The DijonStock Digital Home Recording Support Forum

Recently i did some recording with a click track. When i keep the click volume low i sometimes lose the beat. When i set it loud enough to follow it bleeds from the headphones into the microphones when i do a vocal. Itried recording the click separate and then reversing the signal to filter it out but that doesn't work. Im thinking of making a Visual click on the computer screen that follows the midi clock.

How do you guys work with click tracks ?

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In a minute it might be gone. Life is a bear in a bubble.

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get some closed headphones, dirk

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Life's a shit sandwich. The more bread your have, the less shit you have to eat.

Closed headphones are a must, also if your using software I would just use a GATE plugin, there are a few free one`s but this FLOORFISH one is supposed to be really good.

http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?id=538

T.

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https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

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https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

I tell people the recorded click track was "on purpose"...

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Don't judge the coffee by its cup.
The proof of the cheese is in the eating

hi dirk. if i'm honest then i would tell you not to use it. rely on your own ear and rhythm, what you feel, and what you want to come out of whatever you are doing. yes, 1,2,3,4 is the basics and maths of rhythm, and if you have that then you can play about with it. make it natural and use imagination. do bits and pieces between the one and the two, and the three and the four. everything is possible. just go for it.
best wishes dirk.
dave.

Oscar, T.Mac, Guess what. The headphones are closed. The Rode mics i'm using are so sensitive it bleeds through. I can't even move or you would hear the friction of my clothes. I'm not setting the headphones so loud either. When they are on someone else head it's practically impossible to hear unless my ear touches the headphones. I could get a lot closer to the mic but then i get proximity effect and need to dial out a lot of low freq and usually that is noticeable too.

Dave, I hear what you say and you are right. I think controlled free tempo adds to the dynamics and expression of a song but if you want to be able to use the editting possibilities on the G you need to stay within the rhythmic boundaries. Same thing if you want to synchronize any gear later. On a pc editing is a bit easier.

With the SM57 i don't have so much bleed as they lose sensitivity with distance a lot faster but the Rode's pick up much more detail.

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In a minute it might be gone. Life is a bear in a bubble.

http://www.soundclick.com/bearinabubble

I do have gates in the dynamics of Cubase but have not used 'm much. (different one, your link is windows only) I'll see what gate can do for me. Thanks

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In a minute it might be gone. Life is a bear in a bubble.

http://www.soundclick.com/bearinabubble

Speaking of condensers, I had to put mine away and move to a dynamic mic. Unless you have a soundproof audio booth, condenser mics are nothing but sound magnets.

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GSMUSIC: Hey RZ, Im not no upper class american, the gear I own is what I have special to me. My car sucks, my house sucks, my nieghborhood sucks. Does yours RZ? Does it?

rz-land

It is important, in my workflow, to establish some sort of a bed track from which to work. I often use a guitar that is lined into the board. I would mic the instrument too and , if necessary to achieve the performance, use a mic to record a vocal whilst I play the guitar. The ultimate goal is to get that lined in guitar to follow the arrangement, on the beat of the click. You of course will not hear the click on this lined-in track.

Then the object is to build the song upon/around this track. Often, this track gets discarded as it may sound too mechanical, but not always if you laid down these bed track whilst singing along in your head. Particularly so if the mics you had on the body of the guitar did not pick up the click. As you are finding, it is the vocal mic that picks up that click the worst. It is just a matter of redoing the vocal, at least or redoing the guitar whilst listening to the bed. As long as the timing is pretty much dead on at the beginning/ends of lines and at turnarounds and key modulation etc., you can be a bit looser in between. Such attention makes punchins easier to setup, using the beat counter and jog wheel to establish the in points

One trick I sometimes try is to experiment with the time signature in the tempo map. Try your 4/4 song at 2/4. If that fits you can sometimes turn down the volume of the click, as the cadence of the song is more "natural" and easier to find the groove. In the same vein, try the time signature at 1/4. Then the click delivers a steady sound, as opposed to the loud,weak,weak,weak loud,weak,weak,weak of the 4/4 time sig. This will also allow you to reduce the overall volume of the click.

As frustrating as it is to learn to accomplish, working to a click is very worthwhile, IMHO

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Byron

If I remember right your using the Rode NT2 I think or something similar, I use the Rode NT1A and I get very little bleed.
Sorry about the link Dirk I forgot you got a Mac, but if you decide to use a gate, set it very very fast and make sure it`s the first plugin in the chain, so that when you put a reverb or delay on it, it won`t spoil those fx.
Other than that you could go into your software and delete everything before and after your vocal lines, topping and tailing they call it.
As Ron said you could use a dynamic mic but as you commented it won`t give you the same detail, SM57`s are good for only picking up what they are pointed at and blanking out what`s around, that`s why they are mainly used for miking up an amp cab, but it`s worth a try, anything goes if you get the end result your after, to stop your clothes making a noise record nude....
Good luck.

T.

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https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

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https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

i use Rode mics too, and yes they are sensitive - too sensitive sometimes

i just usually ride the gain knob - keep it all the way down until just before the vox are about to start, then i swing it up to the 2pm position. brutal, but simple and effective. naturally this only works if you hover over the AW while you're doing the tracks, and you're accurate with the gain control

also, my click is a midi'ed high-hat. it's not quite as obtrusive as the dit-dot-dot-dot of the AW's own click

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Wanted to buy: one Right Word Clock, in good condition.

SM58's are great for vocals. If you buy the one with the on/off switch then you can have more control.

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GSMUSIC: Hey RZ, Im not no upper class american, the gear I own is what I have special to me. My car sucks, my house sucks, my nieghborhood sucks. Does yours RZ? Does it?

rz-land

Ron I`m not sure what your point is but I agree, SM58`s are great for vocals, but in studios SM57`s are mainly used to mic up guitar cabs.


T.

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https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

Oh, I was just referring to Dirk's quest for silent vocals and recommended the 58 versus a condenser. 57's are great for guitar cabs and drums for sure!

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GSMUSIC: Hey RZ, Im not no upper class american, the gear I own is what I have special to me. My car sucks, my house sucks, my nieghborhood sucks. Does yours RZ? Does it?

rz-land

Definitely SM58`s are exceptional for live but I`ve never been able to get what I want from them personally, recording wise, maybe it`s just me and my kind of voice etc

I`m still puzzled why Dirk`s mic is picking up his clothes rustling!!
I could possibly get mine like that but it will have to be turned up ridiculously high, though he does have a different model of Rode mic.

T.

_________________
https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

I tried to use a condenser years ago. Even with the doors closed, I could hear my wife downstairs clanging pots and pans. It's just too sensitive for my room. If I had a soundproof room, I see where the difference comes to play. I totally agree I got a better sound.

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GSMUSIC: Hey RZ, Im not no upper class american, the gear I own is what I have special to me. My car sucks, my house sucks, my nieghborhood sucks. Does yours RZ? Does it?

rz-land

Pots and pans !!!! Good god man have you not heard of Macdonalds? or as my grandkids like to call it MacChuckBuckets

T.

_________________
https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

If I'm going to eat fast food, it will be this:

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GSMUSIC: Hey RZ, Im not no upper class american, the gear I own is what I have special to me. My car sucks, my house sucks, my nieghborhood sucks. Does yours RZ? Does it?

rz-land

1932 I must say they still look fresh

T.

_________________
https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

And the best fast food burger in my book!

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GSMUSIC: Hey RZ, Im not no upper class american, the gear I own is what I have special to me. My car sucks, my house sucks, my nieghborhood sucks. Does yours RZ? Does it?

rz-land