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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Kris Karr:
What a hard subject. Being a Drummer myself.{I play the other typical string instruments as well} I am somewhat biased when it comes to drums. While I do own a drum machine myself. It's rare that I use it other than for a scratch track or click. The sampled sounds for me always fall just a little short of what I want. It's not real enough. I'm used to using a click when recording. It's not a must have. It just makes changing things or fixing things easier.

It is true that good drummers are getting more and more difficult to find. I rarely gig on drums nowadays myself due to becoming a guitar player. I am one of those drummers that likes to drive the pocket. I'm more interested in reinforcing the song than doing a bunch of fills. So the groove is what is most important to me.

Loops and machines are here to stay though. They are too easy to use. Drums on the other hand, require a firm & steady hand by the player along with a very good set of mics. There are numbers of ways in which to mic them and track them. It's 100% labor intensive and time consuming to make it happen. And I wouldn't blame anyone for using loops and drum machines instead. Unlike most folks, I am just lucky enough to own and be able to play various instruments well enough {debatable yes}to put some solid recordings together. Along with some recording gear.

I do hope that drummers wont be completely replaced in the future. Drums are the very first instrument known to humans,yes? And they are fun. There's nothing like a real drum kit. Electronic kits for live performances do nothing for me. Like I said, I'm biased.

For me, the music played with others is all about communication. That is something I learned early on from some good drum instructors and years of live playing. I learned to listen to what each player is saying with his or her instrument. We communicate back and forth. Knowing when the guitar player is about to take a lead, anticipating the build-up to a bridge, with out communication, the song just lays there.

Good topic.

Kris Karr

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/2/kriskarrmusic.htm </font>

I agree with you because as a bassist myself,
I tend to prefer live drummers over drum machines because of the communication we have. Live interaction is very important to
me because it forces you to listen to your
bandmates,(i.e. time,rhythm,dynamics,etc.)
to let the music breath and make it more human instead of being a slave to a loop or a drum machine that you can't control on the fly. Communication is the key to making great
music. That's why I tend to listen to the good music of yesterday, but learn from the music of today in order to make it better.


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Levelle Allen

Levelle Allen