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I have been playing with drum tracks in Combi mode, and this seems like a great feature to add drums to my 2 piece band, but I want to do custom beats and be able to change drum patterns live by pressing a key.
A simple example...we play Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics. I need a simple quarter beat kick drum for the verse (K-K-K-K), then add snare to the chorus part (K-S-K-S).
I assume I have to record each part in the sequencer mode. How do I then put them in a Combi and trigger them with a key (eg, assign the verse beat to C4 and the chorus beat to D4). I would want each loop to continue repeatedly, until I trigger the other beat.

go2ldook wrote:I have been playing with drum tracks in Combi mode, and this seems like a great feature to add drums to my 2 piece band, but I want to do custom beats and be able to change drum patterns live by pressing a key.
A simple example...we play Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics. I need a simple quarter beat kick drum for the verse (K-K-K-K), then add snare to the chorus part (K-S-K-S).
I assume I have to record each part in the sequencer mode. How do I then put them in a Combi and trigger them with a key (eg, assign the verse beat to C4 and the chorus beat to D4). I would want each loop to continue repeatedly, until I trigger the other beat.

You will find this question asked many times on the forums. The simple basic answer is you can't do that. There are some work arounds the people have posted but that idea as you have stated it isn't a button push away.

Can it not be done by creating your own user preset drum patterns? If so, it would be great if someone could run through step by step how to do that.

go2ldook wrote:Can it not be done by creating your own user preset drum patterns? If so, it would be great if someone could run through step by step how to do that.

Like I said - it can't be done. There is no button that will change the drum track during a song. Again - this has been covered many times - do a search.

Look, it CAN be done by creating a sample of Beat 1 that goes for several measures and a sample of beat 2 that goes for several measures. Then create a multisample and assign Beat 1 to C4 and Beat 2 to D4. I have done this already for triggering short synth phrases.

I was just hoping there was a more elegant and perhaps easier way to do this on such a pricey piece of gear. And I have been searching all afternoon. I saw references to RPPR patterns, but the posts are too vague for my skill level, so I was just hoping for some help.

go2ldook wrote:Look, it CAN be done by creating a sample of Beat 1 that goes for several measures and a sample of beat 2 that goes for several measures. Then create a multisample and assign Beat 1 to C4 and Beat 2 to D4. I have done this already for triggering short synth phrases.

I was just hoping there was a more elegant and perhaps easier way to do this on such a pricey piece of gear. And I have been searching all afternoon. I saw references to RPPR patterns, but the posts are too vague for my skill level, so I was just hoping for some help.

Samples of beats has NOTHING to do with drum tracks, which is what you asked about. RPPR is a possibility but that means you have to be in the sequencer which you ALSO did not ask about. I answered your question based on the parameters you stated - and it cant be done. I also stated there are "work arounds" to achieve the same kind of effect. Your solution would be one of those. Of course all your beats have to be timed and triggered perfectly and you could never change the tempo.

go2ldook wrote:
I was just hoping there was a more elegant and perhaps easier way to do this on such a pricey piece of gear. And I have been searching all afternoon.

There are a couple of ways of approaching this… here are 2 videos done on the M3 and and M50. The procedure is very much the same on Kronos. This should get you going. Do a search on YouTube and you'll find more.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tOSHg3xK7bo
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wH6TqFbskDc

Thank you Lou for some direction.

As for Ed, look...I appreciate that the specifics of what I asked apparently cannot be done. I would just comment that replying with comments like "do a search" is not appreciated. If you do not like answering questions and they annoy you because you think other people are naturally lazy or stupid, you should just avoid answering. I had been forum, internet, and Youtube searching all afternoon and was just turning to the forums for ideas. Work-arounds are appreciated as well and helpful. "Do a search" is not helpful, and is condescending.

It's not because much of what you're asking about has been covered before on this forum. It's good advice to look for those topics and read them through. For example, you found RPPR. If you don't get what it's all about, there's a whole section in the manual that explains everything about it. We are mostly a helpful bunch, and honestly sometimes one us goes out of their way to help a struggling user. But we really appreciate it when someone shows a little effort on their part.

As i said...I spent the better part of the afternoon searching the forums and YouTube. And yes, I looked at the manual. And I agree with what many people have said on this forum...the manual is somewhat lacking, especially in examples, for people who are new to this type of equipment. I am a guitar player...maybe it is easier for someone who has been around keyboards more to understand the advice given. For some of us newbies it unfortunately has to be spelled out...then we can get it and apply it to other situations. So if my whole afternoon spent searching and reading was inadequate to justify my post, I apologize. I have posted before and never received attitude.

go2ldook wrote:Thank you Lou for some direction.

As for Ed, look...I appreciate that the specifics of what I asked apparently cannot be done. I would just comment that replying with comments like "do a search" is not appreciated. If you do not like answering questions and they annoy you because you think other people are naturally lazy or stupid, you should just avoid answering. I had been forum, internet, and Youtube searching all afternoon and was just turning to the forums for ideas. Work-arounds are appreciated as well and helpful. "Do a search" is not helpful, and is condescending.

I answered what you asked completely. Instead of stopping there, I let you know that I have seen on this forum some ideas for work arounds. I don't use them, because I actually have my own work around of switching drum tracks through sysex from an external device. So, I could not give a step by step. BUT I could let you know they were out there. I did not initially say "do a search" I said it has been asked here, letting you know the answer is known, I wasn't pulling it out of thin air. But your response was "Can it not be done..." - (which it can't) so I said "do a search" so you could see your assumption was wrong.

Just because you don't like my answer, don't assume I don't like answering questions - your question was answered as you asked it, and correctly. Check a few of my posts, see how many of them are trying to help people.

Sorry if I misunderstood your 2nd reply, but when it included the line "Again - this has been covered many times - do a search.", I took away a sense of irritation.

I assumed you were irritated. You seemed to assume I had made no effort to look for answers.

The truth is I admit I do not understand the answers I did find, as they do assume a level of knowledge I do not yet have.I am just not familiar enough with this thing, though fortunate enough to own one. It is a struggle to learn how to use all of the features and I find the manual only so helpful.

go2ldook, as you probably guessed by now, the only way to do what you originally described in your first post is via RPPR, which only works in SEQ mode. There are some minor differences between a combi and a song, but for the most part they function the same way. So if you are amenable to using SEQ mode for triggering RPPR drum patterns, then we can try to guide you in that respect.

I suppose the first question that I have for you is whether you absolutely need to trigger the drum patterns on-the-fly? In other words, will the song arrangement be played the same way and for the same length every time you play it, or do you wish to have a flexible arrangement?

The second question I have is whether you absolutely have to trigger the drum patterns via the keyboard?