This Drum Rack Method Saves HOURS of Work

Most live users don't utilize Drum Rack's full potential and only use it as a basic drag-and-drop sample player.

• Eliminate messy drum groups while maintaining mixing and effect options • Build custom kits to prevent endless sample library browsing • Use drum synthesizers exactly like regular samples

The video demonstrates creative and streamlined ways to fill all Drum Rack paths.

First technique is the infinite drum kit trick using sampler with 128 sounds mapped to a knob.

Drag a plugin like Exo onto a pad and use mapping magic to combine stock drum rack behavior with plugin features.

• Drag the plugin into an empty pad in drum rack • Add an External Instrument device to the desired pad • Go to MIDI 2 and select drum rack in the chain

Expand chains and access in/out settings to configure MIDI options. Ensure the drum kick pad receives and plays the correct MIDI note (C1 for Exo), checking each plugin's note mapping.

Copy the drum pad and repeat for all desired sounds, matching receive and play positions to corresponding notes (D1, D#1, etc.).

Each pad plays its own sound from the plugin, but without routing, there's no way to group, mix, or add effects outside the plugin itself.

In the plugin's edit tab, find the hidden menu and select 'auto route all outputs' going from lane 1-8 to bus 1-8.

Assign each drum sound to its corresponding bus: kick to bus 1, tom to bus 2, snare to bus 3, clap to bus 4, and so on.

The setup now functions like using samples, where each pad plays only its assigned sound, allowing mixing directly in Live and adding effects to individual sounds.

Create return chains for different purposes: kick and snare group, hi-hat group, perks group, parallel processing, and reverb.

• Route audio through in/out section using the audio menu to assign to corresponding chains • Use send and return sliders to apply effects and parallel processing

Map volume control of each bus to separate macros for quick adjustments. Also map hi-hat brightness controls and dry/wet knobs for parallel compression and reverb.

By grouping kick and snare together, you can clip them and use the group as a sidechain signal source for the entire session.