Setting up click track(basics)... Help?

[xmortumx]

To get to the point, i been starting to record more local bands and i was wondering whats the best way to set up the click track? I mean do u guys sit down with the drummer and then discuss the tempo? Hows the best way to get a drummer to play a click track, because what if a song has a lot of tempo changes.. how do i set up that?

Im using Cubase 5 and if anyone can input how they go about setting up click tracks to record.. please explain.

 

[professorlamp]

listen through the songs
beat calculator is your friend
in cubase to change tempo midway, unclick tempo 'fixed' in the transport bar and goto tempo mapping in the tools section (i think its tools) and you'll see a grid and which is pretty self explanatory.
if they dont have demos just get like their guitarist and drummer to come in to go through the songs and you can use beat calculator for a rough estimate and then when there's another tempo change use it again

 

[xmortumx]

So i still have a general question regarding click track... im still not sure how to make a tempo map, is there a tutorial around for cubase because i been messing around with it but not sure how i can set tempo changes... do i have to input the time where the change occurs? How do i set the tempo track to start in the beginning of the song? Any help i would appreciate i really want to start recording bands to a click track but just really confuse how to set it up correctly.

 

[ahjteam]

im still not sure how to make a tempo map, is there a tutorial around for cubase

manual, page 401-407

 

[Trevoire520]

Easiest way I've found is to get the guitarist to tab out the songs in powertab, export the midi file from that and import it into your DAW. Voila, tempo map is done for you

 

[tempe]

Easiest way I've found is to get the guitarist to tab out the songs in powertab, export the midi file from that and import it into your DAW. Voila, tempo map is done for you

Every band I've ever recorded is way way way to lazy to ever do that haha.

 

[Emdprodukt]

Easiest way I've found is to get the guitarist to tab out the songs in powertab, export the midi file from that and import it into your DAW. Voila, tempo map is done for you

+1

 

[crosstalk]

Easiest way, have the guitarist play the first riff and tap out that tempo. Start recording a scratch guitar to that tempo until the tempo changes. Repeat at the new change area. Have the drummer be there to tap along to make sure everything feels right to him. Shouldn't take much more time than the length of the song. You can then listen through the scratch guitar with everyone and make sure the tempos are correct.

Tabbing the song out would take forever. Not saying it's a bad option, but for bands that show up and you need to get going, the method I use is usually fairly painless and fast.

Super easy in Reaper, I can't help with tips in Cubase as I've never been able to grasp anything about it.

 

[xmortumx]

Okay so i got a question for cubase why is it that when i record the scratch guitar then i change the tempo the song all of a sudden goes faster or slowere(the recorded guitar) is there seeting for that not to happen?

 

[greyskull]

Easiest way I've found is to get the guitarist to tab out the songs in powertab, export the midi file from that and import it into your DAW. Voila, tempo map is done for you

jesus, what fantasy world do you guys live in?
that'd be great if it ever happened.

 

[DanLights]

jesus, what fantasy world do you guys live in?
that'd be great if it ever happened.

what do you mean? its worked for me

 

[DanLights]

oh and I would definitely consider tempo mapping songs part of the preproduction process, which normally should be done by the band itself before hitting a studio, but of course you could be dealing with "unproffesional" musicians who have no idea at what tempo they're playing until it's time to hit the studio, in that case charge extra for that I say

 

[greyskull]

what do you mean? its worked for me

what i mean is... that has never in the history of ever happened for me!
you are extremely lucky if you've had that honor!

 

[FireStorm Studios]

Okay so i got a question for cubase why is it that when i record the scratch guitar then i change the tempo the song all of a sudden goes faster or slowere(the recorded guitar) is there seeting for that not to happen?

You have to switch your track from music to linear time based so it doesnt move your recorded track. There is an icon that looks like a music note that changes into a clock. Not in front of my recording computer so can't give you more info than that right now.

 

[Uros]

what i mean is... that has never in the history of ever happened for me!
you are extremely lucky if you've had that honor!

Bands around here are not "professional" at all, but they do use Guitar Pro quite a bit, and I also demand powertab/gp files if we're going to use a click track for recording, and I am fairly new in recording other bands for dough. Needles to say, those files quite often are not 100% correct (hell, even 80 % would be nice), but nonetheless it's much easier then beat calculating the whole song/s.

When I see mistakes (tempo or time signature wise), I tap those riffs and correct the tabs themselves on the fly or correct the tempo track. I might do beat calculating in the future, but I sure as hell won't be doing it for free.

And I am from Serbia, the place where big majority of bands (potential clients) suck, to say the least, so seeing that you are in UK, I am quite surprised to read this.