Random clicks on songs

[Eren]

Apparently there are some metronome-like clicks I heard on some tracks. What do you think?

On The Backs of Angels - 3:26, between the words American-Dream, on the left channel
Panic Attack - 4:30, between deliri-um, on the middle

Maybe there are more but these two are the ones I can remember for now.

[Vajra]

Idk about clicks, but in the majority of DT songs there's this strange voice singing over all of the instruments. I don't think it's suposed to be there.

[MasterShakezula]

Um, well, you know, can't trust those pirates. 

[SystematicThought]

In certain parts of TDOE, you can hear the metronome going

[Metropolis Pt. II]

In certain parts of TDOE, you can hear the metronome going

That's JLB keeping time with his shovel.

[MetropolisxPt1]

in acoustic parts during  SDOIT you can hear the metronome.

[rumborak]

I'm too lazy to listen to this now, but I find it highly doubtful you would hear the click track. Everybody is wearing headphones during recording, the click track would have to be insanely loud in the headphones to bleed into the microphone.

rumborak

[Adami]

I'm too lazy to listen to this now, but I find it highly doubtful you would hear the click track. Everybody is wearing headphones during recording, the click track would have to be insanely loud in the headphones to bleed into the microphone.

rumborak

True, but for JLB, it's also possible that he took one side of the headphones off, which is very common for singers, leaving an entire side exposed.

[rumborak]

That could of course be, but vocals are usually recorded without click track since everything else has been laid down already. I'm not saying it's impossible, but very unlikely, and also that it would slip by the producer and sound engineer.

rumborak

[Adami]

That could of course be, but vocals are usually recorded without click track since everything else has been laid down already. I'm not saying it's impossible, but very unlikely, and also that it would slip by the producer and sound engineer.

rumborak

Oh yea, but it depends who's producing it. If you have someone who's hyper and ready to move on to the next thing, and isn't listening to the solo'd vocal track then it's possible to have those things slip by him. Whoever that person may be.

But more than likely, it's intentional by JR.

[FretMuppet]

Apparently there are some metronome-like clicks I heard on some tracks. What do you think?

On The Backs of Angels - 3:26, between the words American-Dream, on the left channel
Panic Attack - 4:30, between deliri-um, on the middle

Maybe there are more but these two are the ones I can remember for now.

The Panic Attack one is actually JR doing some runs on the keyboard. Listen to the "run try to hide..." bit and you'll hear them better. During the "delirium" bit he goes quite high which makes them sound like a click

[Elaitch]

I'm getting out of this thread before I get any "can't be unheard"-moments... God forbid <.<

[Guitalguy]

Maybe it's the metronome that has been absorbed by the pickups of the guitar? They obviously are microphones too, and if there's a somehow loud noise in the background, maybe it somehow gets recorded. I really don't know enough about this to say anything for sure, but I know that I often put my phone's speaker on the pickups, to hear it through the amp. Also, sometimes the amp plays german radio. And I don't live in Germany. Don't actually know how that's relevant, when I think about it.

[Fjubb]

I really hope they remove the click in OTBOA, after I heard it the first time I can't listen to the song without thinking about it, because it can be heard so loud and clear.

[Adami]

I really hope they remove the click in OTBOA, after I heard it the first time I can't listen to the song without thinking about it, because it can be heard so loud and clear.

I didn't hear it on my comp speakers. Maybe it's just JRs percussive patch?

[Metrovarium]

I couldn't hear it at all until I actually tried to hear it. If you hear it once, it can't be unheard

[reo73]

I listened to everything mentioned here with pro quality Sony headphones and do not hear one instance of a click track being present.  I find it hard to believe a professional engineer would accidentally leave the click audible in the mix or that the click would bleed from the earphone into a nearby mic.

[Flacracker]

The click on OtBoA is it just one click? I think I hear it but it doesn't sound like a click.

[weezul]

I find it hard to believe a professional engineer would accidentally leave the click audible in the mix or that the click would bleed from the earphone into a nearby mic.

its never intentional but it happens a lot... I work in a studio every day of the week and I've done it! And listen to the acoustic guitar in Beyond This Life... quite loud there.

[reo73]

I find it hard to believe a professional engineer would accidentally leave the click audible in the mix or that the click would bleed from the earphone into a nearby mic.

its never intentional but it happens a lot... I work in a studio every day of the week and I've done it! And listen to the acoustic guitar in Beyond This Life... quite loud there.

OK...I do hear that in BTL but I am not sure it's a click but it does sound like some digital artifact in there.

[nakedman]

I am pretty sure it doesn't just pass by the engineer. It would have to go through tracking, mixing, and mastering. Usually 3 different pro ears. A lot of times if the click is audible they leave it as it doesn't sound too noticeable. The one in BTL sounds awesome!

[Adami]

The BTL sounds like some delay that is picking up mostly the pick hits.

[MetropolisxPt1]

The BTL sounds like some delay that is picking up mostly the pick hits.

its definitely the metronome

[Adami]

The BTL sounds like some delay that is picking up mostly the pick hits.

its definitely the metronome

It's definitely delay.



See how easy this is?

[ThatGuitarGuy]

Not trying to bash or anything, so sorry if this comes across that way as it's not my intention.

