Pro Tools is not an instrument. You cannot play it. It is software and hardware used to record with just like the old Real to Real Recording Tape Machines that were used back in the day. Yes, protools can replace sounds but I doubt that GNR would do that. Samples are great but your own recorded drums are priceless. The Drum Machine is used for loops which are all over the place on CD. Live, those loops are played along with the songs. You can see and hear Brain or Frank playing along with them. Someone would trigger the loops on before or during the songs at certain points while what they call a "click track" which is used to keep solid timing and is played through the headphones worn by the drummer or what they call In-Ear Monitors which are worn by all band members to keep in line with the tracks of loops the band is playing along with. Yes, the drums sound increddible on CD but I bet for the most part they were replaced by "sampled drums". They had a huge budget to get the amazing sounds that they did and here is a link with Brain talking about how they went about getting the drum sounds on CD. Brain uses those Drum Machines to create loops and drummers are not against them by any means. Drummers need to welcome change and keep up with the times. We are living in a hip hop/pop/R&B World right now and that would go into what Axl said about CD being more like Appetite as far as taking everything popular now and putting it all together. In the end, whether it would be real drums or drums programed on a drum machine by a drummer, you have to do what is best for the song. That's what matters most. I can't believe I'm saying this since I'm a drummer but people don't go home at the end of the night humming the drums.
http://eqmag.tv/1. Click on In The Studio on the left side of the screen
2. Scroll down on the left side of the screen and click on Brain
3. Scroll down on the left side of the screen and click on Chinese Democracy
There are a bunch more links about Brain and the way he goes about recording on the left side of the screen also.
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