If you’re thinking about creating a new song and using a real drummer over-the-internet you should get the drummer involved as early in the production as possible. This can help you get the most solid and natural feel possible. Technically, all your hired gun really needs is a scratch guitar or keyboard track, a tempo and an opening count. We’ll look at this more in a minute.
I’ve worked with many drummers in the manner I’m about to describe and you can consider this an unabashed endorsement for today’s drummer in the Spotlight, Mike Kosacek, owner and drummer at “studiodrumtracks.com”. Mike is a seasoned pro I found in an online gear forum. I saw his address, checked out his website(s), sent him an email and I’ve used him on two pieces in the last few months. More about Mike coming after a little more about the overall process.
PRELIMINARY
Before you make contact, you’ll want to check out the demo material from the drummer(s) you’re thinking about working with to hear if they are in the right place for your song. Drummers who specialize in Metal style music might be bored with a Country style song and likewise someone who grooves and understands Country music might not be the right choice for your modern alternative rocker. Demos of previous work should be much more important to you than laundry lists of gear or who they have played with. Focus your ears on how their drums SOUND because THAT is what you’re buying and what will end up on YOUR song.
Check out their demo material, every good Internet Drummer has them.
FIRST CONTACT - Inquire & Inform
When you do make contact with a drummer you’ll want to inquire and inform about a few important things.
How long will it take to record your drum track? I like fast turnaround time from drummers because adding them to a new composition slows things down. I like to keep momentum going when working on new songs.
Reveal the style of music you’re into and inquire if they’re into that? Hopefully you’ll find a drummer who is well versed in rhythms from around the world, experience is important but so is drive and desire to record on your song.
What do they need from you to make this happen? It varies from drummer to drummer. To communicate properly you’ll need to know:
- Song length in minutes and seconds
- Tempo in Beats Per Minute (BPM)
- Sample Rate of your DAW recording session (44.1/48/88.2/96 in kHz)
Plan on providing a recording of your song, without any drums plus a click track with at least 8 opening clicks for count-in (or whatever a couple of measures works out to be for your selected rhythm). It can sometimes be helpful to a drummer to hear your “fake drums” if you’ve got a version, this helps the drummer get a feel for the energy or what you have in mind.
THE PROCESS - Getting Ready
The first step is to determine the tempo of your song in “Beats Per Minute” (BPM) and write it down, it’s best to work in whole numbers without decimals. Example tempo settings: 104 bpm = good, 104.79 bpm = bad. I’ve never had a problem with whole number tempo (I have had sync problems with decimal tempos so I avoid them). You are going to need to know this tempo when you communicate with your drummer.
In order for this to work, at minimum you need to record a “scratch version” of your song along with a metronome beat (or a click track from drum software) in your DAW. Record this time-keeping click on a track by itself; record your basic song idea using this click track for timing, as a placeholder and temporary rhythm (your new drum track will replace this).
The DAW used by you and your drummer does not need to be the same model or software. The drummer can be using a Windows based PC and you can use a MacOS hot rod, as long as you both record at the same sample rate. You’ll be exchanging audio tracks which are platform independent. So far, I’ve never worked with a drummer who uses MacOS, drummers seem to love Windows.
OPENING COUNT - Confirm with drummer
Almost as important as the tempo is “The Opening Count”, a series of distinct metronome beats recorded at the beginning of the song according to the Tempo setting. It’s important to check with the drummer you’re going to work with and see how many “clicks” they want at the beginning. The songwriting template I made for my own use has four blank measures at the beginning, this gives me a lot of editing options later on as a song develops. I always try to add a couple of measures of “opening count” click-track at the beginning of compositions.
You should confirm with your prospective drummer what he wants for the Opening Count-In.
SAMPLE RATE - Technical Information
You should tell your drummer what sample rate you’re using. I keep things simple and use 24 bit/44.1 kHz. Most of the sample libraries I use are 44.1 so keeping it the same across my productions reduces sample-conversion distortion.
DELIVERABLES YOU PROVIDE -
Each drummer I’ve worked with has slightly different requests for what you send them. At a minimum, you’ll send them:
- A stereo recording of your song to record with (mp3 usually fine)
- A click track recorded at the songs tempo with two measure count-in
Mike at studiodrumtracks.com has a great way of working. He wants your song demo with NO Drums and NO Click track. You tell him the tempo in BPM, give him two measures of opening-count-click and he takes it from there by creating his own click track based on the beats-per-minute rhythm. This allows him to have complete control over the click sound and volume he is hearing and performing with.
Whoever you hire, they will have specific requirements for what they want; definitely ASK the drummer what he wants and remember, this is the guy who’s going to groove on your song, you want to make it as easy as possible for the drummer to do his best work.
SYNCING UP
I’ve found it best to just export the full length of tracks (the ones I’m sending to the drummer) so that everything absolutely starts at the same place.
