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How can I add simple beats to acoustic guitar setup
Hello all - I'm looking for a simple way to add beats to my acoustic guitar gig setup. I purchased the pro version of loopy pro, so it would be nice if this setup involved loopy pro. I also would like to use this midi controller (photo attached) since it has rubber beat pads and it would be cool to feel like I'm Jon Bellion while I'm up there.
I'm a lifelong musician and can speak music theory all day. However, I'm close to illiterate when it comes to music production. I get lost in all the jargon.
Just looking for an 808s type feel for bass, hi-hat, and snare to add alongside my acoustic guitar. Nothing more. If anyone has a suggestion for how I can add beats to my setup, that would be super appreciated. . If in your explanation you can explain it like I'm 5 years old, that would be even better. Thanks!
Comments
I'm not sure I'm perfectly clear about what you're after. It sounds as though you prefer to live-record some 808 style drum sounds from your pad controller? If so then you may only need an app with included drum sounds, and to successfully point your controller to it. The photo didn't get attached, so if you could mention the make and model, that'll help.
The answers may be quite different if you need more than that - for instance if you want to make use of pre-recorded loops launched from the controller, or if you want something that has a sequencer where you lay out beats on a grid.
So before going into detailed recommendations, it would be good to get a clearer idea of what you envision doing.
Hi @wim thanks so much for your reply. Photo is now attached. yeah, so I don’t want to pre-record anything. I simply want to use the above controller and plug it into, say, my iPad or MacBook laptop, and for that to export some nice drum sounds into a looper. The looper part I have taken care of. I’m just gonna use the headphone jack output from, say, my MacBook laptop to a headphone jack adapter into the looper. So, the part I need the most help with is how to map the eight drum pads so that I get the exact drum sounds. I want on each pad. Thanks for your help.
Is the Looper Loopy Pro?
If so, then I think what you really need is just a drum sampler plugin into which you can put the samples that you want and that can adapt to work with the notes coming from your controller. You will complicate things a lot if you try to involve the MacBook.
Before getting into recommendations, does this sound workable?
Or, when you say "Looper" are you talking about a hardware looper?
fwiw, with Loopy you don't even necessarily need to have a drum plugin. You can add "One Shot" clips with drum sounds, and trigger those directly with your controller.
Also, soon*, you'll be able to record the midi for the loops, rather than the audio, and that means you can quantise it. And unless you're way better than playing beats in time than most of us, thats pretty big. And also, you can just play the drum part live, without having to set the tempo first, so no need for a click or headphones or whatever. And Loopy will set the tempo according to your performance, and quantise to your needs.
*When i say 'soon', V2 is on the final public beta stage now, so you can try it out already.
Loopy Pro + Koala (base model, no need for iaps, though they are quite recommended for other reasons. Though you might like the sample packs they offer. Ymmv, of course)
Load koala as a plugin, map the pads to 8 pads in koala and load up your preferred sounds. Start a sequence and tap out your beat. It'll be quantized and looped (since you're already using loopy, loading as the plugin will just grant easier access. And also if you want to, you can record anything from koala directly to a donut)
Fwiw, you wouldn’t even need koala for that.
About $5 iwiw!
(Very salient point tho! I was just going with a current 'immediately quantized' option. Til 2.0 is 'out', off course)
The mpk mini play does have some drum sounds on it already...I'm not sure if you can replace them, but you can definitely just run the output into your looper to get started!
If you want different sounds and are willing to add complexity to your live rig, those pads just send midi notes same as the keys. Any software that can play drums can most likely deal with those notes. You can generally map any of those keys and pads to sounds in your software of choice.
Loopy pro is possible. It's a beast. I don't use it regularly, but I'm pretty sure you can...
-open the canvas
-set up a bunch of one-shot sample buttons so they work how you want in loopy
-hit the midi learn button
-tap the button in loopy you want to target
-tap the pad or key on the mpk to map it
That's how it usually works, but I'm sure the manual has a midi learn section with more detail.
You can also use a variety of apps to do the same...even garageband drums and soundpacks. If apps don't have midi learn, you'll want to reference your mpk manual to see how to set the keys to other notes. In my experience, Akai uses a "normal" mapping (general midi) by default though. I used to have an Akai mpd, and it was plug-and-play on a lot of drum apps.
Oh! This just popped on my algo tonight from @maxyar
Is something like this what you're hoping to accomplish? (Even includes akai finger drumming... Different machine, but same pads 😅)