Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

Curious how others would tackle the scenario of a live band performing w/sequences, drum machines, etc. We would like to add horns, drum loops to some of our live repertoire. Concerned w/monitoring, etc. Thanks.

yep james. biggest concern is having the drummer have a good way of monitoring. else, they lose it. thanks for the words

Does anyone know how I can get some quality accompaniment tracks for singing jazz stuff for low budget gigs??? Help...

FaceValue wrote:yep james. biggest concern is having the drummer have a good way of monitoring. else, they lose it. thanks for the words

One way, though not the easiest, would be to have a laptop with sequencing software hidden next to the drummer. You'd need 2 tracks, one with the backing track of everything you won't be playing live, one with just a click track. Set up the backing track audio out channel to the mixer/PA, and the click to monitoring phones which the drummer will have to wear. You'll need like a few beats intro on the track to cue the drummer.

I can't think of any other way of doing it. Even if you perfectly timed the start of each sample through MIDI programming on your keyboard, odds are you won't be in the same tempo.

Another way would be to pre record your tracks with a digital studio. I use a Fostex MR8HD, which has 40 gigs of memory and costs about 400 bucks. Well, it's cheaper than getting a computer loaded with the right software. Pre record your tracks and a click track. mix down the click on one channel and the music on the other. send the click channel to your monitor mix and the music through mains and monitor. You can control the volume of the click, though most of the audience won't really notice since the click is in time. Done!

Kaleigh wrote:Does anyone know how I can get some quality accompaniment tracks for singing jazz stuff for low budget gigs??? Help...

Try Googling "Looperman"
If you sign up (for FREE), you can download misc. short loops.
I just used them for some short drum sequences, but they appear to have other stuff available, too.
I think there's a page of related links, also.
- and -
Try googling "music loops," - see what you get.
Key word: "Loop."

I've been doing this for over 5 years now. I started with Cakewalk Home studio, a PIII Laptop, and a JV1010.
I picked up hudreds of free sequences off the internet. Only a small percentage were usable. I started working with files that had good piano and horn tracks. The rest I started to edit. This is where Cakewalk Pro Audio came in. It has superior editing features.
Once I had a few songs, I had the sequence change patches in my Pod and GR33. Next came Volume changes, effects etc.... (Goodbye pedalboard ) Next came the Effects for vocals. Patch changes, Delay, Repeat etc....
Then I started playing with other musicians occasionaly. So I Muted some tracks, but drummers needed a reference. I had an old drum machine - this became the click track and cue track. Cue tracks gets your attention for Verses, Choruses, Solos, Stops, etc......
When I'm Solo, I needed background Vocals (I got used to them being there). This is where I parted ways with the Laptops (Had to get a backup for gigs), and built a pretty good DAW.
Long Story Short........12 Channel board, Sep Monitor Mix, Wireless headphones, 4 Synths, Patch Bays, various Midi devices including Midi controller, Drum pads, and USB sound devices later.... Well let's just say I don't have to wait for the Bass player to arrive, The drummer to start a song, and the keyboard player to find his sounds.
On the down side, I have to carry everything myself.
Oh yeah, had to build another Computer as a backup.

DAT is the easiest way. thebelongingkind had it right. Just put the track on one out and the click on the other (left/right)...DAT is stable, laptop hard drives can freeze or skip with low frequency. I have even used a VCR, just record the audio...very very stable... but with a DAT you can set memo marks for each song and do set changes (ie: cut a song due to time etc...) on the fly...Holy run on sentence...Hope this helps

We used DAT for performances when I was in Fervid Torpor (Industrial band) and it worked dependably and flawlessly all the time. Problem is that its getting harder all the time to find DAT equip and supplies.

I know Rascal Flatts is doing is with Ableton Live and triggering song choices VIA midi that way setlist changes can be made...

Kaleigh wrote:Does anyone know how I can get some quality accompaniment tracks for singing jazz stuff for low budget gigs??? Help...

Try www.guitarbt.com

They have a wide selection of Guitar Backing Tracks that may work for you. Some are free.



LB