guitar backing tracks

[yamahajohn]

hi guys,i play in a duo using a psr9000 and have a lead guitarist(jamma) i used to play a few shadows on guitar to midi file backing.recently though i came accross some good mp3 backing tracks but had probs with the cd player jumping even though its new,so i thought why not put them on a good quality mp3 flash player after all there are no moving parts in this type of player,is there,anywho what do you think, would like to hear your oppinion.all the best.john. ;D

[oldsage]

if the sound quality is the same,and you have no problems then why not.as you say there are no moving parts.how sre you going to play the mp3,s from the flash player? same connections as the cd player?.also can you see what you are selecting easily? steve

[yamahajohn]

hi steve,yes ill use a mini stereo plug to mini stereo plug that goes in to the mix in on my zoom 9000 pedal that is fed into my marshall 50 watt amp which i mike up to my powered mixer,and the flash player im getting displays the title of the track and i have to wear glassess anyway so i should have no probs seeing the track titles as they look pretty clear ,but untill i get the mp3 im not 100percent certain,anyway thanks for taking time to reply will let you know how i get on.all the best john.

[lelandwilliams]

I haven't tried a flash player. However, I can recommend a CD player which I use. It is a Numark, model CDN15/MPCD3. It will play *data* MP3 CDs. It displays the track name, time etc. and is especially made for DJs. Features include:
• Interactive pitch wheel adjustment
• Rubber buttons
• Direct Track Access
• Frame search
• Track Sequence Programming
• Sleep mode
• Rapid wheel search
• Auto cue
• Pitch display
• CDR compatible

I have been very happy with its performance and reliability.

[toucher50]

sounds like it should be a great solution. I'm getting ready to put my solo act together again......using either mp3 on cd or mp3 player. Used to do the gig with a roland sd35 midi set up but it was a little awkward. Keep pickin.

Rob

[topbloke]

Hi John. I play guitar and my Mate bass. Tries an ordinary MP3 player but found it awkward to read on stage. Now use an IPod Nano and you set your songs out in Playlists that can be put in any order and the screen's much easier to read. It works for us!

[klaus]

Have any of you looked into the units made by Cortex. We use an HDC 1000. All you do is plug in a flash drive, hard drive, ipod etc. The unit will handle whatever capacity your drive is and supports mp3 and 16bit 44,100 khz wave files. You can set up playlist and locate songs by artist, album, genre, or title. I bought one xmas 2006 and haven't looked back since. if you want more info goto www.cortex-pro.com

[Steptoe]

Have you considered getting hold of an older Laptop?

If your only playing MP3's it would be ideal!

Cheers
John

P.S. Here is a great site for Shadows backing tracks:

goran.tangring.com/

[stivsky]

I'm still using the good old mini disk player and still think thats the best hardware for gigs. Mainly because I don't have to mess about going to my rack all the time which is un-professional and you can set them to auto-pause (new Sony models don't have this feature.). I have a foot pedal for starting the track from stage front. It is CD quality with no hum or hiss and is robust and reliable.The backings are slightly compressed but no-where near as much as mp3's and they can jump occasionally but it takes a lot more of a thud than a cd player and I've never had a disk go down (fatal thing to say) cause they're in a permanent protective case.
Don't forget that mp3's can stop, jump or the file can easily get corrupt and unplayable. The music is compressed and most of the time you can tell it is by listening to it at gigs (from the middle of the room not the stage) as when the volume is pumped up the quality of the instruments on the backing goes down, then hiss can come into play sometimes as well.
As for CD's, they tend to jump if your playing on a wood floor and everybody is dancing and CD's are easily scratched and unplayable. Laptops also have a tendency to do a "norman collier" (break up) so me time s if windows is trying to perform a behind the scenes task. They also work at different speeds in different temperatures and yes laptops can jump just like CD players.
I can only comment on those as all these things have happened to me at various times whilst I have been performing alongside other entertainers.
I think the answer yamahajohn is that once you find a format your happy with. Stick with it. It is not always a good thing to roll with technology. The proof of the pudding is that all the great musicians of the world you see on TV/live are still using their equipment from yesteryear and why do companies still try to re-create the old analogue circuitry units.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!
'an choose carefully - Good Luck
Stivsky

[klaus]

I totally get what you are saying about minidisc quality wise and ease of use, but I also think it depends on what you do. We have over 300 backing tracks and play a varity of gigs frompubs, clubs, weddings, holiday camps etc... And that's a lot of minidiscs. Using MP3's on our Cortex unit has made things simpler by a long way and with regards to the compression issue it also depends and bitrates and the quality of the conversion software. Which ever way performers choose to go I feel there will allways be some compromise.

[stivsky]

The suggestion wasn't to take the minidisc klaus, I was just putting a few pointers on various formats that I've had experience of. The modern minidisc players have Long Play and I get between 50 & 65 tracks on one disc. Most people like myself usually carry two players in they're rack so at any one time there's access to 100 plus tracks at your fingertips. I myself work for Thompson Hols, Haven & Pontins as well as the clubs and pubs, and I understand what you mean having to chop & change at a moments notice. I just find that most of the acts I've heard working mp3's don't seem take time out to listen to what they are putting out at loud volume and the instruments on the tracks (if they're converted midifiles with added vocs/guit etc..) are too compressed and can sound awful, but after saying all that Joe Public prob wouldn't notice, even if they're ears started bleeding!!!

The best format I've ever used for quality was in the eighties when I used to run with the sound canvas and alesis datadisk. Only prob there was you couldn't dub backing vocs or anything else on the track. God I feel really old now after saying that!

[knimmo]

dont feel that bad stivsky.Im still using the old soundbrush,when i find or hear something else thet sounds to be better then I might change

[oldsage]

one little tip you could try!! buy one of those 7inch or 10 inch car dvd players.i have one,and it plays mp3,s.it lists the tracks for you,so you can read whats next to play on the list.mine also has input sockets ie:phono,s so you could atatch another mini disc or whatever!! steve

[strawbs1949]

Used Mini Discs for the last 10 years as DJ and Musician , Never had one mini disc go down or any trouble with my players (SONY)
At The moment i'm looking at buying the (OKYFLY TV KARAOKE MIDI PLAYER) FOR £99 it can hold 500 midi songs on one card.
The advantage for me is that trying out new songs i, i can have the lyrics on screen.

[ironbaden]

you may also consider burning your cd at the slowest possible speed.... that may help the skipping issue.

[ironbaden]

Mar 22, 2008 1:13:08 GMT oldsage said:

one little tip you could try!! buy one of those 7inch or 10 inch car dvd players.i have one,and it plays mp3,s.it lists the tracks for you,so you can read whats next to play on the list.mine also has input sockets ie:phono,s so you could atatch another mini disc or whatever!! steve

When u play a tune on this...will it just play the one tune and then you start the next or does it play them all and u have to stop them between each tune?