Importing MIDI Loops Into Hardware Sequencers and Drum Machines

In this video from YouTuber loopop, we see how external MIDI clips can be imported into drum machines and sequencers.

From the video’s description:

Most drum machines and sequencers don’t support importing MIDI clips or loops, which is a shame because there are plenty of MIDI clip/loop libraries out there with excellent content, many played by real drummers with obvious human groove and feel, which is quite hard to program manually.

This video offers a workflow to “import” MIDI clips into practically any modern drum machine and sequencer using a DAW and a simple MIDI effect. It then shows how you can quickly find loops in at least one large database – using the “tap to find” feature in Toontracks’ products. If you’re familiar with other such tools, please leave a comment below.

Video Index

• 0:00 Two problems: Lack of MIDI loop import support and finding loops in large clip libraries
• 1:00 The trick: How it works
• 1:50 Figure out the notes in the source MIDI loop
• 4:00 Create a translator
• 5:05 Record the loop on your drum machine/sequencer
• 5:50 Getting timing right
• 6:40 Another example – using the digitakt
• 7:45 Quantization
• 8:20 Finding loops fast with EZ Drummer

Being able to use outside MIDI clips with hardware sequencers certainly extends their capabilities, and this is a very useful video for anyone that owns a hardware sequencer or drum machine. You can visit the loopop YouTube channel for more helpful tutorials.

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