HOW MUCH $$ - What drummer charges and how you pay
Rates charged by drummers are all over the place so don’t be afraid to ask. Many tell you on their web site how much they charge and it’s often based on song length. You should know the length of your song in Minutes and Seconds and be able to tell your prospective drummer so he can give you an accurate quote.
I caution against focusing on “low price” as a deciding criteria. Of much greater importance is whether the drummer has the feel for YOUR music and whether he can interpret the part to fit your mental image of what it should sound like.
Likewise, a high price should not be interpreted as a better performer. Drummers in LA area are more expensive than drummers in Illinois. The cost of living is higher in LA and studio space is much more expensive.
Let your fingers do some searching and see who you can find recording drums, you may find a genuine rock star that loves tracking and grooving who will give you a reasonable rate for your drum part.
CORRECTIONS, CHANGES OR REDOS = Additional Charges
You should ask your prospective drummer how much edits and changes will cost? Even the best sometimes interpret things differently in their first take. In my experience the better drummers are very tuned-in to their personal DAW and their recording setup. Inevitably you will want something changed, how hard is it and how much are they adding to the final bill. I’ve had guys want a second full payment to fix something they missed in my demo. The best drum providers are able to punch-in 16 tracks of drums and make it seamless, no problem and no extra charge. It varies from drummer to drummer so ask if some basic corrections will cost extra. With very few exceptions I’ve been treated very fairly by every drummer I’ve hired to perform on one of my songs.
WHAT DO YOU GET
A real drummer makes a song breathe and gives it rhythmic feel in ways that drum machines can’t. Adding real drums adds another layer of complexity for creators but it’s a difference worth the effort. With the right drum track your song comes to life and can inspire a completely different (better?) performance for how you perform and record additional tracks.
HOW MANY TRACKS?
Most drummer-services include a finished stereo mix of the drums which you can integrate into your song. You should also get all the drums as individual tracks (kick, snare top, snare bottom, tom1, tom2 etc…).
MIXING MULTITRACK DRUMS
Receiving the new tracks and preparing to mix the drum track is one of my favorite aspects of live drums. I use six DAW outputs for drums - Kick, Snare, L-Toms, R-Toms, L-Ovhd, R-Ovhd. These six mixer channels feed their own stereo subgroup on the console which has its own bus compressor. In the DAW this is often from two kick sources, two snare tracks, high hat, three or four toms, ride cymbal, stereo overheads and stereo room mics. Sometimes it’s a much smaller drum setup with only seven sources. It varies from drummer to drummer.
I love mixing drum tracks. When you get ready to mix your song the dynamics of well-recorded drum tracks will provide sparkle and musicality not available elsewhere.
SPOTLIGHT ON: STUDIO DRUM TRACKS - by Mike Kosacek
https://www.studiodrumtracks.com
Mike has it all: A clear web site explains his services offered, plus he has years of experience, skill, taste, knowledge, super fine gear, fast-turnaround and reasonable pricing. He is a man of few words who lets his drums do the talking. I’ve recently used him on two songs, one was 3.5 minutes long and the other is over 11 minutes long. We did the short one first; it was so good we moved ahead with the long one.
Even if you don’t make specific requests in advance Mike includes a lot without you asking.
- Two Bass drum sources
- Top and Bottom Snare
- Three or Four Toms
- Ride Cymbal
- Stereo Overhead
- Stereo Room
With all these tracks you have lots of options for shaping your final drum mix once your tracks are ready for mixing.
Mike has a unique ability, he is able to track drums along with already finished music. This means he can make it sound like he was there all along (which is not easy for a drummer to do). He adds tasteful hits, rolls and accents where they should have been. Drum software has no soul, this is where Mike’s experience and ability comes in. He makes the process transparent, natural sounding and good.
studiodrumtracks.com = Highly Recommended! Check him out…
EPILOGUE
If you’re recording at home I highly recommend you seek out live drums from a human drummer using the internet. 20 years ago it was a royal pain to try out drummers only to find out they could not (or would not) play with a metronome. Now it is easy and there are lots of talented players waiting to jam along with you. Give it a try!
Thanks for reading High on Technology, Good Music To You!
©November 2025 by Mark King, it is NOT ok to copy or quote without written permission from the author.
Go forth and be creative, hire a real drummer!
Here are a couple of songs I created with Internet-drummers.
You Can Change - This one is a YouTube video, the audio track is high quality for a live mix. Mary and I were performing and streaming live concerts back in 2012 using drum backing tracks which were recorded by an LA studio drummer. This drummer will be featured in another article about adding drums to your songs. This video is hosted on MARK KING VIDEO.
Friends All Over The World - This one was recorded by another studio drummer service (based in LA), he only provided me with seven recorded tracks. This song has tempo changes and was recorded in three separate pieces which ultimately I stitched together to make this finished mix. Mary and I also streamed video of us playing this song live. I lost contact with this guy, even though there were not many tracks he had great feel and nailed the parts right away. This song is hosted on MARK KING RADIO.