http://egyokeo.com/midihero for more details.
drumKat MIDI drum pads
to PC
to MIDI Hero
http://egyokeo.com/midihero for more details.
drumKat MIDI drum pads
to PC
to MIDI Hero software
to XIM
to Xbox 360
playing Guitar Hero 2
UPDATE: I've updated the software to allow playing using a MIDI Keyboard. MIDI Guitar might also work, but it's not tested. Video here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=HHoayGGByNY
FAQ:
----
Q: How does it work?
A: Everything is explained in detail here: http://egyokeo.com/midihero
Q: How do you do 3-note chords?
A: All "two adjacent note" power chords are mapped to the top 4 pads, so with two sticks I can play any 3-note chord except GYO. But I can get that with one stick in left hand and two fingers on right hand.
Q: How do you do whammy and star power?
A: I use a bass drum pedal on my right foot to activate star power, and a hi-hat pedal on my left foot to control whammy depth.
Q: How do you hold notes?
A: My MIDI Hero software has an auto-hold feature for every note hit because it's more natural for a drummer to play that way. It's not a good feeling to mash sticks into drum pads to hold notes.
Q: Why do the notes "hit" so late?
A: I use a 145ms setting for the in-game HTDV Lag Calibration feature to counter the "controller lag" I have with my setup. I use it to make the sweet spot of the notes match the sound of the music, not when the notes cross the row of circles. That way, I play what I hear, but I have to read ahead for the notes to play.
Q: How much does this cost?
A: The drumKat is a pro-quality MIDI drum pad set. These days, they run about $1k. I also use a PC to run my custom home-brew MIDI Hero software to interpret the drum events. Then the "XIM" and "XFPS" add another $100+. This is not made for the masses. This is a one-of-a-kind setup.
Q: Do you play real drums? Are you in a band?
A: Yes, I've been playing drums since 1986. I have been in various bands from Jazz to Ska over the years. Right now I'm in the Detroit-based ska band The Exceptions.
Q: Are you getting Rock Band?
A: I just got it! (04/10/2008) But I hate the drum controller so much I will not play it. I will either be getting my current mod to work with it, or I will be building the other mod out there people are using to play the game with their V-Drums.
Q: Is "MIDI Hero" available to the public?
A: I haven't decided yet if I'm going to make it publicly available. I'll keep the answer to this question updated in the FAQs of all future videos if anything ever changes in this department. If I did ever release it, I'd also likely have a link to it on my website.
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Added: 10 months ago
Views: 388,269
***
*** NOPE... IT'S NOT FAKE
***
If you haven't seen any of my videos before, please
***
*** NOPE... IT'S NOT FAKE
***
If you haven't seen any of my videos before, please read some of the FAQ below.
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Talk about near chokes! This was about the 6th attempt of the night. I was getting really tired and frustrated from screwing it up half way through every time. But I was figuring out which SP paths would get me through it. Then, the ONE TIME I survive the solo sections, back into the whole part from the beginning that I've pretty much got MASTERED, I'm sitting there choking! Rock meter taking a huge dive and fast!
In an instant I got so mad at myself and forced myself to become a machine and concentrate on the sticking pattern to get through it. If I would've failed at that point I would've killed myself, or at least cut an arm off or something. Just kidding, but I would've been BEYOND mad. Somewhere in a parallel universe I failed that song and that really sucks for that other me. But I hope to be able to play this at the 5-star level someday with more practice, so this first win will be a distant memory.
You can see the "Achievement Unlocked" at the end. Gotta love achievements. I haven't been this geeked since beating Jordan.
Oh, and I got 4 stars! But barely.
Also, Windows Movie Maker sucks and the audio goes out of sync with the video mid way through. Sorry about that.
Thanks for watching!
FAQ:
----
Q: How does it work?
A: Everything is explained in detail here: http://egyokeo.com/midihero
Q: How do you do 3-note chords?
A: All "two adjacent note" power chords are mapped to the top 4 pads, so with two sticks I can play any 3-note chord except GYO.
Q: How do you do whammy and star power?
A: I use a bass drum pedal on my right foot to activate star power, and a hi-hat pedal on my left foot to control whammy depth.
Q: How do you hold notes?
A: My MIDI Hero software has an auto-hold feature for every note hit because it's more natural for a drummer to play that way. It's not a good feeling to mash sticks into drum pads to hold notes.
Q: How do you hit all the fast note streams and you're barely moving?
A: Double stroke drum rolls. Hands move at 1/2 speed, each stick bounces twice.
Q: Why do the notes "hit" so late?
A: I use a 145ms setting for the in-game HTDV Lag Calibration feature to counter the "controller lag" I have with my setup. I use it to make the sweet spot of the notes match the sound of the music, not when the notes cross the row of circles. That way, I play what I hear, but I have to read ahead for the notes to play.
Q: Are you using the "easy expert" cheat?
A: Nope. I wouldn't have gotten the achievement at the end if I were using a cheat. Also, listen to the "tap" sounds the drums make. They match in-time to the music and the visible rhythm of the notes on-screen. There's no need for a bigger "window" around each note in order to hit them. The lag setting is what makes it look like I'm hitting things late.
UPDATE: The latest GH3 patch over Xbox Live has added separate audio and video lag calibration. This will solve this and nobody will ask about it anymore because it properly adjusts the audio to account for my controller lag (145ms) and the video lag is near 0ms so the notes will "burst into flames" when the hit the row of circles instead of off-screen like they do in my previous videos.
Q: How much does this cost?
A: The drumKat is a pro-quality MIDI drum pad set. These days, they run about $1k, but I had my set from years ago. I also use a PC to run my custom home-brew MIDI Hero software to interpret the drum events. Then the "XIM" and "XFPS" add another $100+. This is not made for the masses. This is a one-of-a-kind setup.
Q: Do you play real drums? Are you in a band?
A: Yes, I've been playing drums since 1986. I have been in various bands from Jazz to Ska over the years. Right now I'm in the Detroit-based ska band The Exceptions.
Q: Are you getting Rock Band?
A: UPDATE: I have it now, but I can't stand the drum controller. So I played it enough to beat career on Expert (failed one song once, in the middle tier somewhere ;-) Pretty soon I hope to have my mod working with it and I'll probably get back into it then.
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Added: 7 months ago
Views: 861,852
This is the ultimate view based on everybody's feedback! I like it. Thanks to everyone w
This is the ultimate view based on everybody's feedback! I like it. Thanks to everyone who helped me arrive at this setup!! I think this setup is a keeper, for now anyway.
The only question would be the color overlay thing I did on the pads. It's a little distracting I think. But maybe not, if I got it so it wasn't so grainy? Typical green screen artifacts. Let me know if I should nix it going forward, and just leave the black outlined gray drum pads as usual.
UPDATE: It's a toss up so far... some people like the colored pads, some people do not. Because it's fun to try and do that type of editing stuff, I might attempt one more toned-down version of the colored pads, then we'll see if it's a good compromise for new viewers who don't know the layout, yet not distracting for seasoneed viewers that already know the layout. I'd rather make my existing viewers happy.
This is a pretty cool song. When I first played it I didn't like it, but once I got it down to where I could 5-star it, I started liking the song more. This was a pretty good run. One missed note early on, but after that it's 100%'d with the exception of the fast chord strumming part which is physically impossible for me. I could FC the song if I had two extra pads dedicated to the 3-note chords at the end. But I never like having to do that. I'm happy with the limitations of my 10-pad setup.
I'm now using a "video matte" to get the note chart to lift up off the bottom of the screen at the beginning, and then slam in the score and rock meters. Also I fade in/out the song title from the game capture. Too much fun.
Thanks for watching!
p.s. finally! the high quality option is available on this video. It took uploading with 3000kbps (using DivX "720HD" profile) on the video file.
FAQ:
----
Q: How does it work?
A: Everything is explained in detail here: http://egyokeo.com/midihero
Q: How do you do 3-note chords?
A: All "two adjacent note" power chords are mapped to the top 4 pads, so with two sticks I can play any 3-note chord except GYO.
Q: How do you do whammy and star power?
A: I use a bass drum pedal on my right foot to activate star power, and a hi-hat pedal on my left foot to control whammy depth.
Q: How do you hold notes?
A: My MIDI Hero software has an auto-hold feature for every note hit because it's more natural for a drummer to play that way. It's not a good feeling to mash sticks into drum pads to hold notes.
Q: Why do the notes "hit" so late?
A: I use a 145ms setting for the in-game HTDV Lag Calibration feature to counter the "controller lag" I have with my setup. I use it to make the sweet spot of the notes match the sound of the music, not when the notes cross the row of circles. That way, I play what I hear, but the notes burst into flames really late. This only applies to my GH2 videos and pre-update GH3 videos.
Q: Which video editor do you use?
A: My earlier videos were made with Windows Movie Maker. My latest videos are made Ulead MediaStudio Pro 8.
Q: How much does this cost?