The potential reasons and ideas of how things are in a recording studio are severely wrong.  Microphones are able to pick up quite a bit, especially if it's a condenser microphone.  While you can wear headphones, it is extremely common to have the music cranked up in the headphones for the vibe and what not.  I guess what I'm saying is that more times than not, they like a loud mix in their headphones.  

A click track is usually still in a track regardless of if the rest of the instruments are there.

Additionally, it's a common technique to have one of the headphones on while the other is off so you can hear what your voice or whatever sounds "acoustically" or even how to blend your vocals with other vocalist if you're recording multiple vocals at the same time. 

When you mix this all in, it's not hard to believe that a very sensitive microphone would pick up the click track.   Try listening to the beginning of Adele's "Rolling in the deep."  You can hear the click track there.  Oops.  Even a song that big is still prone to these mistakes.

The click in OTBOA really bugs me as well.  It's definitely from a click track because it has a very distinct sound that you get used to when you use it all the time, so I've gotten used to it.  It's very possible that with all the different edits, tracks, time signature changes, crossfades, etc that one tiny area was left un-deleted.  You may not even see that it's there unless you zoomed into your DAW/recording program workspace to see it.  That really stinks.

It's like most things though, it's abandoned and not completed.  Such is art.

I hope this clarifies things a little bit.  For another example check out the beginning of Nevermore's "The Godless Endeavor" the title track.

[rumborak]

The ticking in the BTL section is intentional. I always assumed it's supposed to be the ticking of the hypnotist clock. The whole crew would have to have been on lunch break to miss something like that.
Besides, right before that section there's also clicks happening (might be wood blocks, or something JR does).


rumborak

[BlobVanDam]

I don't hear any click in OTBOA.
The sound in Panic Attack is not a click. It is from JR's patch in the background. Sort of a brassy string sound playing a quick staccato arpeggio.
I hear the sound in BTL, and to me it sounds all intentional. There are lots of little weird samples in there from JR. The tone of the clicks sound like woodblocks to me, and it's hard panned right, and isn't regular enough to be the click. It's in 6/8, so I'd imagine the click is on the 8ths, and the clicks are not that regular.

[tri.ad]

I can hear one single click in OTBOA at 3:26, and only because someone posted about it and I focused during that part, trying to hear it. Meh. Could be worse. Let's see if it is a "Can't be unheard" thing as some people are saying.

[petrucci07]

I've noticed something weird in The Count of Tuscany, I noticed it pretty much when the album came out with the stems.

At about 15:08, there's a sound that sounds like Portnoy sitting down at his kit and closing the hi-hat as he does so. It's in the left channel, and quite faint. Probably just bad editing.

[BlobVanDam]

I've noticed something weird in The Count of Tuscany, I noticed it pretty much when the album came out with the stems.

At about 15:08, there's a sound that sounds like Portnoy sitting down at his kit and closing the hi-hat as he does so. It's in the left channel, and quite faint. Probably just bad editing.

Do you mean the noise is on the stems or on the album version?
On the album version around 15:08 all I hear aside from guitar and vocals is the vocal reverb which creates a few echoey sounds that sound like things.
And at 15:08 on the drum stem it is silence (well technically if you amplify it by 600,000% you can hear white noise, and that's it).

Interestingly, a few seconds on the stem, if you amplify it by 100,000 percent, you can hear some slight bleed through of the metronome, and some very faint clicks of switches and whatever. I know you can hear a lot of clicks from punch-ins on the stems, although by amplifying the "silence" I'm hearing a lot of studio noises such as clear talking, and other instruments bleeding through. I wonder if there are any cool nuggets in them?

[OsMosis2259]

oh god just heard the click at 3:26...

[petrucci07]

I've noticed something weird in The Count of Tuscany, I noticed it pretty much when the album came out with the stems.

At about 15:08, there's a sound that sounds like Portnoy sitting down at his kit and closing the hi-hat as he does so. It's in the left channel, and quite faint. Probably just bad editing.

Do you mean the noise is on the stems or on the album version?
On the album version around 15:08 all I hear aside from guitar and vocals is the vocal reverb which creates a few echoey sounds that sound like things.
And at 15:08 on the drum stem it is silence (well technically if you amplify it by 600,000% you can hear white noise, and that's it).

It's in the guitar stem.

It's definitely there, both on the album version and the stems.

[BlobVanDam]

I've noticed something weird in The Count of Tuscany, I noticed it pretty much when the album came out with the stems.

At about 15:08, there's a sound that sounds like Portnoy sitting down at his kit and closing the hi-hat as he does so. It's in the left channel, and quite faint. Probably just bad editing.

Do you mean the noise is on the stems or on the album version?
On the album version around 15:08 all I hear aside from guitar and vocals is the vocal reverb which creates a few echoey sounds that sound like things.
And at 15:08 on the drum stem it is silence (well technically if you amplify it by 600,000% you can hear white noise, and that's it).

It's in the guitar stem.

It's definitely there, both on the album version and the stems.

Hm at 15:08 in the guitar stem I hear the sound of the guitar strings when JP slides his hand, sort of a squeak sound. Is it that sound right between the chord change you're talking about? There's a slight difference in times between the album and the stems, so I could be a bit off in which bit I'm listening to.

[petrucci07]

It's when JLB sings "...I deserve this", sounds like a hi-hat being closed.

[BlobVanDam]

Ok, I definitely hear what you mean now on the studio track. My instincts say it's guitar strum noise, but it sounds a little off time to be that, and I can't find it yet on the guitar stem.