Send me the song. I’ll play the drums.

A rough mix is enough to start. If you have a demo drum part, send a mix with it, a mix without it, and the drums on their own. Export them from the same starting point so they line up.

If the drums are programmed, send the MIDI alongside the rendered audio. I can turn it into drum notation and print charts to read during the session. Tell me which parts to follow exactly and where you’d like my own touch.

Include the tempo or tempo map if you have one, plus any references and notes. Tell me what you like about a reference, and use section names or timestamps for changes you want in the song.

How to prep a song for a remote session

If plans change, tell me. With 48 hours notice we can move the session to a new date.

If a project ends after tracking begins, we settle up for the work already done.

Label releases, ads, film or television work, and union sessions each come with their own schedule, paperwork, and usage terms, so I quote those one at a time.

For fully acoustic sessions in another studio, the quote also covers the room and travel.

I play the whole song in full passes, usually four or five, then comp the best sections into one master take. If a section still isn’t there, I record more passes of that section.

I’ll record as many passes as the song needs. The quote does not set a take limit.

I keep the cymbal audio, recorded drum audio, and MIDI from the same take together when choosing sections. That keeps the kit playing as one performance. You approve that comp, and revisions start from there.

Why I comp the cymbals and the shells together

A revision is a batch of notes that sends me back to the kit. You collect the changes, I re-track the parts affected, and you get updated files. One batch is one revision, whether it touches one chorus or the whole song.

The number of included revision rounds is written into the quote before we book.

Plenty of changes don’t need another performance. Swapping shell sounds and re-printing stems, redrawing a fill in MIDI, softening an articulation, moving a hit, re-sends, and stem-level adjustments can all happen without going back to the kit. Before tracking, we’ll agree on which of those are part of the delivery.

If you want more revision rounds than the quote includes, I’ll confirm the added scope before doing the work. Revision requests stay open for 30 days after delivery.

If the song itself changes shape after I track (new arrangement, tempo, or key), that’s a new performance and we requote that song.

New clients hear a rough mix before the full files go out. If that first version misses the feel or approach we agreed on, I re-track the song once at no charge.

That re-track does not count against the included revisions. Changes you want after I have delivered the direction we agreed on are normal revisions.

I factor song length and arrangement into the quote. If a track runs longer than five or six minutes or has an unusual structure, I’ll account for it before we book.

Yes. I play along to your recording, so a song that moves or was never cut to a click still works.

If you have a tempo map, send it and I’ll follow it, including changes mid-song. Odd time signatures are fine too.

Shakers, tambourine, and hand percussion can be layered over the kit when the arrangement wants them.

A single-camera video of the take can be captured for your release or social clips if we plan it before tracking. I’ll include both in the quote.

Cymbals are part of the arrangement, and they’re the one thing that can’t change after the take.

I usually choose the cymbals after hearing the track. If you already have a sound in mind, say so in your message and I’ll start there.

See the cymbal collection

Send a reference or describe the sound you want. I can shape the recorded drum audio after tracking, or use the MIDI to try different kick, snare, and tom sounds if those tones aren’t fitting the song.

If you want audio prints, we’ll settle on the sounds together before I render the stems. You can also use the MIDI with your own drum library.

Yes. The MIDI can drive a compatible drum library, so you can replace or layer drum sounds. You may need to adjust the MIDI mapping so the notes trigger the intended drums and articulations.

When I print shell stems, I use one of the V71’s sampled kits, Addictive Drums 2, or Steven Slate Drums 5. The raw MIDI still comes with every hybrid session.

One stereo overhead pair, chosen and placed after I hear the song. It is either the WA-84s or the SM81s, with the other two mics on the hi-hat and ride.

Either way you get the same four dry tracks: overhead left and right, hi-hat, and ride.

The standard cymbal tracks arrive dry, with no EQ, compression, or master-bus processing. You can hear them in the stems player and download the rock take’s four cymbal tracks to try in your own session.

If you want me to process the cymbals or deliver a finished drum mix, we’ll agree on that separately. The dry tracks still come with the session.

Tell me your session’s sample rate and I’ll track at it. Nothing needs converting on your end.

The audio comes back as 24-bit WAV, alongside the raw drum MIDI.

The recording is yours to release. I don’t retain any publishing or master interest in what you put out.

Your music stays private until you release it. I never post session audio or name a project before the release is public.

After release, I may list the credit and link the record unless you ask me not to. I always appreciate a credit, but it’s not required.