Online Drum Recording- Why Drum Sounds are so Important

Congratulations! If you are reading this article then you must be hip to the advantages of online drum recording, that is getting drum tracks from an online session drummer. This is the easiest, most cost-effective way to get custom drum tracks for your music.

There are many considerations when choosing an online session drummer, and the drum sounds are as important as any. The actual drum sound quality being achieved on an engineering level is extremely important.

All of the online drum recording websites have drum sound samples that can be heard. Some may be examples of a fully produced song with that particular session drummer on it. In most cases you can also hear examples of dry, unprocessed drum sounds by themselves. Be careful to compare the quality of the drum sounds being achieved by each session drummer.

While it is obviously essential that the performance (in terms of the session drummer’s playing) on your drum tracks is top-notch, a great performance can certainly be squandered if the drum sounds are not what they should be.

The quality of drum sounds are the sum of: 1)how well the drums are tuned, 2)the way the session drummer hits the drums, 3)the sound engineer’s level of expertise, and 4)the recording gear being used.

Obviously if the online session drummer is engineering his own sessions, this can translate to lame drum sounds unless the drummer is a trained sound engineer. Great mics won’t even remedy this situation if the online studio drummer is not an expert engineer.

So for great drum sounds to be achieved there must be high-level, pro mics and outboard recording gear involved --and a high level of expertise in the use of that gear.

On the other side of the coin, if drums are not properly tuned and struck in a way to provide a great tone, all the high-end recording gear and engineering expertise in the world won’t save the drum sounds from lameness.

For example, the bass drum sounds must be good. You don’t want to have drum tracks that end up with the bass drum sound being weak in some way.

Few things are worse than an overly-clicky bass drum sound, for instance. Some metal-type tracks might call for some extra articulation in the bass drum sound, and thusly perhaps some closer mic placement and/or a hard bass drum beater. But there must be sufficient bottom end to the bass drum sound, without it being too much. Yet many drum tracks suffer from an anemic bass drum sound that has been acoustically sabotaged through the stuffing of pillows and blankets into the bass drum.

Another annoying bass drum sound commonly heard is the “boingy” sound. This is when the bass drum has not been properly tuned and sounds like an empty water cooler jug.

Another important factor would be the snare drum sounds being achieved by any given online session drummer. Does the snare drum sound have great punch? Does it have enough “crack” without losing “fatness”? Certainly the snare drum sound should not be “papery”. That weakens the overall vibe of the drum tracks.

How about the toms? They should be warm and articulate. And the tom sounds should also be consistent. Toms should resonate equally, there shouldn’t be one that blatantly rings way longer than another. Nor should any two toms create a “flutter” sound when ringing together. That can be a real problem with drum tracks.

Each drum in general should be tuned well, with no obviously nasty overtones. That doesn’t mean that the drum sounds have to be dead or completely without overtones by any means, but no headache-inducing frequencies ought to be standing out in your drum tracks.

Overall the drum sounds have to be easy for you to mix and EQ. And of course any EQing of drum tracks must be for aesthetic, stylistic purposes—NOT as an attempt to cover up bad drum sounds.

Plug-ins (which this author is not a fan of) such as Vintage Warmer should be used on drum tracks only creatively, not to “polish a turd”.

Good luck on your quest to get drum tracks from a session drummer online.

Online Recording Studios: Get Professional Services, Stay At Home

The costs of using a professional recording studio can be extremely high. Many of those reading this article know this first hand. This article is a brief overview of the advantages of using and online recording studio.

Traditionally, you have to pay for studio time by the hour. Even if you are well prepared with arrangements, time can fly by quickly in the studio and end up costing you plenty. And in terms of drum tracks, if the studio does not have a kit permanently set up you will be paying for studio time during the drum setup, while getting levels, of course while recording the drum tracks, and while tearing down.

All of this is enough to deter many from getting the tracks they need for their music. Some may play their own keyboard tracks or guitar tracks when they really need professionals to play them at the level needed. Some may end up programming backing drum tracks with drum sample software, ending up with uninspired, “canned” sounding drum tracks.

There is a solution to the high costs of getting pro tracks whether you need guitar tracks, bass tracks, keyboard tracks, drum tracks, mixing, or any other service.
That solution is the use of an online recording studio. This refers to a recording studio that offers its services online. In almost all cases, these services are offered at a significantly discounted rate compared to normal rates.

Of course once prices get below a certain point you may be dealing with a less-than-professional organization, but that is for you to research a and determine for yourself. Generally, there are some excellent online recording studios that offer great services at very low prices.

For example, many of these online studios offer custom drum tracks for prices ranging from $100 to $300 per drum track. Even the $300 per drum track price could save you money, because you are paying for the drum tracks but NOT the studio time. That means not paying for the setup and teardown time, no paying for cartage (transport of instruments), and you don’t have to watch the clock. No worrying about how much time the drum tracks take to get together because it is a flat fee! This of course applies to guitar tracks, bass tracks, or any other instrument.

These online recording studios are also very convenient in that the logistics are easy. You don’t have to go anywhere, except to your computer, and you also are not responsible for getting studio musicians to the online recording studio. This saves you more money, because often session musicians charge for transportation costs, including gas expense, possible plane tickets, and a per diem.

Because of the traditionally high costs of getting professionally recorded tracks, only high-budget projects could afford pro recording studio services in the past. Everyone else had to use their own home recording devices (from old four tracks to ADAT machines to Pro Tools). Now those with a fairly modest budget can afford to get drum track and other professional studio services. This great for music and for the ability of more and more people to develop their musical ideas in to something that really sounds the way they envision it, or sometimes way better!

It is also worth noting that many of these online recording studios offer mixing and mastering services as well. To be very blunt, too many talented people ruin their music by trying to mix it themselves. It takes a trained ear to get a great mix within a remotely reasonable time frame, and a professional mixing job can make an
incredible difference in your music.

So do yourself a favor and research the various online recording studios that are out there. You will end up with the pro sound you need and you might not even have to take off your PJs!

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.