First, make sure that you have installed the Handy Drums plugins you intend to use so you can get started quickly.
Before using the software, you must authorize it by entering the serial number (license key) you received with your purchase. Here is how to authorize Handy Drums. Alternatively, you can run our plugins in a FREE TRIAL mode.
Handy Drums Plugins: What they are and what they are not #
Handy Drums are virtual drum instruments. They can be used as plugins inside DAWs or as standalone apps. Think of Handy Drums primarily as sound modules that can be played live using a MIDI controller or by routing MIDI loops into them. They are the software equivalent of acoustic drums and percussion instruments and, as such, require a “performer” to play them (either a human being or MIDI loops).
We designed Handy Drums to be straightforward to use and to give you a beautiful, produced, finished drum sound right from the get-go.
They can also be used as standalone apps on Windows and MacOS computers. In that case, you can either play them live using MIDI controllers (eg. electronic drums) or by playing loops directly inside them using the built-in MIDI Loop Browser (Handy Drums v2.0+ only).
Handy Drums are not drum machines.
Loading Handy Drums inside Bitwig Studio #
In this example, we will show you how to load Handy Drums inside Bitwig Studio’s arrange window.
- Open the browser on the right by clicking the “search” icon in the bottom right corner.
- In the search bar, type “Handy” to quickly see a list of all installed Handy Drums.
- Select the Handy Drums instrument of your choice and drag it onto the arrange window’s empty space.
Bitwig Studio will create an instrument track and load Handy Drums into it.
Playing a Drum Loop Through Handy Drums #
To play a drum groove through the Handy Drums plugins, you must drop an existing MIDI drum performance onto an Instrument track with Handy Drums instrument loaded or create/program a performance from scratch right on your Instrument track.
Audition and import #
The most practical way to preview and import MIDI drum loops into Bitwig Studio is to use Handy Drums’ built-in MIDI LOOP BROWSER.
Open the MIDI LOOP BROWSER by clicking on its button in the lower left portion of the GUI. Browse any MIDI loops on your computer, and drag the desired file directly onto your MIDI track from the orange drag area.
See the dedicated MIDI LOOP BROWSER documentation for details on what you can do and how to use this functionality.
Locate and Import #
Alternatively, you can locate the MIDI file you want to import using your folder browser (or Finder if on Mac), then drag the desired file directly onto your MIDI track and into a desired position on the timeline.
However, this method does not allow you to audition MIDI loops before importing them into your project.
Bitwig Studio will ask for some input to understand better your midi file (Tempo/Time Signature).
How To Merge Split MIDI Tracks #
If the imported MIDI loop has multiple channels, Bitwig Studio will split them into separate tracks/MIDI clips.
In such cases, you may wish to merge them. Follow these steps to do that:
- Drag the MIDI loop onto Handy Drums instrument track.
Bitwig will create several new tracks below and split the loop into separate clips.
- Drag clip 1 directly onto the Handy Drums instrument track.
- Double click (important) the other clip 2 (or click inside clip 2), select all notes (Ctrl+A), and Cut (Ctrl+X)
- Now, single-click clip 1 again and paste (Ctrl+V) the notes from clip 2.
Important note: Make sure that the cursor is at the beginning of the bar so that the MIDI notes line up in the correct relative location.
After consolidating MIDI loops, you can delete any unused tracks.
Enabling Plugin Multiple Outputs inside Bitwig Studio #
To set up multiple outputs in Bitwig Studio, do the following:
- Inside the Handy Drums plugin, decide which stereo output you want each component to go to.
For example, Kick 1+2, Snare 3+4, etc…
- Next, click on the “show plugin multi out chain selector” icon button.
- Click “add missing” chains to add all available outputs for Handy Drums (or you can also add one at a time if you just want a few).
Bitwig Studio will create additional outputs for your Handy Drums components.
A good habit is to rename the newly created outputs with meaningful component names.
Alt+Click on the output channel name to rename it.
Automate Variable Hats in Bitwig Studio #
To manually edit the tightness or looseness of Handy Drums variable hats, you need to edit the MIDI beat’ CC4 data.
- Click the “show automation lanes” icon button on the instrument track in the arrange window.
- Then click the drop-down menu and select “add MIDI lane.”
- Select the “Control Change” button and “#4—Foot Control” from the drop-down menu when the dialog pops up.
- Using the pointer or pencil tool, draw CC4 curves to suit your taste. Lower values will make the hats more open, and vice versa.