when is click track needed, and when its not?

[samsome123]

when is click track needed, and when its not?

[pattste]

I always record to a click track. In fact, even after the project has drums, I keep the click track at the top of the project and simply mute it. Some have a hard time playing to a click or even oppose them for philosophical reasons. Personally, I like a solid foundation so I record to a click.

[DVDdoug]

If you are multi-tracking a band, and you want to take one instrument/vocal from one take and insert it into a different take, or select different parts of each take (comping) you want the timing to match-up.

Or if you are programming MIDI, you may want to know the exact tempo and you'll want to keep it constant.

If you are recording one instrument/vocal at a time, you'll usually record the drums first (or perhaps something else), and that track usually provides you master-timing for all of the recordings, and you don't need a perfect click-track.

[Tod]

Originally Posted by samsome123

when is click track needed

Hummm, when you don't want to go through the fuss, or are scared to death of creating a tempo map.

[Tod]

Originally Posted by samsome123

and when its not?

If you're recording a band, or a musician(s), and you truly want to capture their soul.

[martifingers]

Ringo famously says that when he was asked to record to a click track he said "I'm the f**king click track!".

I personally have a problem playing accurately to a click but that is my inadequacy as a musician. Best advice I got was from a producer who said to try and treat it as your friend rather than as your master. It's there telling you what you should be doing, not trying to outdo you. (I played only a little better after that!)

[ivansc]

I used to think I had good timing until I started working to MIDI tracks, but discovered I wasn't half as good as I thought I was.

Several years of playing with MIDI has turned me into a bit of a tempo nazi but my timing is far far tighter than it was.

Quite funny playing with live drummers now - you soon find out who can play and who cant.

[georgethedifferent]

After years of trial and error I found a rule that works for me:

+ Practice with click

+ Record without it (band always recording all together, ready to redo vocals at separate session to a pre-mixed track)

It's useful though, to have a click starter to make sure each take will start at the same tempo. I usually make a final take up of two different ones or just need to replace the end, etc.

I've also been recording with a drummer who kept the same tempo without click nor even starter for 7 takes so I could replace any bar from the entire session and it always matched perfectly