Farview
Well-known member
That John Cougar song about Jack and Diane has that clapping. The clapping was the click track. When they took it out, the song didn't work as well, so they left it.
ez_willis
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I talked to Kenny Aranoff about that song. He said he was offended when JCM told him he was using a DM, but still wanted him to track the tom part in the middle, but admitted later that it totally worked.
ez_willis
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I only use a click track when I want my drums to sound good. If I want them to sound crappy I leave it off. I'd suggest that you do the same.
ez_willis
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except when the drummer is hopped up on adrenaline or crack. then not so much.
R
Ride
New member
I am practicing my new song with a click track and I hate it. It's like I sterilized it. I am practicing, maybe after 100 plays the click will feel right.
ez_willis
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It feels sterile because your meter sucks. When you learn to use a click, you'll learn to play in front of, behind, and top of the beat depending on what the song calls for.
antichef
pornk rock
For us home recorders who need to do a song in pieces, possibly spread out over weeks/months/years, and who can benefit from overlaying (either temporarily or permanently) sequences and complete tracks from other sources, not using a click track is a recipe for spending hours of mouse click effort cutting and pasting and re-aligning and tweaking and finally giving up. We should use a click track.
And with regard to sterility -- what EZ said - there's nothing incompatible between a click track and any amount of rhythmic expression/variety you want to have on the song. The only way it gets complicated is if you actually want to change the tempo at one or more points, but even that can be handled (in different ways, depending on your software, likely -- maybe splice in a different click track or use software that supports multiple tempos per project).
And with regard to sterility -- what EZ said - there's nothing incompatible between a click track and any amount of rhythmic expression/variety you want to have on the song. The only way it gets complicated is if you actually want to change the tempo at one or more points, but even that can be handled (in different ways, depending on your software, likely -- maybe splice in a different click track or use software that supports multiple tempos per project).
ez_willis
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yep. I use an Alesis hr-16 drum machine that can program a beat, then use multiple beats to program a song. At a particular part of each programed song, the tempo can be shifted, then shifted back when the part changes.
I never use that particular feature though, because I am not Alice in Chains, and I haven't really heard any other band that I like that can pull tempo changes off in the middle of songs and make it sound right.
G
Greg_L
Banned
That's because you suck.
legionserial
New member
H
Harvey Gerst
New member
It helps to have a click track if you're gonna replace some of the drum parts with samples later on. It's almost a must in ProTools.
On the other hand, if a band can't play to a click, let 'em play the way they feel most comfortable.
As for me, when I play guitar to a click, I've never found a metronome that didn't slow down during the chorus. I think it must have something to do with their batteries. Every damn metronome I've ever used slowed down when the song got to the chorus. How does it know?
On the other hand, if a band can't play to a click, let 'em play the way they feel most comfortable.
As for me, when I play guitar to a click, I've never found a metronome that didn't slow down during the chorus. I think it must have something to do with their batteries. Every damn metronome I've ever used slowed down when the song got to the chorus. How does it know?
M
mferguson
New member
On the one hand, if the drummer can't keep good time they definitely need to use a click track, but if they're not good at keeping time they probably won't follow a click track well anyway. First rule of learning to play drums is to always practice w/ a metronome (when you're by yourself).
OTOH I always use the click track of my Roland VS2480 DAW if possible because it makes editing so much easier - the workstation knows exactly where every measure & every beat is. Makes copying, pasting, moving, punching tracks a breeze.
Only prob is when I want to save time by recording the drum machine rather than miking my drums - hard to line up drum machine exactly w/ click track.
OTOH I always use the click track of my Roland VS2480 DAW if possible because it makes editing so much easier - the workstation knows exactly where every measure & every beat is. Makes copying, pasting, moving, punching tracks a breeze.
Only prob is when I want to save time by recording the drum machine rather than miking my drums - hard to line up drum machine exactly w/ click track.
G
Greg_L
Banned
I'm a human click track because I always play to a click track.
M
mferguson
New member
Or if you have band members with the ol' runaway-freight-train tendency...
ez_willis
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I couldn't disagree more, unless your job is simply to record the band. If you are brought in to produce the band it's your job to make that band sound ready to record music that doesn't sound like ass, regardless of how comfortable they are.
BeniRose
New member
I think it's absolutely up to the artist. As producers, it's hard for us to let go of the idea that an artist might have an idea of how music should sound that's different than ours. Even though I personally would like all of my music to be on time to a click track, not all styles of music call well quantized tempo. Some music just sounds better when it's free to move around a bit in its tempo, and we should leave it up to the artist to decide if his/her/their music qualifies for that. Of course, they could be wrong, and it could sound like total rubbish, but that's still on them 
A
Amos McWoods
New member
I would think any drummer worth his salt could play to a click...if not, how does he keep time anyway? He should at least be playing to a pulse in his head. If the bass player needs to listen to the drummer to keep time, he's already playing to a click of sorts...why can't the drummer do it? Shit I can play drums to a click, and I'm a guitar player! I hear a pulse in my head no matter what instrument I'm playing, that's how I keep time.
That being said, not every drummer is going to need one obviously, and not every song will either. Listening to some older bands, Zeppelin and the Stones what not, the tempo does change throughout the song, but it sounds right somehow. Ex: "Since I've Been Loving You"--that song continually slows down in tempo as it progresses, but I don't think it would sound as good if it didn't.
That being said, not every drummer is going to need one obviously, and not every song will either. Listening to some older bands, Zeppelin and the Stones what not, the tempo does change throughout the song, but it sounds right somehow. Ex: "Since I've Been Loving You"--that song continually slows down in tempo as it progresses, but I don't think it would sound as good if it didn't.
ez_willis
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All I have to go off of is personal experience since I'm not a producer. A band I was in a long time ago was signed to Hollywood Records. We chose Andy Wallace to produce the record. He met with us at a rehearsal room and listened to our stuff and told the A&R guy that we weren't ready to record a record on a major label, for the mere reason that the drummer's meter was so poor. We spent the next six weeks rehearsing 5 days a week with a drum instructor and a click track and the record turned out great. There is no way we could've recorded with that drummer at that time, period.
I ain't buying this "it's up to the artist" bs. It's an excuse for laziness.
H
Harvey Gerst
New member
Unless we're hired to "produce" the band, I'll only suggest that they try to play to a click. If they're having real problems playing to a click (and they're footing the bill), I'll recommend that they forget about trying to play to a click and just play.
ez_willis
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Even if the result is a crappy sounding album and you're being payed $45k to produce a radio quality product?