Advice needed: Using a click track live (without a backing track??)

TVBBass · #1 09-06-2007, 07:15 AM

Hey people,
Just looking for any knowledge on using click tracks on a live stage. Here's the situation.
My click track experience:
I spent a year an a "gap year" in a band which play chart and pop music,we used a mini disk player with a backing track and the drummer had a click to keep us all in time with the backing track. I've also used them during recording (obviously) to keep in time with the track. So I have reasonable experience of using them but always as a tool to stay in time with the backing track/recording.
The current situation:
I play bass in a church band (big church , for the UK) its a 1 year old purpose built 2,000 seater auditorium its great to play in with quality gear, we all use in ear monitoring on the big stage...usualy about 9 musicians and 5 singers. Our drummer is an awesome drummer, he is serisouly good for some one who drumms only at church, however the old joke is true (how do you know if a drummer is at the door? the knocks get faster) So the powers at be have decided to try to add a click track in order to keep things a bit tighter and to stop some of the irratic speed changes which happen every now and again.

Any thougths on this?
1. Is it a common technique to use? I've never heard of using clicks for generic live work unless its for a backing track but I guess if its the only way to get your drummer in time?
2. Should all musicians have the click (have any of you bassists ever had a click in your ears for live work)
3.And the main question is what technology to use, My experience of using it was in a band with a 25 song set list so it was just a seperate click for each track which the drummer started from a minidisk player next to him, but at church we have hundreds of songs (most do have a tempo mark thankfully!) so is it just a metronome??? is it the drummer who controls it,
4.Church music often has to have seamless links between songs...how does this work if a new beat has to be set up...its not like a mini disk play where you just hit track 5 and go?? a slick..surely going straight into another song at adifferent tempo is near impossible unless teh click is sounding at the new spend at the end of the 1st song.

Sorry this is so long, unfortunatly as the only one who has used clicks before they're all looking to me?
Cheers

bluestarbass · #2 09-06-2007, 07:39 AM

I think the easiest thing would be to get a metronome with an output. I think the boss dr. beat has this feature. Then just let the drummer, or soundman, control the BPM's of each song. Ive played with a click track live. I think drummers always think its a shot at them, and it is, but you do whatever will make you sound most professional. I wish I could play with a click track all the time. The drummer im playing with now acts like im trying to get him to solve world hunger when I ask him to play with a click.

mjolnir · #3 09-06-2007, 07:49 AM

+1 on the Dr. Beat. Those suckers have 1/4" output, multiple presets, and on the fly tempo changes.

They can also be set to play a synth voice track if yer into that kind of thing... Sounds like the devil on crack, but hey, whatever floats yer boat...

TVBBass · #4 09-06-2007, 08:10 AM

Cheers guys I'll have a look at that...anyone out that had any other experience of this???
I think you are right bluestarbass, ultimatly if its the only way to have a consistant tempo in teh song then its the only way.

Vandelay · #5 09-06-2007, 08:11 AM

Another +1 for the Boss Dr. Beat, I bought the DB-60 model for use by our drummer. I also bought earphones that have those wrap-around-the-ear clips, since the ear buds tended to fall out sometimes. One nice thing about the DB-60 is that you can store 8 presets on it, so when we need to make a quick transition from one song to the next, he just has to hit the "Memory" button one time and it will jump to the next preset. (No need to hit the tempo up/down buttons a bunch of times).

He's a good guy and he didn't mind using it, he understands that we want to sound as professional and tight as possible. (We compete in band competitions where the judges are pro musicians, so consistent tempo is important).

iamlowsound · #6 09-06-2007, 10:13 AM

I don't have any experience with this, but I know the band Family Force 5 uses one for live shows and they are extremely tight.

lowsound

Lazylion · #7 09-06-2007, 11:28 AM

My drummer uses a click live. He takes a line from the monitor board into a small powered mixer. He has a beat box (sorry I don't know the make or model) which also runs into his mixer. He can set the level of each in his headphones. Then we all play to him. It's been working well for the last 6+ years.