Members Shart Posted February 10, 2012 Members Share Posted February 10, 2012 I witnessed a duo doing the backing track thing last weekend. It was terrible. They had volume issues and the audio just didn't seem to match up well with the guitars. It was a shame because they played their first 2 songs without tracks and sounded great. The tracks sounded like karoake tracks with backup vocals, horns, some guitar leads even. I'm sure others have done it much better, still not my thing though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leftyjay Posted February 10, 2012 Members Share Posted February 10, 2012 Originally Posted by fingerpicker Lefty I am sure you and I have a bunch of mutual friends. I played down in Fort Myers, Sanibel, and Captiva for years before moving to North FL. i dont get to hear too many acts as i'm gigging most of the time. there are a few musicians that i stay in contact with that do the same gigs as i. the ones that play the same venues. people usually tell me who they like, what songs they play good, or you need to learn this song because the others do it. yeah, i play quite a bit in ft myers. i do a few gigs in estero, as well as naples and pine island area. i'm based out of port charlotte and spread everywhere from sarasota, to sebring, to estero. you move to north florida to see the 1-2 days of snow a year? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fingerpicker Posted February 10, 2012 Members Share Posted February 10, 2012 I moved to go surfing more. That and the the temps are definately more mild.There is a fella that does a solo act with tracks over by you and he plays the drums! Pretty original--and a great guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkfloydcramer61 Posted February 13, 2012 Members Share Posted February 13, 2012 When the local once-classy piano bar started it's inevitable downward slide into guitar-player anarchy, I "opened up" (played the first of 2 shifts, that is) for a looper-guy. He didn't try to construct complex loops but he used it very seamlessly and effectively to give himself something to play over. You would have been hard-put to notice his method if you weren't actually looking at him. Which noone apparently was- he was ignored just as much as me (quite a feat) in spite of being very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members msmooth Posted February 13, 2012 Members Share Posted February 13, 2012 I have a looper question.... I was thinking about trying it occasionally, but not to use it all the time. I am hoping to use it to play the verse so I can sometimes solo over it. I was looking at them and they seem overly complicated. 3 hours recording time here, drum and bass parts there... my question is: Is there a simple looper to do what I want it for, or are they all this complicated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cephus Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 Originally Posted by msmooth my question is: Is there a simple looper to do what I want it for, or are they all this complicated? I think the digitech jamman stereo is pretty simple. You stomp on one button to start recording. When you get to the end of the section you want to repeat, you stomp on it again and it goes back to the place where you first stomped. to add more stuff, you have to stomp again. To stop it, you stomp on the other button. It has loop up / loop down for switching to a different loop, but that is for future expansion. I don't really have use for it at the moment because I am not storing loops. I read alot of reviews and this one was highly recommended . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Bartus Posted February 15, 2012 Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 The easiest looper is the one that both KT Tunstall and I use -- the Akai Head Rush. It has about 40 seconds of looping memory, it will let you overdub on top of the first loop, and it's very easy to use. And the benefit (some will see it as a drawback) is that you can't store or save anything -- loops must all be created on the fly for each song. It keeps things a little more live and honest. There are just two footswitches: one for start/stop and one for record/overdub. it also has some delay features I never use. I think there are videos on YouTube showing KT performing "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" with the Head Rush. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Bartus Posted February 15, 2012 Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 As a matter of fact... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bob Dey Posted June 30, 2012 Members Share Posted June 30, 2012 woohoo, woohoo, repeat 200 times. There must be better ways to employ a looper. KT gets monotonous in ^ this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_big_e Posted June 30, 2012 Members Share Posted June 30, 2012 From an 'audience' perspective, I've heard plenty of 'solo' performers with backing tracks and to be honest, they have sounded fine but there again I think 'The Last Starfighter' is a good movie! (look it up!).From a musician point of view though, I don't like them. For my (admittedly very limited) solo stuff it's me and kb (maybe a drum patch on there) but if I cannot play it live, it does not get played. I just feel backing tracks sort of lock you into the pattern of the track, no room for flubs or variations or screw ups ( I have plenty of those!).But, that said, each to his own. If bt's work for you then that's fine by me.I can always recall seeing a video of some 80's 'techno' band playing their 'hit' and the two kb players just stood there, holding one note down while the arpeggio did all the work. Musically it sounded fine but from a musician point of view it was just pointless, may as well listen to a tape player (showing my age!).Overall, does the audience care? Probably not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doezer Posted July 11, 2012 Members Share Posted July 11, 2012 the other night i wa splaying a venue with my duo. was a good gig and the sound is always great in that place so it went real well. at the end a guy was telling us we had a "uniquely acoustic" sound which he really liked and was different to other bands there which all use "the tracks" as he called them. i told him that about half of the tunes we played had backing tracks that night and he said "i know i could hear it but it was just the drums in the background, they werent the music"... thats how he put it. he said he had no problem at all with that. he wasnt a musician but you can tell he thinks a bit like one - i dont think your average guy analyses it all so much.. in reality they are almost all drums and bass, not just drums i think what he meant was that the BTs were clearly there as a platform to allow the two guitars to go a bit crazy and that the sound still felt totally live as a result. for me thats exactly what im after when i use the BTs so it was the perfect feedback to get ... when we have a subtle Backtrack going we can add layers over it and get a great sound.. surely thats ok!! its just you need to be sure that the layers you add over it are the most impressive part sonically.. if youre just strumming a backing riff to a wonderful sax solo on teh BT then youre in trouble ! anyway. to each their own is i guess the moral of the tale.