Drum track recording

[Matt1995]

Hi all,
I am new to the forum and the world of recording music. I had just recently bought a tascam dp03sd to record my tunes on. I’ve been figuring it out pretty quick, even made a test track with guitar, bass and drums. I have a sm57 mic that I use to mic the bass, guitar and drums all separately, one at a time. I have some ideas for songs but there’s one thing I know I’m going to run into which is picking up where I left off on a drum track if I stop or if I make a mistake. Basically I know I’m not going to get a whole drum track down in one take and may have to stop, rewind, play it back and go from where I left off, if that makes sense to you. For my test track I recorded a simple bass track, then guitar, then played it back and added drums. Sounded great, but that was easy and wasn’t any major change ups and there was a few hiccups here and there. SO, What is the trick to recording a nice drum track? Does it have to get done in one take or can it be split up into sections?
Thanks all for the help
-Matt

 

[-mjk-]

Now you know why most people use either a hardware or software drum machine. The main advantage of a software system is the choice of sounds and the advanced editing capability. When done, one can import the audio file into the hardware recorder, or input MIDI/audio into a DAW.

As for your last question, the answer is "Whatever it takes to get it right."

 

[shredd]

Ah yes, grahsshoppa...you must seek the ways of Tascam's vast editing capabilities, and learn to employ punch-in/punch out.
The "stickies" you must read!

 

[Mark Richards]

...picking up where I left off on a drum track if I stop or if I make a mistake...What is the trick to recording a nice drum track? Does it have to get done in one take or can it be split up into sections?

1. Record a guide track (e.g. metronome+guitar or vocal).

2. Record the drum track up to stop point (error, etc.)

3. Use Autopunch, or purchase a TASCAM footswitch and use Punch-In/Out, (see Owner Manual) to continue recording on same drum track. Alternate: record punches on different tracks starting new track at the point previous track stops, edit each track (see OM) to remove error, then assure timing aligns (minutes/seconds/frame -see OM; or bar/beat) and then Bounce (see OM) the edited drum tracks to a single contiguous drum track.

4. Clear drum track segments (see OM) for other overdubs (vocals, bass, etc.)

 

[20 Years of Tascam]

I'm a 20+ year Tascam userand a 40+year drummer.
The trick is this ...before recording any of your instrument tracks, record a fixed metronome track.
What do I mean by "fixed"?
I mean you should record it to one of your unused Tascam tracks.
Make the click track at least 30 seconds longer than the song you intend to record ...that'll provide you some flexibility on rewites, intros, endings, etc.
If you then wish to record an instrument guide track, play along with that metronome track.
Then record your drums to the existing metronome track.
If you're not comfortable playing to a metronome, I suggest practicing.
Doing it this way will allow you auto-punch in as many time as necessary, while maintaining a consistant BPM.
Hope this helps.

BTW if at all possible, save that fixed click track even after your song is finished.
That way, if you decide to change the arrangement, do a total rewrite... whatever, it's still available.
If your particular Tascam unit allows assignment to a virtual menu, that's a great option ...save it as a virtual track.