Trying to use a loop pedal with a live drummer

[dllive]

Hi guys

Id play bass and a little guitar. I have a drummer that I jam with. What Id like to do is play some bass and get that looping, then jam guitar over the top of it.

Ive tried this before, but the drummer goes out of time with the bass.

Has anyone else tried this? Should the drummer get a click track or something so he keeps in time with the bass loop?

Thanks

 

[seamonkey]

If the drummer isn't going to follow the bass loop, then the drummer isn't going to follow a click track.

Ableton and probably other DAW have a sync to drummer feature, where the loops can follow the tempo of the drummer. It's actually cool for whole songs if you've recorded several loops and switch between them.

But it's not going to straighten major flubs out, like if the drummer is playing beat 2 on beat 1's spot. The drummer should just do a cymbal roll and listen to where to get back on beat.

 

[SoCal80s]

Make sure the drummer can hear the loop well, preferably over headphones, or at least his own wedge monitor. Start with a simple rhythmic pattern and then add the more "creative" stuff over that.

 

[Krisfield]

I went through a planning process for this type of gig, but it didn't work out for various reasons. We thought the Soundbrenner Pulse vibrating metronome would be the best solution. It has multi device sync for each musician and is controlled via an app on a smart-phone.

 

[singlemalt]

Could be your looper footwork. Are your loops really in time, or is there a tiny hiccup in the loop? Some loopers have beats built in, and will quantitize the little flaws out. If you use the internal beats, do you loops stay locked up or is there drift after a few bars?

Or maybe you aren’t playing with a drummer, just a fun guy who owns a kit. With a click running to keep you both honest, does he stay in time?

 

[dllive]

Thanks guys. TBH, we havnt fully tested the loop/drummer hting seriously. I took my loop pedal to a jam session and got the loop going and he kept going out of time. I didnt know whether it was my loop that I had messed up, or his drumming. I thought may be becuase he was finding it hard to hear the bass, which is understandable. Thats why I thought of having a click track.
I will try again next time and let you know how we get on.

 

[Cristo]

It can be hard to do even with a click track, because the click keeps perfect time, but when you start and stop the loop you might be ever so slightly off of the click. After it repeats several times, that distance between the loop and the click keeps growing and growing. Of course this is not an issue with the drummer, it's because neither a click nor a loop can adjust itself to follow the other.