Solo and Duo Acts

[summit111]

My Brothers,

One of my side projects is playing in the accompanying band for a musical theatre production company. The producers have used a full live band, and are now trying tracks with live keyboard, guitar, and drums to fill out the sound. The tracks for the current gig are a mix of midi sequenced songs and karaoke all downloaded to a computer the sound engineer controls. I think they can get better tracks to use!

I'm trying to upgrade the tracks for future gigs using something more professional and not too "Busy!" I would rather obtain ready to use tracks. Where's the best place to go?

[rockguitar2000]

Interested...

[skybluegary]

I use Paris, most of the stuff that they make themselves with real instruments is pretty good, some of the stuff they buy in is a bit meh! A lot need tweaks here and there, and some sort of mastering is worthwhile IMO. UK based, but they will send CD's or you can d/l mp3.

Oh, they're not cheap!

[Bob Dey]

Has the producer thought about recording the full band that is used? I make my own tracks that are mostly midi, but I've dabble in adding audio of live instruments too. MIDI makes it easier to tweak, change keys etc.

[Shaster]

You mean you get internet midi tracks and use them as is? And you already have keyboards, guitar and drums? Then what are you using the tracks for - strings, percussion, bass...?

I would think that you would have to heavily rearrange any tracks that you "borrowed" or bought. Take out the melody and any other cheesy sounding bits. When I use tracks I take out all the string, horn, guitar parts, and all the piano parts save one. So I'm left with drums, bass, and one piano part that I mix quite low - then I sing and play guitar to that. But maybe what you want are the string and horn parts...

But here's another question, why do you need tracks anyway? A few years back, I did a summer production of Grease with keys (playing left hand bass), drums and guitar. The following summer we did Jesus Christ Superstar and just added a bass player. Both shows came off quite well IMHO.

I also like the above idea of recording the parts you can't play live and then playing to those. And although I feel it would be even nicer to add the required musicians, I realize the economy speaks loudly in these situations.

[summit111]

My Brothers,

The producers don't always use the same musicians. What they're looking for is some sort of "plug and play" tracks. For the current show, they assembled the selection of tracks, auditioned and hired singers, who in turn, rehearsed the show with the tracks.

Then they hired the three musicians, and we rehearsed the songs without the singers. We had one technical dress rehearsal, and played the show the show the next night. It worked pretty well. So you can see, they want a seamless system for future shows.

No midis to sequence, band to record tracks, or playing the entire musical score live. This is the second production we did with this group. The audience comes out to hear the singers and see the choreographed dance moves. The live musicians add color, solos, and the feeling of "live music". They need a source of better tracks....

[Potts]

You can find some great one's here. The key word is some.

http://www.karaoke-version.com/

[jcpatte2]

Originally Posted by Potts

You can find some great one's here. The key word is some.

http://www.karaoke-version.com/

I second Darrell's suggestion. Most of the Country tracks (which is what I use) are spot on. Though I do have to re-mix and master them myself for consistent level and the instrumentation I need.

[bdemon]

I've hit up Youtube on occasion for backing track inspiration. Most of them are posted with links to the tracks they're selling, so if you hear something you like you can go there to find more.

Otherwise, I like getting some killer groove libraries, such as Stylus RMX or something from Big Fish Audio. Put together what you want on your own terms.

[summit111]

My Brothers,

I tried http://www.karaoke-version.com/ last night. I like the features allowing editing prior to download. Might just do the trick!

You can pull out the unneeded parts, adjust volume by track, and change key. Almost like sequencing a midi file.

[Potts]

Yeah they're pretty solid- and inexpensive. The funny thing is that I seldom get those tracks. I just get the one's without the backup vocals. The nice thing is that if they update the track they'll send you an email and let you get the new version for free.

Originally Posted by summit111

My Brothers,

I tried http://www.karaoke-version.com/ last night. I like the features allowing editing prior to download. Might just do the trick!

You can pull out the unneeded parts, adjust volume by track, and change key. Almost like sequencing a midi file.