Pro Tools in live performance?

[kyoko]

Hello. I am new on this board. I am a vocalist, often improvising with other instrumentalists. I used to use Boss pedals for some effects such as delay, reverb, loop, but recently started to look for a less hardware-dependent (less gear to carry) way to manipulate my voice while improvising and found that MBox+Pro Tools+plug-ins (Pluggo and others) work quite well despite the slight latency. I am going on the road in two weeks and would like to know how other people use Pro Tools in live situations, what problems they have encountered, solutions to problems, tips, etc. I thank you in advance. Kyoko

[Brubacher]

Hello.
My group also uses computer-based fx for our live show. There are a couple things to take into consideration.

1) Computers do crash. If you have your computer properly setup for Pro Tools AND take care of your machine (defrag, etc.) this becomes less likely to happen. HOWEVER, it is always and danger and when it does happen 15 minutes before you are due on stage you have to be prepared.

I think the best program that you can invest in is Norton Ghost. This program will create an image of your current configuration (OS, programs and all!) which you can then burn onto a CD. If your computer does crash on you, simply boot with this image CD in you CD-ROM and follow the on-screen instructions. Your ENTIRE machine will be back to normal in less than 10 minutes! (I should note however that it will write over everything on your hard drive. You will lose any data added after you had originally ghosted your machine.)

2) Always carry a battery backup. (UPS) If the power fails you are safe.

3) The latency can cause some problems depending on your situation. Set the latency as short as possible. If you have a back up band your mic could pick up the sounds of the other musicians and add phase problems. You will have to play around with your stage setup to reduce this as much as possible.

4) Laptops and technology are prime targets to be stolen. Keep your eyes on your gear.

[kyoko]

Thank you so much for your reply. I will look for Norton Ghost immediately. I recently went on the road with the whole setup and it worked quite well, except one brief instance of sound dropping out (which we attributed to a power surge since the guitarist's amp went out briefly as well, but we are not sure). Yes, choosing the right mic with enough side rejection to keep the drum/guitar/horns out of the mix (I currently use Beyerdynamic Opus 69), as well as a good stage position has been key. If you have any more suggestions, including mic recommendations, I would greatly appreciate it. BTW, where do you perform? I am based in NYC. Thank you again! Kyoko

[Brubacher]

Hello again!

One measure you could take to avoid losing stage power if there is a problem is to purchase a battery backup unit. A good unit is around $100 in any computer supply store. They are not designed to keep you going all night but they will provide roughly 15 mins of backup power. The nice thing is that they automatically compensate for power dips and peaks protecting your gear from damage. (Especially your computer!)

My band uses wireless head-mics on stage. I forget which brand they are... "shame on me as a technician!" LOL. Anyway, I have also had great luck with Shure Beta 57s and Beta 58s. They are Hyper-card so side rejection is very good. The disadvantage is they do pick up a little sound directly behind the microphone so the stage monitors have to be moved off axis. I do not believe that any particular microphone is better than another. If you like the microphone you are using and it works well in your situation that's the one to go with!

I am from Kitchener Ontario so my band plays local areas such as Kitchener-Waterloo and Toronto and London, when we can. (One day we'll make it down to NYC...)

Oh, do you use a gate on your vocal microphone? You will find using one will help as well. Start off with a fast attack and a slower release time and go from there. It can make a world of difference if set up properly!

[kyoko]

Thank you again, for your great tips! I checked into Norton Ghost; unfortunately, there is no Mac version (I use an iBook) and here's what the tech guy at Mac Mall (an on-line Mac store) wrote back when I inquired if there was something like Norton Ghost for Mac: "No - at least not yet (personal note: I have been regularly asking my Mac friends to contact Symantec to get their people to do just that...)". Maybe I will need to carry an external hard drive.

iBooks are wonderful because it can go about 2-3 hours on internal battery, enough to finish a gig. But you are right; I will get a battery backup unit in case. It would most certainly have come in handy when we had the black out, which caused the non-Mac PC to crash.

I have never used a gate on my mic; actually I do not know what they do so I will research into it.

Which programs do you use and what is your music like? Currently, I use Pro Tools LE and their plug-ins, plus Max/MSP. The music I do is a combination of structure and improv, but with strong jazz and rock influences (all the musicians come from a jazz background). I use fx as 'spice' to add texture to my voice (distortion, delays, harmonizers) but do not use many sounds generated solely by computer. I have yet to encounter anyone using Pro Tools LE in performance. In any case, I am very much at the beginning stages and everything is pretty much trial and error. If you are interested, my site is at home.earthlink.net/~kyokokitamura/ No sound clips yet mainly because I do not know how to get MP3s onto my site. Do you have a site or CDs out? If you ever perform in NYC, please let me know. Thanks again! Kyoko

[benlef]

Hi Kyoko,

"I have never used a gate on my mic; actually I do not know what they do so I will research into it."

Roughly, you can adjust a gate so that any sound lower than a choosen value will be block.

Your best bet would be to experiment on it. Insert a gate on a track and tweak the setting, you should be able to figure out most of it and then come back with more precise questions about it.

Good Luck

Ben

[kyoko]

Thanks, Ben! Will try the gate today and experiment with it. Anything that helps to get better sound is welcome. Kyoko

[Brubacher]

Actually uploading mp3's to your site should be fairly simple.
1) Bounce your music to mp3 format. (I'm sure you've already done that)
2) Upload the mp3 file to your web server the same way as you uploaded your webpage data.
3) Add a hyperlink on your webpage to that file.

So, for example, if your website is www.mywebsitestuff.com/myname.html and you uploaded the mp3 into your "myname" directory the hyperlink would be www.mywebsitestuff.com/myname/loudbounce.mp3

Anyway, yes my group has 2 CDs out right now. We are an electronic-rock band... KMFDM-ish, I guess. We use the PC live to sequence strings, drum-samples, sound FX, etc. (Actually our setup is a little too complex... 'takes forever to set up!)

I don't have any samples right now but I'll try to get some up, if you are interested.

[kyoko]

Thanks again! Will try this soon. Kyoko

[kyoko]

Thanks again! Will try this soon. Kyoko