Backing tracks - What do you use to play them?

firepaulmusic

I use a Digitech Stereo Looper pedal but would like to experiment with using my iPad. Don't know how to go about loading them or which App to use. Any help appreciated.....

daveww

Just drag them in to itunes and sync to get them on your ipad.  For jamming along jamup pro is one of the best but there are others.

Fez

I'm a bit behind the curve here because I still play them as mp3s on my PC.

ICBM

Last time I used my iPod, but with AIFF tracks at full CD quality, not mp3s - it made a big difference at gig volume, the dynamics and clarity were noticeably better and it sounded less like a recording and more like a live band, if that makes sense. I tried it at the soundcheck with the mp3s as well, just to see. Well worth using proper AIFF or WAV files.

johnnyurq

As we used a MIDI to lights box we had a Laptop with Sonar running MIDI's that triggered drum samples from Superior drummer and various other plugins like Broomstick Bass etc. Each MIDI had a manually programmed light sequence (from a MIDI keyboard) track as well as the rest.

Most other sounds were derived from a Roland JV-1010.

For backup ot was a mix of WAV files created from said MIDI's and occasionally NI's Bandstand if not too demanding. Never really had to use the backup WAVS because several years ago we switched from a 2 piece band to a fully live 5 piece.

The backing tracks did sound way better than your average MIDI or other backing tracks due to decent drum and bass sounds.

It was great for repeatability and consistency but not as organic or powerful as a fully live band.

It worked very well though and I still see it as a valid way of getting out and gigging, earning and enjoying yourself.

In truth from some points of view it is a good way to work and with only 3 band members it was easier to change and refresh the set regularly , admittedly not as much of a vibe and power.

Made for a nice low balanced on stage sound though.

Rocker

ICBM said:

Last time I used my iPod, but with AIFF tracks at full CD quality, not mp3s - it made a big difference at gig volume, the dynamics and clarity were noticeably better and it sounded less like a recording and more like a live band, if that makes sense. I tried it at the soundcheck with the mp3s as well, just to see. Well worth using proper AIFF or WAV files.

On the old MR website, I got serious stick from posters for suggesting that MP3s were more noise than music [paraphrasing myself].  MP3 'music' is bad enough on ear buds but when amplified - the limitations of the format are clearly evident.  With the cheapness of storage these days, there is no justifiable reason to persist with this low bitrate format any longer.

ICBM

Rocker said:

On the old MR website, I got serious stick from posters for suggesting that MP3s were more noise than music [paraphrasing myself].  MP3 'music' is bad enough on ear buds but when amplified - the limitations of the format are clearly evident.  With the cheapness of storage these days, there is no justifiable reason to persist with this low bitrate format any longer.

Completely agree - or I would if I didn't have over 100Gb of music even at 128kbps mp3! Sheer practicality means that I use mp3 for most of my listening since it's off my iPod in my workshop. The same quantity of music in AIFF would be well over 1TB. I *could* buy a big hard drive or two and do it that way, but it's a bit unnecessary when it's just coming out through my late-50s Goodmans "hi-fi" cabinet … I doubt I would hear the benefit.

At serious volume through decent PA equipment the difference was massive though - and from memory the mp3s were either 192 or 256k. (They weren't mine.) The singer I was doing the show for was reluctant to use the iPod at all, in fact - since she'd heard one used before - until I showed her the difference playing the proper AIFFs on it made. It's not the hardware that's the problem.