Small affordable 4-track playback device for music minus gigs

[Ty Ford]

Hi,

I have a client who's an electiric guitar player/singer.

We are recording bass, drums, guitar, harmonica/sax .

He want a music minus mix for occasions when he may play "without the band."

He asked for that on a CD. I think that's doable, but thought a 4 track
playback device might allow him better results. He has a small stereo Makie
PA and four JBL monitors

I was thinking stereo drums for two tracks, bass on one track and
harmonica/sax on one track. I could provide him the a four track mix set so
it should run with all faders at unity, but could be adjusted.

The other thing that I'm thinking about is ....

In a live gig, bass usually plays through an amp. If it does play through a
PA, the PA is built to handle the low end. The listener hears the amp in the
PA and from the amp.

Drums are usually miced, but in a small venue, a lot of the sound of the
drums comes right off of them.

I haven't seen it yet, but I'm thinking he's headed for disappointment when
he hears the mix minus coming out of the Mackie without the "live sound" of
the bass and drums.

And there's only so much a small Mackie can pass. Bass drums, guitar, vocal,
sax/harmonica may be too much for the Mackie to pass. I was thinking if he
had four tracks he could use two of the JBL monitors for bass and drums (tow
for his monitors) and the the Mackies' for guitar, vocal. and sax/harmonica.
What would you do?

Again, small venues....clubs and restaurants.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Try my blog; http://tyfordaudiovideo.blogspot.com/
Try my audio sample archive: http://tinyurl.com/796z25d
Try my gear reviews: http://tinyurl.com/79q797r

[Peter Larsen]

Post by Ty Ford
I have a client who's an electiric guitar player/singer.
We are recording bass, drums, guitar, harmonica/sax .
He want a music minus mix for occasions when he may play "without the band."
He asked for that on a CD. I think that's doable, but thought a 4
track playback device might allow him better results. He has a small
stereo Mackie PA and four JBL monitors

R44, MR8HD (inverts polarity - but probably not an issue in this context).
MR8HD offers internal mixer. Can be found cheap, but beware, the bubble
action buttons on it do not like to be under pressuring during
storage/transport, so it will need a custom built road case. That might well
make the R44 the cheaper option. Both sound best when recording if used with
an external mic pre so that input gain can be turned down.

Kind regards

Peter Larsen

[Les Cargill]

Post by Ty Ford
Hi,
I have a client who's an electiric guitar player/singer.
We are recording bass, drums, guitar, harmonica/sax .
He want a music minus mix for occasions when he may play "without the band."
He asked for that on a CD. I think that's doable, but thought a 4 track
playback device might allow him better results. He has a small stereo Makie
PA and four JBL monitors
I was thinking stereo drums for two tracks, bass on one track and
harmonica/sax on one track. I could provide him the a four track mix set so
it should run with all faders at unity, but could be adjusted.

Why would he want a different mix for each room? Also, you can "mix" a
... mix with EQ. It's just easier to run a CD player than a small 4-track.

Post by Ty Ford
The other thing that I'm thinking about is ....
In a live gig, bass usually plays through an amp. If it does play through a
PA, the PA is built to handle the low end. The listener hears the amp in the
PA and from the amp.

Ayup. But a pair of EON can handle low end if the overall level is low
enough. Remember - specialist speakers get louder because
they're bandlimited and there are more of them ( possibly). Ir
they're lower efficiency but capable of handling more power.

If he needs some sort of sub, have him get a sub. Some electric bass
cabs can double as subs if you're not trying to get 120dB - I expect
G/K has a good track record here.

He shouldn't need this for supper clubs, though. Clubs get wonky
under 100Hz.

Post by Ty Ford
Drums are usually miced, but in a small venue, a lot of the sound of the
drums comes right off of them.

Drums are also miced unevenly. Cymbals go in last.

Post by Ty Ford
I haven't seen it yet, but I'm thinking he's headed for disappointment when
he hears the mix minus coming out of the Mackie without the "live sound" of
the bass and drums.

Could be. I expect he's compromising to do this, so it
might work out.

Post by Ty Ford
And there's only so much a small Mackie can pass. Bass drums, guitar, vocal,
sax/harmonica may be too much for the Mackie to pass.

Nah. Long as he can manage the gain staging, he'll be
fine. Yellow is the new red on a Mackie.

Post by Ty Ford
I was thinking if he
had four tracks he could use two of the JBL monitors for bass and drums (tow
for his monitors) and the the Mackies' for guitar, vocal. and sax/harmonica.
What would you do?

Run a CD player with the same signal through everything. Or use the line
out from a computer of some sort, if the\at interface works better
for him.

If it can't be live, it might as well be repeatable.


Ween used to carry a box of DAT tapes... "No, we don't have that one
with us."

Post by Ty Ford
Again, small venues....clubs and restaurants.

Especially then.

Post by Ty Ford
Regards,
Ty Ford
Try my blog; http://tyfordaudiovideo.blogspot.com/
Try my audio sample archive: http://tinyurl.com/796z25d
Try my gear reviews: http://tinyurl.com/79q797r

--
Les Cargill

[Steve Hawkins]

Post by Ty Ford
Hi,
I have a client who's an electiric guitar player/singer.
We are recording bass, drums, guitar, harmonica/sax .
He want a music minus mix for occasions when he may play "without the band."
He asked for that on a CD. I think that's doable, but thought a 4
track playback device might allow him better results. He has a small
stereo Makie PA and four JBL monitors
I was thinking stereo drums for two tracks, bass on one track and
harmonica/sax on one track. I could provide him the a four track mix
set so it should run with all faders at unity, but could be adjusted.
The other thing that I'm thinking about is ....
In a live gig, bass usually plays through an amp. If it does play
through a PA, the PA is built to handle the low end. The listener
hears the amp in the PA and from the amp.
Drums are usually miced, but in a small venue, a lot of the sound of
the drums comes right off of them.
I haven't seen it yet, but I'm thinking he's headed for disappointment
when he hears the mix minus coming out of the Mackie without the "live
sound" of the bass and drums.
And there's only so much a small Mackie can pass. Bass drums, guitar,
vocal, sax/harmonica may be too much for the Mackie to pass. I was
thinking if he had four tracks he could use two of the JBL monitors
for bass and drums (tow for his monitors) and the the Mackies' for
guitar, vocal. and sax/harmonica. What would you do?
Again, small venues....clubs and restaurants.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Try my blog; http://tyfordaudiovideo.blogspot.com/
Try my audio sample archive: http://tinyurl.com/796z25d
Try my gear reviews: http://tinyurl.com/79q797r

Use a Laptop with Reaper or something like it, he can mix and EQ the
tracks to suit for every gig, but I bet he'll eventually settle on one
setup. Just run the laptop audio out to the board, set the guitar level
and you're good to go.

Steve Hawkins