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Tablet and app for live play

#21
Use an iPad2 and OnSong.. it's the best app I've come across.
It lets you you build setlists by dnd (drag-n-drop) songs onto a setlist, which can then be shared with other band members.
The BEST feature I like about it is the low-light mode.
It reverses the backlight/text.. so black background and white text.
There's nothing worse (for me) than watching a band - stage lights and all - and see members faces illuminated by the blueish-white screen glow from an Android tab/iPad on their mic stand.
I use it mostly for church where we often play songs on 5+ different keys depending on the worship leader..
For secular gigs.. I KNOW the music, and seldom need it... maybe at a wedding(?) perhaps!
 
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#22
Another bump for Onsong and I use it on an iPad 4.
I have a contraption to mount it on a mic stand and it's helped me to get rid of a milk crate full of alphabetized binders with charts.

The positives here are:
>Serious ease of use including the ability to set up a set list and simple swipe through it as you perform. Onsong sells an external foot pedal if you need to scroll or control the movement and of charts and if you were getting more involved with charts as a group you could daisy chain devices and control them from one foot pedal.

>For me the real advantage is that I play in and/or sub with a half dozen bands with different repertoires and I can keep all this stuff updated, organized and usable. One of the best things is if you format your charts using text files Onsong will enable you to change the key on the fly!

You can prep your charts and upload them to DropBox and then natively DL them to your device and you can share charts and set lists by emailing them wirelessly to others with the same software.

The negatives:
Expense: You need a viable tablet, the software, the mic mount and the laptop of PC to tie it all together.
I also use a case with a built in keyboard which makes editing charts a lot easier (for me) and that's yet another expense.

Difficult to back up - you have to be super careful not to drop, break or lose your tablet and I firmly believe they are built to be easily broken. They are in fact slippery devices....

I've been happily using this set up for more than 3 years with no issues other then the occasional, right before or during a gig need to update software which renders the system useless up and until you go through with the upgrade.... YMMV
 
#23
I use an iPad and the Setlists app. I love it. Perfect for not only lyrics but a whole variety of cues and reminders. Slide from song to song with one touch of a finger.

I used to have it on a mic stand holder, but I didn't like the look. Now I set it flat lower down toward my feet, or horizontal on the keyboard when I'm playing keys, so it's not as obvious from the audience.

Sometimes the display is hard to read during bright outdoor gigs, and I'm paranoid by nature, so I always bring my notes in hardcopy/binder form as well for backup.
 
#24
A vote for MobileSheets. I've used it for years. I create chord sheets, tab, whatever on my desktop and then wifi sync them over to an Android tablet (that way I always have a backup as the original is on the desktop). My tablet also has hdmi out so I can set up big screens to act as teleprompters for others on stage when needed.

Mounts on a mic stand and I use a usb footswitch to advance pages.

The only disadvantage (shared by all tablets) is that sunlight makes the screen difficult to see.
 
#25
Did my first practice with mine. (Setlist Helper). The footswitch would be helpful, but I doubt I'll be able to afford it anytime soon. I bought a mic stand holder, but it didn't fit. Wouldn't clamp onto the upper part. But I don't use it much. I did find one surprising use for it though. Had a couple neighbors in listening and they asked us to play a song. I told them they had to pick one in our setlist and handed them the tablet to look through. Obviously not something useful in a real gig scenario but it worked well for that night anyway. In general I find it fairly helpful though. For < $60 it seems to work well. I can't compare to other apps, but I like the thought put into Setlist Helper.
 
#27
iPad Air 2, MS Word, mounted on my mic stand. Everything set up in setlist order. Font color depends on which bass I'm using - red for 5-string tuned E-C, blue for 5-string tuned B-G. Been using it for three years, looks real pro, casts a dramatic light on my face while I'm playing, no forgotten lyrics, if I make a bass mistake it's MY fault.
 
#29
Blue Dragon said:
I told them they had to pick one in our setlist and handed them the tablet to look through. Obviously not something useful in a real gig scenario but it worked well for that night anyway.
Click to expand...
Au contraire. I don't remove it from the stand but invite people (especially attractive people) on stage to browse through the set list. Might not be for everyone but it suits our style and promotes audience involvement.
 
#34
Blue Dragon said:
The footswitch would be helpful, but I doubt I'll be able to afford it anytime soon.
Click to expand...
I'll tell you another little secret. My usb footswitch is a cannibalized mouse. I robbed the board (with usb cable attached) from a busted mouse and mounted it in a Radio Shack project box along with a 1/4" jack connected to the contacts on the left-click button. I use a tattoo machine footswitch which comes with a 1/4" plug that I bought for $10.
 
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#39
Since I last posted in this thread 5 1/2 years ago, I discovered SongSheet Pro for iPad. I converted all of my paper tab into the app. It can transpose keys, auto-scroll, and help set up set lists. It has an import feature so I can import songs from Ultimate Guitar Tab and other apps. I've encouraged fellow musicians to get it, and then I've shared my tab library (over 500 songs) with them.
 

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