playback machines for live backing tracks

[url]

I've finished a project where the band wants to use the snare samples and synths we used in the recording as a backing track for their live drums and vocals.
The band bought an mpc1000 thinking it was the right unit to get but it doesn't seem to be working out. Considering a stereo file, 16 bit, 3-4 minutes is around 30mb it doesn't look like we're going to get a set on to the unit even if we do upgrade the ram. I bought the memory card for it but the mpc doesn't read off the card, it still requires you to load to internal memory. I've suggested they use a cd for rehersal until we get the right unit, does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be good? Seperate outputs and multi-track would be great, I think some kind of cheap hard disk recorder might be the way to go.

[jazzy655]

yo. we were using a roland 2400CD for live backup and honestly were not feeling it too much. it's overly complicated for what we want to do. but it may be perfect for you.

now we just hire a DJ and we bought to numark cdx's, loving it. plus the cdx's sound SOOO much better than the outputs on the 2400CD. the roland kinda sounded like crap to me.

[Chaotic]

Lots of pro's that Ive seen live use Instant Replay, by 360 Systems. Its an audio playback device. no CDs or disks or whatever. It has 50 buttons on it. each button can store a sample. its got tons of storage on its hard drives. and by not having a CD, the music will never skip when everyones jumping up and down on stage. Only drawback is that Im pretty sure theyre $2700.

[soundsubs]

man i am in the same boat. im beginning to play live again and need something solid and unskippable.

i used to use the Sony Minidisc MDS-E10 which was good (and rackmountable) and it also had a bright LED display and a big knob. also has a wireless remote control. downside is that you have to play/record the tracks into it to get them onto disc.

im also looking into the new cdj-200 or pioneer cdj-1000 mk3 but i dont know if they actually play tracks off of SD card.

im sure there are solid state players now, but im not up on that. has anyone solved this for entire backing tracks?

[rehabjon]

What about using a couple year old laptop and ableton live or Sonar???

jon

[cynic one]

what about an ipod with the highest quality mp3s you can pump out?

[Chaotic]

right now, Im using an American Audio dual CD deck. So far after about 25 shows Ive only had it skip once. In my last group, I was using a rackmounted computer, but I had lots of issues with it. It froze up a lot, or just reset during the middle of a song.

Ive been pretty happy with the CD player for now. But I think Im going to switch to an IPod. Its just a lot easier to carry around.

[jazzy655]

the newer nicer pro cd players nowadays are REALLY hard to make skip. we've literally banged on our cdx's to get them to skip. no luck yet, not a single skip.

when you first out in a cd, it buffers likea minute ahead, so really you are playing from solid state memory anyways.

[innershock]

if you just need 2 channel output, then there are some portable "mp3" players that can play back WAV files. Might want to look into that if you're looking for something portable and skip proof.. one problem might be dealing with the 1/8" jack for stereo output though-- i was always afraid that thing would somehow get yanked out. there might be some portable players/recorders with rca or 1/4"outs though..

I've been using an old Yamaha AW2816 multitrack which works great for what I need-- we're feeding the drummer a click track to his in ears and the instrumentals to the house. its a digital multitrack recorder/mixer with multiple outs, so you can give your drummer a click, a cue track, and a bunch of other things depending on how complicated you want to get. we also have the house feed a separate vocal only mix back to the recorder so the drummer can get vocals to his in ears, and control the balance of the mix.

all this for less than 500 bucks on ebay.. you can import the tracks in via CD (WAV files), but i've found it easier to just set up the tracks in my DAW and fly them in via ADAT. You can even split up your tracks into stems so, depending on the venue (and if you get much of a sound check) you can adjust your mixes for the performance-- it has automation!

it is a much bigger pain to set up than just using stereo playback on a cd/mp3 player though-- so choose accordingly

[soundsubs]

So after searching for awhile, I have found this:

http://www.tascam.com/Products/CD-01U.html

anyone seen/used this before? I think it may be the solution to my live playback device need.

pros:
its a cd, so having a standby backup is a non-issue.
1ru
cd/cdr playback
mp3 playback
20 seconds skip proof
analog output(s)

cons:
no track name is displayed (i dont think)

[con?one]

[illynoise]

I've never heard a minidisc skip. I've heard cd's skip. Murs' Ipod ran out of battery one night, instant replays have been known(and seen) to go down in the middle of a gig. CDJ's have done it too. I've seen serato go nuts in the middle of a show.

minidisc.

[DirtyMan]

Replay is the box most cats are using .. along with tables or some form of digital tables for cut .. Numark also have the hdx Harddrive based digital turntable
and the technics sldz 1200 digital turntable has a flash memory card slot and can play wavs from them

[Stitch333]

My dudes in Tangled Thoughts, who are now out in LA, used to play every SAT night at this bar. The live show was 3 rappers, a guitar player and a Roland VS880. I was surprised when I found out cause the sound that they got in that club with that ass soundsystem was IMPRESSIVE. The VS HD recorders are gettin cheap as kaka too.

[XHipHop]

On some DJ board i look at often they had people talking about what dj software they use...

PCDJ
Traktor
Megaseg
OtsDJ
Tricerasoft Swife Elite 3.0
Virtual DJ
DJ Power
Mobile DJ Pro
Final Scratch
DJ1800
Serato Scratch

Don't know anything about most of these but thought maybe someone here did or you could google/demo them and see if they would help you out live.

[soundasleep]

Found this old thread because I've been looking for a good way to run live tracks without resorting to a laptop and I came up with the idea of using something like a Yamaha AW2816, just like innershock was doing.

Hey innershock, if you're still around, I wanted to ask how the stability of that machine was overall for that purpose. Also, does the unit remember the routing after it's powered down (specifically to the omni outs, which we would use for the drummer)? If yes to both questions, I think it's just what I'm looking for...

Thanks for any help...