For me I usually prefer to have a drum track laid out so I can really try and nail the groove. A click isn’t something I really care for, but it is nice to have in the background.
Most recently, I ended up recording the bass before the drummer laid his tracks and I only had the guitar part and a click to go off of. The end product just sounds…messy. I think that we did this backwards, but what do you guys think is the best “order” when it comes to recording bass?
Definitely want the drums to be there first. I think the bass player follows the drummer much more than the other way around. Frankly a lot of drummers don’t really follow anyone - everyone else has no choice but to follow them, time-wise. Dave Matthews once said that Carter Beauford was the “Captain of the ship.”
We bass players only strike notes with one appendage, whereas the drummer is using 3 or 4 different appendages, so it’s easier for us to make minor time adjustments very quickly. The drummer is kind of time-juggling: throwing different limbs in various directions and pre-timing the desired result. But we bass players can focus on exactly when we move one or two fingers.
Yep. I like to have a complete drum track and maybe a scratch guitar/vocal track just to help me track transitions. It’s easier for the bass to record in time to drums than vice versa, and likewise it’s useful for guitars, vocals, and other melodic instruments to come after the rhythm section is laid down.
Either that or a click track, but my drummer doesn’t like playing to a click.
