DrumGroovePro

A VST3 plugin for browsing, arranging, and exporting MIDI drum grooves with drum library remapping, multi-track timeline capabilities, and built-in audio sample playback with mixing.

Overview

DrumGroovePro is a MIDI drum groove workstation designed for producers, composers, and drummers. It provides an intuitive interface for browsing your MIDI groove library, dissecting patterns into individual drum parts (kick, snare, hi-hat, etc.), and arranging them on a multi-track timeline with per-track BPM control.

Perfect for:

• Quickly auditioning drum grooves at different tempos
• Building complex drum arrangements from individual parts
• Converting grooves between different drum libraries (Superior Drummer, Addictive Drums, EZdrummer, etc.)
• Exporting complete drum arrangements as MIDI files
• Creating custom drum patterns by mixing and matching parts
• Playing drum samples directly with built-in mixer and effects
• Using reference audio tracks to match your arrangements to existing songs

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Key Features

Smart MIDI Browsing

• Miller Columns Interface: Navigate your groove library with an intuitive, multi-column browser
• Real-time Preview: Click to preview grooves instantly at your project's tempo
• MIDI Dissection: Automatically splits grooves into drum parts (Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, Toms, Cymbals, Percussion)
• Drag & Drop: Drag MIDI files directly into your DAW or onto the timeline
• Favorites System: Save frequently used folders as favorites for quick access

Multi-Track Timeline

• Unlimited MIDI Tracks: Create as many tracks as you need for complex arrangements
• Audio Reference Tracks: Insert audio files (WAV, MP3, FLAC, OGG, AIFF) as reference tracks
• Per-Track BPM Control: Each track can have its own tempo (60-400 BPM)
• Visual MIDI Preview: See note patterns directly on clips
• Snap-to-Grid: Precise clip positioning with adjustable grid intervals
• Loop Regions: Set loop points for arrangement workflow
• Solo/Mute: Standard track controls for playback management
• Playhead Speed Control: Change the speed of playing to make further adjustments

Samples Manager & 7-Channel Mixer

Access the built-in audio engine via the Samples Manager window:

Audio Playback Section

• Load Samples: Download and load drum sample libraries (The Aasimonster, MuldjordKit & Salamander Drumkit available)
• MIDI/Audio Mode Toggle: Switch between:
  • MIDI Out (blue): Outputs MIDI notes to your DAW/drum plugin
  • Audio Out (orange): Plays samples directly through the built-in mixer

Humanization Section

Make your drum patterns sound more natural with three humanization controls:

| Control | Range | Effect at 100% | |---------|-------|----------------| | Velocity | 0-100% | ±15 velocity random variation | | Timing | 0-100% | ±20ms timing random variation | | Round Robin | 0-100% | Full cycling through available sample variations |

• Velocity Humanization: Adds random velocity variation to avoid robotic dynamics
• Timing Humanization: Adds subtle timing shifts for human feel
• Round Robin: Cycles through multiple sample recordings of the same drum hit to avoid the "machine gun" effect

7-Channel Drum Mixer

Each drum part has its own channel with full processing:

| Channel | MIDI Notes | Description | |---------|------------|-------------| | Kick 1 | 36 (C1) | Primary kick with Alternation toggle | | Kick 2 | 35 (B0) | Secondary kick (independent processing) | | Snare | 38-40 | Snare drum variations | | Hi-Hat | 42, 44, 46 | Closed, pedal, open hi-hat | | Toms | 41, 43, 45, 47, 48 | All tom drums | | Crash | 54-64 | Crash cymbals | | Rides | 49-53 | Ride cymbals |

Per-Channel Controls

• Volume: Channel output level (0.0 - 1.0)
• Reverb Send: Amount sent to global reverb (0.0 - 1.0)
• 3-Band EQ (vertical sliders):
  • Low: 100 Hz shelf
  • Mid: 1 kHz peak
  • High: 8 kHz shelf
  • Range: ±12 dB per band
• Compressor (horizontal controls):
  • Enable toggle
  • Threshold: -60 to 0 dB
  • Ratio: 1:1 to 20:1
  • Attack: 0.1 to 100 ms
  • Release: 10 to 500 ms
  • Makeup Gain: 0 to 24 dB
• Solo/Mute: Standard channel controls

Kick Alternation Feature

The Altern toggle on Kick 1 prevents the "machine gun" effect on rapid kick patterns:

• When enabled, consecutive kicks (notes 35 or 36) alternate between Kick 1 and Kick 2
• Each alternated kick routes to its respective mixer channel
• Allows independent EQ/compression for natural-sounding double kicks

Polyphonic Voice System

• 64 Simultaneous Voices: Professional-grade polyphony for complex patterns
• Natural Decay Layering: Multiple hits of the same drum overlap naturally (essential for metal/fast drumming)
• Smooth Voice Stealing: When all voices are busy, oldest voices fade out smoothly to prevent clicks
• Crossfade Technology: 5.8ms crossfade prevents audio artifacts during voice stealing

