JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Bass and Drum Forum Do Click Tracks Stink???

Hi Dave

You got GREAT answers here on the subject.

All I can add is that I eat the click track like PAC MAN!

I ALWAYS use a click track, 98% of the time
I use a hard unmusical sounding clanking click lol it does not phase me, I play with the same feel no matter what. This is because I'm used to it. And my body just wants to groove to anything.

Here are my basic rules

1- I HAVE to use a click when working alone or with individuals ONE at a time. This is often the case. The click is the map,besides if you don't use one your going out of time period.
How that works for you or how you feel about it is up to you.
The point Mike D and the others made about editing is HUGE and dead on. That click allows you take anything from anywhere.

2- I play live drums to a click, and I bring a handful of single one dollar bills into the studio and say "I'll give you a dollar for every time I go out of time and miss a beat" It usually costs me about a buck or two LOL...

But seriously the most important thing a drummer needs is timing.
It's like a clock. I can't tell you how many guys have come in telling me, oh this and that and they twirl there sticks, whip around the drums like lightning, bounce the stick off the snare and catch it.. Then I hit play the click comes in and they melt away like snow on the drum stool.

Those are often the same guys who say "I don't like Ringo at all he's nothing"

3- If a band or at least a drummer with a bass player and or one guitar player are tracking and the drummer is NOT comfortable using a click track it's GONE! It's much better to catch a natural right feeling take. Screw the click.

4- Use the drum machine with a simple beat if the click is too sterile to groove to. Then take it away later. Do this when tracking guitar etc.. Even drummers sometimes don't mind playing
along with one at all. It can interfere if it's too busy or he's trying to hear his footwork and the machines bass drum is banging away..

I don't care personally I just ignore it.

As a bass player and guitar player the adjustment to the click was pretty natural and easy. As drums are not my main instrument
adjusting to it with that was the HARDEST and here's why.

With the bass your fingers can make up time and space much easier when you commit to bringing your arm and or hand down on a cracking snare man there's no turning back LOL...

Here's how it goes at the beginning

You use a click
1- You lose all your cool stuff, as you struggle to just focus.
You realize you play out of time. Your fills are gone all your feel is history. You HATE it.

2- You start getting the hang of it but you still hear that loud click, still tentitive but you focus on the steady beat realizing every time you do fills you speed up.You become afraid to leave that snare.
Your moving slow, fast but you get a handle on it.

3- You now start getting some of your cool chops back but there IN TIME now this is cool. Your confidence grows but there's still something that's not sitting right. You are right on the beat but haven't developed enough confidence to play on top of it or behind it.

4- You STOP hearing the click! Your like into the second verse when you realize you don't really hear the click anymore.

One night my friend accidentally muted it on the mixing board.
I noticed about half way through the song that it wasn't there.
He said, "great take Mike" I said - "Not bad since there was no click" We checked it I went off in only two small spots.
I got my chops & feel back, can lay back or jump ahead, developed near perfect timing and can have someone send me a guitar only track with a click from anywhere online and i can send back a full live drum track.

Also I use NO programming so it's click and layer tracks live just like years ago.

What really helped my timing was
1- Being in a band for so long with great drummers
2- In the 80's playing & recording with a drum machine alot
3- Hitting the big studio's playing on dance music records
4- Just recording all the time