# Best way to set up this live rig?



## noUser01 (Apr 15, 2014)

My band and I plan to start playing to backing tracks, so here's what I had planned:

1) Load up an iPod with tracks that have a click track on one side and all the samples on the other
2) Split the output with a stereo cable, run it into a two-channel interface (M-Audio Fast Track Pro, powered via a wall-wart)
3) Have drummer plug into one output of the M-Audio to hear the click tracks
4) Send sample output to front of house
5) Make a playlist of all the tracks in order of our set list, just have the drummer hit play and we play the set

Now, technically speaking is this all good? I'm worried about issues like cross-talk between channels, making sure the click volume is loud enough for the drummer, making sure there's no noise etc. Someone mentioned to me that it might be better for the drummer to run into a headphone amplifier too?

As a side note, is there a way I could do this but still have stereo samples? I'm assuming that kind of thing would require a laptop and bigger audio interface for multiple outputs, in which case I won't bother for now.


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## shanike (Apr 16, 2014)

technically speaking it's all good.

theoretically,
you don't necessarily need to run the samples track through an interface, iPod > directly to FOH is just fine. but you need a way for the drummer to adjust his click track volume without affecting the FOH volume, so the interface should be between iPod > drummer, so he can adjust on the fly.

you can have stereo samples + click track with a 5.1 sound. provided that you can find a portable device which can do 5.1 and also has enough outputs


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## Hemorrhage (Apr 16, 2014)

We've been using iPhone for backing tracks for years. Its simple and reliable.

We have the iPhone with tracks marked as their own albums so that there is no risk for the phone to start playing the next song automatically. The phone is always put to flight mode. The tracks have click panned full right and the backing tracks panned full left. This far our venues have been so small that no one in the audience would miss anything what stereo could bring. A stereo cable to the phone and left directly to FOH(or from a DI to FOH) and right to a small mixer from which the drummer can adjust the click to the level he desires.


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## sage (Apr 16, 2014)

Sounds good. You definitely want the drummer to have volume control over the click independent of the sample feed to the FOH. I have a little ART headphone amp: ART Pro Audio 4 Channel Headphone Amp - Long & McQuade Musical Instruments - which works really well in the studio and can get scratch tracks and a click to the drummer really nice and loud, so it would probably do a decent job at this as well. One thing to remember is to not pin the headphone volume of the iPod, run it at about 70-80% and your samples will retain more of their dynamics. 

I agree with the above poster that you'll hard pressed to have anyone notice whether your samples are mono or stereo in most venues.


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## WhiteWalls (Apr 17, 2014)

The most common, cheap and reliable way to do this is simply to split the ipod with a stereo cable as you said, send one channel to a DI box connected to the front of house, and the other one to a small mixer which allows the drummer to control the volume and more importantly it converts the signal to mono, otherwise the drummer would hear the click only in one ear.

This only works with mono backing tracks though, but that's usually good enough unless you have something really elaborate going on.


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## sage (Apr 17, 2014)

^ Super good point, that... Mono conversion = good.


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## noUser01 (Apr 18, 2014)

Thanks everyone!

So if I just ran it mono into a little headphone preamp it should be mono for the drummer's headphones then, yeah?


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## WhiteWalls (Apr 18, 2014)

I have no experience with headphone amps, but if all they do is take a stereo input, boost it and send it to the headphones, you will still only hear the click in one ear.

In my opinion you should just get a mixer, the smallest and cheapest you can find will still work beautifully for this purpose.


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## Sebazz1998 (Apr 21, 2014)

Just get an interface and have the tracks in a daw with the click panned 100% right and send the right into the drummers monitor and left to FOH


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## noUser01 (Apr 21, 2014)

Sebazz1998 said:


> Just get an interface and have the tracks in a daw with the click panned 100% right and send the right into the drummers monitor and left to FOH



That's literally exactly what I wrote, and wasn't what I was asking about.

Thanks guys, I think once I get a headphone amplifier I should be fine. I tried a similar setup with a different band the other day and had issues getting click loud enough for the drummer. The samples were loud, but noisy. I think the issue was that I was running an audio interface plugged into a USB hub that was plugged into an outlet. Seems like the power source was probably the issue, the interface was pretty cheap too. I'm thinking just having the samples go straight to DI and have the click go into the headphones amplifier, sum it to mono and that should fix both issues. We'll find out soon enough! Thanks again everyone.


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## Sebazz1998 (Apr 22, 2014)

Sorry haha but yeah that should work and is more reliable than an ipod


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## Hemorrhage (Apr 23, 2014)

Sebazz1998 said:


> Sorry haha but yeah that should work and is more reliable than an ipod



You mean to say that a laptop+interface+tracks in a daw is more reliable than the iPod method or did I miss something? Because it most definately is not. There is hardly any reason to use a laptop and daw for that purpose before you start syncing your midi devices etc with the track.


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## GunpointMetal (Apr 23, 2014)

If you're losing one side of the click in a stereo headphone amp, RadioShack sells stereo-mono jack plugs for like $2...if there is still a RadioShack near you!


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## JPhoenix19 (Apr 23, 2014)

Although elaborate, the band I was in for a while used a Boss digital recorder to accomplish this. Drums, bass, strings, and whatnot were on seperate channels. If we had a drummer, we muted the drum track and sent a click track straight to the drummer with headphones.


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## GunpointMetal (Apr 24, 2014)

JPhoenix19 said:


> Although elaborate, the band I was in for a while used a Boss digital recorder to accomplish this. Drums, bass, strings, and whatnot were on seperate channels. If we had a drummer, we muted the drum track and sent a click track straight to the drummer with headphones.



Each track was being output on a separate channel, or you're saying each one was able to be mixed individually to the stereo output? Curious what recorder you were using, because I would actually like to do backing tracks with the instruments separated to different outputs WITHOUT having to take my laptop and interface.


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