Question For "Studio Drummers' re: Click Track"

[mikeh]

How do you deal with clicks?

When I'm hired to do a session (work which continues to be less and less available) I always try to get the producer (or contractor or artist or whoever hired me) to set up a click track with a few instruments (maybe cowbell/tamborine/conga) to allow for a groove to work with - rather than a harsh "click". I often offer to come in early to set something up (I even bring my own drum machine - an old Alesis HR16) and I offer to do it at no charge (if the studio is in town). At very least I ask for a cowbell - which can be tuned to a given frequency to find it's way though whatever mix is put through the phones)

More often than not, no ones offers me the consideration I ask for and I often end up playing to a harsh 1/4 click (normally a "side stick" sound).

Obviously I do what is asked (I'm being paid to provide my parts with no problems or complaints) but I hate the "side stick" click for a couple of reasons:

1. While I have played to clicks for many years (in the studio and live gigs) - I find a sterile click does little to "inspire" me - whereas a "machine groove" lets me work the groove

2. A side stick is too "harsh" which damages my ears (I've already lost way too much high end) and because of the rather short attack sound - I need it higher in the mix (which hurts the ears even more)

3. If other people (guitars, etc) are playing to the click (often before I lay my tracks - or even after I lay my tracks) it helps them to play "looser")

This just happened again earlier today (which prompted my post). So - what do you guys/gals do about clicks???? Or am I the only one who is this anal???

[ez_willis]

More often than not, no ones offers me the consideration I ask for and I often end up playing to a harsh 1/4 click (normally a "side stick" sound).
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Have you ever been given an explanation as to why you can't get a SCRATCH click track added, it would take minutes to do, and ultimately provide a better groove for the overall track?

[Blink 182]

i like playing to just a harsh click...before i record anything, i like to know exactly what im doing...every fill and beat is all prepared, if i play with any more sounds i get carried away sometimes. for the studio i like to keep my drumming very plain.

[Rimshot]

For the last few months I've had the pleasure of recording with musicians that only do live session recording (including the vocalist), but the luxury there is that the voaclist always wants another take so she gets to do it as an overdub over our recorded live session.
For a mechanical klick track, I've prefered the Korg digital metronome "beep" with an accent on the "one" beep.I only want to hear the click on the downbeat.
Once in a digital multitrack studio, the engineer was able to program a click track for me which gave me a hi-hat and kick drum beat. 1 & 3 on the kick and 2 & 4 on the hi-hat. It bothered me less and it was okay
The sharp click sound just gives me the jitters, and the mechanical female counting voice will put me in a home (I hate that one).
A high pitched cowbell would probably be okay.
Most of the time when I've done multitrack recording, the drums are recorded first over a scatch track of the vocalist and rhythm guitar or piano, so it is up to the other musicians to hit their marks. Of course they always blame the drummer when they miss the mark .

[nezpierce]

I know what you mean about the single click. Here's what always got me miffed, if you are playing a track that's right on the 1/4 beats then you can't hear the click. So then you try to listen for it somewhere in the mix which ends up taking you off the beat ever so slightly. Then if you ask for more click in the cans the engineer will complain that the overheads are picking up the click.

So why don't they just give you a nice cowbell + tambourine 8th note pattern and save some time?

Luckily, when I did the bulk of my recording back in the 90's there were keyboard and percussion sequences that I played along with live and in the studio....

Are you recording full drum tracks or just loops that end up going digital?

[fenix]

i got a feva...

[nezpierce]

really explore the studio space.... hehe Best Walken ever.

[fenix]

Originally posted by nezpierce
Then if you ask for more click in the cans the engineer will complain that the overheads are picking up the click.

in-ears are great for this. they go louder than headphones and they isolate more than headphones.

[tmix]

I wonder if they could feed a midi synch to your drum machine and you could just listen to that?

You could preprogram some useful beats.

Just a thought.

[mikeh]

ez-willis,
Normallyy I don't get a explination, nor do I really push for one. I offer my thouhts in advance (when I have an advance notice) and when I get to the session I simply work with what I have to work with. I prefer not to get into too much debate at the session (I try to keep the overall vibe very positive). andidly, in most cases, they simply did not spend the time.

nezpierce
Good to hear from you! You hit it on the head - when there is a sterile 1/4 note it can get buried behind the back beat and the drummer may spend too much focus on the "beat" and not enough focus on the "groove".

By the way - I stopped in the new Guitar Center and a few of the guys from our store work there (no one from the drum shop).

Rimshot,
If I have my choice I prefer to record to the rhythem instrument (ie: rhythem guitar) and a scratch vocal. That provides a good road map of the song direction and the story - which helps me understand the level of emotion the drums need to provide (ie: build up to the chorus, etc).

I find that some of the hardest sessions are adding drums when everything else is recorded. As an example: The guitar may be ahead of the beat, the singer is a little behind the beat, the bass guitar is not steady, etc. - and somehow I have to fit the drums in. In a case like that - it is much more complex than simply playing to the click.

tmix
That is a good suggestion. Candidly, it seems by the time the session starts eveyone is so concerned with mic'ing and getting levels, etc. etc that no one wants to spend time "improving the click - and I don't want to make it an issue, since I feel I will hurt the vibe of the session if I whine about my click.

[tmix]

I know what you mean. At this point I am so happy to have the gig I don't want to make myself unappealing to them.
Usually everyone is so pressed for time and mic set up you are lucky to get any kind of headphone mix.
I think all in all I have enjoyed the sessions where a very simple guitar part / vocal has been recorded to a click and I get to listen to all that instead of a loud boink.