Solution For Using Wav files and clicks for Drummer

[thestrikenineteens]

Hi All,

 

I am new to the forum. I hope you are all well.

 

I play in a 4 piece band and we currently use a Roland Fantom X6 to play sequences and also to send a click to the drummer. Unfortunately this is a big piece of kit and a pain to carry everywhere. Couple that with the huge loading times when using .wav files then it becomes frustrating.

 

Want I want to do is something like the following but I can't find anything to do it.

 

Hardware WAV file player with stereo outs routed to a headphone amp and the front of house. Have click track panned left and mono mix of backing panned right.

 

Or

 

4 track recording desk with multiple outs to send stereo wav to front of house and seperate out for click track for drummer.

 

I know people use laptops for this but I want to stay away from that if possible. I also know that ipods are used but the quality of mp3's are reported to be poor through better rigs. We play to pretty big audiences with big house rigs.

 

I am so stuck! Please help!

 

David.

[dbuckley]

Any of the loads of digital multitrackers will do; however not all have more than stereo outputs and I'd recommend you find one that has stereo out plus aux outs.

[paulears]

There are quite a few cheap playback machines around running of SD cards - and they've proven reliable and simple to use. American DJ have quite a few different ones - some SD, others SD and USB stick. They do tend to play MP3 files, though, not wavs - but MP3s recorded at the higher quality levels are fine for this purpose. They are rack mount, but quite light!

[thestrikenineteens]

Hi guys!

 

Thanks for the replies so far. Do you know any specific Brand of recorder that I could use? I can only find recorders with only a pair of stereo outs. This will limit me to mono track right and drum track left.

 

Are 320 kbs mp3's ok to use in a live situation?

 

Also, the click track needs to be controllable by the drummer. Will I need a seperate amp for this as headphone outs are not loud enough and the click gets lost in the live performance.

 

Thanks again, I feel as if I am getting somewhere!

 

D.

[paulears]

Small 4 tracks aren't that common - too many knobs and switches.

 

As the output is just a contribution to the 'whole' MP3 shouldn't be a problem unless the material it contains is exposed and harmonically huge and complex. The fact that it's a track being used live suggests it's perhaps not the most critical of all your sound sources, so although through a really good PA, with certain content, with the wind in the right direction - you may hear the difference, in practice from my own experience, the difference between a wav and a decent mp3 is so small, it's not a problem.

 

The other option would be something like a second hand Alesis HD24 - rock solid, reliable 24 track in rack mount. Still big - but not as tricky to cart around as a damn great keyboard!

[thestrikenineteens]

This is definitely the kind of thing I was thinking about but the price is a bit steep. Are there cheaper alternatives? Budget is about 500 pounds but if I need a. Headphone amp that has to be included.

[Stuart91]

This is definitely the kind of thing I was thinking about but the price is a bit steep. Are there cheaper alternatives? Budget is about 500 pounds but if I need a. Headphone amp that has to be included.

 

A band I know used a DVD player for this kind of setup. They recorded a disc in surround sound, with different channels serving different purposes, so they had a click as well as stereo tracks. They also used the video output as well, which made for a very slick end product whilst requiring minimal effort on the night.

 

If you have a Mac, it could be worth looking at QLab software - the free version will probably do everything you need.

[thestrikenineteens]

Hi Again,

 

Further to the thread above:-

 

If mp3 320 kbs quality is ok to use live, is it ok to use a mono backing track?

 

My wav files are stereo but I have found conflicting advice on whether or not it is important to keep things stereo. If I use mp3's I will need to pan track either left or right and the drum click to the opposite.

 

If I do go down this route I take it I will need a headphone amp to boost the drummers click signal. Can anyone recommend a fairly cheap but good headphone amp that can be rack mounted?

 

Thanks again

David.

[Peter F]

A band I know used a DVD player for this kind of setup. They recorded a disc in surround sound, with different channels serving different purposes, so they had a click as well as stereo tracks. They also used the video output as well, which made for a very slick end product whilst requiring minimal effort on the night.

 

If you play at volume or are bass heavy I would strongly advise against using a DVD or CD player for playback on stage. It will jump.

 

It won't jump every show, but at some point it will jump, guaranteed.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter

[Sound Man]

If I do go down this route I take it I will need a headphone amp to boost the drummers click signal. Can anyone recommend a fairly cheap but good headphone amp that can be rack mounted?

Behringer HA4700

 

David

[dbuckley]

Do you know any specific Brand of recorder that I could use? I can only find recorders with only a pair of stereo outs.

Yeah, its a pain isn't it.

 

Of the 8 track "surface" recorders, the only one I know that is still available is the Korg D888

 

Rack recorders, the Alesis HD24 is the obvious candidate, but as I'm old school (ok I'm just old) I have a Roland VSR-880 which has 8 discreet ins and outs. Theres one on eBay now that is well within your budget...