Drum tracking....

[slaves666]

I track drums pretty old school......I track the same tune a few times until I get a good take, then take the best take and fix mistakes.....

I sat in on a session the other day and the producer tracked each part separately. He moved on once it was played well and sometimes even copy and pasted on the spot and had the drummer just play a new fill at the end of the part....

FYI - We both track with a click....

Anyways, my question is......Does anyone else track drums in parts?

[pedrodash]

The Black Album's drums were tracked in parts. I guess Blink 182 made an album with loops pre-recorded by Travis.
Everything is looped today, anyway. But sometimes the drummer doesn't know that.

[John Suitcase]

I've done it, it depends on the drummer and the track. On one session where the drummer was doing a lot of time changes, we did all the songs in bits and pieces, then edited together. Then I gave him a CD of those tracks, and the rest of the band rehearsed with them, then we added the other parts a few weeks later. Worked great.

Not always my preferred method, but when a drummer is having a hard time getting a perfect take from end to end, I'll punch in the drums. DAWs are great for this, because you can move the edit point, and adjust the crossfades to make it super transparent

Whatever works!

[slaves666]

Does it make the workflow faster in parts?

[John Suitcase]

I can, if you're good with editing. I'll often have the band play a couple of takes, then I might take one part from one take, and another section from another take, if they were good.

Now, some might think this is another example of modern technology ruining music, but engineers have done it that way since magnetic tape was invented. The Beatles often did multiple takes which were edited into one composite take, even on their earliest records.

Just be sure to keep all the tracks aligned, and edit at a natural spot. I like to edit just ahead of a drum hit, usually on the one, but not always. Try not to edit across sustaining crash cymbals, as that's pretty hard to cover, even with crossfades.

[C_F_H_13]

This is pretty much the standard way drums are tracked now. The only real variation is HOW MUCH editing/comping is done. Yes there are a ton of songs that are based a single complete take, but there are far more that are marginally comped...and there are even more that are so edited/chopped that it would make your head spin.

Someone brought up the Black Album...I can tell you 100% for sure that not only were those drum tracks a combination of dozens of takes, but it was also SEVERELY edited for timing....ON TAPE!!!

Whenever I track drums (time permitting) I make the drummer play through 2 sections, say verse and then pre chorus. Despite the fact that he plays the pre, I am focusing on the verse. Once I get what I consider a good take of the verse, I edit on the spot (making minor adjustments to timing) and then move onto a Verse/pre chorus and focus on the Pre chorus. This "back and forth" type of working garantees a solid edit point regardless of which take a section is pulled from.

I'm at the point now where even if the drummer is horrendous (and that happens way too often) I will Beat Detective on the spot...saving myself hours of decisions and time later....

[TheArchitect]

Originally Posted by C_F_H_13

This is pretty much the standard way drums are tracked now. The only real variation is HOW MUCH editing/comping is done. Yes there are a ton of songs that are based a single complete take, but there are far more that are marginally comped...and there are even more that are so edited/chopped that it would make your head spin.

Someone brought up the Black Album...I can tell you 100% for sure that not only were those drum tracks a combination of dozens of takes, but it was also SEVERELY edited for timing....ON TAPE!!!

Whenever I track drums (time permitting) I make the drummer play through 2 sections, say verse and then pre chorus. Despite the fact that he plays the pre, I am focusing on the verse. Once I get what I consider a good take of the verse, I edit on the spot (making minor adjustments to timing) and then move onto a Verse/pre chorus and focus on the Pre chorus. This "back and forth" type of working garantees a solid edit point regardless of which take a section is pulled from.

I'm at the point now where even if the drummer is horrendous (and that happens way too often) I will Beat Detective on the spot...saving myself hours of decisions and time later....

I ask this with complete sincerity,,,

Why do you feel a need to plan on editing tracks like this from the get go? IT seems as if you have made the decision this is necessary before you have even hit record and know what you are working with?

[C_F_H_13]

Originally Posted by TheArchitect

I ask this with complete sincerity,,,

Why do you feel a need to plan on editing tracks like this from the get go? IT seems as if you have made the decision this is necessary before you have even hit record and know what you are working with?

It's for the most part completely dependent on the music I produce/engineer. I do almost exclusively metal and hard rock...both styles now a days require almost surgical precision (metal especially). If I am working on a country/folk or more organic band...this kind of editing is not the norm. You are right that I have to extent decided my method before I've heard a note...but in all my years I have yet to have a drummer come in and play blast beats or 32nd note double kick work at 200bpm and not need a little (or alot) of help.