Help with live sequenced keyboards!!

[DanLights]

In my Doom/Death band we use sequenced keyboards since our keyboardist left us. We haven't done it live yet but we have a 90% confirmed show in a couple months and will do it this way. Now in rehearsals it all comes out well except for one issue. I can hear the click track coming out pretty low in the monitors, but before we start playing it can be heard, after we start playing it's totally muted out. Problem is we are going to play in a very small place (very cool actually), and if it can be heard through the PA even at that low level the audience will be hearing the initial click track beats and it will TOTALLY ruin the show IMO.

I do it this way: I have the sequenced tracks as mp3s in my Iphone, with the click track panned totally on one side and the keys on the other. I connect the iphone to two separate tracks in my small mixer (using a rca cable with plus changing it to 1/4" plugs) the way the pics show, with the cable that goes from "Stereo Out L" being the PA send and the mono out being the headphones for the drummer with click track and keys mixed in:

It has always worked great this way (and I have tried MANY ways of connecting everything), except for that IMPORTANT issue. I checked the mp3 waves and the left side is totally blank when there is only click track going on, So it doesn't seem to be an issue with the mp3 track, seems to be some of the right signal is leaking into the left signal somehow.

Any ideas?? would be greatly appreciated

 

[wishtheend]

Sounds like a problem with the iphone's audio output. I would use a different device if possible, especially one that will let you load up wave files - just to be sure nothing funny is going on with your mp3 conversion. If you have an extra ipod, I would just load the wave files on that.

 

[DanLights]

but does any ipod support wave files? I though it was just mp3. I do have a pair extra ipods I could try out with. Well I checked the mp3 files and seems to be ok, but yeah I should try with a different ipod just in case it's the iphone that fucks up the panning a bit. Anyone else, other ideas?

 

[GarethSE]

wavs worked on my ipod just fine as far as i remember!
so yeah, just use 2 ipods. gogogo

 

[digitaldeath]

...just use 2 ipods. gogogo

How would you sync two iPods?

 

[wishtheend]

No need to use two ipods - just have the waves split how you have them (click on L, no click on R). ipods read waves just fine (i actually keep some higher resolution (48k 24-bit on there).

What I will suggest, remove ALL music from it before you put your click track on. Only have the songs you need on there. You'd be surprised how many times I've heard someone accidently switch to some song randomly

 

[DanLights]

No need to use two ipods - just have the waves split how you have them (click on L, no click on R). ipods read waves just fine (i actually keep some higher resolution (48k 24-bit on there).

What I will suggest, remove ALL music from it before you put your click track on. Only have the songs you need on there. You'd be surprised how many times I've heard someone accidently switch to some song randomly

Ok so I'll make my tracks in Wave files and see if that works. About the second thing, I don't think that's an issue, I manage my Ipod very well and have the setlist for the keyboard tracks in separate playlists per track so it will stop after it ends and not just jump to the next track (except of course if there are two tracks sequed together, that way they're both in the same playlist in order)

I'll try exporting them to wave files and seeing how that works tonight, I'll let you know how that goes, thanks guys!

And if anyone has any other ideas please do chime in!

 

[egan.]

Dude I love the iphone but please don't use it for this. I use mine for soundcheck and it's always hilarious to get a phone call or text message through the house PA.

 

[GarethSE]

Dude I love the iphone but please don't use it for this. I use my for soundcheck and it's always hilarious to get a phone call or text message through the house PA.

hahahaha
"HEY BABY ARE WE GOING TO GET DIRTY TONIGHT?"
"Oh shti guys ignore that yo"

 

[DanLights]

Dude I love the iphone but please don't use it for this. I use my for soundcheck and it's always hilarious to get a phone call or text message through the house PA.

lol!! It's happened to me in rehearsals many times, but I've always remembered to put it in airplane mode whenever the seriousness comes up (I use it to play the intros to my goregrind band). It would be a total bummer If I ever forgot to do that though hahaha

I could use my girlfriend's nano chromatic for this matter too, she has the songs in it also just in case.