How to Use Your Xbox 360 or PS3 Drum Kit as a MIDI Controller
If you have a drum kit for your Xbox 360 or PS3 game console and want to use it with your PC as a MIDI controller, you might be interested in Ps360 Midi Drummer. This is a program that lets you use your Xbox 360 GHWT/GH5 drum kit, and your PS3 RB Pro drum kit, with your PC as a MIDI controller. You can play a few beats into your favorite MIDI software, such as Ableton Live or Addictive Drums, and create your own music.
Ps360 Midi Drummer was inspired by another program called 360GHDrums2Midi, which reads input from Guitar Hero drum kits (Xbox 360 only) and sends MIDI notes to a specified MIDI output. However, Ps360 Midi Drummer works with both Guitar Hero and Rock Band drum kits, and supports both Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers.
To use Ps360 Midi Drummer, you need to install a few things on your PC. These are:
- .NET Framework 4.5.2 or above
- loopMIDI
- Any DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)
- ASIO4ALL (optional but recommended)
After installing these requirements, you need to create a loopback MIDI port on loopMIDI and configure Ps360 Midi Drummer to use that as its output. Then you need to plug in your drum kit and open Ps360 Midi Drummer. It will read your drum kit data and send it to the loopMIDI port. Then you need to open your DAW software and choose the loopMIDI port as your MIDI input. You can then open your favorite drums instrument or VSTi and start playing.
If you want to reduce the audio latency, you can use ASIO4ALL as your audio output on your DAW. This will make the audio output exclusive to the DAW software, but it will also make it more responsive.
Ps360 Midi Drummer is a great way to transform your plastic drum kit into a MIDI drum kit. You can use it to practice, record, or compose your own music. You can also customize the settings of Ps360 Midi Drummer, such as the MIDI notes, the sensitivity, and the hit filter. You can find more details about Ps360 Midi Drummer on its GitHub page: https://github.com/PProvost/PS360ProDrummer.
Once you have your drum kit connected to your PC and your DAW software, you can start playing and recording your own drum tracks. You can also use MIDI drum loops or patterns that are pre-recorded and ready to use. MIDI drum loops are files that contain MIDI notes for different drum beats and styles. You can find many free MIDI drum loops online, or you can buy some from various websites. MIDI drum loops are great for adding variety and inspiration to your music.
To use MIDI drum loops, you need to create a MIDI track within your DAW and set the instrument to be a basic drum kit for now. You should be able to insert or drag and drop your drum loops into the track. You can edit the track to be the length you want, insert fills, update the drum kit to get the sound you want and get creative. You can also mix and match different drum loops to create your own unique patterns.
Another way to use your drum kit as a MIDI controller is to play along with YouTube videos. YouTube has many videos that show you how to play drums on a MIDI keyboard, using the General MIDI layout. You can learn how to play different drum pieces, such as the kick, snare, hi-hat, tom, crash and ride. You can also learn how to play basic drum beats, such as rock, metal, pop and funk. You can watch the videos and try to imitate what the instructor is doing on your drum kit.
Playing drums on a MIDI keyboard can help you improve your rhythm, coordination and musicality. It can also be fun and challenging. You can find many videos on YouTube that teach you how to play drums on a MIDI keyboard, such as this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b4na4rdFbY.