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by Doc MacNab on Monday, August 30, 2010 at 8:56am
Doc MacNab's approach to working in the studio is to make the whole process as easy as possible. From the agreements before the seesion starts, through the tracking process and the follow-up, Doc is easy to work with, dedicated to his craft and delivers value based on reliability, dependability and a vast rhythmic vocabularity.
Before the Studio His first approach to working with an artist or producer in the studio is to make sure that the business end of things is taken care of. Everyone states their needs, expectations and obligations in a detailed manner, then agree on everything, usually by signing the agreement. This is for the protection of both parties. Doc can also work rather inexpensively: he probably has less overhead (and less of a name) than many big name drummers, so because he lives humbly, Doc can pass that savings on.
The Initial Steps For example, say an artist hired Doc to record drum set on 3 tracks on an album. He crafts his side of the agreement, stating the price, either per song, per hour or per day. This agreement would also include all the details of what Doc is to bring to the studio. For example, is his kit being used or is one going to be provided? (during this process, a discussion of style, the artist's wants and needs for a drum sound and how the parts would be crafted.)
Doc gives his version of the agreement to the artist (or artist management.) Say Doc stated that he will bring his own kit and would like to work on a per-day basis in this case. Say also that the artist has a kit at the studio and he wanted Doc on a per-song basis instead. The artist then hands the agreement back to Doc with a counter offer. Let's also say that Doc is agreeable to the artist's terms and they sign the agreement. Here, Doc knows his responsibilities: style, needed gear and how he is to be paid for his services.
In the Studio Next comes actually working in the studio. Doc agrees to arrive at the studio at least 15 minutes prior to the time the artist asks that he is to be there. He also have everything he needs, according to the agreement, or has made prior arrangements to obtain the missing items.
Doc knows that he has to be fast, knowing full well that time is money and that his set-up time is billable as studio time to the studio itself--i.e., a 10-hour day is not 10 hours of recording time; it is 10 hours minus all needed set-up, mic-ing and EQ-ing and tear-down time. Hopefully, he'll have pre-production time alone with the gear he will be using and will able to make all necessary adjustments, repairs or modifications. If that is not possible, Doc is a great drum tech and can usually move very quickly and efficiently to get his part of the session ready for the engineer and producer. Doc's work-ethic mantra is basically that he does not like to make extra work for anyone else, nor does he like others waiting on him unnecessarily. That being said, Doc does his best to get set up quickly without any hiccups or headaches. If there is a problem with gear and it can be overlooked, Doc will do so. If there is a faulty piece of gear (and it happens), Doc will try to fix it or order another quickly. He does not waste time with things or issues beyond his control. Nor does he let a bad situation get the best of him mentally or emotionally.
Tracking Working with various engineers, songwriters, producers has taught Doc how to be patient, accommodating and a quick study, because, in a studio environment, time is money. Doc has learned to become very efficient while setting up and tearing down, as well as how to track efficiently: he plays and stop at the discretion of the control room, never noodling or wasting time. His approach is to let the engineer and/or producer to run the show. If they say "Go," he goes. If they say "Stop," Doc stops. They have much more of a complete picture of what they are listening to than Doc does, plus possible plans to cut and paste and punch in bits of parts. So even if Doc thinks that he made a mistake, he'll keep going until the control room tells him to stop and redo a part.
Doc is open to live tracking as well as piecing parts together. If possible, it does help to have copies and charts of the arrangements so that he can see what's going to happen before it does, but Doc can put it all together on the spot. He has developed a broad vocabulary in drum parts and styles that a songwriter or producer can draw from. Want Parliament? Doc'll play it. Want it with less bass drum? You can have that too.
The Click Track Doc loves a click track, and also loves playing live without one. Doc has done a blog on his approach to the click, so it won't be repeated here. Suffice it to say that Doc feels having one helps him and the players out more than not. It also helps to have all players comfortable with playing with a click, too. Doc once did a session where the keyboardist and both guitarists (one also provided the bass parts as well) could not play to the click. This was unfortunate, as it was the engineer's pet project and they were all hired guns. Doc's drum tracks were the only salvageable parts to the entire session. Even after he left Seattle and returned to New York from the session and the other players went back in to rerecord their parts, they couldn't do it. It really sucked for the engineer, whom Doc had come to personally like. But Doc's tracking to the clickwas enough to at least get the rhythm tracks for later use.
Once He's Done Tracking Doc will either break my kit down or leave it set up (whatever the intent of the engineer and needs of the room are.) Doc will then usually take a short break (maybe 10 minutes), to get some air, have a smoke, etc. Depending on the agreement between Doc and the client, he will either make himself available to the production team for whatever they have in mind (opinions, percussion layering, an extra set of ears, etc.) or leave the studio without talk of business. Doc knows that, again, time is money. It is his hope that all business can be wrapped up while the client is not on the hook for studio time, even though this is not always possible.
Some Experience Doc's work as a session drummer has involved working in studios across the country in various styles and genres. Not all recordings listed below are available any longer, but the experience is still there.
For example:
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