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I seen many threads on here but don't ever remember seeing one on this... What tips do you have for nice, weighty rolling tom fills? Something I've been a big fan of in music in general, let alone our little genre. Never really quite got the knack of throwing them down though, I know some of the artists who do the best ones were drummers for example Reso.

just get some tom samples and click in a pattern for a fill in the piano roll and adjust the velocity and panning.

ChadDub wrote:just get some tom samples and click in a pattern for a fill in the piano roll and adjust the velocity and panning.

Simple solutions for complex problems.

Haha in all seriousness though I think I've got a few good tips. Always put rolls where they make sense (ex. during a transition or at the end of melody line)
Never too long. Try going from the highest tom to lowest to if your using it to transition to a break. Try going from highest to lowest if building up for a drop. Try ending with a snare or kick hit. All that is just tips of course not rules, do whatever sounds good to you.

I've always found this easy because I've played drums. I think you should watch some drummers playing songs in context and take note of where and how they make their fills. In my opinion, putting more than 2-3 of a single tom in a quick song is unrealistic. And don't forget you can substitute kicks for some of the tom hits to add variety.

I always like to use fracture and neptune - too doggone funky as my reference point for rolling toms. So I'll load it up, rock the fuck for 5 minutes and then proceed never to use tom drums in anything out of shame.