Are Mandala drums right for me?
Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 10:49 pm
I've been wanting to add some electronic drum pads to my acoustic drum set for quite sometime, much like Danny Carey. Originally, I was going to add 6 trigger pads, a hi hat trigger pedal, an Alesis trigger IO and Battery 4 to run my samples. But after doing some research and learning a little more about the Mandala drum, I'm thinking about getting 2 Mandala drums, a synapse and some kind of hi hat trigger pedal. I feel like I can be more creative and explore different possibilities with the Mandala. But I still have some questions that I haven't been able to find answers to. I will try to be as thorough as I can in my questions
1. Can you record the Mandala drum samples from the Virtual Brain in a DAW?
I'm new to VST's and MIDI (and basically any kind of recording that isn't just a microphone and a drum). I will be running Logic Pro X to record my acoustic drums. So basically, can you route the samples from The Virtual Brain to Logic Pro and record those samples as you are playing the Mandala? I've read online that you can run a program called ReWire to route the software to Logic. I just want to be certain you can record too.
2. What is the difference between The Virtual Brain Software and a program like Battery 4?
The Virtual Brain Software triggers your drum samples. But so can Battery 4. So I guess why would one need Battery 4 if you have The Virtual Brain Software? I know each program will have its own library of samples, but is there any reason to also run Battery 4 (because I know a lot of people do it) if you are running samples from The Virtual Brain Software or any benefit? I feel like I'm not grasping something here.
3. Are the Mandala mk2.9 drums compatible with USB 3.0?
I will be running a new iMac and they have upgraded their USB ports to USB 3.0 and their FireWire to Thunderbolt. Will I have any problem connecting a Mandala directly to the USB 3.0 ports? What about the Synapse to USB 3.0 port?
Those are my main questions right now. I'm working on recording a drum cover of The Grudge by Tool for fun and Danny Carey uses some electronic drums and 7 different samples in that song plus 1 hi hat clap. I think at the time of recording Lateralus, he was using the Simmons SDX pads but I figure I can achieve a some what similar sound with just Mandalas, working the different zones for each sample. Anyway, any feedback would be great. I love the idea of these Mandala drums and I really hope they work out
1. Can you record the Mandala drum samples from the Virtual Brain in a DAW?
I'm new to VST's and MIDI (and basically any kind of recording that isn't just a microphone and a drum). I will be running Logic Pro X to record my acoustic drums. So basically, can you route the samples from The Virtual Brain to Logic Pro and record those samples as you are playing the Mandala? I've read online that you can run a program called ReWire to route the software to Logic. I just want to be certain you can record too.
2. What is the difference between The Virtual Brain Software and a program like Battery 4?
The Virtual Brain Software triggers your drum samples. But so can Battery 4. So I guess why would one need Battery 4 if you have The Virtual Brain Software? I know each program will have its own library of samples, but is there any reason to also run Battery 4 (because I know a lot of people do it) if you are running samples from The Virtual Brain Software or any benefit? I feel like I'm not grasping something here.
3. Are the Mandala mk2.9 drums compatible with USB 3.0?
I will be running a new iMac and they have upgraded their USB ports to USB 3.0 and their FireWire to Thunderbolt. Will I have any problem connecting a Mandala directly to the USB 3.0 ports? What about the Synapse to USB 3.0 port?
Those are my main questions right now. I'm working on recording a drum cover of The Grudge by Tool for fun and Danny Carey uses some electronic drums and 7 different samples in that song plus 1 hi hat clap. I think at the time of recording Lateralus, he was using the Simmons SDX pads but I figure I can achieve a some what similar sound with just Mandalas, working the different zones for each sample. Anyway, any feedback would be great. I love the idea of these Mandala drums and I really hope they work out