Drum help?

So I'm doing home recording now with a Zoom drum machine (not that great, but it was free). I want to improve the versatility of having pre-set drum loops yet add customized fills and breaks for my songs. So I guess there's 2 ways to do this (short of making friends with a real drummer)...an actual drum machine, or a software package. I wouldn't want to spend over $150, so any recommendations? Fruity Loops came with my Cakewalk prog, but it's not for me. I've seen the Alesis and Boss machines, and looked at one or two prog's...just looking for suggestions.

I use drag and drop drummer.....great software, but not sure if it's still available.

It has hundred's of drumbeats you can loop (the drumbeats are actual .wav files, and the beats were recorded in a studio by a real drummer)

It also has individual drum hits so you can construct your own beats, fills, etc....these individual drum hits are also .wav files that are actual recording of a drummer hitting the drums.

That sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. I'd prefer to be able to "drag" loops rather than record a signal from a machine and lose signal integrity in the process anyhow. So I'll keep an eye out for that. Remember how much it costs?

I've been trying to find it on the internet, but can't find anything. The old address for the company is www.dddrummer.com, but that site is no longer available. Maybe check e-bay.

I bought it new from Sam Ash for about $50. Actually got 2 disc's for $100, one being the dry studio kit and the other being the percussion kit. The percussion kit has bongo's, claves, all kinds of stuff.

Hope you can find it somewhere, I love it. Beats a drum machine anyday (no pun intended there).

Here's a link I found that talks about the software, a review.
http://psbg.emusician.com/ar/emusic_drag_drop_musician/

Okay, scratch what I posted before.....

Drag and Drop Drummer is now called Smart Loops. It now lists for $69, but is on sale for $39. Great value for that price.

http://www.smartloops.com/products/drystudiokit/index.htm

Good Lord, that rocks! Thanks very much for yer help! I'm obliged.

No problem dude...Hope it's what your looking for.

Hey Rusty, did you ever buy that software? I'm wondering how you like it?

I have a really cool package called "Drummer From Hell" by Toontrack. It uses real samples triggered via a midi patch. Not looking for a review or anything but check out the track in my sig file, nothing was EQ's or mastered (including the drums) so the production is not great but it will give you a good idea what the package can do. You get several GB's of samples both wet and dry from a large selection of kits. I use it through Halion into Cubase SX but I'm sure if you check out the website you will see what other packages it is compatable with.

Yeah, I got it. It's pretty much as described. I'm very impressed with the sound quality, but my recording software (Cakewalk-Guitar Tracks) doesn't change the tempos too well without affecting the quality. The sample loops come in speeds of 75 & 100 bpm, while I frequently like tempos of 130-150. I've yet to finish a project using them, but will post something as soon as I do. I got my money's worth anyways, and it's definitely better than what I was using.

Yeah, you need an acid based recording software like Sonar to change those tempo's. That's how it worked when softloops was still Drag and Drop Drummer.

Glad your liking that software. I still need to get the newer version of it....

Even though I have Sonar and can change those tempo's, I usually just use the individual drum hits to construct my own drum patterns. Keeps the fills from being to repetative....