Should My Band Record to a Click Track?

This is a conversation/argument that I have had many of times as an engineer, producer, artist and manager. There is not really a right or wrong answer to this question, although there are people who sit on either side of the fence of this argument. First of all, let’s look at the pros and cons related to using a click track:

Pros:

1. Consistent speed of the song from start to finish. Drummers naturally tend to speed up in fills, and musicians naturally tend to speed up a bit when getting louder and slow down when getting quieter.

2. Drastically improved editing flexibility. When a track is recorded with a click track, it makes it much easier to edit and fix imperfections. For example, if you do 3 takes of the song at the same speed and the 3rd one is totally the best take, but the drummer messed up one roll, the click track makes it easy to simply grab that roll from one of the other takes. The same is the case for vocal takes and any other instrument. This can save a lot of time, frustration and money.

Cons:

1. Click tracks get complicated with songs where tempo is supposed to change. If the changes are fairly basic, the click track can be mapped for the tempo changes. However, in more complex situations, this can be a real pain. This is really more an issue of click tracks being less applicable in some situations than a con against click tracks in general.

2. Musicians that are less experienced and whom have not practiced considerably with a click track tend to tighten up and or push/pull the tempo (“fighting with the click track”). In this case, there is a risk of the end product sounding less musical. Again, this is more an issue of musical ability than a strike against the concept of using a click track.

Ok, so I really don’t have cons for using a click track. There are situations where a click does not work, but most of the time it’s the way to go. When there is a song and it is desired to have multiple tempos, you have to make the call based on your own judgement. Do the players, engineer and/or producer have the skills to pull it off to a mapped click or will the process take too much time? Maybe a hybrid solution could work. For example, the first 75% of the track is at a fixed speed then the last 25% gradually speeds up. The easy solution here is to map a click track at a fixed tempo for the first 75% and then have it mute at the point where the speed up begins. In this case, you have the editing flexibility of the click track for most of the song.

Here are a list of things I have heard musicians say negatively about the results of recording to a click:

- It doesn’t sound as natural
- It sounds too mechanical
- It lacks dynamics

As I mentioned before, there is no right or wrong answer to this question, so this is where my musical opinion comes in. If it sounds unnatural, lacks dynamic or is too mechanical, it’s because the players (and, in many cases, primarily the drummer) have not practiced and honed the art of the click track. If you are focusing too much time on the click and struggling to make sure you don’t run ahead or fall behind it, then yes, the results will be that it won’t sound as good, it will sound less musical and more mechanical. A great studio drummer who has a lot of experience with the click track will easily lay down natural, dynamic and musical drum tracks because the click track is not distracting to him or her. Their tempo is solid, so there is no fight. They can effortlessly bring the volume and intensity of the song up and take it back down with no limitation created by the click.

So to answer the question, it depends on what you are doing. If your band (and especially your drummer) has very little studio and click track experience and you are just demoing some songs, then I would say go without. If you are a click track master and can effortlessly track to a click then I don’t think you should even consider not using it. If you are doing a serious recording that you are paying a bunch of money for and investing a bunch of time into and don’t feel you have mad click skills, then I would say you are not ready for the investment yet. Train yourself and your band and practice to the click, and then go record your record. And yes, there are many that would argue this statement — after all, so many great classics have been recorded without a click track, eg. Dizzy Miss Lizzie by the Beatles, Enter Sandman by Metallica, Kashmir by Led Zeppelin, and the list goes on and on. Keep in mind, most of these recordings were done with near unlimited time and money and with analogue equipment which does not provide the same editing capacity of today’s digital audio workstations.

The best part about learning and practicing playing to a click is that you will improve your tempo individually and as a band, which is one of the reasons I feel it is the best option. It makes you a better musician! It makes your band tighter!

Stay tuned for my next blog on how to hone the click track.

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