DigiTech Trio+

I saw this recently and just fell over buying it.

It's the expanded version of the Trio, and it's ability to render Bass & Drums is too cool.

I'm using it solely as a song-writing inspiration, so my learning curve is much easier than a performing user.

That said, it didn't take me long to get the particulars up of laying down riffs for song parts (where Trio+ learns your riff and generates Drums to it's rhythm and Bass to it's chord structure) and then creating the loops (where you record those riffs so you can then solo over them)

I was impressed with it's ability to roll with some more complex chords. It didn't hiccup or nothing.

This is such a great tool for introverts and sociopaths who can now tell their drummer & bassist to jump in a lake.
But I am 100% sure that real people would stir much more creativity than this box. That said, it's a jump forward in song-writing tool evolution, and the Trip+ has many more options than the Trio if you are into writing anything-at-any-time. Probably overkill, but it's worth the price if just for the Loop expansion and it's long time.

I haven't paired it with the Kemper yet, but there are a few threads here that speak to such pairings if you Google search them.

Bottom Line: IF you are thinking of buying this, it's worth the price. If you haven't heard of it, it's one of those gadgets that are a pure joy to use. Probably the best guitar gadget invented short of the Kemper, but the best guitar gadget for songwriting.

I've read a few of your threads and posts about hooking it up to the Kemper, but just haven't gotten around to it.

For me, just straight up is fine for song-writing most of the time since I often use an Acoustic Guitar.

That said, do you have a pedal for it? I have the Boss FS6 which doesn't do much. I ordered the Digitech Pedal off Amazon.

(on another note, the Boss FS6 doesn't seem to work with the X-Touch -> Reaper on my iMac. Shame, may have to return it)

FS-3X on order then. Thanks, guys!

I think you're have to record them.

But maybe Ingolf has looked at the SD format.

Are the SD files wav? Or are the Drums/Bass meta-data for algorithm generation, forcing you to record the output?

What I would do (assuming I don't like the drumming per se for a part in Trio+) is either:
a) play the style on a VDRUM
b) MIDI Keyboard trigger a drum MIDI loop
c) create a drum loop via a MIDI editor
d) or find a similar MIDI loop (time consuming)

THEN I'd port it to EZ Drummer 2.0

In EZ, I could import that MIDI loop to either:
a) search my purchased Toontrack, personal or Third-Party MIDI drum files for a similar set to work with or
b) just use "Song Creator" which creates many drum patterns based on the imported patter. (i.e. INTRO, VERSE, CHORUS, BRIDGE, OUTRO, etc)

From there you drop/drag into a song timeline and then export or drop/drag the entire song into your DAW as MIDI, or record it as a WAV. ( do MIDI and only freeze or record if I run into CPU problems)

EZ Drummer is your friend in this regard for drum song creation. Logic is a great 'quick and dirty' drumming tool and in SOME rare cases will be good enough if you're not picky about drumming. But there is a learning curve to tailoring it to your style. Plus, as said, you need to be an Apple person, which you aren't, so no Logic Pro X for you!

An advantage of EZ is it's tone is a "finished" drum sound. Vs others like Superior that are raw expecting you to tailor and add effects to sit in your mix as you design it. So EZ is a "Drumming for Dummies" in that regard. I personally like Superior Drummer for finishing a drum part, but I do get lazy and stick with EZ plenty of times.

Those are my explored paths. Of course, many DAWs have great MIDI editors, and there are lots of other drumming plugins just as good for tones. Whatever you are used to.

But even if you have a preferred Drum Plugin, nothing comes close to EZ for drum pattern creation for songwriters when you lack recording a real drummer.

Sometimes, I use EZ Drummer, then "learn" the part on Roland VDrums and record that, midi edit (or Melodyne 4 edit the wav) any poor timing (I'm new to drumming) and therefore get a more 'organic' and 'basement' rock feel.

Lot-o-choices for us hobbyists.

Or you could create the parts, drop them into EZ's Song Track, finalize the layout, then import the MIDI to Ableton for BFD.

The amazing thing about EZ also is the ability to search through your own MIDI library for pattern matching giving a % of likelihood matches.

Really saves time on all of it. Also, if you don't like the choices given for the Verse choices, you can just recreate and it puts up different variations.
Or you could slightly alter the original MIDI and do part generation for that.

That's cool actually, namely that subtle playing differences produce noticeably different drumming. That is what spurs creativity, since it's not "sterile" by being predictable.

I remember having a ball going through my DR880 and as I put on a new pattern, just coming up with new motifs. It was the best drumming device I've ever had for that.
Even if they weren't always usable, they spurred creativity by being unique. Most drum loops sold today (live clips or MIDI patterns) have a predictability that don't really spur creativity by themselves.

Glad to see the 880 still has staying power. Remember the staying power of the Alesis SR16? Heck, I sold mine 20 years after buying it for the same price I bought it used for!

So when people talk about electronic gear like the Kemper becoming obsolete, I'm thinking "I know a LOT of digital gear still quite useful and relevant, many from the 80's".

The Trio+ is like having 2 imaginary friends, so you rationalize that you're not really playing with yourself for 2 hours!