Reality check #1 oct 22 2008 nyc

REALITY CHECK #1 OCT 22 2008 NYC This is the spot where I get to share the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years. I’ve had in depth conversations with engineers, producers and musicians about music and recoding and as a result have picked up quite a few ideas that can help you be more productive, save money and have an easier time in the recording studio. CLICK CLICK BANG BANG For this premiere reality check I want to talk about something I’ve encountered too many times in the studio. I’m guilty of this bad habit as well in some of my personal recording projects. This will be true for evey recording session you do at home and plan to bring to another studio to mix or overdub and for that matter every recording session you do anywhere......... YOU MUST CREATE A CLICK TRACK! i can’t tell you the number of hours of recording time and money I’ve seen wasted on trying to replace a drum track that’s slowing down and speeding up. And that’s not the whole problem as most times the rest of the tracks were played to this faulty drum beat and are off rhythm as well. It’s a terrible waste of time and money and can wreak havoc on your creative flow as well as your budget. If your drummer tells you he can’t play to a click a] you know he’s not professional b] he needs to learn how...right away c] perhaps you should consider hiring a profession for the session One trick that has worked for drummers and other musicians who have difficulty playing to a click is to lay donw a drum machine beat that’s synched to the tempo of the track. It can be a lot easier than a click track. In Pro Tools for example they have Grid mode which can be an invaluable help editing rhythmic material. Most if not all professional musicans have spent countless hours playing to a metronome to gain accuracy and have a much easier time with the click.