Drum Tracks: Why Communication Is So Important When Choosing An Online Session Drummer
If you are reading this you are probably aware of the benefits of getting drum tracks from an online studio drummer. You are presumably familiar with the fact that your drum tracks will cost you much less from an online studio drummer than from a session drummer in a conventional setting.
In a nutshell, the reason getting drum tracks from an online studio drummer is cheaper is because there are fewer people to pay than when using conventional methods. You know the drill: you have to pay the owner of the studio for the studio time, the producer, engineer(s) on the job, cartage to transport the drums to the studio, and of course the drummer.
When choosing an online studio drummer for getting drum tracks, it is important to consider the level of communication that will be involved. This is especially true if you have specific ideas to convey about what you want in your drum tracks.
Despite all of the benefits of getting drum tracks form an online studio drummer, some are hesitant about doing so because they feel or know they would miss the interaction of being physically in the studio with the studio drummer.
This is indeed a legitimate concern. In fact there are studio drummers who themselves miss the creative interaction of traditional studio work.
Unfortunately, many online studio drummers have policies that hinder communication. Many online studio drummers allow only email communication through their websites. This is a big turnoff for people who would feel more confident about getting the right drum tracks if they could talk directly to the studio drummer.
In fact many online studio drummer sites limit communication about your drum tracks to a form that you fill out at the beginning of the process asking silly, generic questions such as “Should the approach be simple or complex?” Your drum tracks and your music deserve a higher level of interaction with the online studio drummer than that.
Most online studio drummers have a policy of charging extra for additional “takes” beyond the alloted number. This is fair in general, but not so much if the client is not able to discuss the drum tracks with the online studio drummer. Not being able to discuss the drum tracks prior to the studio drummer recording them increases the likelihood that you will have to shell out more money for additional takes because you didn’t get what you wanted in the drum tracks.
The best way to avoid this problem is to use an online studio drummer who offers a way to communicate verbally, whether by phone or by Skype (or a similar internet conference program). If you can discuss your drum tracks with the online studio drummer prior to the drum tracks being recorded the likelihood of getting what you want in your drum tracks is increased.
It is worth mentioning that Skype is a great program. If an online studio drummer uses Skype to communicate with clients, it is certainly the next-best thing to being in the room with them…and is sometimes very much like being in the same room with them, even if they are in Australia!
So, while there are many factors to consider regarding getting drum tracks from an online studio drummer, the level of communication offered is going to be very important.
Good luck on your search for drum tracks using an online studio drummer.
Related posts: