Samples on stage

[BitchSlap]

Hi,
So here is my 2nd post
We want to use samples on stage. Nothing too fancy, just a couple of sound effects and keyboards. We would like to know what is commonly used by bands (to be able for the drummer to have the metronome in his ears and send the samples track to the table). What works best and what is most cost effective ?
Thanks a lot :hotjump:

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

I've heard that a good way to go is like with an analogue 4 track or so, having click go to drummer's monitor and the rest going out to PA... that way you don't have to worry about computer crashes, etc.

 

[dreamcatcher]

What do you have now? A drum machine? A sampler?

 

[BitchSlap]

We have a drummer
We want to play back some sounds (effects or keyboards) while we're fucking up onstage. So we need the drummer to have the metronome in his ears to stay in sync with the track being played.

 

[dreamcatcher]

I'm not clear on what your doing, but I will offer this:

A CD (or tape) deck with a headphone jack. Make a CD (or tape) with click in the left channel, put the samples or whatever on the right. Headphone the drummer and send the right side signal to the PA.

Not a common solution, but cost effective.

 

[BitchSlap]

Yep, we thought about it. It should work, but there's the risk that the CD will skip on stage. We haven't tried it though.

If it's not the most common practice, what is it :Spin:

 

[Fredrik-Ablaze]

If you're going for the simple mono solution; don't use a CD as it will skip like crazy. Use an MP3 player instad.
However a fourtrack portable MD should do the job much better

 

[Kazrog]

My band uses my PowerBook G4, Digital Performer, and a MOTU Firewire Audio interface live, as well as a MOTU MIDI box, but that is neither simple nor cost effective, especially when you spend at least $600 USD per band member on wireless in-ear monitors. However, I think this is the BEST way, which is why we do it! It's never crashed on us.

 

[Mulder]

Hooking up a drummer to a metronome on stage is vivisectious imo.

Chop the samples, riffs, phrases etc up in rythmical pieces and place them as samples chromatic under the keys of a keyboard. This way a keyboardplayer -or even a bassist- can play them and the drummer can still be the master of timing.

 

[Death Is Certain]

My band uses my PowerBook G4, Digital Performer, and a MOTU Firewire Audio interface live, as well as a MOTU MIDI box, but that is neither simple nor cost effective, especially when you spend at least $600 USD per band member on wireless in-ear monitors. However, I think this is the BEST way, which is why we do it! It's never crashed on us.

Shane, which IEMs are you guys using? My roommate's band had trouble with their IEMs falling out due to headbanging / on stage movement.

Hooking up a drummer to a metronome on stage is vivisectious imo.

Chop the samples, riffs, phrases etc up in rythmical pieces and place them as samples chromatic under the keys of a keyboard. This way a keyboardplayer -or even a bassist- can play them and the drummer can still be the master of timing.

Well, the purpose is to keep the drummer perfectly on time. If you're having riffs or phrases programmed in on your keyboard at say... 200bpm, and for some reason your drummer is rushing a bit and playing the material at say... 215 or 220, it won't work.

 

[Mulder]

Well, the purpose is to keep the drummer perfectly on time. If you're having riffs or phrases programmed in on your keyboard at say... 200bpm, and for some reason your drummer is rushing a bit and playing the material at say... 215 or 220, it won't work.

That's why you have to chop'em up and play them along with the drummer. Not at 200BPM 16th notes but slice'em every fourth note or so. Worked great for me on stage, but I was spoiled working at that time with one of the better drummers the european continent had to offer. Wouldn't dream hooking that guy up to a metronome. I guess it would only make him angry, playing even better just to show us who rules.

 

[James Murphy]

That's why you have to chop'em up and play them along with the drummer. Not at 200BPM 16th notes but slice'em every fourth note or so. Worked great for me on stage, but I was spoiled working at that time with one of the better drummers the european continent had to offer. Wouldn't dream hooking that guy up to a metronome. I guess it would only make him angry, playing even better just to show us who rules.

BAH... if you mean to say that having a drummer play to a click track is somehow not musical or organic or correct or whatever i beg to differ.... first of all, click tracks need not be one static tempo, they can change with each part if necessary if that is what the music calls for. i understand what you are saying about chopping up the samples and haveing a keyboardist play them, but having another body on stage is not practical for every band. besides, what if the drummer is really excited and plays too fast for the keyboardist to keep up?? i'll tell you what, this happens even in totally pro bands... in Testament i had problems with our drummers playing the songs too fast for me to properly play the guitar solos... 3 tracks were left off of the Live At The Fillmore album for this very reason. tons of bands play to a click, Hypocrisy being one that comes to mind right off the top of my head.. there are quite a few others. it is easy once you're used to it, much more common than you might think these days, and it is a very musical and satisfying experience.. even for the drummers. any notion that it's "unnatural" in some way is just wrongheadedl

 

[Mulder]

Ok, so the trend has matured big time. I'm not saying playing to a metronome is unnatural per definition, but that great drummers.. Anyway, you got the point. (Does Nevermore play on stage with a metronome?)

Just remembered, what we sometimes did was play along with grooves, worked out much better than clicks. For us that was.

Nor trying to be snobbish here, but that guy I worked with was really great. But he went wrong and hasn't redeemed his ways since, he left us to play with -gulp- Candy Dulfer..

 

[prititing]

You can trigger the samples with a midi pickup if it's easier for you....guitar or bass...

 

[006]

For one of my bands, we use programmed beats to play to, and we play them using iTunes on my PowerBook using the headphone output into our DJ's mixer, that signal then goes to the PA. Never had a problem after over 100 shows and still counting

~006

 

[bkill]

Hi you all guys!!!

just for feed my curiosity,......I have some questions:

does anybody knows something about the way 'In Flames' play their samples on stage?

I know that Daniel Svensson (In Flames's drummer) uses a Fostex D824mk2,.....but HOW???

are the 'click' (metronome) and the samples played both through the Fostex D824?......

what sounds are sent to his headphones and which of them sent to PA?,......

simplifying: what the hell's Daniel Svensson listening to through his headphones?

thank you all in advance dudes.....KEEP ROCKING!!!

www.templosur.com
www.myspace.com/templosurband

 

[GeertSamuel]

I play with click live, but don't use samples..
I think it was covered in a Modern Drummer a year ago or something how some guys did it..I'll check it out..

Try to search for the guy from In Flames & Disturbed (Mike Wengren) both use sample tracks live as far as I know...