Order of recording question

[Peyton]

this my be stupid but what the hell

I was wonder what the best way to record drums is. Is it having the drumer go by a metronome or having the drummer listen to the guitar while playing or record a rythm guitar track first and having a drummer go with that.

[Jules]

There is no one "best" way...

Producers make this sort of decision on a per song basis

But if I was forced to pick one, I would say

Make the guitar player play VERY tightly to a click track,

Then get the drummer to play to the click AND the guitar.. (let the drummer guide you on levels)

Then re do the guitar perhaps - and creep a little smidgeon of the guide click into the monitor mix for everyone else overdubbing to the track...

[Guitarl]

Yeah he's right. You will probably find out instead of choose which way will work best. I have worked with drummers that couldn't play to a click if their life depended on it. My drummer likes to play to a click but I think it detracts from the quality of his performance. I want to convince him to play with me live (direct) to improve the feel of the performance.

[Black Dog]

Unless your drummer has amazing (and I mean exceptional) natural feel I'd do it the way jules has suggested. Or a slightly different take on this is to let the guitar player lay his tracks to a click while at the same time feeding the guitar and bit of a click to the drummer. Sort of live. Then replace guitar later. I used a a pod type of thing for the guitar no amps just headphones, so I could mic up the whole room and have the guitar player sitting in the room together for good eye contact and 'vibe'.

Have fun.

[Bones]

Taking nothing away from the well experienced suggestions from the others, I would also add that it depends on how you will be working and what type of song, or songs are being recorded.

What I mean is that if you plan to use room mics as well as spaced overheads etc, then bleed/spill becomes an issue .... especially if you are doing open music with quiet passages etc.

Regardless of the above, the number of simultaneous inputs on your recorders may also play a role in deciding the above.

If you are doing "full house" rock or metal and are not going for the 18 microphone mega-lavish-bigass-studio-overkill type setup, for example and will be "tight mic-ing" the kit with no room sound .... then I would suggest setting the entire band up as usual, with perhaps vocals on a simple headphone mix whilst just recording the drums .... I think you will be surprised at how little bleed you get in most situations (unless your guitarist insists on twisting the gain and master volume knobs RIGHT OFF of his JCM2000 feeding 2 x 4x12 stacks which just happen to be right next to the drummers head!!!).

This may sound like an unprofessional suggestion, but like I said, it depends on what you want to achieve and with what tools/facilities.

Alternately, if room mics etc (or any mic that is going to be REALLY tainted by the spill) are to be employed, then try the guitars and vocals on a headphone mix (put them all in the control room with you).

Bottom line (as others have pointed out) is that click tracks are really TRICKY and in my personal opinion, the best way to get the vibe out of a band is to let them play in an environment which is familiar to them, which MOST of the time ends up being live ...... UNLESS there is one or more players in the band that are completely proficient and comfortable at "giving it horns" whilst listening to the good old "PIK pok pok pok PIK pok pok pok ..........."

Ciao

[JackInslee]

bones, i could not have said it any better myself


you'd be VERY surprised, there is very little bleed

having a drummer record to only a click is retarted, he needs to hear AT LEAST the bass, and the bassist will get a better sound by playing along with the drummer.



pretty much ditto what bones said

[dale116dot7]

The most comfortable sounding recordings I've done have been click-less, stripped-down band live in a room, 8 mics on the kit, 1 guitar, and 1 bass track, so 10 inputs. Drum mics get little spill, bass direct through phones, rhythm guitar lined up with the kit to minimize bleed either way, and volume on the guitar amp down. Vocals in a booth or not at all, though. This can work if you are limiting overdubs to maybe some harmony vocals or maybe a few solos. Lots of overdubs without a click just makes for a rhythm disaster.

If you are doing any work with a 5-string banjo, though, things change. Either it has to be recorded along with everything else - then bleed is a problem (out from the banjo). Or you have to do everything to a click and overdub the beast.

[AlanNWC]

im a fan of drummer playing to a click and guitarist in his cans.
you will never get a better "vibe" to a track than if you have the band play all together and just overdub what needs to be fixed or doubled etc.,
but the issues of space and gear limitations come up here.

i highly disagree that playing strictly to a click is ********.
ive seen lots of drummers do it with awesome results.
not to mention ive done it lots of times myself.
it just requires a good drummer who knows exactly what he's playing at all times.
if you're in the studio, you should be able to play your part by yourself, no questions asked IMO.
if you cant then you arent properly prepared to lay down the best possible performance.