What to do?

[Mankins]

Today I will be recording drums. I have worked with this band before and they are nice enough. The only thing is the drummers kit sounds like crap. Old heads and I don’t think he knows how to tune them anyway. To make matters worse he can't play to a click.

Option 1. Let him pay then play and call it a day?

Option 2. Spend hours working with him to get his kit sounding good and his tempo on track with a click. Then fix what I can with elastic audio and eq?


Option 1 result = crap and same with option 2.


Suggestions?

[Mixwell]

Bro,

I think you should take a look at the Production thread going on in Changing the Notes.

It might help your thought process here. Firstly, what are the objectives of this recording? Is it a demo? They seem to be paying you, is there any dough allotted for your production rate, [IE, GTR/BASS/DRUM Tech'ing their rigs, being the assistant and moving the microphones, and then finally being the balance engineer/producer and coach to get the sound they want] Is your rate just for the use of your facility, and a tape op? Do you want your name on the record? If not, this whole thing becomes A LOT easier. Really, what are the expectations? And what is YOUR expectation of them, and your own abilities? You've gotta be REAL with THEM and YOURSELF.

If the drummer doesn't want to change worn heads, or tune his instrument, he's about as useful as a stack of napkins at a wet nap convention. You should tell him why he should change the heads, or even show him how to tune the flipping drums so they can follow along with the song. This is 101 stuff, that they need to know as a band. They are not playing a show at a club with hobo's and hooker's, they are recording the AIR and TIME of your room with them in it. Does their "sound" involve being out of tune? If they are stubborn, about this, then it really shows they need to do some more pre-prod, that is if they are serious about making a record. You've either got to take the time to educate them on what you do, or just put the mikes anywhere and don't put your name on the recording. Its as simple as that because moving the microphone on a drum that has not been tuned just means the microphone is picking up the out-of-tune sound differently. It all starts at the source.

At any rate, A GREAT engineer once gave me some GOLDEN advice about recording a drummer, that I want to share with you guys.

1) SETUP THE MICS BEFORE YOUR CLIENT ARRIVES AT THE STUDIO.
- I mean have all the microphones you think you are going to need, on stands and running into the studio into your preamps, making sure everything is working as expected. Create your monitor mix from there. Now, many musicians especially picky drummers, do not want to hear latency in the cans. Make sure they can hear themselves really well, and make the CUE SOUND AS BEST YOU CAN. I make the cue sound like a record. You don't always need everything feeding the drummers cans. He is in the same room with the drums, so maybe kick and snare and a touch of the OH's. Its fine if they don't want to play to a click. Maybe its Mud Rock, clicks aren't everything here, that last thing I want is a drummer to play like a drum machine. I could save some hassle and just use an MPC if that's the goal.

2) WHEN THE DRUMMER ARRIVES, HAVE HIM PLAY THE KIT WITHOUT THE CANS!!
- This way you can balance the sound in the control room, and move the microphones accordingly, to how HE IS HEARING HIMSELF PLAY. MAYBE, just maybe he will hear how out of tune his kit sounds and then tune them to the root note of the song, once and for all. When you have a proper balance, and the microphones are in the right place, do a quick recording of the drums and his performance, and then have him come into the room to listen to playback.

3) HAVE HIM PLAY TO THE SONG WITH THE CANS, BUT TURN THE DRUM SENDS DOWN AT LEAST 6 DB!!! - Tuck the mix back into the song, balance the CANS, so that everything remains even sounding and nothing is louder than anything else. The volume in the CANS will also help to move the dynamic of the performance. He might pull back if the mix is too loud, and he might push to hard if the cans are too quiet. Find the balance against the music, and how the audio is heard back.

Finally, "Fixing it in the mix" is not a kosher practice.

[Mankins]

Thanks for that sound advice. I’m going to do just that. The signal chains and session are going to be waiting when he walks in the door. As far as the tuning and tempo, I am trying to build a reputation for future clients, so I will just have to put in the time. Thanks for the golden advice. I'm sure I would have to pay a $1000 bucks or scrub the shitters all week at the local San Diego studio just to walk away with this new knowledge. :rolleyes:

Thanks for taking the time.

[CaptainHook]

3) HAVE HIM PLAY TO THE SONG WITH THE CANS, BUT TURN THE DRUM SENDS DOWN AT LEAST 6 DB!!!

Nice tip on the drum level in the cans. :)

[Sandyrb]

Today I will be recording drums. The drummers kit sounds like crap. Old heads and I don’t think he knows how to tune them anyway. To make matters worse he can't play to a click.

Suggestions?

The commonly-used term for this first method is 'cheating':

1.) Record the drummer as quickly and cheaply as possible.
2.) When the band has left the studio, make a copy of the drum tracks.
3.) Delete the drum tracks.
4.) Send the copy to a real drummer so he can learn the parts.
5.) Record the real drummer.
6.) Tell no-one!
7.) Provide the real drummer with a generous quantity of fine ale.

:D

Or, you could have a quiet word with the rest of the band and ask their opinion, that way any decision won't end up being 'your fault'.

I'll say this; you certainly have my sympathy. Unfortunately this is the poop-polishing world in which we live. My thoughts are with you man, although I guess my "advice" arrived a little too late. :o

Cheers,

[Sandyrb]

"Fixing it in the mix" is not a kosher practice.

Amen, brother Adam, testify!!! :)

Cheers,

[Mixwell]

1.) Record the drummer as quickly and cheaply as possible.
2.) When the band has left the studio, make a copy of the drum tracks.
3.) Delete the drum tracks.
4.) Send the copy to a real drummer so he can learn the parts.
5.) Record the real drummer.
6.) Tell no-one!
7.) Provide the real drummer with a generous quantity of fine ale.


EPIC!!!!!