Do you track drums by sections or in a row?

[DaWolf]

I`m tracking my drum parts on my own at the moment , so I try to do it in as few takes as possible.
If I`m not happy with a part I look for the best spot where I can punch in, like a longer tom fill or some choked cymbal stuff. If there are parts that are very different in the song I record them seperately , but I don`t duplicate parts and build the song with them - because I like them a bit different each time.

 

[AdamWathan]

I let them play the whole song in a row. Especially if the drummer isn´t used (or able) to play to a click.
Otherwise punching in and editing is a big pain when there is no click.

Solution: If the drummer isn't god and can't play it perfectly from start to finish with excellent meter and no mistakes, use a click. I used to think a click track wasn't necessary and it's use was overrated but lately I've jumped on the other boat. Musicians suck, click is a must. Plus, when they are off the click you don't have to be the bad guy and tell them the take sucked, the click will tell them for you!

 

[kalony]

i usualy do track in a row as much takes as i need, to have for every part a good take. if there is still a part wich he dont hit, i do it seperatly.

after that, i take those parts wich have the best feeling (thats y i do it in a row...more improvisation and more energy...even if its only a lil a lil bit) and than i edit the shit and bring it on click.

kalony

 

[006]

Yeah, I've always found two methods to work really well - both involve a click. 1) Get the drummer to throw down 3 takes all the way through, you can comp a single solid take from all of those. 2) Track it all the way through once and punch-in every spot that needs fixing. I also start the audio a measure or two before where I want to punch-in and I tell the drummer to play along before the spot we want to punch-in at because, as already said, it makes the transitions much smoother and unnoticeable since he's playing the same as before. I have also gotten into the habit of getting samples of every cymbal, hat and drum just in case.

I mean, some people will be shocked at the whole measure-at-a-time method...but sometimes that's just the workflow you're going to have to deal with to get a solid ass drum take for every song. I don't know why some people can be shocked at how some people record their shit...honestly just do it how it works for you and if someone's method differs whatever, you're doing it different than them too

 

[Machinated]

depends on the drummer.

if they are good enough we'll do a few complete takes, usually about 5 but it depends - you can tell when you have enough to work with.

if i have enough general takes sometimes we'll just punch in on certain sections or fills.

as far as cymbal bleed etc, as CFH said I try and get them to play the same thing each time (as in the same cymbals and fills), that way its quite easy as long as you are careful not to do any obvious edits. quickcomp FTW!

i have had some drummers where its been one beat at a time, quantize that, then go on to the next. horrible.

 

[ahjteam]

when I played the drums for our ep, I played the whole song for 3 times and then one backbeat part that I had difficulties with separately, then we just edited the best takes together.

 

[Suicide_As_Alibi]

how does that work? how would the metronome be any sort of correct in a situation like this

Haha, metronome? To be fair the timing on the final recordings is pretty good (especially as the final product is pretty ghetto). There's basically nothing in the way of tempo changes in the actual songs, and there's not much between songs either - they just play as fast as they can get away with I didn't have anything to do with it; I wouldn't have risked it!

It helps that he's a great drummer (just listen to the drum solo in 'Eyelyds' on their MySpace - all the tracks on there are from that session. ). I've recorded 4 times with him, and he gets pretty much gets everything first or second take.

Steve