For all you gigging with your AX8's!

Backing tracks, loopers, or a real band. I'll look into it.

Like I said I am not gig ready. I am just getting this up and running. It may be 3-5 years before I make my debut performance.

I have a full time job, this will be a part time gig.

I doubt I would pull 6 figures from performing alone like I currently do as an IT specialist / Accountant / Business Analyst.

But thanks for all your constructive criticism. Well taken!

EDITED TO ADD: I just touched base with big name music stores/ performers / teachers etc in Toronto and they said performing electric guitar rock , solo without a band , backing track or singer is venue dependent. It is harder to pull off than having the prior 3 points but it in the end comes down to venue requirements. Any comments?
 
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dsouza said:
EDITED TO ADD: I just touched base with big name music stores/ performers / teachers etc in Toronto and they said performing electric guitar rock , solo without a band , backing track or singer is venue dependent. It is harder to pull off than having the prior 3 points but it in the end comes down to venue requirements. Any comments?
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I think the main take away is that as you limit your approach, you also limit the opportunities. Some gigs will want a full band, some will not want instrumental music only, some that promote their venue as providing "live" music will be turned off by backing tracks, etc., etc.
 
Suggest you get another guitar player and start doing some acoustic gigs at small bars/clubs in your area. You can always work in some of your ideas during the gigs alongside a well thought out set list that is tailored to what the venue is seeking.

Feedback from the venue owner, audience, and even yourself will provide you with the knowledge if the high goals you have set are reachable or need adjustments.
 
I didn't notice you using a looper in any video I watched. Given your aspirations, I would HIGHLY encourage getting a stand alone looper, if you don't already have one. Whether or not you use one at a gig, it is an invaluable practice tool. I can tell you that if I were ever to attempt a full solo instrumental performance, then a looper would be part of it.
 
fcs101 said:
I didn't notice you using a looper in any video I watched. Given your aspirations, I would HIGHLY encourage getting a stand alone looper, if you don't already have one. Whether or not you use one at a gig, it is an invaluable practice tool. I can tell you that if I were ever to attempt a full solo instrumental performance, then a looper would be part of it.
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On my bandcamp website I used a looper in one of my tracks. It was a drum beat to the U2 song "Running to Stand still" on one of my ambient albums.

I know a looper is invaluable but it's a bitch to coordinate setting it up alongside a track and syncing them each time. Kinda ruins the flow of the show. I agree acoustic players definitely need loopers as the acoustic itself can be very mundane sounding without effects unlike an electric guitar.

Just curious doesn't the AX8 have a simple looper built in? It's shortcoming is that it doesn't do drum loops.
 
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dsouza said:
Just curious doesn't the AX8 have a simple looper built in? It's shortcoming is that it doesn't do drum loops.
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Yes the AX8 has a Looper. Just add the block. Why is it a shortcoming without drum loops? Use a drum machine or computer for your drums and program as you like.

dsouza said:
Do you know if it's possible to BUY custom made loops for the AX8 for various popular rock songs? Just like one would buy or use BT's? And have them added to the presets?
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How would you add the loops into the AX8? It does not have a spot or block to add sound from a wav or mp3.

dsouza said:
If this hasn't been invented it would be a great money making idea for pros out there who'd want to do a project like this!
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Most are probably using a computer or looper for their backtracks, etc.


As @fcs101 stated "Whether or not you use one at a gig, it is an invaluable practice tool. I can tell you that if I were ever to attempt a full solo instrumental performance, then a looper would be part of it."
 
There are many separate loopers on the market if you don't want to use the AX8 looper. TC Electronics Ditto series, the Beat Buddy (think this one you can buy different loop packages), and more.

Check this out:

 
Using a looper as part of a live show is like playing another instrument in parallel. It is possible but it takes some time getting used to it and achieve a good timing. I don't like the AX8 looper as I cannot assign footswitches to looper functions in parallel to scene switch assignments because the looper functions are available only via the looper panel or via external switches. The pro of using the AX8 looper is that it's possible to have it quantize the loop to the preset tempo to be in sync with delay times. Not sure if the AX8 sends out MIDI clock to sync an external looper device.
 
ChristThePhone said:
Using a looper as part of a live show is like playing another instrument in parallel. It is possible but it takes some time getting used to it and achieve a good timing. I don't like the AX8 looper as I cannot assign footswitches to looper functions in parallel to scene switch assignments because the looper functions are available only via the looper panel or via external switches. The pro of using the AX8 looper is that it's possible to have it quantize the loop to the preset tempo to be in sync with delay times. Not sure if the AX8 sends out MIDI clock to sync an external looper device.
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You mean you can't have a different loop per scene on the ax8 seamlessly brought up each time you switch scenes with the loop music and all?
I assume the AX8 remembers your last loop that is stored? So you don't have to reprogram.. Or like the AX8edit software it saves the loop with the music for the loop in the preset, only alterable if you edit the preset and resave. (So you don't accidentally alter/erase your loops settings!)
 
dsouza said:
You mean you can't have a different loop per scene on the ax8 seamlessly brought up each time you switch scenes with the loop music and all?
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The AX8 looper block supports only one loop. You can add another overlay to the loop and undo it later but you cannot switch between multiple loops. This is independent of scenes. Scenes don't trigger the looper play button, they can only enable/disable the looper block.
 
