What software is sufficient for Cloudkicker style bedroom recording?

[PersianPimp076]

Ok so I've been recording instrumental music for quite a few years now using Line 6 Guitarport and it's Rifftracker software as the 'DAW', but would now like to upgrade to some better software seeing as there is much better stuff out there (Rifftracker had no drum patterns outside of 4/4 as far as I could tell)

Am I right in thinking in addition to my guitar-recording software, all I need is a drum plugin (such as EZ Drummer) and a DAW (such as Reaper) to put it all together? Above all I want to be able to input each drum beat individually rather than working with preset patterns?

It's worth noting I'm not expecting production quality anywhere near Cloudkicker's recordings, like I say, my main interest is to be able to closely manipulate the drums and mix that with guitar recordings, if there's a simpler way to achieve this please let me know as I get the feeling most of Reaper and the like's value come from the extensive control they give over production, which would be wasted on me as I know nothing of this art.

Any help greatly appreciated!

[MondayMorningLunatic]

I've never tried Reaper so I can't comment. However, Addictive Drums blows EZ Drummer out of the water, and there's a metal pack that could probably get you near the Cloudkicker sound. What I do to create beats is play them in real time on a MIDI keyboard, then quantize them to sort out the rhythmic inconsistencies; then I just fine tune or add notes if necessary. That seems like the simplest way to do it.

[Tiko]

I've been using Reaper for years and it's great, does everything the big boys do... and it's easy to get around.

- Tiko

[PersianPimp076]

I've never tried Reaper so I can't comment. However, Addictive Drums blows EZ Drummer out of the water, and there's a metal pack that could probably get you near the Cloudkicker sound. What I do to create beats is play them in real time on a MIDI keyboard, then quantize them to sort out the rhythmic inconsistencies; then I just fine tune or add notes if necessary. That seems like the simplest way to do it.

i quite like the midi-keyboard idea. does that come with its own software, and is it compatible with other drum software like EZ? also what do you use to record guitar and to mix them together?

i quite like the guitar pro style of inputting beats using musical notation for the time values, so i don't necessarily need to invest in the keyboard to manually create them

[MondayMorningLunatic]

i quite like the midi-keyboard idea. does that come with its own software, and is it compatible with other drum software like EZ? also what do you use to record guitar and to mix them together?

i quite like the guitar pro style of inputting beats using musical notation for the time values, so i don't necessarily need to invest in the keyboard to manually create them

I have a Yamaha something or another that functions as an actual keyboard but has a MIDI interface that connects to the computer via USB. All I had to do was install some drivers on my computer. I'm sure EZ Drummer would have no problem working with MIDI. Generally speaking, I record the beats before laying down guitars and other instruments. The Guitar Pro method can work but it's pretty tedious. Playing them manually on a keyboard is also a little more musical because you get more variation in the velocities of the notes.