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Backing Tracks


Leonard Smalls
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Our band have decided we might experiment with a more Ministry type feel to go with our punkfunk vibe...

Which means either a keyboard player(unlikely!) or backing tracks (which I'll make - sequency rhythm guitar, hard synth stabs etc).

So does anybody else use them?

How best to trigger them (it will be entire song length tracks not just samples)? And from what? I've got Ableton on a laptop which can trigger clips, but not sure it can play them at different speeds (we're ranging from 90-160bpm) as well as a separate click feed that doesn't go to main output...

Any thoughts appreciated!

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This is is the way I did it with my band for a number of years:

  • Use your DAW to record all your clips and samples and pan hard left.
  • Add a click track to the DAW and pan hard right. Before the start of the song add 2 bars of extra click.
  • Record the whole track to CD (other media forms are available 🙂 )
  • When you play the media through your PA route the left track (music) through FoH. The right track (click) gets routed only through an Aux output to a headphone amp and into headphones for the drummer.
  • When you press play, only the drummer can hear the click. They use the first bar of clicks to get the tempo before counting everyone else in using the second bar of clicks and away you go......
  • The drummer uses the click to keep everyone together and everyone else just listens to the drummer as normal.

Obviously there's no flexibility / on the fly musical arrangements once you use this process but we found it great for adding in random extras like brass stabs, pads or occasional strings without having to find a "rare as rocking horse doo-doo" keys player. The reason I went down the CD media route was simplicity and  reliability. I'd tried to do it originally by programming a midi player and found the tech would occasionally decide to do something different to what I wanted 🙂

The player I used and have just sold was a Denon DN-300Z ( Denon link ) It allowed me to route and play the backng CD through the PA during the gig and also stream tracks via Bluetooth from my phone for in between sets. I could remotely change the volume if required.

Edited by Acebassmusic
I wish I could spill, er spool...I mean spell !!!!
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After a bit of looking about I've discovered that the audio cues app for Android would do the basic job. BakTrax pedal for £135 would do it more robustly, and a Roland SD12 trigger pad would allow separate stereo output with synced cue track at >£200...

Any more thoughts or experiences?

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