Drummers and click tracks

[mobius.media]

I have read in numerous interviews Jimmy Chamberlain doesn't like clicks. Were any of the songs on Siamese Dream to a click and if so which ones? Same question goes for Dave Grohl with Nevermind.

Also, were many of the unclicked ones the result of slicing several takes together to get one just right, or did you usually stick to just one straight playthrough for all since they're both great drummers?

Thanks again.

[jefft]

Originally Posted by mobius.media

I have read in numerous interviews Jimmy Chamberlain doesn't like clicks. Were any of the songs on Siamese Dream to a click and if so which ones? Same question goes for Dave Grohl with Nevermind.

Also, were many of the unclicked ones the result of slicing several takes together to get one just right, or did you usually stick to just one straight playthrough for all since they're both great drummers?

Thanks again.

All the songs on SD were cut to a click. Thats how we were able to do the many, many edits on the 2". I remember Jimmy commenting that the click was like a railroad spike in his ears.

[Blast9]

Smells Like Teen Spirit - kind of related question re editing/looping drums

Hey guys I always wondered whether Teen Spirit was recorded with a click, and whether the intro/chorus drum riff was looped and copied to all the choruses

It is remarkably consistent where Dave digs into the kick on the 1st down beat of every bar (or every 2 bars) - but I love the groove and the effect of that consistency thumbsup

[ButchVig]

Originally Posted by jefft

All the songs on SD were cut to a click. Thats how we were able to do the many, many edits on the 2". I remember Jimmy commenting that the click was like a railroad spike in his ears.

Jeff....that's not necessarily true, we used a click all the way through on about about 4 or 5 songs...Rocket, Today, Disarm, Mayonnaze...maybe a couple others....but I seem to remember that on a lot of the songs we would start with a click and than fade it out at some point..

no click on cherub Rock, Quiet, Geek, Soma, Hummer (maybe the intro)...

I can't remember exactly, but I do remember some big sections edits in song, and Jimmy played consistently enough to do this...

Maybe someone who has some free time should try and lock a metronome to each of the songs, that will tell you!!!

[ButchVig]

Originally Posted by Blast9

Smells Like Teen Spirit - kind of related question re editing/looping drums

Hey guys I always wondered whether Teen Spirit was recorded with a click, and whether the intro/chorus drum riff was looped and copied to all the choruses

It is remarkably consistent where Dave digs into the kick on the 1st down beat of every bar (or every 2 bars) - but I love the groove and the effect of that consistency thumbsup

No click on Teen Spirit. I think I did some minimal tape edits between two takes, but the performances are live, no looping or pasting...

[jefft]

Originally Posted by ButchVig

Jeff....that's not necessarily true, we used a click all the way through on about about 4 or 5 songs...Rocket, Today, Disarm, Mayonnaze...maybe a couple others....but I seem to remember that on a lot of the songs we would start with a click and than fade it out at some point..

no click on cherub Rock, Quiet, Geek, Soma, Hummer (maybe the intro)...

I can't remember exactly, but I do remember some big sections edits in song, and Jimmy played consistently enough to do this...

Maybe someone who has some free time should try and lock a metronome to each of the songs, that will tell you!!!

Ooops my bad. I definitely remember fading the click out after Jimmy got the tempo on many songs. I'm old...that's my excuse for the memory lapse.

[ButchVig]

Originally Posted by jefft

Ooops my bad. I definitely remember fading the click out after Jimmy got the tempo on many songs. I'm old...that's my excuse for the memory lapse.

Jeff...no worries, I can't remember exactly either!!!

I remember you did some blunt cut edits on Cherub Rock...I think the front end of the song was take 3 or 4, the solo came from a an earlier take, and you cut the drum fill in at the end from the last take....

[ButchVig]

Originally Posted by ButchVig

Jeff...no worries, I can't remember exactly either!!!

I remember you did some blunt cut edits on Cherub Rock...I think the front end of the song was take 3 or 4, the solo came from a an earlier take, and you cut the drum fill in at the end from the last take....

At the end of Cherub Rock, I LOVE that crazy static sound! That was Billy hitting the footswitch on the crazy fuzz pedal (from the pedal steel guitar)...after all the roaring guitars in the final chorus, the song literally sputters to a stop!

[jefft]

Originally Posted by ButchVig

Jeff...no worries, I can't remember exactly either!!!

I remember you did some blunt cut edits on Cherub Rock...I think the front end of the song was take 3 or 4, the solo came from a an earlier take, and you cut the drum fill in at the end from the last take....

I remember the drum edit maps you would make. Some of those were pretty intense. There is no Apple Z on tape. Those that have done tape edits know that the big challenge was keeping up with the pieces and labeling each one to know what it was.