Hey guys! Just wanted to bring this topic into discussion. I always pay attention to the drums in the songs, and with this new LP record, there are a lot of stuff going on (electronic stuff mostly). I'm always watching live presentations, and I noticed that the drums on Waiting For The End ALWAYS sound the same (exactly like the album). I don't really know if he uses playback or something similar because he can't reproduce live the sound of the drums on that song. I've always wondered if Rob actually plays live drums and they change the sound of the snare and bass drum to that 'old school' kind of drums, or if everything is sampled and he plays 'something' over that sample and pretend he's doing everything live. For example, this is from the MSG show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtPKvwVGNAA Pay attention between 3:29 and 3:32. You can hear the sound of the crash cymbals, but Rob is not hitting them (he hits one at the end) Another example from the MTV EMAs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w93z_nhm2o Pay attention to 1:29 to 1:31 He hits the ride cymbal first, and then the crash cymbal, but you never hear the sounds coming from them, as if they were muted or something. What do you all think?
Actually, in your MSG example, he hits the crash when the actual crash comes in (at the end AKA 3:32) - he's playing open hat between 3:29 and 3:32, as it is in the song.
Rob plays along with the sampled drums, they just mix the sampled drums louder (the same can be said of a lot of stuff on ATS - Blackout, parts of When They Come For Me and Wretches and Kings, the first half of Burning in the Skies). I forget which of the 3 shows it is, but on one of the South American DSPs, Rob's drums are mixed a lot louder than usual, and you can clearly hear everything he's playing. Also, keep in mind, in addition to the trigger pads Rob uses, he also has a digital kick pedal next to his regular kick pedal for sampled bass drum sounds, and he has a remote trigger on his snare that can be used to play essentially any sound when he hits his snare drum. Rob may use one snare drum for the duration of a concert, but any number of sounds can come from it. LP DOES use several tracks of playback for certain portions of the newer songs, but they're usually just used to augment what they're already doing - sampled drum parts doubled by real drums, singing over the top of pre-recorded backing vocals, Mike singing along with himself on The Requiem and Fallout, etc...the best example that I frequently refer to is on Waiting For the End, if you listen to the first few performances of that song, they weren't using the pre-recorded backing vocals on the chorus, so if you compare that to one of the recent performances, the difference is really obvious.
Thanks for clearing that up, I was wondering the same thing. I noticed when I saw them live, you can definitely hear Rob's drums louder than the backing track on Waiting for the End.
Whoa, what? :x Pre-recorded vox? I reckon they could just turn Shinoda's vox up a bit on "Waiting" and that would do the trick ;/
Wow.. why don't they just put a CD player in front of the microphone and go hang out in the backstage..
Because one thing is doing playback and a different thing is using backing tracks. The band still plays as much as they did before. Or maybe even more.
Read this: Does it matter if Rob plays the drums if you actually don't hear it but hear the sampled drums?
You can hear Rob, the sound of the live drums blends with the sampled drums, but that doesn't mean you can't hear him. I remember being able to hear him just fine. Actually I remember I liked The Catalyst better live because the live drums make it sound more energetic than the crappy snare on the record.
Having seen the band live I can guarantee you that you can hear Rob just fine. It's not just a "CD player in front of a mic" as you put it. Rob's drums are more than clearly audible.
Well I can't say for sure since I haven't seen them live, that's just what I gathered from those two videos and Dr O's post. I just don't get it why they need any playback for their shows..
Every artist does that...well perhaps not every artist, but at least any artist that want's to sound semi-decent live will do that. It's meant to give the songs more depth and punch, and to produce an overall stronger sound. Without a backing track, songs like The Catalyst would sound extremely flat live and wouldn't have the same impact they do at a live show.
There's one thing that always bothers me always when I watch Waiting For The End live. That sample of guitar at the beginning should be played live!
Nope, the open hi hat is not what you hear between 3:29 and 3:32. You hear the sound of a crash cymbal, clearly. And Rob only plays the last one at 3:32. Thanks for you anwser Astat! I didn't know about the digital kick pedal. No one has mentioned what happened in the MTV EMAs. Rob is hitting a cymbal that has no sound ...
haha yeh, it bothered me too but i think its cause its sped up or pitch shifted or something that wouldn't sound the same if they played it live.
I think it all has to do with the sound board: The drums and/or cymbals may just be turned down for that song... It doesnt take a genious to figure out alot of the songs off of ATS are high in samples. Perhaps what you are hearing is coming from a different band members MPC? I still agree with the chairman of the ketchup on this one...
Yeah with Dean on that one. Not all artist do it. Some bands just sound awesome live. Like Underoath and August Burns Red for instance
Wut Dean & Jacob said. Playback isn't necessary to sound great live & and there are countless bands and artists out there that prove that.