A: The drumKat is a pro-quality MIDI drum pad set. These days, they run about $1k but I bought my set years ago. I also use a PC to run my custom home-brew MIDI Hero software to interpret the drum events. Then the "XIM" and "XFPS" add another $100+. This is not made for the masses. This is a one-of-a-kind setup.
Q: Do you play real drums? Are you in a band?
A: Yes, I've been playing drums since 1986. I have been in various bands from Jazz to Ska over the years. Right now I'm in the Detroit-based ska band The Exceptions.
Q: Are you getting Rock Band?
A: I got it, and should have my mod working with it soon. Then I'll probably have a lot more videos to post!
Q: Is "MIDI Hero" available to the public?
A: I plan on making it available for download in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
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Added: 2 weeks ago
Views: 6,565
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I'm the drummer in the Ska band The Exceptions, which hadn't played together in 10 years,
I'm the drummer in the Ska band The Exceptions, which hadn't played together in 10 years, and last December we went on a little reunion tour. This was from our first show on that tour at a place called The Intersection in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This song is called Mean Ole Malley. I put this vid up because it is one of the ultra rare clips in which you can actually see me play a bit.
This was such a fun show for me. And The Intersection was a great place to play. The place was packed. There were a lot of other bands there too, to help draw a crowd.
Unlike the "real drums" video I posted yesterday, this is me playing in a live setting. I hit the drums so much harder at a live show and my arms are killing me after a single set. The adrenaline gets pumpin' and I go all out.
The sound quality is pretty bad, and you probably can't tell we're actually playing "music", but I like its rawness.
Rock on!
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Added: 5 months ago
Views: 10,670
This is my "walking office". A friend of mine (who is also a computer programmer) does th
This is my "walking office". A friend of mine (who is also a computer programmer) does this and I thought it was a good idea, so here's mine.
I started doing this about 6 weeks ago and at first it was very tiring. But now I can walk for 5 hours a day (with breaks) before my feet can't take it anymore, which amounts to about 12 miles. You can hardly tell you're walking while your head is busy at work, so it's like free exercise.
If you try this, make sure to turn off or pause the treadmill belt if you leave the room for any period of time. Kids can get their fingers caught in it or someone can trip on it. It's dangerous. It's not my fault if anyone gets hurt doing this so be careful.
Sorry GH subscribers for this diversion! :-P I'm almost able to 5-star TTFAF so that video will probably be next :)
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Added: 4 months ago
Views: 2,868
Dave Weckl was my 2nd "drum idol" when I was in high school (my first drum idol was Neil P
Dave Weckl was my 2nd "drum idol" when I was in high school (my first drum idol was Neil Peart, who was the inspiration for playing drums in the first place). Okay while on the subject, my current and probably never-to-be-dethroned #1 drum idol of all time is Vinnie Colaiuta (see some of my video favorites to see how awesome he is if you've never heard of him).
I remember getting this instructional package by Dave Weckl. It's called Contemporary Drummer Plus One. It was a great tool. It had all the charts for various songs. It had Dave Weckl's notes for why he played what he played, all the way down to certain drum fills. It had him playing on all of the included songs, and then all the songs where there again but without the drum track so you could play along to it. That's what I'm doing here in this video on the song called Island Magic (which also appeared on his debut album, but I think he played better on the instructional version).
So, here I am, trying to lay out some ideas on the drums. Not trying to copy too much off of the original (but he did have some great ideas, so I did rip some fills off of him). And as usual, I'm not quite at the 100% accurate timing level with all my notes. I've been wanting to get a video of this up for a week now, and dug the old tape out of the closet (from 1987!) and tonight wasn't the best I've played it over the past week, but life's too short and pointless to be a perfectionist, so here it is.
This was the thrid take of the night, and I usually play my best ideas on the first take (I can never play the same song twice the same way; a song is one big improvisation to me). But tonight I wasn't feeling super extra resiliant, and near the end of the thrid take I was thinking "okay, this one is going pretty well, but I have like 1 more minute to get through and my right arm is pretty dead". You might even notice when I'm banging on the China cymbal at the end I don't even have the proper grip, I'm just holding the stick cave-man style, hoping I don't let go!
Well, all you people out there who know this song... you're showing your age :-D. The rest of you, I hope you like it! Welcome to the '80s!
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Added: 3 months ago
Views: 9,325
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Quick lil' mini drum lesson for ya. I gloss over a lot of things, but hey, it's free.
Quick lil' mini drum lesson for ya. I gloss over a lot of things, but hey, it's free.
