To Click or Not to Click

Well, in a nutshell, here's my process. I record guitar and bass scratch tracks to a click. Then I map the drums. After I get the drums recorded, I usually take the click track off. I only use it in the measure before the actual songs starts. You know, so you have some space to get the feel of the tempo.
 
This one comes up every so often. ;)

I click. I'd be all over the place if I didn't. Makes editing easier, too.
 
Yes. FL Studio has a 'recording pre-count' which clicks me in. It's as irritating as all hell if it's too loud and puts me right off, so I often turn it off. I prefer to tap my foot but then, I think I have an exceptional sense of rythym. I'm just crap at playing notes... Ah well...

Dr. V
 
it depends.

click when things are complicated and there is a lot of overdubbing

not click when the band is able to play well, or can match unclicked tracks

not click when the piece is a-tempo
 
If you don't (at least) use a count-in, how can you get multiple instruments (on multiple takes) to all start together?

I do the same - click track (I just set a repeating drum pattern), record scratch guitar or key track, then go back and do the full drum track.
 
I write my music on guitar and then tab it out on a program called TabIt. From there I convert to MIDI and listen to that AND a click through headphones while I play the drums to it. After the drums are recorded I ditch the MIDI and add the guitars, bass and vocals. I like to hear my song as well as a click so that my drumming reflects the music. I also add subtle tempo changes throughout the songs to allow my songs to breathe.
 
Almost always (can't remember last time I didn't).

And I have very little patience for drummers who poo-poo click tracks. Not coincidentally they're almost always the ones with meter problems.
 
I've never used one to record but I'm by no means against them, I think they are a great tool. I've used one (well, a drum machine) live (two actually, one for verse, the other for chorus) and I always thought I had good timing. The drum machine exposed me big time at first ! Mind you, it was great fun stepping in and out of chorus.
Alot of people poo poo them but I would say that once you get used to it's strictness, you can enhance your playing by actually playing loosely within it's strict definitions and it's a fallacy that it makes your playing stiff and robotic.
 
In the past, I've been pretty militant about using a click, but in our current sessions, we are working on some songs that have a lot of tempo changes, and even with a proper tempo map, the feel was sounding unnatural...so we went natural. Its better, but not perfect.
 
BenignVanilla said:
In the past, I've been pretty militant about using a click, but in our current sessions, we are working on some songs that have a lot of tempo changes, and even with a proper tempo map, the feel was sounding unnatural...so we went natural. Its better, but not perfect.
Click to expand...

Chili made the point that a click is really useful for editing and I can see that. Very rarely do I stick to one tempo all the way through and often there are time signature changes which is partly why I've never used one. Until recently clicks never even entered my mind, not for any aesthetic or political reasons, I just never thought about it ! That approach has it's frustrations, but faint heart never won fair lady......:cool:
 
squibble94 said:
Well, in a nutshell, here's my process. I record guitar and bass scratch tracks to a click. Then I map the drums. After I get the drums recorded, I usually take the click track off. I only use it in the measure before the actual songs starts. You know, so you have some space to get the feel of the tempo.
Click to expand...

I've done something similar in the past. I create a scratch of guitars and vocals with a click, and then track drums, then go back and retrack the scratch.

In our most recent non-click session, we ran the guitar into the board, seperated me from the drummer with a baffle, and recorded scratch drums, and vocals as we recorded the drums live. Worked nicely, mostly.
 
Almost always - the one possible exception being a free-time solo piece - say, an unaccompanied guitar piece where I wanted the freedom to push and pull the time a bit.

Otherwise, yeah; there's no reason not to, and every reason to.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
Almost always - the one possible exception being a free-time solo piece - say, an unaccompanied guitar piece where I wanted the freedom to push and pull the time a bit.

Otherwise, yeah; there's no reason not to, and every reason to.
Click to expand...

Pretty much sums up my stance as well.

Scratch guitars to a click, drums to the click and guitars. Ditch the click and do the rest.
 
I recently recorded a hardcore metal/punk band :confused: and they just wanted to come in and do it. No click.

So we miked them up and hit record. Knocked out a few tracks and really they sounded pretty good, even only tracked. They were wanting a relatively rough sounding type of deal anyways, so I guess that worked out. After we mixed them up, the songs really came to life and it sounds great.

I guess it depends on the situation you're in. This particular band did not want to go back and dub anything in except vocals. They didn't go back and do any extra guitars--nothing.

But, this was a one-off case. I will almost exclusively recommend a metronome.
 
I use a click a lot but truthfully find it the most unmusical thing on the planet. I actually hate click tracks. It's just plain unmusical.

Also - take any Miles Davis, Zeppelin record... put a song on at the first and then at the end. Every song speeds up. These are the best musicians that have ever lived. That says something to me - it's natural to speed up, get over it and learn how to play good time (which takes years and years and years).

Playing good time has zero to do with playing in perfect time like a metronome. :)

Another thing I hate about clicks is drummers playing with headphones on. They sound like they are using metal sticks because they can't hear the bottom 40db of their cymbals. It makes you play with less finesse than if you didn't have headphones on is my experience.

So while I have spent the last 30 years playing with a click and can't go off time if you paid me, haven't lost the beat in several decades, I hate click tracks and headphones and would like to shit can both of them.
 
only ever as a pre roll count in, usualy 4 bars. Plenty of time to get everyone on the same page before the song starts
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top