Master Section

• 8-Band Master EQ: 60Hz, 150Hz, 400Hz, 1kHz, 2.5kHz, 5kHz, 10kHz, 15kHz (±12dB each)
• Enable EQ Toggle: Bypass master EQ processing
• Master Volume: Final output level (0.0 - 2.0)
• Auto-Reverb: Reverb automatically enables when any channel send > 0

Mixer Presets

• Save and load complete mixer configurations
• Includes all channel settings (volume, EQ, compressor, reverb send)
• Plus master EQ and reverb settings

Audio Reference Tracks

Insert audio files as reference tracks for:

• Matching your drum arrangement to an existing song
• A/B comparison with professional mixes

Supported formats: WAV, MP3, FLAC, OGG, AIFF

To insert an audio track:

1. Click File button in the timeline controls
2. Select "Insert Audio Track"
3. Choose your audio file
4. The audio track appears with waveform visualization

BPM Management

• Automatic BPM Synchronization:
  • New tracks automatically inherit current Header BPM
  • Empty tracks update when Header BPM changes
  • Tracks with clips preserve their original BPM
• Bypass Track BPM Sync: Optional checkbox to disable automatic synchronization
  • When enabled, new tracks default to 120 BPM regardless of Header BPM
  • Gives manual control over track tempos
  • Works in both TIME and BAR modes
• Dual BPM Sources:
  • Sync to Host: Follow your DAW's tempo automatically
  • Manual BPM: Set custom tempo (60-400 BPM) independent of host
• GRID BPM Synchronization: In BAR mode, grid display always reflects current Header BPM

BAR Mode & Section Management

• TIME/BAR Toggle: Switch between time-based and bar-based timeline views
• Musical Sections: Divide your arrangement into sections with independent settings
• Time Signatures: Set different time signatures per section (4/4, 3/4, 5/4, 6/8, 7/8, and more)
• Dual BPM Control:
  • Grid BPM: Controls visual bar width and snap-to-grid spacing
  • Speed BPM: Controls actual playback tempo (play sections faster/slower)
• Section Loop: Loop individual sections for focused editing
• Bar Numbers: Visual ruler shows bar numbers instead of time in BAR mode
• Section-Aware Snapping: Clips snap to beats based on section time signature and DIV setting
• Visual Scaling: Bars automatically scale based on Grid BPM while maintaining playback accuracy

Visual Latency Compensation

• Adjustable from -200ms to 0ms
• Compensates for system/hardware audio latency
• Negative values make visual playhead lag behind audio (normal)
• Default: -20ms
• Controlled via Latency field in timeline controls

Drum Remapping

• 17 Supported Libraries (Mapping where made using public available information, please check with your vendor)
• Addictive Drums 2
• BFD3
• Damage 2
• Drum Locker
• EZdrummer
• General MIDI
• GetGood Drums
• ML Drums
• MODO Drum
• MT Power Drum Kit 2
• MuldjordKit
• Salamander Drumkit
• Shreddage Drums
• Sitala
• Steven Slate Drums
• Superior Drummer 3
• Ugritone

Seamless Conversion: Drag a Superior Drummer groove onto a track set to EZdrummer—notes are automatically remapped.

Origin Library System

The Origin Library Manager configures which drum libraries you have MIDI files from:

• Default XML Creation: On first run, creates OriginLibraries.xml with all supported libraries
• Custom Libraries: Add custom MIDI sources with user-defined names
• Note Mapping Editor: Define how notes map from origin library to General MIDI
• Protected Libraries: General MIDI and Unknown cannot be deleted
• Automatic Persistence: Changes save immediately to XML

Workflow:

1. Click "Edit" next to Add Folder button
2. Select origin library from list or add custom library
3. Define note mappings (Origin Note → GM Note) with drum names
4. Custom drum names default to GM standard names, editable per note
5. Mappings saved to CustomDrumMappings.xml

XML are stored in:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\DrumGroovePro\
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/DrumGroovePro/
• Linux: ~/.config/DrumGroovePro

Target Library System

The Target Library dropdown controls output remapping:

• Runtime Selection: Choose target drum library from dropdown in browser
• Custom Mappings: Edit target library mappings via "Edit" button
• Two-Way Mapping: Origin library maps to GM, GM maps to target library
• Real-time Conversion: Notes automatically remapped during playback and export

Example:

• MIDI file from Superior Drummer 3 (kick on C1)
• Origin mapping: SD3 C1 → GM C0
• Target set to EZdrummer
• Target mapping: GM C0 → EZdrummer C0
• Result: Notes correctly mapped to EZdrummer specification

Export and Drag Behavior

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