how to collaborate with drummer without DAW

DiamondSea

New member
Hiya folks

New poster here looking for some help. Excuse the long post but its a little complicated...!

I am collaborating remotely on a recording project with my drummer and it is proving more difficult than I thought. I am recording a scratch backing track in my DAW (Reason) and sending my drummer the wav file. My drummer does not have a DAW or a computer but uses a Roland TD27 drum module. While listening to my wav file he is recording a drum track on the TD27 and then sending me a new wav file of his drum track. I then import this into the song on my DAW and try to sync it up. I knew I would have to line up the start of the track to sync as he is not recording into a sequencer. That is ok but a bit cumbersome but helped by my drummer recording a count in that I can later delete. The problem I am having is that the wav file he has created plays back at a slightly slower tempo than the original backing track even though it was recorded by the drummer while listening to the wav file i originally sent him. I can line up the start of the recording but by the chorus it has gone out of time. I have to go in and time stretch (time-shrink?) the drum track to play back in sync. Before you ask- i know the drummer is playing in time with the backing track as he also sent me a recording including the original backing and it sounded perfect. I just can't get it to line up easily with the original backing track in my DAW.
The drums sound great so I think this recording method will work. I just don't know if I am missing something obvious in creating, exporting and then importing the wav files. I am using 16 bit 44 kHz wav file creation and as far as I know the TD27 uses the same conversion.
Is it something to do with sample rates?
Or is the playback that he is listening to for recording at a slightly slower tempo than the original?
Or is it something to do with my DAW auto-stretching and making a mess of it?

Any help appreciated as I am new to digital audio file management??

I know an obvious answer is that the drummer should record into a computer and DAW so it is sequenced to a grid but that may be a while off...!
 
Sounds like you and the drummer are doing everything right. If so, then the problem comes down to internal clocks on your PC/DAW and his TD27. If either or both are off a little, you'll see the lag you are experiencing. If you align the drum hits to your grid, you'll probably notice the gap gets larger the further down the timeline you go.

I'm not sure what to do about it other than cutting the drum track into segments and realigning or using the stretch function. I'm old school and would cut and realign.
 
Sounds like you and the drummer are doing everything right. If so, then the problem comes down to internal clocks on your PC/DAW and his TD27. If either or both are off a little, you'll see the lag you are experiencing. If you align the drum hits to your grid, you'll probably notice the gap gets larger the further down the timeline you go.

I'm not sure what to do about it other than cutting the drum track into segments and realigning or using the stretch function. I'm old school and would cut and realign.

Thanks for the reply. Yes the gaps get larger the further down the timeline. I have been using the stretch function and it works pretty well. Just wondering was there an easier solution.....
 
I would think he is recording the MIDI as well. Have him send you the MIDI files and add them to a track with a VSTi.
 
I would think he is recording the MIDI as well. Have him send you the MIDI files and add them to a track with a VSTi.

No he can only record audio on the SD card of the drum module. He could record midi if he purchased a computer:facepalm:
 
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