We’re back with another episode of FAQ Friday!
We have a lot of great questions today! Let’s get right into today’s featured question: “Would you consider cutting program parts to match what a Human is playing and bring a little more human element into those program parts?”
Yes, a lot! For example, drum loops and match them against drums. What was interesting is if you watched the Foo Fighters “My Hero” Breakdown we did with Bradley Cook, there are two live drum kits that Dave Grohl’s playing.
One is in the cement room in Grandmaster and the other is in the warehouse which was basically the parking lot when you went into Grandmaster studios from the back.
When you soloed them you would hear a little bit of flaming, while in the track they are absolutely phenomenal. – It depends on how you look at it.
You could take a looped programmed part, have a drummer groove to it. Then adjust the programmed part here and there where it isn’t feeling quite so good with the live drums. – That might be the way to go
Otherwise, if you sit there and literarily sample accurately, edit the drums and the programmed drums you will end up with stuff that sounds almost smaller rather then bigger. You want a big powerful low end, if you get all the phase right you might get that but you will also shorten all of the sustain.
Things aren’t going to blur together for instance, they’re not going to sound wrong together in the right kind of way. So yes, I have definitely edited programmed parts to match drum feel and performance feel. But at the same time, I love when a musician pushes and pulls against something that is more static.
After all isn’t that a click track, Isn’t that what was great about real musicians who played to click tracks? They would sit there and push against it and use it as a way of knowing how to lay back and how to push forward.
So kinda a combo platter, I think having your musicians play to a drum part, a drum loop, or a sequence loop is really really cool. When it doesn’t feel right in the sequence part then maybe edit around.
I’m not sure if I would go in there and match loop to drum kit kick and snare sample accurate because I think it would lose that little bit of tension that makes music sound great. – That tension of those things pushing and pulling.
Each song deserves its own thing, put the love into it, try all kinds of different ideas and you will learn something new.
We cover the following questions during this episode of FAQ Friday!
• Do you use Normalization? And in which case and cases would you use Normalization? (0:52)
• When you’re mixing hybrid through your desk what medium are you recording the stereo output to? Back into ProTools or some other digital device? (3:49)
• Would you consider cutting program parts to match what a Human is playing and bring a little more human element into those program parts? (5:55)
• What is a good interface for someone starting to record on a budget? Are cheaper interfaces worth the money or should save up and get a more expensive one? (8:59)