how to best aid drum tracking process with guitars?

[colonel_claypoo]

hey everybody,

I'm curious to know your preferred method of supporting the drummer while tracking.

I tried to have him play to a click alone or to a click and pre-recorded guitars (recorded to a click of course).

however, for my next production I'm thinking of having live scratch guitars plus the click.

what do you think of that? it seems to me a lot of drum tracking is done that way.

I think it might give the drummer a better feeling having the guitarist with him in the room.

on the other hand, I'm afraid the guitarist probably won't be as tight as if he'd done scratch tracks beforehand.

another problem about the drummer having guitars in the cans is that there's a chance he will conentrate too much on the guitars instead of the click.
this suggests that the scratch guitar track be as tight to click as possible right?

so what do you think which method yields the best results?

thanks.

 

[-Noodles-]

I ask the drummer / band and go from there.

Edit: A 'live' guitarist may put drummer the off timing, so if you're after perfect recordings - expect to edit. If they're happy with some groove, then let it be and track it live. I always track scratch tracks and build. I prefer the sound I get back from them.

 

[Fox Mulder]

For modern metal? I wouldn't do that even if God wants me to.

 

[colonel_claypoo]

For modern metal? I wouldn't do that even if God wants me to.

so you would prefer the drummer to play to just a click?

 

[John_C]

Record rough guitars, edit them so they're not distractingly bad, use those for the drummer to track to. Try with and without click to see which gets better results, but generally if the drummer isn't really put off by it then click is better.

 

[AudioGeekZine]

record a scratch guitar, quantize it to the grid. Double it. Quantize it.

Giving the drummer a guide track that is out of time makes no sense.

In the headphones the click should be louder than guitars.

 

[Fox Mulder]

so you would prefer the drummer to play to just a click?

record a (one performance) scratch guitar, quantize it to the grid. Double it (Move it forward by 10ms). Quantize it.

Giving the drummer a guide track that is out of time would make it difficult for him and the engineering (double-extra-editing-work).

In the headphones the click should be louder than guitars.

Period. Good luck!

Off-topic: Make the drummer hit the cymbals and hi-hats a little lighter than the other kit pieces. Use triggers on the snare, toms and kick. Don't forget the 3:1 rule while mic'ing overheads. Use one room mic, preferably a ribbon mic.

 

[colonel_claypoo]

thanks for the input guys. scratch track it will remain whenever I get the chance to.

 

[Arsenu,]

Period. Good luck!

Off-topic: Make the drummer hit the cymbals and hi-hats a little lighter than the other kit pieces. Use triggers on the snare, toms and kick. Don't forget the 3:1 rule while mic'ing overheads. Use one room mic, preferably a ribbon mic.

you forgot to add: "if you ask me..." or "if i were you, i'd..."

saying it like you did makes it sound like it's the ONLY correct way to track drums

 

[Fox Mulder]

you forgot to add: "if you ask me..." or "if i were you, i'd..."

saying it like you did makes it sound like it's the ONLY correct way to track drums

We all know about the 'no rules in audio' thingy so that just depends on how different people perceive forms of communication differently.

I believe the guy isn't tracking Led Zep or The Who (correct me if I'm wrong).

Cheers dude!

 

[Trevoire520]

After doing pre-recorded guitars to a click for a few sessions I think I might go back to a live guide guitar with the drums. Lets the guitarist and drummer lock together (they're used to playing together after all right?) and maybe get a more live feel.
Wouldn't work if the band are really shit and can't get through the song tightly, but generally the bands I record are half decent.

 

[mva801]

Depends on the band for me. If its a speed metal band with a crappy guitar player, then they'll just fuck the drummer up. Record scratch beforehand, making sure its close to the grid. If it's a slower band with good musicians, it can help a lot to have everyone playing at once.

 

[drew_drummer]

With my band, we did tight scratch tracks to a click, then the drummer recorded to the click and/or guitars as and when needed.

 

[colonel_claypoo]

yeah, I think I'll do scratch tracks for my next project as usual.

 

[bryan_kilco]

I'd personally record tight scratch guitars to the click. Make sure they are decently tight as it will screw the drummer up if they arent. Our drummer seems to record better to just the click.

 

[chrisrivalry]

I like doing live guitar scratches because it's such a hassle getting the bands to play tight without a drummer and usually a piece gets left out or a part is played too long.