Midis and backrax

Valie

How many musos on this forum actually use midis or backtracks to perform live? Please don't shoot me. I know all the arguments concerning live bands versus the pre recorded thing. I personally have only appeared on stage with live bands in all the 40 odd years that I've been playing. It's ok if you are staying in a city where there is a choice of guitar players and bass players around to pick and choose from. What about the guy that stays in the Platteland where there are no musos that shares his choice of music and he needs to play? Is he condemned to do only recordings at home where he uses the same medium or must he get into his car and drive a few hundred kilos a night to arrive at a band that he wants to join only to find that the drummer can't make it for a rehearsal. In a perfect world we would all have band members that share our goals and dreams but we all know that does not exist. I am not talking about the Kareoke (Bektrek) singers that becomes famous at Aardklop or KKNK that can afford backup musos but decline the offer. For some people its a thin line between credibility and selling out.

andrewjbryson

I play around Port Elizabeth and I perform solo with no backtracks. Only 1 acoustic guitar and sometimes electric. A SM58 for Vocals and some effects.
A lot of guys on the PE/ E.L scene use backtracks. Basically they download the MIDI files and edit it to their preference.
Then they will run it in a program like Cakewalk or even downsample it to WAV/ MP3.

I have mixed feelings about using backtracks. If ever, I go that route, I would probably write the backtracks from scratch
using VST (virtual studio technology) instruments. I have done a few tracks before, but it does take a lot of time to build these MIDI tracks.

The main reason for resorting to backtracks : Money... More band members = less cash per person. Club/ Pub owners can only pork out a certain amount.

And people are also more likely to respond/ dance to a track with catchy/cheesy Drums + Bass in the mix, than just 1 acoustic guitar.

There are a lot of MIDI back tracks available on the net. But most of them are really poor and inaccurate.
Once again, this is why most guys edit them. If the foundation is there, its easier to work with.

I think at the end of the day : A good investment for the working Muso is a Bose L1 compact system + Loop Pedal ?

Renesongs

I had a 2 man band a couple of years ago and I wrote the bass drums into midi backtracks. The problem I find that is a lot more difficult to play well to a backtrack because it cuts you no slack and secondly if you do get it right you lose credibility from the audience because they think that it is all fake and that you must be miming.

AlanRatcliffe

Particularly in smaller towns, where gigs are fewer, venues are often smaller and there is less money on offer, you do whatever you have to do to make music (and to make money to pay for your GAS ?). In a perfect world, we would all play original music in large bands with great gear. It's not a perfect world... Do whatever you need to and ignore the naysayers.

I must be honest, the musical isolation of living in a small town (Napier, Western Cape) gets to me sometimes. I considered taking on a cover/bar gig locally, to get some direction, have something to work to and just to play, but that would mean taking it away from the one guy in the overberg who makes a living from it (I don't) and travels hundreds of kms for each gig. Also, I hate gigging. ? So I have taken on a young student, which helps, but isn't bringing anything new to my music.

Riaan-Combrink

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: It's not a perfect world... Do whatever you need to and ignore the naysayers.

+1!

Have a look at this article and thread:
http://www.guitarforum.co.za/performance/preparing-and-performing-with-backing-tracks-good-article/

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: ... the one guy in the overberg who makes a living from it (I don't) and travels hundreds of kms for each gig.

Hmmm ... I sense an opportunity for a 'weekend away at the B&B' circuit for the CT imperialists! ?