How To Run Backing Tracks - Easiest, and Cost Effective 

Man, I wish my drummer felt the same way lol We're currently trying to convince him to play to a click for our recordings... 😪

@@hamburgerzzzzz super essential. If he isn't using this he is a weakness to the team and holding your progress back. Not using a click track isn't acceptable for any band seeking to achieve mainstream success today

@@Xueqs I completely agree... It's a tough situation

@@Xueqs Slipknot records and plays half of their songs without clicks even on Unsainted and they're still massive. A click is good in most cases but it isn't always necessary.

@@AdamSandal83 if you have/had a super tight drummer like Joey it helps a lot!

Can you gig in your country? Where do you live?

Ive only every done an android phone, im sure you could use the default music player for an iphone, but you would first have to load the songs you want to use as a track on itunes, then sync the device. All music in your itunes should then be on your iphone. One thing i would suggest when you do this is to adjust your settings to stop after each track that way they don't blur the counts from the end of one song to the start of another

How much memory should I have in my I pad

@@flexxbeatz4330 I have 128 GB on mine but it all comes down to how much storage you need for your tracks. I could get by with much less, probably only 500 MB to 1 GB.

Is this how you run your backing tracks set up for a solo gig? I’m trying to learn how to do that!!

@@alexisdonn I don't do solo as I'm part of a band, but this should absolutely work for that. It's pretty generic. I did this last night while you wrote this. 🙂

Rob H yessir

​@@mattshermandrums6245I know this is an old post but I'm having trouble with the panning I believe. Where would I pan the click and the backing tracks in my DAW for this to work for me? I have the exact same set up as you but different gear.

Yes!

@@mharbaugh Thanks for getting back. Though I've already played three gigs doing just that, but better late than never. 🙂

Laptop won't work in humid outdoor conditions. Found that out tonight.

@@terrytarpening9456 Did you get it solved?

Working on putting my laptop into a large cooler. Drilled 2" hole for 6" piece of PVC. Another 2' of PVC with elbow. Concontong a box over air conditioner blower. Testing today, fingers crossed

@@terrytarpening9456 Good luck!

Working awesome so far! 91 degrees with 60% humidity

replace the mixer in this setup with a headphone amp!

I run a wireless transmitter out of my mixer via XLR cable which runs in front of my kick drum and everyone else connects to that channel. Proximity reduces latency for the wireless guys. Moving the line up front cuts the distance by several yards/meters. Works flawlessly.

This setup he described is literally mono, so if you want to use this approach you can't really do any fancy stereo panning with the backing tracks. The only other option is to use a device that provides a minimum of 3 outputs, 1 click, and then a LEFT and RIGHT mono track that could handle stereo backing tracks thru panning on the main house board. Keep in mind, many venues simply cannot provide a good listening experience for the audience in stereo, so mono really is a good compromise if you can. Any audience member on either side of the stage will struggle to even appreciate any stereo panning.

Right, I run all my backing tracks mixed down to a stereo wav. They are output from main L R outs on the unit. Any (mono or stereo) track on the unit can be the click track and output separately from the main L R via stereo headphone out. So I import my click into stereo track 13/14. But first I purchase (cover) songs in the form of mp3's. I download each STEREO MP3 track individually. Then convert them to WAV in AUDACITY a free sound editor programme. I then import ALL the instruments ( bass, keys, vox, backing vox, guitar, fx drums percussion and preprogrammed click) via usb stick into the unit. I then make a stereo master mix using whatever tracks I deem relevant. So usually no drums but certainly percussion. No guitar as I play that, and no lead vox. I then assign track 13/14 the click and import the click into that. I take a stereo out from the headphones and send L to the drummers minimixer and R to my desk which then means the click is now in my monitors but NOT my FOH outs. I then take stereo outs from the headphones on the desk and send that to the drummers minimixer. Now he has the click AND the FOH STEREO mix in his ears INCLUDING his own electronic drums and he can create the balance himself. The unit I use is a ZOOM R24 and I also use a ZOOM R8 which also has the same facilities as the R24. But the ZOOM R16 does NOT HAVE the same click facility.

DI boxes have some benefits you might not think about like eliminating ground issues, polarity, and thru/bypassing to say the least. Personally, I think a DI box is necessary for reducing the chances of unwanted error.

Take an xlr monitor send from FOH and plug it into the other channel of your board instead of a wedge

Yes, if your mixer doesn't have XLR outs for the house and a way to isolate the click from the tracks in your output. For me, the sound engineer hooks into the right channel (tracks) of my DI box for his feed of the backing tracks. I run the passthroughs from my DI box into my mixer so I can control my experience from there.

It all depends how you want to start your songs. I suggest getting in your band rehearsals and talk about how you want your set to start each song(s). Then edit and bounce your tracks accordingly. Correct. Band mates won’t hear the click. Only the drummer will have in-ears with this setup.

You can use the monitor send your sound guy gives you and plug it into your little onstage mixing board.

He's referring to click tracks, I.E a digital metronome.

I program the click in my DAW when setting up the backing tracks, then pan accordingly for each channel.

Monitor in or FX in on pa.

Or because its tough to play, say, saxophone or synths or an entire orchestra while youre playing drums. Simpleton.

Your in for a rude awakening when you find out popular pro bands that use some type of backing track.

@@TupDigital why is it these smartarses never have any content on their own channels?

@@brendanoneil3489 😄lol i feel ya; OP mighta jumped the gun a bit

Roland did this in the 90's with the VS 1680 etc range DAW, basically a 486 built into a mixing desk - I still use them but the market seems all computer based now. A stand alone device rather than a flight case of widgets seems appealing.