Best way to trigger backing tracks?

Supernoodle

Senior Member
I'm looking for a device for a drummer to start backing tracks for live performances, where not the entire song but a only few sections have a backing track (stereo mp3, one side being a click).

I.e. in certain places during the song I need to start these tracks on the right beat, maybe by hitting a pad or pressing a button, which should start the click track exactly on the beat.

What kind of gadgets are there these days to do that?
 
Roland spds-x.....exactly what it was designed for. Not cheap though!
 
Alesis Sample Pad 4. You can find them new online for less than $200. It has 4 pads and you can load your tracks (16 bit WAV files) on to an SD card and stick it in the slot provided.

Just be aware that when you switch from one programmed 'kit' to another, these samples may need more than 30 seconds to be ready to play. Some people have reported crosstalk issues, but so far, mine has been pretty reliable.

I suppose you get what you pay for but the Alesis 4 is the cheapest thing there is for triggering samples with a stick on the fly. For anything else apart from the 8 pad version (about $300), you're looking to spend around $400 more.
 
Roland spds-x.....exactly what it was designed for. Not cheap though!
One of the churches I've played drums for uses this. We had everything set up with Ableton sessions and I was the trigger man for everything - they'd do little pieces of gaff tape with labels for which pad would trigger what, and it was everything from starting/stopping songs, to triggering out of a loop - all kinds of stuff. It worked great, but it was expensive. I'm sure there are options out there that would do a similar thing and not cost so much. The Akai MPD218 is $99 and would probably do a similar thing.
 
Alesis if you want to go cheap, Roland if you want reliability.

Another option might be to look for previous SPDS models (SPDS and SPDS-S) used or NOS, you can probably find those cheaper than the new model.
 
I don't think you can load samples to the old Roland spds models.

You want the SPD-SX. I used one for several tears, triggering the tracks when it was time. It was a PITA and took away from my drumming, worrying about when to trigger. If it was once or twice, no big deal but it got to the point where I was triggering 10 parts. Now they all go on one track, even if it's a few measures in the middle of the song. It's much easier just to start the track and keep on tempo with the click.
 
I haven't run into to many situations that require a trigger/click to be fired off within a particular song. Typically the entire song has been mapped out on the click, and any backing tracks or samples are placed where they are needed ahead of time.
Most of the time I just have it mixed to a stereo mp3 and use an iPod, but if you really need to start a click/track in the middle of a song I would suggests getting the Yamaha DTXM12.
 
Thanks for your suggestions. I've looked into the sampling pads. They seem to have mono channels and only a few have enough memory to store longer wavs. The SPD-SX does it but is very expensive.

I tried a laptop with Audacity windows for the tracks, but there is a bit of delay from hitting the space bar to start. It's only a semi-pro band, so I'm reluctant to spend hundreds.

An mp3 player is only 30 Bob. Problem is a precise starting point for mp3 playback. Maybe this could be compensated by building an advance into the backing track (missing the first click...) Would still be fiddly to get to the next track, small buttons etc.
 
Hunt down a 2nd hand older spds model - the only real difference to the
spds-x is smaller memory and two less external trigger inputs. I'm not a Roland fanboy but this really is the best piece of kit for what you're trying to do imo.
 
An mp3 player is only 30 Bob. Problem is a precise starting point for mp3 playback. Maybe this could be compensated by building an advance into the backing track (missing the first click...) Would still be fiddly to get to the next track, small buttons etc.

Certainly an MP3 player, phone, tablet or computer would work but gigging with the tiny screen/buttons would be tough.

For a cheap/free experiment, just put the whole track on a device and send the click side the drummer. Put an 8 count intro and the drummer can count in the band on the second 4.
 
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