After a taping of the Jimmy Kimmel Show with good friends Freddie Manton, Mike Dana, Roy Carlson, Cleto Escobedo Sr., and Cleto Escobedo Jr. (1/21/05)
| Recording
Info Below
are the technical aspects of how I record as well as suggestions that
will help me give you the drum track that YOU would like to hear. To quickly
find a particular topic on this page, please use the keyboard shortcut
"Ctl + F" (Control/Find) and type in the word you are looking
for. |
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| REFERENCE TRACKS |
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| The reference tracks that I would prefer to have when recording a drum track for an original song are: | ||
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The mix of your song can either be the finished version or an unfinished "scratch" version. If it's the finished version then I will lock in with it. If it's a "scratch" version that will be re-done, I will lock in with the click track to give you a good solid foundation to build your song. If the mix that you plan to send contains finished tracks as well as tracks that will be replaced, please send a separate mix of the finished track files for me to lock in with. Either way, please do not send each individual recorded track of your song as the fewer reference files I'll have to work with saves time and any possible confusion. When possible, please send the vocal(s) as a separate track so that I can hear and lock in with the rhythm section. Even if your vocal is not your final take, it will help me understand your song, where and where not to play, etc. If you can't provide a vocal track, please include a simple chart of how you view the phrases of the song (i.e. intro - 8 bars, verse - 16 bars, chorus - 12 bars, etc.). For a quick example of how to make a "drum phrasing chart" please click here. Please do not include the old drum track or click track in the mix that I'll be working with. This will allow you to clearly hear my drum work in the .mp3 mix. If you do not have a click track created for your song, you may send the tempo and I will create one to work with. If
there are aspects of the previous drum track that you would like for me
to emulate, please send it as a separate file and state what you liked
or did not like about the performance in the Getting Started webform.
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| REPLACING A DRUM TRACK NOT RECORDED TO A CLICK | ||
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If your song has been completed but you have decided to replace the old
drum track, it's not a problem. Once again, I just need the song without
the drums for you to hear and approve my work with your track. Keep in mind
that a "count in" at the top always helps! |
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| THE CLICK | ||
| When possible, please use a closed hi-hat sound without accents as your click track. It's easy on the ears and has the least amount of leakage through the headphones. Leaving off any accented notes lets me turn the click up as loud as I need without having the accentuated notes be so piercing. Please do not use a cowbell or "chirping" click. If your song is over 150 bpm (beats per minute) a 1/4 note click works just fine. But if your song is slower than 150 bpm or is a ballad, an 8th note click click is easier to lock in with. Please
make sure that your scratch track is locked in with the click as much
as possible. If it's not, it will make my drum track sound like I'm not
"in the pocket" with your song when I send you the .mp3 mix.
Or, I can edit your scratch track to lock with your click track. (See
rates). |
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| REFERENCE TRACKS FORMATS | ||
| Reference tracks can be sent on any one of the following formats: | ||
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| RETURN FILE FORMATS | ||
| The
file formats I provide are: .wav, .aif, .cda (audio CD), HD24 drive,.or
.mp3 |
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| BIT RESOLUTION and SAMPLE RATES | ||
| 16
or 24 bit resolution with sampling rates of 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz or 96 kHz.. |
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| PROCESSING | ||
| I
do not use processing, normalizing, effects, or EQ on the individual mono
drum tracks but create a stereo drum mix (with EQ, reverb, gates and compression)
that you can use as either your final drum mix, or as a "working mix".
This is a common list of the mono drum track files you will receive: |
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| All individual tracks (including extra percussion tracks) for your song will be labeled for easy identification. | ||
| ALIGNMENT OF DRUM FILES TO YOUR SONG | ||
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The "start" position of your click or reference track will determine the position in which all of my drum files begin. Therefore, all drum files that I send to you (stereo drum mix and individual mono tracks ) will be easily imported into your song in perfect alignment. As a fail safe, I will put the first 2 - 4 clicks from your reference track or click track on the front of my stereo drum mix for easy visual alignment. The individual mono drum files will all be in sync with the stereo drum mix. Before sending out your reference tracks, please make sure that the "count off" clicks from the click track and the reference track are in alignment with each other. Or you can send a stereo mix .mp3 with the click and reference tracks panned to opposite sides. If you are a sending an .mp3 or .mp3s as your reference tracks, keep in mind that most conversion programs add approximately 1/36th of a second to the beginning of that file. |
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| MIXING NOTES FOR THE DRUMSET |
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| I have a page on Mixing Notes for the Drumset for those who choose to mix the drums themselves. If you've never mixed drums before, here are some good basics to start with. | ||
| EQUIPMENT | ||
| To see a list of the equipment I use, please click here. | ||
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After a taping of the Jimmy Kimmel Show with good friends Freddie Manton, Mike Dana, Roy Carlson, Cleto Escobedo Sr., and Cleto Escobedo Jr. (1/21/05) |
Jim McCarty
email contact
(626) 791-4255
Copyright © Drum Tracks by Jim McCarty, LLC