The Song Fight Bulletin Board

What's the best method to prepare my songs once I'm ready to enlist a drummer to record real drums? I figure use loops to develop the song as I do, then provide a full mix, plus an alternative that has only a bare-bones drum track (click track?) that the drummer uses to record their tracks. Do I also remove hand perc, other instruments, backing vocals...?

You know my crap...what would you demand in order to lay down some heavy beats?

most important: some kind of count-in.

i usually like to have some kind of faint drum machine, especially if parts aren't well deliniated, going in the background. if you play tightly to a click, you can leave the click out of the track. tell the drummer if you're looking for them to follow you or the click.

I'd want a version with how you want the drums to sort of sound (unless that's COMPLETELY open to intrepretation, it really helps) a version with out the drums, and one with teh click track you played to. (not the tempo, the actual click you used...so it prevents issues with syncing stuff. )


In a perfect world, speaking as a drummer, I'd then like it if you re-did your bass, guitars and such to the drums, then I'd REDO them, then you'd redo yours...and we'd sound like a band, reading and reacting to each other..


Of course, SF doesn't REALLY allow that luxury...hell...neither does real life! But it does work out pretty good. That's how I usually do my own stuff... write the song, lay it to a click, cycle parts until it gels and sounds sorta tight.


It is very tough to lay down drums to stuff that is grooving to a click but not on the click... cause as a drummer, you're used to being the starting point of the time.... and the fluctuations can be hard to pull together in a track that's loose. I doubt you have issues with that though.

Thanks to both of you. This is not necessarily for SF. This is for a non-songfight album. Thus the concern (I can't do the turn-around cycles for SF entries). But I do want this to sound like a "band".

Now, I wonder where I can find some willing drummers...

1. record to a click.

2. indicate the tempo

3. export files at the beginning of a measure

4. do not make a vocal heavy mix. I would rather hear the bass to play along to. a dry mix is best too, delay and reverb obscure the beat.

Ken