Integrating LE into live performances

[gcavy]

I've been noticing a lot of people using laptops and LE rigs at live shows lately either to keep the drummer in time with a click or send a feed to the console for backing. Im curious about starting a project that integrates electronic drums and ambient backing and sort of things along with acoustic drums. Anyone have any idea how i can do this with as little hassle as possible (by this i mean making it easy for us AND the sound guy) and what i need to do so?

Thanks.

[Habbit]

For what it sounds like you want to do I would just use Reason nstead of Pro Tools... unless you're going to be recording as well?...

Any other thoughts?

[Ssaidvox1]

My band does this, and with pretty good success. We use it for both a click for the drummer and for sample playback.
We have a powerbook with an mbox... The left output goes a mixer that the drummer has near him, which feeds a headphone amp to his ears, me (bass) and the keyboard player, who controls the pro tools rig. I have a drum machine, synth bass, and bass guitar in my rig... I cue the drum machine from the click, and sync the bass synth to the drum machine, which is why I need a feed. (I adjust resonance and cutoffs on the drum machine in real time, different every time, thats why we dont just sample that...) The right output goes to a DI that the house can plug in to. That way, it's really just one more DI line to them, we take care of the rest. Within Pro Tools, The click is only going out of Output 1, or the left output, and the samples are routed to Output 2, or the right output. Any samples the drummer wants to here are sent down sends from those tracks.

Now we could also simplify this by just mixing everything down to a stereo track, and playing it out of an iPod, since we don't use any soft synths or anything at the moment, but it's nice to be able to adjust things on the fly too... The best part about it is really in the rehearsal space. Live performance could be simplified.

[Ssaidvox1]

Sorry, one very important part to all of this... 90% of the places you'll play have mono P.A.'s, so there is no need to send a stereo feed to the house. You should remix background tracks accordingly.

[Tragic Dog]

agreed with the mono pa bit. As a live sound engineer I greatly appreciate it when the band comes to me and says "dude, we are using some samples and a click track, can you get us a single line for a DI that we brought. We will handle everything else"

That being said it is also nice if you are playing in a place with techs who may/may not pay attention to try and keep the tracks some what dynamically equal. That way you get a steady sound not one that can fluctuate at a moments notice.

That is my 2cents