JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Bass and Drum Forum virtual drumming?

I posted this on another forum earlier this week and then realised this might be a better place to ask:

I'm in the process of researching virtual collaborations. My primary goal is to be able to exchange tracks with musician friends who live in other cities. I am looking for any and all information about how to go about this.(Maybe a how-to guide?) My main instrument is drums, and I want to be able to put drum parts to other people's songs and/or be able to replace programmed parts with acoustic drums. I have a fairly strong background in recording and I am a seasoned drummer, but I need to learn the specific in's and out's of working in this format. (How to set up the sessions. How to exchange files etc...)
I understand that this is becoming a common practice,and I've read on this site that some of you know drummers who are doing this type of work. So, I'm hoping that someone can point me in the right direction. THANKS, Kester

p.s. please excuse the cross-post. I'm just very anxious to get some info on this. Anyone? THANKS AGAIN!

It's nice to hear a real drummer talking about replacing those tracks. I can't stand that "canned, rinkydink" sound. I am not help at all, but I just wanted to say good luck, and more power to you!! --Jean

Thanks JL,
Eventhough there are so many alternatives to real drums these days, I think most people still agree that nothing can beat a real drummer playing real drums. I'm really looking forward to being able to do this kind of work. I assume it works in a similar way to any other virtual collaboration. One of the only tips I've gotten so far is to mail a hard drive back and forth. I would much prefer to be able to exchange WAV files on CDR or MP3's over the internet. Anyone with experience doing this, I would very much appreciate some advice. THANKS, Kester

You've picked a challenge! One of the reasons I use programmed drums for my stuff (besides the obvious I can do everything myself) is that it is rather difficult and expensive to get good drum recordings. For good drum recordings, you need a good sounding (and usually expensive) set, a good sounding room (probably the most difficult constraint), a lot of good sounding mics (maybe 4 to 6), a corresponding number of input channels with good preamps and probably compressors, and a computer/recorder fast enough to handle it all simultaneously. Also, drum takes are harder to fix afterwards because of the bleed of the other drums into the mic for the drum of interest. For recording most anything else, I'm able to get by with one good mic and preamp and can fix a take without worrying about messing up other instruments because of bleed into the mic for the instrument of interest.

This is also why I prefer MIDI recordings of even a live drummer's playing, because then I can fix/alter takes without crosstalk problems and I can have the MIDI trigger sounds of a selection of drums that someone else already went through the trouble and expense of recording. MIDI files are also a lot smaller and easier to send over the net.

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Stone Marmot
www.stonemarmot.com
Stone Marmot on Soundclick

[This message has been edited by Andy K (edited 03-15-2004).]

Actually, in re-reading my above post, I am more concerned with the bleed of the instrument of interest into all the other mics, not vice versa as stated above.

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Stone Marmot
www.stonemarmot.com
Stone Marmot on Soundclick

Yeah, I always tend to pick the hardest things to do! The good part is, I already have great sounding drums, a good room, decent mics, and a means to record them.
And the folks I'll be working with really want the live acoustic sound and feel.

What I need to learn is how these sessions are set up and what the process is for exchanging the files and I think I'll be on my way!

Thanks for the input.