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Online Recording Studios - A New Player In The Music Industry
By Elad Fish, Thu Dec 8th
The World of Drum Recording Many people today, especially inhome studios where you often have only two inputs to record atonce, record their songs one track at a time. Most peoplestarting a home studio can easily acquire the basic engineeringskills needed to record vocals, guitars, keyboards and bass.Recording an acoustic drum set on the other hand is perhaps thebiggest challenge a recording engineer has to face whenrecording a single instrument - mainly because drums;
aren'treally a single instrument. Especially in Rock, each drum willoften require its own microphone in order to capture its fulldepth and "punch" quality so highly desired in hard-hitting rockanthems. A multi-channel recording system, lots of expensivemicrophones, acoustic room treatment and knowing where to placemicrophones and how to get the best out of the equipment makerecording drums;
a highly expensive and complex endeavor. If onedecides to record drums;
at a studio, they will find themselvespaying through the nose for a recording engineer and aprofessional drummer. Bands often don't have the budget to payfor hours of studio time required for their drummer to nail adecent take. Even if the drummer is well versed in the songswhen playing gigs, recording in the studio is different in manyways and requires its own experience. Online drum recordingservices such as DrumsForYou.com provide a refreshingalternative. Maintaining a studio dedicated to the sole purposeof recording drums, online drum recording provides a simple andquick method of getting a solid drum track. For those venturinginto a studio for the first time, it can be very intimidatingnot knowing how big the hole in your pocket will be at the endof the day. In online recording studios, a high volume ofcustomers keeping the studio busy recording drums;
daily allowsthe service to offer a fixed price rather than charge by thehour. There is no need to collaborate a schedule of meetingswith musicians and producers. As soon as one track is finishedthere is no problem in getting on to the next one. How Does It Work? You may ask yourself, how can someone recorddrums the way I want them without me there to play along, guideand explain what I need? The answer is - free preview. Thisfeature is made practical thanks to the special traits inherentto an online recording service. The entire process will usuallybegin with the user filling out a form specifying parameterssuch as how they'd like their drums;
played, at what sample ratethey need the track to be recorded and a choice from severalsnare drums;
to play. Then the customer is asked to send an mp3file with a sketch of their track without drums;
on the left sideand a matching click track on the right. The service is thenobliged within a certain amount of time to send a preview mix ofthe drum track over the song. If the customer for some reasondoesn't like what they hear, they can ask for changes or scrapthe track without paying. If they do like what they hear, uponpayment they may choose between online or CD delivery of thefull separate tracks as well as a suggested stereo mix. Withthis feature, you have nothing to lose by trying. You knowexactly how much you'll have to pay, you'll know exactly whenyou'll get it and you'll know exactly what you're paying forbefore you need to make your decision. In a studio, beingcharged by the hour, you take a lot of risks, because you payfor time spent regardless of the result. The experience andversatility attained by drummers who record parts for songsevery day also means they'll probably nail the track the firsttime. Most people aren't really that picky about having theirdrums played a certain way and will often trust the drummer'sjudgment to play what they
believe fits best with the sketchprovided by the customer.Who May Benefit from Online Recording? This unique service canbe very useful for budding musicians and bands struggling ontheir own and professional musical producers alike. Producerswill appreciate the speed and professional quality delivered bythis service. Because it's so quick, they effectively won't losetime by trying the service, so their options remain open to gothe traditional way if needed. Thanks to the ever advancingcomputer industry home studios have become very commonplacethese days. They are relatively cheap, easy to build andmaintain. Therefore, many budding musicians already have thetools they need to record their sketch and use this service.Until recently, they've had to compromise the live feel of theirrecordings by using drum loops and samples. Online drumrecording services finally allow them to mend what has beenuntil now a consistently weak link in their chain. Findingtalented musicians dedicated to one's cause is also nothing tobe sneezed at. Having a demo for your songs that sounds goodenough to be on a record can help your wanted-ads on theinternet stand out from the crowd. You may find yourselfattracting more people to work with you in two weeks than youmanaged to do in two years. Not Just drums;
It doesn't stop at drums;
either.DrumsForYou.com, despite its name, provides services forrecording bass, guitars and keyboards as well as drums. Grantedthat equipment becomes less of an issue when recording theseinstruments, the expertise of a professional player combinedwith the speed and no-risk policy of online recording makesthese services very attractive. Musicians trying to produce agood track on their own will probably sing their own track, orhave a singer, and play one instrument that they know well. Yetmany guitar players like to try playing their own bass, only tofind it doesn't sit as tight with the bass drum as they'd like.They would have to choose between keeping their part or taketheir chances hiring a musician. With online recording, you justorder a bass track preview and most chances are you'll have theproblem solved. Indeed, online recording services could verywell be the shape of things to come in how music is produced. Asthe infrastructure of the internet expands and advancesglobally, online recording services will also advance. Forexample, it will be possible to hear a recording session online,give comments and even play together in real time from anywherein the world with low latency. Soon after that you will also beable to see each other. Musicians will effectively be able torehearse, record and even perform online.
The Bottom Line Sitting in a fully equipped studio withexperienced
personnel, including a producer, recording engineerand professional
drummer obviously has its advantages. At theend of the day, however,
most people look for bang-for-bucksolutions - amateurs and professionals
alike. Using free previewto solve most of the problems that could
arise from not beingface to face with the client, online recording
services providea viable solution that fits the bill for all but
those who arenot willing to compromise on having their own musician
play thepart note for note. I highly recommend paying a visit toDrumsForYou.com
and taking a venture into online recording.After you do, you may
find yourself wondering how you got alongwithout it.
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