms at first and he hated it! It just felt stilted and did not sound right.
If the DigiStix2 Grid is set to 16th notes and I am treating them like 8th notes it may be half (haha) my problem.
I don’t think it will fix the intro
So I guess I will have to get a midi recorder and then I can send the midi to my Roland TR8?
Or perhaps I can just use NS2 or Cubasis?
Anyway I don’t think that Digistix will work for me 🥲
Thanks for the edumacation.
I certainly didn't intend my response to be condescending and I hope it wasn't taken that way - just thought breaking it down might help. I'm sorry that the app won't do what you're looking for - it certainly does have it's limitations. Hopefully you'll be able to find a workaround or solve this issue via another app.
Good luck!
Could I ask you to explain the function of the Record buttons? I didn't find any example in YT videos and also didn't find any online manual (which will be very handy). I would like to record the pattern with tapping on pads or on external MIDI keys, not the pattern grid. I guess that's what the upper record button is for?
when using this app for midi out only. is there a way to setup what midi note each drumkit piece is sending?
You could use a simple script for that. This was discussed in this forum recently – look for "remapping".
Or mfxConvert if you want to avoid scripting.
Within the app itself, you can use the up/down arrows in the midi mapping window to change each selected drumkit piece note - OR (Easier) - hit the midi learn button and use an external keyboard to tap in the note(s)..
Does that change the output notes as well?
awesome thanks
The information provided by @eross is perfect.
Just to be clear, yes, it changes the MIDI out. I tested it by monitoring the MIDI output from Digistix 2.
There is a manual in the help function, and it's pretty extensive. The upper record button (with the symbol) will start the transport at the current tempo and then record both from the pads themselves and any incoming MIDI if you have either an external device or another app sending MIDI to DIgiStix 2. The lower "Record" button and the other buttons located just below the pads (Edit, Rename and Import) operate on the pads, on whichever pad was last tapped. That would record an audio input from the microphone, or if you do some special setup, the audio output from another app. Note that there is also a "Step" button along the tap to the right of record and this will allow you step input to the pattern, either by tapping the pads or sending MIDI notes to the app. Very handy stuff.
Thank you very much! I only have a Beathawk now, so that's why I was looking for Digistix manual online.
As @EdZAB already answered, yes it absolutely changes the output note.. I was testing it as I took the screenshots.. surprised me a bit too.. this works per kit + per song.. I think @wim had mentioned mfxConvert and that also works beautifully for any kit.. set once and forget it..
Thanks @eross for asking the question.. I learned something new along the way..
One last note, regarding customization of the MIDI note assignments. They get assigned with the drumkit, so for example, if you were to copy an existing kit, change the MIDI notes on a bunch of the pads, then save the kit in the User bank, it will retain those settings. So you can have several sets of MIDI to pad mappings saved to different kits and then load them whenever you need.
This is not to detract from the other options that were presented, such as the scripting or MIDI remapping using mfxconvert as @wim mentioned. It's always helpful to have a generous selection of options to do what you need in these mobile apps.
Am I miss something or Digistix2 hasn't kits with more than 1 sample per pad? My expectation was that I will find there multilayered pads at least in acoustic kits ...