preparing Backing Tracks for Acoustic Gigs

my suggestion is to play them back through something that support multi -track.. keep it simple, keep bass, drums on individual tracks... these are the most likely to need mixing at a venue, but that can also apply to a guitar as a bar/venue will sound waay different to your studio.

keep it simple, keep bass, drums on individual tracks...

I was busy posting before seeing this, and yeah, I suppose you could use multi-tracks, rather than a stereo mix. I wasn't sure what you can do with the iPad, in terms of tracking software.

I am not doing exactly what you want to do but last year when rehearsing the choir for the Christmas musical I didn't always have a sound guy to run the tracks from the CD. Being that I am getting older and most of my exercise is gained from going from the easy chair to the fridge, I didn't want to run back and forth between the stage and sound booth.
 
I ripped the CD to MP3's, loaded up each song as a track in an iPad DAW and then just muted all the tracks except the one I wanted to play.  I could run all my tracks from my iPad.  I have the Alesis iDock that I used to hook up to the sound system but there are less expensive ways to do that. 
 
I uses a program called MultiTrack DAW.  The reason I selected it was because it was pretty simple and straight forward.  Has reasonable a reasonable help file, and has the ability to add some simple effects.  There are several other programs that have similiar capabilities. 
 
I think the effects might be important to you as every venue will have different acoustic qualities and the EQ section will help you adjust your tracks to sound the best.  Of course you could have each song have individual tracks that you could adjust as well.  It really depends on what you are looking for in way of control.
 
Will look forward to hearing what you decide.
 
Thanks,
 
Terry

I've used Live to sequence synths from MIDI loops, but not pre-recorded audio. The biggest problem is if I/the band gets out of synch with the pre-recorded stuff (brain farts, CRAFT moments, inadequate foldback). It also makes everything a pre-set length and structure, which isn't always desirable, and controlling Live on the fly while playing something else isn't simple.

One of my local musicians frequently gigs using the largest Boss loop station and gets very good results. I forget the model number, but the current equivalent is the RC-300.

She plays electric rather than acoustic, but uses the looper to play back pre-recorded backings as well as live some looping. Basically she constructs the loops so that she can switch between e.g. intro, verse, chorus and solo backings at will. The advantage over simply playing back a pre-recorded backing is that if she decides she wants to solo for longer (or shorter) or drop a break in rather than going into a verse she can do so at will (useful for the times you forget the first line of the next verse :-) ).

The guitar runs into effects then a Sansamp before going into the looper, and the looper runs direct to the PA.
 
She's at the mercy of whoever's doing the sound at the venue of course, but we all are to a very large extent anyway - and if a sound engineer can't e.q. and balance a vocal mic, maybe an acoustic instrument, and a stereo line input without problems then stand back and pretty much leave the mixer alone,  frankly they're in the wrong job.

I have been doing this for years now, with both acoustic and electric guitar. I always mix down to stereo. Mixing separate tracks onstage is the sound guy's job, not the performer's, and most of the gigs that I have done with backing tracks were in small venues that didn't have a real sound engineer. More work than I want to take on at a gig for sure. I use an IPod mounted on a mic stand and have good control at my fingertips, but all the solos are predetermined as far a number of bars go. There is no way to work in improvisation as far as song sections go, but that is not a hindrance. In fact that is the way I usually work things in bands too, so it not a problem at all. The biggest problem is matching volume from track to track, and making sure the vocals and solos mix well. A good monitoring system goes a long way for this, and wireless in-ear monitors are a blessing.
 
Hope that helps,
Paul

This is not what you are asking about, but would just mention that some people use a hybrid solution: a keyboard running MIDI samples with harmonies or other audio synchronized on an internal hard drive. Cool thing about this is that you just show up with a keyboard. I have this capability and explored but don't do live shows anymore, although that could change.

vintagevibe


MIX THROUGH YOUR PA SPEAKERS!  (And not through your studio monitors.)

I use IEMs live.  Because I use my StudioLive for recording and for live work, I can "rehearse" the track and live inputs through the IEMs.


Cheers


Grif
  

SteveGriffiths

vintagevibe


MIX THROUGH YOUR PA SPEAKERS!  (And not through your studio monitors.)

I use IEMs live.  Because I use my StudioLive for recording and for live work, I can "rehearse" the track and live inputs through the IEMs.


Cheers


Grif
 

mixing through PA speakers or home stereo speakers might be OK as long as that is the only place you plan to use the mix. Those things are not designed to be flat and will add acoustic coloring and you will mix with that bias built in to the mix.


If you mix on studio monitors, reference monitors, that mix should easily translate well to most other sources. Maybe a small tweek to the EQ but aside from that, it should sound good just about everywhere.