Recording drums and placement of kicks.

[Jim Richman]

So I recorded some quick basic rock beats for a friend to loop and use. He sent me some tracks back and they sounded horrible!

The tempo was not a familiar one. Not too fast, and not to slow, but a little brisk. 122 bpm. 120 is a more comfortable tempo, But anyway, I started to redo some takes. Then I looked at the bass drum wav file on playback. I noticed all my bass drum hits were lined up right on the money---NOT! And the beat was very basic 1/8th note rock. I redid it, trying to hum a melody with the click, then I tried using my whole body. I'm not sure, but there were some sections where the kick was right on, and then some were not. I plan on doing a more detailed analysis of what I am thinking/doing while achieving consistant kicks. Perhaps the just tempo was not friendly, but it really falls on myself. I know I need to focus on this, and I think I'm gonna do this every day.

So anyway, for the studio drummers out there, are there any tips or techniques for working on getting a solid consistant kick placement? Drum/percussion loops? Now I know why some drummers are live players, and studio drummers record their albums. This is something I really want to get a more comfortable grasp doing.

It is a very humbling experience doing this, and I recommend it for everyone with a recording set-up.

[percusski]

Yes it can be humbling and a great method for identifying ways of improving accuracy, but personally I think an obsession with lining up the wavs is detrimental to making good music, the key is does it sound good, not does it line up accurately. if it wants to just line up perfectly maybe just use a machine or hit the quantize function. Ah just my gripe about modern production techniques/expectations

[chris perra]

For me I find it different depending on the style of music..

If there are loops or sequences,, You'll have to be right on or just a hair ahead of the click for it not to flam too much or sound weird with the loops ect.. That's extremely hard to do..

If it's groove orientated music.. it's more important the the notes be consistent relative to themselves rather than click.. They can be of ahead or behind the click. but need to be always the same distance away.. Or if they move inside the bar,, say a kick on the and of 3 is dragged a bit in relation to the others,, it needs to always be dragged a bit.. And everybody else playing on the track needs to know that and play the same thing.

As far as practicing.. Use a click or metronome that you like the sound and feel of particular to the song tempo.. and set it to fill in as many subdivisions as possible.

Work on a tempo till you nail it, and have the muscle memory down.. Also try to notice how the stick response from each drum and cymbal are different.. You'll really notice it with recording as a tom fill or moving to the ride can speed up or slow down depending on the differences in stick rebound..

[Riddim]

I've noticed that variables such as position on one's stool (relative to the axis of the stool), seat height, where the foot lies on the footboard, playing heel up or down, and and where one lets the stick hit the high hat or ride also have an impact (no pun intended, of course....).

For me, in the heat of the moment, a shorter stroke often equates to being on the edge; a slightly longer one, a bit further back.

The more relaxed I am, the easier it is to lay back.

Of course, this means I should probably cut back on the espresso too....

[Josiah]

the magnifier that is recording!

It kinda is what it is, either your on the money or not. And the tape doesn't lie. That said being strictly "in time" is not necessary always, as mentioned, it's dependent on the music. If it's grooving, that's what's important.

If it's just out of time or you are inconsistent bar to bar, that's an actual time and consistency issue. Just keep practicing with the click. When recording it is sometimes easier to use a percussion loop instead of a "click", also playing with the level of the click in your headphone mix, etc

This is one of the reasons it is incredibly helpful to record your practice as these issue become quickly exposed.