Do bands record in the studio with a METRONOME?

themaidenmaniac · #1 02-09-2005, 08:35 AM

This question has recently started bothering me, as our band is soon to be going into the studio.
So do bands actually record with a metronome or do they just go as they feel?

I guess the music may seem a bit un natural, but it would obviously be in perfect time????

cheers !

Kev

Azrael · #2 02-09-2005, 08:38 AM

I though most played with a clicktrack....metrome I guess...
And using a metronome will not make it perfect timing. You also need perfect musicians for that.

kennydoe · #3 02-09-2005, 10:31 AM

yes, most use a click track. Un-natural feeling music is caused somewhat by quantization and mostly by lack of velocity variation (especially in hi-hat parts).

Using a decent live drummer with a click track isn't un-natural at all. Click doesn't impede feel - it just stops the tempo from speeding up or slowing down. A good drummer will play 'around' the click.

If you're going into the studio for the first time USE IT!

~Kenny

whatshisname · #4 02-09-2005, 10:54 AM

A click track doesn't do any good, if you don't have good timing to begin with. I know people that actually get thrown off by it.

We never use one, as we go in completely rehearsed, and just bang them out. If something is too far off, just do it again.

kennydoe · #5 02-09-2005, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatshisname

A click track doesn't do any good, if you don't have good timing to begin with. I know people that actually get thrown off by it.

This might be, the funniest, thing, i ever readed.

The situation you describe is the whole reason a click track was invented. lol

~K

vaijem777 · #6 02-09-2005, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatshisname

A click track doesn't do any good, if you don't have good timing to begin with. I know people that actually get thrown off by it.

LOL That IS funny! If you get thrown off by a click track then you DEFINITELY need to have one.

whatshisname · #7 02-09-2005, 10:19 PM

Funny? Nah... Actually, I think it's sad.

These people had a SERIOUS timing problem, and when you'd set the click, they were COMPLETELY lost. It was frustrating as all heck. I still don't get it.

kennydoe · #8 02-09-2005, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatshisname

Funny? Nah... Actually, I think it's sad.

These people had a SERIOUS timing problem, and when you'd set the click, they were COMPLETELY lost. It was frustrating as all heck. I still don't get it.

Well, pick your own adjective. It's a little of both, honestly.

If somebody's time is so bad they CAN'T play with a click track (especially a drummer, for gods sake), they should be in the basement practicing - not anywhere near a recording studio - and certainly not playing with (or for) other people.

SO the answer to the original quesiton, again, is a click track is probably a necessity for a band going into the studio for the first time and no, it won't take away the natural feel of the music. In fact, nothing feels more UNnatural than a drummer who's time is fluctuating unintentionally.

And whathisname needs a new drummer.
~K

Tubarão Guitars · #9 02-09-2005, 11:48 PM

I've recorded w/ some bands.
Believe me: all of you will need the metronome to get it in control.
I needed.
If the drummer can't follow the clicks, forget it!
Basement practicing rocks!!! LOL!

whatshisname · #10 02-10-2005, 09:10 AM

KennyDoe- I haven't dealt with that drummer in a LONG time. As far as I know, he hasn't even played since then. The bass player is actually quite good, now.

Bluestreak · #11 02-10-2005, 04:31 PM

We start with drums and work from there; our drummer works really well with a click track.

If the drummer can't work with a click, it's been my experience that most bands will just go with programmed drums and ditch the idea of recording live drums. Just avoid things like reverse cymbals that give away the fact that you used programmed drums. I've caught one or two bands in the past claiming they recorded live drums when things like reverse cymbals or reverse snares are present in their recordings. You've never seen someone turn as beet-red as the couple of drummers I've called on the carpet for claiming to have recorded drums live when you can clearly hear programmed drum sounds in his work.

-R

kennydoe · #12 02-10-2005, 05:03 PM

isn't it possible the drum 'effects' came form overdubs or post-production?
just curious
~K

Bluestreak · #13 02-10-2005, 05:15 PM

Anything's possible.

But no, both times, they admitted it after I called attention to the detail. These were not your seasoned studio musicians, they were both your typical garage band who paid for some studio time, and rather than waste it trying to get drum tracks right over and over, they went with programmed drums.

-Roger

frankfalbo · #14 02-15-2005, 11:41 AM

Perhaps what's been danced around here but not said flat out is that you guys should be practicing with a click track BEFORE you go into the studio. A drummer who's never worked with a click will find out very quickly that they speed into all their fills, and rush the song whenever it gets louder. You'll blow time because your drummer will be off, and then realize they're off and either stop, or try to get back on, which sounds more unnatural than not using a click at all.

As a sidenote, take your drummer out dancing one night. If he/she can't dance, get a new drummer.

shredmaster · #15 02-15-2005, 12:05 PM

if you lay tracks one by one i would recommend it of course. you might be able to get away with it if you are recording live as a whole.

i have worked with people who get thrown off by a click. WHAT? a drummer told me he can't use it since it throws him off...WHAT??? that's ironic. he was good when it was off and then you turned it on and it was kryptonite to him! WHAT?!?!?! that makes no sense at all to me! i always use it.