- Tracker Header<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Track Workspace<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Trigger Point Workspace<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Import audio files into Tracker<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Update the tempo<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Editing tracks in Tracker<\/strong><\/a>
- Change the sample and articulation<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Amount and bleed reduction<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Sound Match and Velocity threshold<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Export your drums as MIDI<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nNavigate the Tracker window<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Tracker in Superior Drummer 3 is a drum replacement feature which is available both in the standalone app, as well as the virtual instrument plug-in. What this does is it allows you to import recorded drum tracks and converts it into a MIDI track for you to import into your DAW. It\u2019s broken up into three primary sections: Tracker Header<\/a>, Track Workspace<\/a>, and Trigger Point Workspace<\/a>. Let\u2019s give you a brief overview of which section does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TIP: <\/strong>Click the two squares at the top right-hand corner of the tab to open Tracker in a new window. This will make it much easier for you to change drum samples and use the mixer since you won\u2019t have to navigate back and forth between the tabs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nTracker Header<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tracker Header toolbar lets you adjust global settings for your track(s). From here, you can add and remove specific transients on the track, split regions, export the track as a MIDI file, etc. When you click Find Tempo<\/strong>, you can update the tempo of the track and also individual measures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Tracker](\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/05\/Tracker-header-1024x30.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nTracker Header<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nTrack Workspace<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Track Workspace window is where you\u2019ll make the edits for your track(s). From here, you can rename the track, mix the sampled sound with the imported audio, and select specific trigger points, among other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Track](\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/05\/Track-Workspace-1024x378.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nTrack Workspace<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nTrigger Point Workspace<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the bottom of the Tracker, you\u2019ll see trigger point and sound recognition settings. You\u2019ll primarily be using this when adjusting bleed from other tracks, sound matching, and changing the velocity of specific trigger points.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Trigger](\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/05\/Trigger-Point-Workspace-1024x212.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nTrigger Point Workspace<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nImport audio files into Tracker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
When you import audio files, Superior Drummer 3 will analyze them and will automatically select which part of the kit it is, based on the transients and frequency range of the file. Depending on the length of your track, it may take a few moments for it to import. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Superior Drummer accepts WAV<\/strong>, AIFF<\/strong>, MP3<\/strong>, FLAC<\/strong>, OGG<\/strong>, WMA<\/strong>, and AU <\/strong>audio files.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
TIP: <\/strong>Import unprocessed close-miked tracks when possible; this includes the overheads, as well. You can technically import one bounced drum track or a room track, then duplicate it multiple times for each piece of the kit. However, it\u2019ll be more time-consuming and will result in a lot of false triggers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n- Click Add <\/strong>in the Tracker Header <\/em>section, navigate to the folder where your audio files are stored, then select the track and click OK<\/strong>.
- Alternatively, you can drag and drop the audio files directly into the Track Workspace<\/em> area.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- After the file has been imported, go to the Sound Recognition<\/em> section, then use the dropdown box to select the instrument the track is (only if Superior doesn\u2019t select the correct sample.)<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nUpdate the tempo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before we edit any of the tracks, let\u2019s update the tempo first. The tempo for each project defaults to 120 BPM. To update the tempo, click Find Tempo<\/strong>, which will bring you to the tempo editor window. You can then tweak the tempo a few ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depending on how clean the track is and how much the tempo varies, it may take a few minutes to edit and update. We recommend lining up the tempo using a drum track that plays quarter notes or eighth notes (i.e., hi-hats or kick) <\/em>so you can easily detect where the downbeats are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TIP: <\/strong>Turn the metronome on while working with the tempo so you can hear any discrepancies between the tempo and the original track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n- Click and drag the vertical blue lines left and right to change the downbeat of a bar. You\u2019ll want to utilize the following functions when updating the tempo.
- Snap to Transients<\/strong>: With this turned on, it will snap the bar to the closest transient. This is a good starting point to get the general tempo of your track, but turn it off if you need to fine-tune it.<\/li>
- Move Selected Bar Only<\/strong>: Clicking and dragging the vertical blue line will only adjust the tempo for that measure without moving the bars surrounding it.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Once you\u2019re happy with the tempo, click Update Tempo Map<\/strong>. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Tempo](\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/05\/Tempo-Editor-1024x769.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nTempo Editor window<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nEditing tracks in Tracker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once you load the track into the Tracker window, you\u2019ll notice vertical white lines on the wave file. These are known as trigger points (transients)<\/em>. Each trigger point is editable, meaning that you can adjust the velocity, type of sound it triggers (i.e., a flam instead of a rimshot)<\/em>, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nChange the sample and articulation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Superior Drummer 3 doesn\u2019t recognize nuanced notes such as rimshots or ride bells, so the stock sounds are selected by default. You can, however, update them in three ways: by track<\/em>, region<\/em>, or events<\/em>.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n- Select the track you want to update, then navigate to the Sound Recognition section in the Trigger Point Workspace<\/em>.<\/li>
- Click the name of the drum sample to open the advanced sample settings.
