stupid question regarding live backing tracks

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www.dorian-music.co.uk
Member Since: Apr 04, 2008

This is probably a stupid question but my band has a laptop which plays backing tracks (bass and random noises/synth etc).

Normally I just take the bass and background noise/synth tracks right out of the full song I was recording/mixing and use them for live. But! at a few gigs the sound engineers have said the the sound is quite hard to mix - bass eq/levels changing between different songs etc.

Normally for recording my actual full songs I master with ozone and harbal etc after mixing, but not for the live tracks. Should this be something I should do for the live bass and synth?

I want the live bass and synth parts to mimick the actual full mastered songs in terms of quality and sound as between the mix versions and the mastered version there is quite a difference. anyone have some advice?
I really want the bass to sound better live on stage than having a bass guitarist - which I think it should do theoretically, but doesnt seem to be at the moment.

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The Czar of BS
Member
Since: Dec 31, 2007


Nov 04, 2008 10:45 am

Not sure why the sound engineer was having such a hard time mixing this?

I have done this many times in the past for bands. The only time I had an issue with it, is when they had an amp on stage that was cranked all the way up.

Other then that, by having a compressor on the mixed tracks. And the ratio set to infinity, I had no problems. I normally expect the tracks not to equal.

But, with an amp on stage, it sets up a delay issue. With bass, the delay changes with frequency. So, you can hear the difference with the backing tracks out front.

Is this the issue they have? Or have I completely missed the mark on this one?

www.dorian-music.co.uk
Member
Since: Apr 04, 2008


Nov 04, 2008 11:41 am

hi rob,
the bass and synth backing tracks are DI'd straight through to the desks with no amps on stage. but, i only have a compressor on the tracks in the mixdown stage, not on the laptop bass track which may be something i need to do. i think the sound engineer said the bass level changed between songs, but i suppose that can be fixed with a comp on the bass track. Though, the synth track is also outputted through the same DI so the sound engineer technically has bass as well as the synths etc to mix in the same track

The Czar of BS
Member
Since: Dec 31, 2007


Nov 04, 2008 12:04 pm

Yeah, I see. You may wish to separate the bass from the other track. Make the bass the left, and the noise the right. That will give the engineer a better chance of mixing the show.

www.dorian-music.co.uk
Member
Since: Apr 04, 2008


Nov 05, 2008 05:05 am

ive always been of the opinion that stereo is good as it gives a little bit more variety to the sound, but do you think that the benefits of easier sound mixing should outweigh them live?

many thanks!

The Czar of BS
Member
Since: Dec 31, 2007


Nov 05, 2008 10:49 am

Yes. You need the separation for the mix.

If the track has to separate volumes no it, how are you suppose to mix it?

Remember, in a live mix, you for the most part, do not hear the stereo mix. Depending on the size of the room, stereo separation does not come across.

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