A great book for practicing paradiddles and all sorts of variations of sticking patterns that can be applied to a drumkit is "Stick Control". Here, it's this one: http://tinyurl.com/4nekat I've probably spent more hours staring at the pages of this book than any other as I practiced drums over the years.
Happy Diddles!
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Added: 1 month ago
Views: 3,999
I tried playing with my hands instead of sticks this time. The reason is because of those
I tried playing with my hands instead of sticks this time. The reason is because of those fast chord strumming parts. Those are just beyond my top speed for each hand so I can't keep it up for repeated measures like you need to.
If you played those sections on the guitar controller, try doing them with all down-strums to get an idea of how difficult it would be. Then imagine doing down-strums with two hands in sync!
So then it dawned on me: if I used my hands, I could use index and middle fingers to do "rolls" on each hand, and keep up with the fast chords easier. One hand per note (pad). Well, with some more practice, I think it'd work pretty damn well!
This video was just after figuring out the technique, and this was my best take after a few tries. My fingers started to get really tired so I'm going to throw this video up. If I just rested another day, I bet I could get a better score by not breaking the multiplier in the "fingery" sections, but I'm getting GTA4 and Mass Effect tomorrow so I won't be playing GH3 :-)
See my Take This Life video for another song that has these "just out of my league" fast chord strumming parts.
Thanks for watching (and reading!)
FAQ:
----
Q: How does it work?
A: Everything is explained in detail here: http://egyokeo.com/midihero
Q: How do you do 3-note chords?
A: All "two adjacent note" power chords are mapped to the top 4 pads, so with two sticks I can play any 3-note chord except GYO.
Q: How do you do whammy and star power?
A: I use a bass drum pedal on my right foot to activate star power, and a hi-hat pedal on my left foot to control whammy depth.
Q: How do you hold notes?
A: My MIDI Hero software has an auto-hold feature for every note hit because it's more natural for a drummer to play that way. It's not a good feeling to mash sticks into drum pads to hold notes.
Q: How much does this cost?
A: The drumKat is a pro-quality MIDI drum pad set. These days, they run about $1k. I also use a PC to run my custom home-brew MIDI Hero software to interpret the drum events. Then the "XIM" and "XFPS" add another $100+. This is not made for the masses. This is a one-of-a-kind setup.
Q: Do you play real drums? Are you in a band?
A: Yes, I've been playing drums since 1986. I have been in various bands from Jazz to Ska over the years. Right now I'm in the Detroit-based ska band The Exceptions.
Q: Are you getting Rock Band?
A: I got it, now that there is a mod out there that'll allow me to use my MIDI pads on it. I refuse to play on the stock drum controller. It's awful. Once I can play the game on my MIDI pads, I'll probably make some videos.
Q: Is "MIDI Hero" available to the public?
A: I plan on making it available for download in the coming months. Stay tuned.
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Added: 2 months ago
Views: 8,465
I updated my MIDI Hero software (that I use to play Guitar Hero on MIDI drum pads, see my
I updated my MIDI Hero software (that I use to play Guitar Hero on MIDI drum pads, see my other videos if you don't know what I'm talking about) to be able to play the game using a MIDI Keyboard.
I don't plan on ever playing Guitar Hero, or any other rhythm game, using a keyboard again after what you see me doing here in this video. It does make the games too easy, and it's border line (if not full-blown) cheating. Plus, I much prefer a standard guitar controller or better yet (for me, and I argue it's comperable in difficulty) my drum pads.
But getting it working with a keyboard was the next step after drums to achieving the ultimate goal of PLAYING GUITAR HERO WITH A REAL GUITAR! (Yes, some people have done that, but they all involve hacking a guitar. Wth MIDI Hero, you just plug in a MIDI guitar, map some notes in an .ini file, and away you go).
YES I KNOW householdhacker can play guitar hero with a real guitar, but his requires hacking your guitar, and his solution has some limitations. With my solution, you can map any note you want to any of the 5 in-game fret buttons, even different notes could map to a single fret, and you could even have different "tunings" per song if you wanted.
I don't own a MIDI guitar, so I can't show it working, but I plan on letting this software out into the wild in the coming months so if anyone out there has a MIDI guitar, you can try it and see if it works.
Oh, one important thing here: this only works on Xbox 360 and you must have a "XIM" (buy one or build one yourself). See my website for details.
FAQ:
----
Q: How does it work?
A: Everything is explained in detail here: http://egyokeo.com/midihero
Q: Is "MIDI Hero" available to the public?
A: I plan on making it available for download in the coming months. Stay tuned.
.
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Added: 3 months ago
Views: 29,190
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