Using loops behind live music

[dh80]

Just a dumb question, but I'm trying to think of the best way to play loops behind live music. I have the tracks in stereo (one channel with click, one without) and I want to feed this through the board. The trouble is, CD's are so unreliable and MP3 players will almost always do something stupid. What do other bands use that's 100% fireproof for live situations?

Thanks!

[gsilbers]

ableton live and a laptop. i even seen gigs where the band uses an 1/8 out of the computer. for your case maybe a 2in /4 out interface. maybe one of those keyboards/interface that will also le u press a key to start and stoip the loops. and add synths if u want

[bishopthomas]

You need to understand the difference between loops and tracks before we can answer your question. A looping device most of the time can be programmed live, or you can set it up before the gig. You play the part into the machine, it stores it to memory, and it repeats the part until you tell it to stop. If you're just wanting tracks that play from the start of the song until the end, iPods are becoming standards for that, but you can also use a hard disc recorder if you need individual tracks.

As gsilbers suggested, a laptop with appropriate software can do this too, but if you're afraid an MP3 player won't be reliable enough then run away from a laptop as fast as you can.

[dh80]

Sorry, meant to say tracks, not loops. My bad.

Thanks guys.

I guess my main problem with an iPod is that I could make a playlist according to the setlist, but at the end of track one, track two automatically starts. I would want it to be manually controlled so that the track would not start unless someone presses the button, and stops when the track is finished. Is there a way to configure it to do so?

Thanks a ton, it really helps!

[bishopthomas]

I don't know about iPods, but many CD players have that function, as well as a footswitch control. There are the obvious problems with CD's, though, so that might not be the best option. Most bands have their drummers control the tracks. It's not as obvious and he's the one that can count off the songs. If you need a buffer between songs you could always just insert a couple extra seconds. Maybe someone else here can suggest hardware with an auto-stop function.

[PDC]

I have done this with MD, iPods, Radars, ProTools, etc. The only reason that I gave a drummer Radar and PT was so that we could also sync to video. MOTU would be better because you can pull up chunks.

[mds]

Ipods can work if you make a seperarte playlist for each track...I do it with a macbook and an mbox. I set each song up in its own QT player and just cycle through them as the set goes. Its nice because it just stops when its done and I just click on the next player and hit the space bar. It takes a minute to set all the players up, but in the heat of battle it works pretty well. Live might be a better solution, but I haven't tried it...

[dh80]

Thanks so much guys! Yes, the seperate playlist idea is exactly what I needed. Thank you very much for that idea!

Thanks all!

[mds]

Do I get a cookie? :-) Good luck with your show(s)!

Mike

[bishopthomas]

Yes, check your browser's temp files.

[mds]

Bravo! Very well played! :D

[dh80]

Thanks much! Sure, you get a cookie.