Sorry, long post below!
I was looking for my previous thread about playing with backing tracks and couldn't find it, so I figured I would just start a new one!
MAJOR UPDATE on the live rig and how I am going to be using it. Tonight will be the second rehearsal I will be testing it out, but it seems to be very stable and works a treat.
My live rig basically has 3 sections: GUITAR, SYNTH, and BACKING TRACKS.
The last iteration of my live rig was:
Guitar > traditional guitar/pedals/amp
Synth > MIDI controller > sound module
Backing Tracks > BOSS Loop Station
There are two basic problems with this setup:
1. Switching backing tracks on the Loop Station requires bending down and physically turning a knob which is very difficult to do when you are in the middle of playing guitar and switching effects; also, you have to manually start and stop the Loop Station which is problematic for the same reason.
2. Between my synth, the bass player's synth, and the Loop Station, that makes 3-6 channels of line level audio required via DI's to FoH. Most placed do not have 3-6 channels of DI for multiple synths and line level sources, I have quickly learned.
THE SOLUTION.
The solution is
MainStage by Apple. If you own a Mac, run lots of soft synths and/or use backing tracks of any sort you owe it to yourself to just BUY THIS APP. Unfortunately, it requires a Mac on-stage, but it has made my life SO much easier and made the sound/presentation so much more professional it's like a dream come true -- this is exactly what I was looking for!
This has cut my lines to FoH down to 1-2. MainStage acts as playback machine, synth engine, MIDI control center, and playback machine, all controllable via MIDI assignable buttons. Best of all, it works as a "plug out" for Logic, so all of your AU effects and instruments will work in MainStage. That means I have access to all of my Arturia synths, any synth sounds I have sampled myself, EMI, api, Helios console strips, etc etc -- it's all there!
The best part about the way MainStage works is that it is fully customizable on a patch by patch basic. Basically, a totally customized workflow for each patch.
MainStage can get complicated very quick but my setup is very simple, overall.
So, the new setup is:
Both MIDI keyboards run USB into a Mac running MainStage. I also have a BeatStep connected via USB and acting as a MIDI controller only.
The Mac runs line out to FoH and acts as both a stage mixer and cue monitor mixer if you so desire. If you insert an interface in front of the Mac you can now customize stem routing, individual monitor mixes, etc.
The only limit is the processing power of your CPU. I will post photos and some audio clips after tonight's rehearsal.
b
