Playing Live - Click and Backing tracks

[MKS]

Please help me out. For the past 12 years I've avoided playing out live. I'm a drummer and I'm now in two live projects that I expect to be playing out with by this fall. We have backup FX and percussion that will be pre-recorded. I want to be able to play along to a click live and also feed these backup tracks (minus click) to the PA.

Some things to think about:

I would like the backup tracks to be in stereo.

I would like the option to have a click track and pre-recorded guitar, bass and vox pump through my headset.

I would prefer to be able to control the mix of all the instruments and click in my headset. Basically, I won't be a slave the house monitors. As long as the other players can hear me and I keep time throughout the performance, everything should be fine.

I would like a reliable but cost effective solution. I know I could use a computer and decent audio interface but I would prefer and all-in-one interface.

I would also like the option during practice to play one of the pre-recorded bass, guitar or vox tracks through the PA if one of the players are not there.

Your suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[madbutcher]

I would like the backup tracks to be in stereo.

I'm not really sure, don't know a lot about live sound. But I have heard most places don't have stereo live rigs.

 

[JeffTD]

Honestly, the best way to do this, IMO, would be to get something like a 12" iBook or Powerbook with decent specs, and a MOTU Ultralite or something similar, so you can send the different mixes to different places.

 

[Torniojaws]

I want to be able to play along to a click live and also feed these backup tracks (minus click) to the PA.

The popular way here is Minidisk - for once it serves something useful . Separate the stereo out so that one channel (the click) goes to your ear monitors, and the other channel (pre-recorded material) to the board.

It works well and is pretty reliable. No stereo though (I don't think you'll get that anywhere except the biggest venues).

 

[gumplunger]

I think someone posted a while back the rig the drummer from In Flames uses for samples and backing tracks, but I don't remember what it was.

 

[prowlergrig]

I would like the option to have a click track and pre-recorded guitar, bass and vox pump through my headset.

are you sure about that? ..wouldn't you rather hear what the rest of the band is actually playing?

 

[GeertSamuel]

This made me wonder for awhile now..maybe a good thread to post it in..but does anyone know if Daniel Erlandsson plays to a clicktrack live?

 

[HeadCrusher]

I think someone posted a while back the rig the drummer from In Flames uses for samples and backing tracks, but I don't remember what it was.

That would be quite interesting!

In other news I asked a German Indie Rock band what they use to play their playbacks (some synth lines, maybe also some "disco"-type hi-hat stuff, dunno) when giging. The guys answer was a "multitrack" mini disc player...
Well, stereo is also "multi" in some way but I guess he meant something with more than just two tracks...

 

[dawnofadreamx97]

I do live sound and I have been seeing alot of guys come through with a small 2 or 4 channel mixer (behringer) , an Ipod, and a set of shure Ec2 in ear monitors. They literally just bounce the click track from there protools sessions and do it like that. You can put the click on the left side and the percussion on the right and split it out so that you only get the click track on the left and percussion on the right (which goes to FOH and Monitors)

This is what I plan to do for my bands next tour.... Only thing I want to add is some sort of ambience mic so that i'm not totally isolated with the in ear monitors in....

goodluck!

 

[smy1]

We work like this:

Laptop plays click as well as stereo synths sounds, mono bass sounds and vocal samples. The drummer hears everything plus the click so the rest of us basically play with the drummer.

 

[Matt Smith]

What kind of splitter do you guys use for this? We tried it once before at rehearsal and there was a bunch of crosstalk between channels (you could hear the click through the PA, though it was much quieter than the tracks that were supposed to be heard).
Obviously one end will need to be a stereo 1/8" jack into the MD player. Then that splits into what? Two mono female 1/8" jacks? Then plug the drummers phones into one of those and hook the other one up to a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter and out via standard instrument cable to the board?

 

[Flat Fifth Fury]

One trick is to use an ADAT or rackmount hard disk recorder like an older Fostex that has 8 channels with multiple outs. That way you can have stereo outs for the PA and a click in the drummers ears.

 

[MKS]

I think I like the k.i.s.s. (keep it simple stupid) suggestions. The FX and percussion dont need to be in stereo. That was just an idea but not worth the headache for playing smaller clubs.

I think i'll just use my MP3 player. Pan click and some audio to left and all fx and percussion to the right. Pump right through PA and left to my headphones.

Thanks for all the input guys.

 

[dawnofadreamx97]

Cheers !Let us know how it turns out....

 

[Noumenon]

One thing comes to mind. What about count in? Maby the click should do 8 counts, first four for the drummer, the drummer then does the count in with the click on the last four so the rest of the band is in on it (if they aren't being fed the click too)

 

[Matt Smith]

One thing comes to mind. What about count in? Maby the click should do 8 counts, first four for the drummer, the drummer then does the count in with the click on the last four so the rest of the band is in on it (if they aren't being fed the click too)

Yeah, that's how I've always heard that it's done. So is the splitter method I described above the usual/best way to do it?

 

[Exocaster]

One thing comes to mind. What about count in? Maby the click should do 8 counts, first four for the drummer, the drummer then does the count in with the click on the last four so the rest of the band is in on it (if they aren't being fed the click too)

That's how I've always done it. Four to the drummer, then the drummer counts off for the rest of the band. I've never sent the click to the monitors, just the drummer's phones.

 

[Noumenon]

Sweet. Pretty logical though.

 

[eaeolian]

One thing comes to mind. What about count in? Maby the click should do 8 counts, first four for the drummer, the drummer then does the count in with the click on the last four so the rest of the band is in on it (if they aren't being fed the click too)

Yeah, that's what we do. (Of course, we just play to a click, we don't sample anything in, but the execution is the same...)