I agree the looper in general sounds like an award winning piece of gear for the solo artist.

But I'm using an AX8. I may have as many as 6 scenes to stomp through during a single song, and in addition to this I have to turn a loop on or off for different parts of the song (say I use multiple loops per song -- one for intro, verse, chorus, solo, outro etc). It gets to be an aweful lot of tap dancing.

It can really effect the flow of performing in reality.
 
dsouza said:
I agree the looper in general sounds like an award winning piece of gear for the solo artist.

But I'm using an AX8. I may have as many as 6 scenes to stomp through during a single song, and in addition to this I have to turn a loop on or off for different parts of the song (say I use multiple loops per song -- one for intro, verse, chorus, solo, outro etc). It gets to be an aweful lot of tap dancing.

It can really effect the flow of performing in reality.
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What do you mean it can effect the flow performing in reality? There are many artists (one person shows) that perform live with multiple pedals and loopers and do not miss a beat.

You need to practice, practice, practice using the pedals (AX8, etc) and looper so you can perform without hesitation.

Why don’t you just program your own drum loops on the computer for each scene that you use.

If that is too much or overwhelming, get a drummer.
 
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You may want to check the possibility of an application like Bandhelper that has the possibility to send midi messages. That would allow you to synchronize playback of backing tracks / looper in combination with scene / preset changes on your AX8. I am not a user myself but there are active users on this forum
 
The AX-8 looper is really better suited for practice and very simple applications. You'll want a stand alone solution such as the Aeros offered above. I use a Boomerang III. Both are excellent. Both can sync to midi drums; both can do verse, chorus, bridge and more. I use a Beat Buddy for the drums (made by the same folks that make Aeros). They have tons of free beats and (of course) you can purchase others. U2 seems to be very important to you. They have a U2 beat package.

You could also use a laptop to provide drums; there are many options. You'll just want to be able to control them with your foot. That's why I like the BB; it's designed specifically with guitarists in mind.

As @Habuman said above the key to good use of a looper is practice, practice, practice (you need to know the looper as if it's an instrument). They are initially awkward to use, but like anything, it does become second nature. A good looping performer makes use of the looper to add to the presentation; it shouldn't break "the flow".
 
fcs101 said:
The AX-8 looper is really better suited for practice and very simple applications. You'll want a stand alone solution such as the Aeros offered above. I use a Boomerang III. Both are excellent. Both can sync to midi drums; both can do verse, chorus, bridge and more. I use a Beat Buddy for the drums (made by the same folks that make Aeros). They have tons of free beats and (of course) you can purchase others. U2 seems to be very important to you. They have a U2 beat package.

You could also use a laptop to provide drums; there are many options. You'll just want to be able to control them with your foot. That's why I like the BB; it's designed specifically with guitarists in mind.

As @Habuman said above the key to good use of a looper is practice, practice, practice (you need to know the looper as if it's an instrument). They are initially awkward to use, but like anything, it does become second nature. A good looping performer makes use of the looper to add to the presentation; it shouldn't break "the flow".
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I've heard the Boomerang III in action. It's amazing but requires use of the hands . I saw an ambient master use it.. Beautiful to see in action.

The Beat buddy is more along my lines. I DON'T wish to use a laptop to sync to drums though.

I'll look into that one as an option.
 
FYI.

I had a discussion with EasySong Licensing to get sync (synchronization license) license to cover 17 cover hits.
They told me the cost is $20k for 1 year of streaming.

WHAT THE F**K?

I told them if I did one Bandcamp Stream a month and charged $10 and got 10 people to attend I would make $100 minus the bandcamp fee 15% so $85 a concert.

$20,000 / $85 = 235.3 concerts! to BREAK EVEN. I.e. not make a dime in profit.

At one concert a month 235 concerts would take me 19.6 years. By then I'll be in the next world! lol.

Bandcamp doesn't recommend frequent streaming because it's harder to pull larger audiences if they see you stream all the time. That is why I stated one concert a month.

So F*Ck streaming covers.

If I perform live it will be in venues that pay the sync cover costs, end of story.

The real question is how do companies like Easy Song stay in business which such marketing ploys?
 
From Twitch terms of service, mentioning when you need a license:

  • Cover Song Performance – Performance of a song owned by someone else, with the exception of a live performance in your Twitch stream. If you do perform a cover song in a live Twitch stream, please make a good faith effort to perform the song as written by the songwriter(s), and create all audio elements yourself, without incorporating instrumental tracks, music recordings, or any other recorded elements owned by others.
As long as you aren’t using copyrighted recordings as you play, you can perform any song if you’re playing it on an instrument live.
 
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