- If Tracker initially analyzed the wrong drum, select the correct drum\/cymbal to update it.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- To change the sound of the drum (i.e., snare Center to snare Rimshot)<\/em>, click Edit <\/strong>then select the articulation you want.
- To apply the change to the entire track, click Track.<\/strong><\/li>
- To apply the change to selected trigger points, click Events<\/strong>.
- You can select individual trigger points in the Trigger Point Workspace<\/em>.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- To apply the change to a selected region, click Region<\/strong>.
- You must first use the Split Region tool (Scissor icon) <\/em>on the track, then select that specific Region.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Hi-hat articulations<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hi-hats are unique as there are many different articulations; from foot pedal sounds to varying amounts of closed articulations, and also fully open sounds. To get the most accurate performance, choose Multi-Articulations <\/strong>from the Edit Replacement Sound<\/em> menu.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Changing](\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/05\/Changing-the-drum-sample-1024x769.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nChanging the drum sample<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nAmount and bleed reduction<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If, after importing your audio and you notice that it has detected too many or not enough trigger points, you\u2019ll want to use the Amount <\/em>and Reduce Bleed <\/em>knobs to fix this.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Amount <\/em>knob is used to find more of the trigger points. Increasing this is useful in instances where Tracker didn\u2019t detect a flam or a \u201cruff\u201d sound. In most cases, you\u2019ll only need to increase it slightly.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Reduce Bleed <\/em>knob helps remove potential false triggers caused by other mics picking up that particular sound. For example, if the kick track has bleed from the snare and hi-hat, Tracker may think those are trigger points for the kick. Increasing this will remove those faults.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n- Click Select Tracks<\/strong> and choose the tracks you believe are causing false triggers. This will help narrow it down and make the triggering more accurate.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sound Match and Velocity threshold<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sound Match<\/em> and Velocity <\/em>threshold controls play a pivotal role when working with your tracks. These can be adjusted by dragging the slider up and down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sound Match <\/em>function allows you to change which detected transients are triggered. The higher the setting, the fewer transients are triggered. Depending on how dynamic the performance is will determine how high or low the setting will be. This is especially true with snares, toms, and cymbals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Velocity<\/em> threshold function is very similar to Sound Match<\/em>, in that the higher the setting is, the fewer transients will be triggered. However, it\u2019s all dependent on how hard the drum or cymbal was struck. Individual trigger points can also be manually adjusted by dragging the trigger point\u2019s vertical line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Sound](\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/05\/SOUND-MATCH-AND-VELOCITY-1024x188.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nSound Match and Velocity controls<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nExport your drums as MIDI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
After all of your edits have been made, you can then export the song, or individual tracks, as a MIDI file. There are a few different ways to export. You can either drag the file to your desktop or save it to a specified location. Follow these steps to export your drum tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TIP: <\/strong>Before you export your tracks, click the Up <\/strong>arrow on the track to open the Grid Editor. This will allow you to add and remove notes, apply quantization, swing, and randomization, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n- Click the Export <\/strong>button to bring up the window.<\/li>
- Click and drag individual tracks to the song section. If you want all your tracks to be exported as a single MIDI file, click and drag the All Tracks Combined<\/strong> track.
- If you only need to export specific sections of the track, use the Split Song Block Tool (Scissors icon) <\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- To export it directly to your desktop, click and drag the song track there. To specify the location you want to export it to, click Save Selected MIDI As\u2026<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
- Click and drag individual tracks to the song section. If you want all your tracks to be exported as a single MIDI file, click and drag the All Tracks Combined<\/strong> track.
- Click the Export <\/strong>button to bring up the window.<\/li>
- Click Select Tracks<\/strong> and choose the tracks you believe are causing false triggers. This will help narrow it down and make the triggering more accurate.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- To apply the change to a selected region, click Region<\/strong>.
- To apply the change to selected trigger points, click Events<\/strong>.
- To apply the change to the entire track, click Track.<\/strong><\/li>
- Click the name of the drum sample to open the advanced sample settings.
- Move Selected Bar Only<\/strong>: Clicking and dragging the vertical blue line will only adjust the tempo for that measure without moving the bars surrounding it.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Snap to Transients<\/strong>: With this turned on, it will snap the bar to the closest transient. This is a good starting point to get the general tempo of your track, but turn it off if you need to fine-tune it.<\/li>
- After the file has been imported, go to the Sound Recognition<\/em> section, then use the dropdown box to select the instrument the track is (only if Superior doesn\u2019t select the correct sample.)<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
- Alternatively, you can drag and drop the audio files directly into the Track Workspace<\/em> area.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Click Add <\/strong>in the Tracker Header <\/em>section, navigate to the folder where your audio files are stored, then select the track and click OK<\/strong>.
- Amount and bleed reduction<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
- Track Workspace<\/strong><\/a><\/li>
![\"Export](\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2020\/05\/Export-Window-1024x758.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Superior](\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2019\/02\/SD3-Hero-1024x536.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n