DRUMMER CAFE - Community Forum

I humbly request any and all opinions/suggestions regarding recording songs with ritard endings. 

I'll be doing some recording this weekend in a studio that uses a higher end Pro Tools rig, and using that program's built-in click.  I'm relatively comfortable playing along to the click, but I'm puzzled about what to do with the slowed-down endings + the click at the original tempo. 

Stop the click altogether before the ending?  Try to ignore the click and play through it?

I'm a total newbie/amateur buffoon when it comes to recording anything higher tech than the little Fostex 4-track machine that we use to record practices with.  I have only a handful of experiences in a "real" studio to draw from, and none of the songs I have previously recorded had this type of ending. 

Thanks for your help!   :) 

 

You got it, man.

Have the engineer mute the click right before the ritard (he can put in a marker after a rough pass so that he knows for sure where it happens everytime (that is unless you all nail it in one take)).

I've done it both ways and it can be a little unsettling to completely disregard the click (especially if the rest of the band is hearing the click too), so it'll probably be a more efficient use of time to go with the first option.

Couldn't he just set the tempo track to start slowing down at the right bar?

I've done it all 3 ways mentioned so far.
The easiest to deal with and most common solution is the stop the click at the point the slowing starts, or as suggested, have the engineer mute the click.

Thank you, gentlemen!   ;D

Your comments are very much appreciated. 

If you are going to be overdubbing and really want to get slow, you can leave the click on while slowing down (no big deal really).  *pause for however long, let the click keep time, count off four (with the click if you want or not) and end the song (or pick the tune back up again- whatev).  This will help keep the band together.

Then as you start stacking up the tracks, one may mute the click at the retard point of the song (whatever the guys are comfy with) and then, finally, chop out the stick clicks with digital editing when everything is tracked.

Either way is ok!

Don't the fancy programs have time stretching software?

Which introduce sonic artifacts depending on the degree to which it is used and on what instruments etc.

The best way would either be muting the track, leaving it on, or setting it up to do what you would play. Rather than altering things after the fact.

What Chris said -  most common, most musical.  If overdubs need a cue for the next chord or something - far better (and easy now with DAW's) to add the cueing clicks on the screen after the fact. Just copy and paster 5 clicks (for instance) so the last its on the cue - and ta-dah! - a four beat cue into the next chord. But all that after the first pass players, just perform it musically with head nods, etc.

David

Thanks again to everybody who offered suggestions!  I recorded those songs today without a hitch.  As suggested, I asked the engineer to mute the click at the time the songs slowed down.  Very natural, very easy.