# Help for spliting backing track and click live.



## welsh_7stinger (Oct 12, 2013)

Hello, my band are looking to be using backing tracks live but we are also gonna want to have a click track being sent to the drummer. We are looking for a mixer that would allows us to do that in any gig scenario. 

so basically my band are looking for a cheap small mixing desk that would have a usb/firewire connection, 2 xlr outs, line outs, individual volume/balance controls on each channel and to be able to allocate what track goes to what out via the daw on my laptop (logic). 

I'd also want to know if this would work for what i have described above. 
Behringer Xenyx Q 1204 USB - Thomann UK

Any info would be grateful.

P.S sorry about my wording. I don't exactly know how to describe what im looking for when typing it out.


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## Winspear (Oct 12, 2013)

You want to look for an interface rather than a mixer in my opinion. Those mixers are generally just for taking several mics and blending them into a stereo signal which can be recorded over USB. They limit themselves to stereo 99% of the time too. You wouldn't need half the features on it. Something like a Focusrite Scarlet is cheap and would do the job. However you can totally do this with nothing at all if you need to. Just a stereo splitter cable in the headphone jack and the click panned left and the track in mono panned right in the DAW would do it.


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## welsh_7stinger (Oct 12, 2013)

EtherealEntity said:


> You want to look for an interface rather than a mixer in my opinion. Those mixers are generally just for taking several mics and blending them into a stereo signal which can be recorded over USB. They limit themselves to stereo 99% of the time too. You wouldn't need half the features on it. Something like a Focusrite Scarlet is cheap and would do the job. However you can totally do this with nothing at all if you need to. Just a stereo splitter cable in the headphone jack and the click panned left and the track in mono panned right in the DAW would do it.



K, is there any interfaces that are cheap that have xlr outs? We cant use the Y lead method because the backing tracks have stereo panned instrumentation and effects.


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## WhiteWalls (Oct 12, 2013)

welsh_7stinger said:


> K, is there any interfaces that are cheap that have xlr outs? We cant use the Y lead method because the backing tracks have stereo panned instrumentation and effects.


To do what you want to do, you need an interface with TWO separate stereo outputs, like the m-audio fast track pro, because you want to send a stereo track to the pa and at the same time a different (either stereo or mono) click track to the drummer.

In the case of the fast track pro however, the only balanced output is the same as the headphone output, so you need to use that for the click, and the secondary output is only RCA. So you also need a stereo DI box to convert the signal to XLR before connecting to a mixer.


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## MilesFocusrite (Oct 17, 2013)

Hi Welsh 7Stringer,

Something like the Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 would be idea for this - 2 stereo pairs of balanced outputs. You then use Mix Control (included) to set up various mixes however you like. 

Here is the link from our site:

Scarlett 6i6 | Focusrite

Let me know if you want anymore information!

Cheers,

Miles


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## BenSolace (Oct 21, 2013)

welsh_7stinger said:


> K, is there any interfaces that are cheap that have xlr outs? We cant use the Y lead method because the backing tracks have stereo panned instrumentation and effects.



All that has been mentioned so far is fine, but as a side note I would be prepared to offer a mono signal to FOH as well. I am all for stereo where possible, but some venues I have played have not wanted to/been able to accommodate stereo anything, and converting a stereo signal to mono on the spot would likely lead to horrible phase issues and sound poor.


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## petereanima (Oct 21, 2013)

Yeah, I would use mono-backing tracks only. First of all because of said issues, second: Only the audience standing in the "perfect" spot will hear everything, the others will only get a "crippled" version.


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