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MartinC Posted July 11, 2012 Members Share Posted July 11, 2012 What are the waves there like? I'm in pacifica, ca and we have cold crummy closeouts much of the time, but we also get groomed off shore conditions in the fall and huge waves in the winter. 4/3 wetsuit all year and a 5/4 with booties and hood in the winter. I like surfing more than playing music at this point. Originally Posted by fingerpicker I moved to go surfing more. That and the the temps are definately more mild. There is a fella that does a solo act with tracks over by you and he plays the drums! Pretty original--and a great guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EightString Posted July 11, 2012 Members Share Posted July 11, 2012 A couple of my originals, done with backing tracks: And here are a couple of covers without backing: Make of these what you will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Loner Posted July 13, 2012 Members Share Posted July 13, 2012 Love this discussion! I agree with most of what's been said. However, don't go knocking BTs across the board. I make my own BTs and crowds around here love them. It gives them a beat to dance to. I'm competing with 3 - 5 piece bands and kicking their asses! As long as it doesn't sound cheesy people will accept it. I put as much energy into a performance as I would if I had a full band, so why would anyone miss them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tinfish Posted July 18, 2012 Members Share Posted July 18, 2012 I live on the delmarva, feet from the Chesapeake, miles from the Atlantic. it is RARE to see a guy playing with BTs in this market. (which is prolly only 2nd to south fla in venues that book solos and duos). I don't use them because I FEEL (again, my opinion) that they don't give me the flexibility to do what I do best, which is entertain (and sometimes it's not playing or singing). again, it took some time when I quit playing in bands, but now I can pick my clubs, and make good money as a solo. we have a lot of guys come over from the D.C. Baltimore market to try and work, and a LOT of guys come up from FL in the summer. the crowds here see and expect good players and singers, and are sophisticated enough to laugh at some guy playing along to his laptop. bottom line, backing tracks or no, if you ain't got the talent, and haven't done the work, don't expect people to connect with what you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bajazz Posted July 18, 2012 Members Share Posted July 18, 2012 The point of being a soloact is that you are playing alone! As opposed to a band where it is several members playing different instruments. If all you can do is strum, you better strum good! If you can't play good enough to back up your song and choose to use backing to do the job for you, you are simply a karaoke singer who won't let others sing. Tracks or not, learn to play your instrument! Wow! Someone touched a nerve with this thread! If you were painting on the canvas, would you add a variety of colors to enhance the painting? If every painter was to paint the same way, would it be boring as hell or would it be really exciting? What distinguishes each painter? style ? Creativity? Theme? Colors? Backing tracks is like having a partly colored photograph ready on the canvas and all you do is fill out a color or two that is missing... Those who use BT dont complain about those who dont. Cant say the same about the other way though. I don't complain about it, but when people bring up the subject, I give my honest opinion. woohoo, woohoo, repeat 200 times Got boring after 37 times.... I can honestly say that if you are using BT for dance music, then OK, but be honest about it and admit you are a DJ playing along. It's a one-man-band and not a soloact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leftyjay Posted July 19, 2012 Members Share Posted July 19, 2012 alrighty then........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EightString Posted July 19, 2012 Members Share Posted July 19, 2012 So, having sequenced up the parts on this song myself, and after performing this difficult, progressive odd-meter song live on both vocals and guitar, I'm somehow "just a DJ" or "less of a musician" for CHOOSING ... ... to employ backing tracks of my own making. Got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sgt. Rock Posted July 19, 2012 Members Share Posted July 19, 2012 I can see why a solo acoustic act could become boring. I always play solo but I've learned to hold the audience interest by making trombone/trumpet sounds and whistling. It's just me and a nylon string guitar and I can say I'm successful at it so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike McLaughlin Posted July 19, 2012 Members Share Posted July 19, 2012 Originally Posted by leftyjay alrighty then........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted July 19, 2012 Members Share Posted July 19, 2012 Usually the players with the biggest opinions about what solo guys are doing, are the one's that play out in a year about as much as I play out a week. Please don't attempt to tell me what you think makes a good performer. You stand at the back of the bar with your arms folded, gigless, and watch me play. I think the dozen or so people here that are doing 150+ gigs a year have a general idea what people want to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stunningbabe Posted July 19, 2012 Members Share Posted July 19, 2012 Originally Posted by Sgt. Rock I can see why a solo acoustic act could become boring. I always play solo but I've learned to hold the audience interest by making trombone/trumpet sounds and whistling. It's just me and a nylon string guitar and I can say I'm successful at it so far. Can you show some videos of you doing that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MusicalSchizo Posted July 19, 2012 Members Share Posted July 19, 2012 Don't you know that there's only ever one way to make a crowd happy as a solo performer?! And only one way to be a true musician?! I don't know, Bajazz, I've always enjoyed your contributions here and I think you're a good guy but I have to say it makes me wonder if you have Asperger's Syndrome and just don't know it. Your strict opinions on so many topics and smug attitude about it remind me of my daughter (who has Asperger's). I don't say that to offend you, it's just an observation. Then again, we parents of Autistic kids tend to think everyone has Autism (like gays think everyone is gay), so... Brian V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sgt. Rock Posted July 19, 2012 Members Share Posted July 19, 2012 Originally Posted by stunningbabe Can you show some videos of you doing that? I don't have any videos of myself, not much to look at but I do over 150 shows a year. If you're in northeastern Pennsylvania maybe you can catch my act in person!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Ellis Posted July 19, 2012 Members Share Posted July 19, 2012 I'm thinking a little bit of all of it would generate the most interest. The so-call sophisticated listeners can kiss my fat country ass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.