Recording Drums issue

[tornandfrayed]

I am recording drums for EVK's EP/CD. I have an issue in that the Singer (Chelsea) is the drummer. I am trying to get good drum tracks but run into a problem with bleed from the vocal...

They do a great job but they are 15, 11 and 15 so they are kind of young and I want to keep this as enjoyable and intuitive as possible for them. This is not a gear issue , it is a process issue.

Any suggestions on how I might best be able to capture this?

[songsmith]

I'd either: 1) have her do a scrub track with the drums and vocals, then retake it with her playing without the vocal, using the scrub vocal as a reference; or 2) have somebody else sing the vocal part into a vocal mic in another room so she knows where she is in the song, but it's not on the final mix. Then she can recut her vocal track alone, and throw away the reference vocal.--->JMS

[ToonaRockGuy]

TAF, it's not possible to record drums and vox at the same time without bleed. Johnny is right, she'll need either a vocal or drum scratch track to record the other alongside.

[KeithReynolds]

This is the way id do it:
Record the drums with the rest of the band direct. Everyone will hear eachother through headphones. Youll get clean drumtracks that way, and have a scratch gtr & bass track to work with. Sometimes I even do it with just a guitar jamming direct with the drummer, but some bands needs every instrument playing to remember how their song goes.

I always do vocals LAST for a few reasons. One being, the singer can get into it more and do the parts better when everything else has been tracked. Its much better singing to a whole track then it is singing to a song fragment.

There is no good way to track drums with the drummer singing at the same time. Words are going to be present in each drum track, so when you start mixing drums, youre gonna be also mixing the vocal in with the drum which isnt good at all. Not to mention the phase issues!

[lonewolf]

This is the way id do it:
Record the drums with the rest of the band direct. Everyone will hear eachother through headphones. Youll get clean drumtracks that way, and have a scratch gtr & bass track to work with. Sometimes I even do it with just a guitar jamming direct with the drummer, but some bands needs every instrument playing to remember how their song goes.

I always do vocals LAST for a few reasons. One being, the singer can get into it more and do the parts better when everything else has been tracked. Its much better singing to a whole track then it is singing to a song fragment.

There is no good way to track drums with the drummer singing at the same time. Words are going to be present in each drum track, so when you start mixing drums, youre gonna be also mixing the vocal in with the drum which isnt good at all. Not to mention the phase issues!

This. Drums 1st, vocals last. If you absolutely need the scratch vocal on the 1st run, get somebody else to sing the scratch track remotely.

[Killjingle]

there is the possibility that she may have issues though without playing and singing, some folks just feel so much more comfortable that way. I guess it depends how "pro" u want it to sound.

Id agree with cutting the tracks independently.

[floodcitybrass]

Mic selection and position helps
1) Try to use an supercardioid mic.
2) Have the singer face the drummer. Do not have her stand in front of the drums with her butt towards the drummer since mics do not have a strong pattern behind the mic.

[onegunguitar]

Mic selection and position helps
1) Try to use an supercardioid mic.
2) Have the singer face the drummer. Do not have her stand in front of the drums with her butt towards the drummer since mics do not have a strong pattern behind the mic.

The drummer is the singer

[tornandfrayed]

Thanks alot for the info guys, as usual it has helped immensely. I am going to try to do the rough take with a mild scratch voc and then go over on the drums again. I am curious from a timing standpoint to see how it turns out. I again thank everyone for helping!

Now I need any interested guitar players who would be willing to jam with an 11 year old to give me a yell...

Peace