Pro Drum Tracks

Many producers, songwriters, composers and other musicians have commented to me over the years that they just hate having to program drums when they are working on their songs or compositions, but that they very often have no choice because they are usually working in their home or project studios. They would always lament the fact that, in order to get a great sounding track with real drums, they would have to go elsewhere (to one of the bigger, and usually pretty expensive, commercial studios) because their studio was not equipped to record a full set of real drums and that, even if it was, the setup time alone made it too much of a hassle for a lot of the productions they were doing.

After hearing these comments over and over again, I decided to put together a studio that could alleviate that situation for a lot of people. So if you too, are tired of laboriously programming a drum machine, sequencer or some generic drum loop for your production, I can provide you with the highest quality live drum tracks (separate tracks–not just a stereo mix) at an affordable price. This is a win-win situation because it allows you to get a real, live performance specifically tailored to your piece of music and it allows me to work without leaving the comfort of my own studio, which means I don’t have to charge as much! 

• • My studio is equipped with great microphones, incredible sounding microphone pre-amps and digital audio conversion, as well as state of the art drums.
  • I have toured and/or recorded with people like Richie Sambora, the Steve Miller Band, Foreigner, Cher, CCR, The Storm, Gregg Rolie, David Lee Roth, Randy Meisner (Eagles), Eddie Money, Denny Laine (Wings/Moody Blues), Player, and many others.
  • I am well versed in all styles (Rock, Pop, R&B, Country, Jazz–I went to Berklee College of Music–etc.) and I can deliver tracks to you quickly, sometimes in the same day, depending on the scope of your project and what else I’m working on at the time.

The process works with any of the popular software programs out there including Logic Audio, Cakewalk, Cubase, Pro Tools, Digital Performer, Nuendo, Sonar, Presonus Studio One and others, as long as the program can read WAV files…and just about any digital audio software program available now can work with those files seamlessly.

Another great thing about working this way is that it is not limited by geographical location. Working remotely is simple and seamless. Once you’re ready, I’ll supply a Dropbox folder for you to upload your files and then, once you’ve approved the tracks, I’ll upload the completed files back to the same Dropbox folder.

In addition to the fact that many people are operating their studio in their home or apartment, where doing live tracking of any kind can be a problem, some of the advantages of the custom drum tracks that I offer are that:

1. 1. You wouldn’t need to hire a commercial studio or go through the setup process that’s entailed there…I have state of the art gear permanently setup in my studio and ready to go. I have over 25 different snare drums available and many different types of cymbals (I’m a Sonor Drum & Zildjian Cymbal endorser).
   2. You wouldn’t need to hire an engineer or a 2nd engineer.
   3. You wouldn’t need to waste a lot of time programming a drum machine or sequencer in an effort to get it to sound & feel like the real thing and ultimately not really ever achieve that.
   4. There would be no carting of gear to a commercial studio and, therefore, none of the associated expenses of cartage.
   5. You can finish your project in your home studio and still have real drums on it…as many as 13 individual tracks! I record using 2 kick mics–one inside and one outside, 3 snare mics–one top, one bottom and one rim, 3 tom mics–one for each tom, 2 overheads–left and right, 2 room mics–left and right and a hi hat mic which are each saved as it’s own individual track unless you specify that you would like to have less tracks than that. You can then mix and effect the tracks however you like…just like you would in a full sized studio.
   6. It’s not expensive and it will ultimately make your production sound much more professional than using programmed drums…the tracks are CD or broadcast ready.
   7. I’m very experienced and have been recognized as a world class drummer. I’d be happy to provide you with a complete list of my credits (see some of them above) and I have a lot of experience in the recording studio. I can deliver great sounding tracks in a wide range of styles and genres. I guarantee your satisfaction!

Live Tracks versus Drum Loops

I’d just like to point out that I am in no way opposed to the use of drum loops, drum machines or sequenced drums. In fact, I use them myself when the music calls for it (some music absolutely must have that type of drum track or it wouldn’t be true to the style) and I know that they can be quite useful in many instances where recording real drums may not be practical. In fact, I also have a fairly extensive line of downloadable, fully acidized stereo and multitrack drum loops available through my company Total Control Audio.

I am also very often asked to add a live drum track to a song that already has a loop or drum machine pattern, as a way of enhancing the groove of the song. This can be a very effective sound for some kinds of music.

Having said these things, there are many kinds of music where there is no substitute for the real thing and the comparisons made below are with that in mind.

1. 1. The live track that I play is a specific performance for your piece of music. I will play a track that is appropriate to your music, taking into account the various breaks, kicks etc. that you have in your arrangement. This would require a substantial amount of time and editing if you were using loops, with a fairly low likelihood of achieving the desired result.
   2. When I deliver the tracks to you, you can have as many as 13 individual tracks (2 kick mics–one inside and one outside, 3 snare mics–one top, one bottom and one rim, 3 tom mics–one for each tom, 2 overheads–left and right, 2 room mics–left and right and a hi hat mic) that you can then mix and effect however you like…just like you would in a full sized studio. Of course, if you need the configuration to be different than that I can provide that as well. Some people prefer to have me give them only 4 or 6 tracks depending on their personal situation. In any case, this offers a lot more flexibility than a simple stereo mix of a loop. You can eq and effect each element of the drum track until you have it just the way you need it for your music.
   3. With a live performance, you get all of the nuance and subtlety that can only be achieved by playing real drums to a track with live microphones picking up a performance. If you use samples, the perfection of the samples does not allow for that type of interplay without a lot of programming and even then it’s a time consuming and unnatural process. It doesn’t have the “air” that a real track has.

Live Tracks versus Drum Machines or Sequenced Drums

1. 1. I can play a track in probably 1/10th of the time it would take to program it on a drum machine or sequencer, maybe less. This allows you to spend more time worrying about the rest of the music instead of spending hours trying to get a drum machine track to sound right.
   2. As with the comparison to drum loops, with a live performance, you get all of the nuance and subtlety that can only be achieved by playing real drums to a track with live microphones picking up a performance. Machines and sequencers are just that, machines and sequencers. They are not living, breathing people giving a performance and as such, they do not allow for that type of interplay without a lot of programming. Even then it’s a time consuming and unnatural process that rarely achieves the same thing that a live track can deliver. They almost sound too “perfect”.

For more information feel free to e-mail me at anytime. Thanks and happy music making!!

E-mail: ron@ronwikso.com