Backing track device?

Clockwork Creep

Clockwork Creep

Power User
Hi there.
Is there a small cheap device that could simultaneously play a backing track to one stereo output, a clicktrack/metronome to another, and a MIDI output for Axe?
I've been using an audio interface and a laptop with a DAW for this, but maybe there's a smaller, quicker, more reliable solution?
 
Liquid tracks seems to be closest to what I'm thinking of.
But 500$ for such a device is ridiculous.
Basically, all I want is an mp3 player that can play three files simultaniously (Backtrack, clicktrack, midi).
Simple Mp3 players can be as cheap as a few bucks, so I wouldn't want to spend more than 50-100$ for such a device....
 
My band finally broke down a purchased "Ableton Live standard". And so far we are loving it. It's way-overkill and pretty expensive, but works beautifully.

1 stereo track for backing tracks routed to outputs 1&2 on our audio interface, 2 stereo tracks for our pre-recorded clicks (track 1 left=1, track 1 right=2, track 2 left=3, track 2 right=4) routed to outputs 5,6,7,&8 on our audio interface, then those 4 outputs go to a custom device that I designed and built that converts the click track audio signals into 12-volt pulses that drive multi-colored LED lights for myself and our drummer to visually represent the count. (We don't like in-ears).

Then some midi tracks for CC automation to the Axe FX, a vocal harmonizer, and soon - our XR-18 digital mixer.

All launched from a single button on my MFC 101.

Tried lots of other lower cost solutions but "Ableton Live" was worth it!..............And it uses way less CPU!

Also, you can run multiple instances of "Ableton". So we are going to use it to multi-track record our gigs through our XR-18 mixer as one interface, while playing backing tracks, click tracks, and midi CC tracks through our other interface at the same time.
 
most any daw can be controlled by midi and will play through the axe fx with out an audio interface, but you may need one for the transport depending on your controller. I have studio one( which I really am not super happy with) and I can control the transport with my presets! a lap top can be carried with the axe fx pretty easily! The daw can also make your preset and scene changes for you!
 
I know that laptops, Daws, and audio interfaces can work and that's what I'm using. :)
My concern was that this setup takes a while to put together and turn on before each show or rehearsal. Also, computers are not perfectly reliable.
Would be cool if all was built in into one rack case, and all the musician had to do is - turn on the power conditioner and press "play". No laptops.
 
Well, they do have that you know. Rack mounted computers are available, specifically made for musicians. Search them on Sweetwater or MF, or any of those sites. But, they are (very) far from cheap, and waaay overkill to me. They are more studio machines.

I use a Macbook pro and Ableton Live 9 for what you are talking about.
I have a pre-made harness (used zip ties and that plasitc cable cover) that has a Mac power cable (mag), and a usb cable attached in my PA rack, and I just plug those two things into my macbook, takes 1 second. I open the Mac, and it "wakes" up, and I can push play. (I already have everything loaded and cued up in there before I get where I'm going)

As for the USB, we have a digital mixer (A&H Qu24) so it has USB inputs. PERFECT mixer for this type of show. I can route as many tracks (audio or midi) as I want, wherever I want, over a single USB cable. But, you could just as easily have a midi box in your PA with a USB, and a 1/8 audio cable and split your click left, audio right and do all that stuff.

An Ipod will run tracks, but you won't be able to do any midi stuff. If you want a more complex setup with midi, or 3 channels, then really there is no beating a Mac for this purpose.
 
I use Zoom R24. I had lots of doubts before buying it, as it's frowned upon by professional recording engineers, but decided that it's cheap enough to try and really, it turned out to be one of the most useful purchases I've ever made. I even bought a second one - I use one at home as a mixer and/or for quick recording, it has 8 inputs, works as an audio interface (though I've never used this particular function), and as a playback device. For the latter use, it can play back up to 24 tracks, as the name suggests, for each track you can control pan, EQ (which also proved much more useful than I originally thought), level, etc. You can assign _any_ track as a click track and it'll go to the headphones output only, if you so wish (in our case it goes to the drummer's in-ear monitors). You can also take a part of any other track, add it to the click track so that the drummer will have audible hints for some events - it was useful when we needed to play a song at a festival without rehearsing. It can do tons of other things as well, but that's getting off-topic.

If you are sure you don't need as many tracks, you can get Zoom R8, which is even cheaper. Just don't go for R16 as it doesn't allow you to assign a click track, it only has built-in ones.

Oh, and it can be battery powered as well, which also happened to save us once.

The only problem I have with it is that it doesn't have MIDI. That's a shame really.
 
Honestly, for a band setting-playing and making $$ I don't think $500 is a lot for all the LT-100 can do.

For home noodling or something, yes, but I thought you were talking about a band setting.
 
What we do is, use an iPod. I have a 1/8 inch out to two XLR that go to my chan 9-10 of my x32. I make the track on the left side and the click on the right side. So chan 9 is the click. It's not going FoH but just to my drummers in ears. Chan 10 that has the track go's to the bands in ears and FoH.

Not a perfect solution. I'd love to have a way to do that plus get a foot switch to to turn on and off the track. But so far the way I do it has been the cheap solution.
 
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