MajorSeven
New member
I've joined a rock band again, this time as the keyboard player and sometimes guitarist.
My current rig in rehearsal consists of a Dell XPS laptop and a M-Audio 49 key MIDI keyboard hooked up via USB. I'm getting some good sounds out of the Reason Synths and have a few sequences I can run basically on autopilot.
However, I am running into a few questions and limitations on what I want to do.
First is tempo. Reason doesn't have a tap tempo and adjusting mid-song is impossible. I have a click going and my bandmates have no problem playing to it except when the rest of the music drowns out the click. If this is a problem in rehearsal I know it will be a problem live when the adrenaline is going - I've been there before and the tendency is to play 10bpm faster than usual. I've tried rewiring into Ableton and using that tap-tempo, but Reason wigs out and warps all over the place while you're tapping. Ableton also makes switching instruments a little more complicated.
Also with the click, how can I get that to come through the onstage monitors and not through the mains at the club?
Second is triggering samples and loops. I really like what Linkin Park does in playing samples and triggering loops live. With the tempo problem solved I can do the same with Dr. Rex or any of the samplers in reason. I'm thinking about getting a MPD24 or, better yet, an MPC1000 I can have on stage with me.
Last is an outboard audio interface. I'm getting a MOTU from one of my bandmates this week. Will this lighten the load on my CPU?
Any suggestions on what you've done or seen done?
My current rig in rehearsal consists of a Dell XPS laptop and a M-Audio 49 key MIDI keyboard hooked up via USB. I'm getting some good sounds out of the Reason Synths and have a few sequences I can run basically on autopilot.
However, I am running into a few questions and limitations on what I want to do.
First is tempo. Reason doesn't have a tap tempo and adjusting mid-song is impossible. I have a click going and my bandmates have no problem playing to it except when the rest of the music drowns out the click. If this is a problem in rehearsal I know it will be a problem live when the adrenaline is going - I've been there before and the tendency is to play 10bpm faster than usual. I've tried rewiring into Ableton and using that tap-tempo, but Reason wigs out and warps all over the place while you're tapping. Ableton also makes switching instruments a little more complicated.
Also with the click, how can I get that to come through the onstage monitors and not through the mains at the club?
Second is triggering samples and loops. I really like what Linkin Park does in playing samples and triggering loops live. With the tempo problem solved I can do the same with Dr. Rex or any of the samplers in reason. I'm thinking about getting a MPD24 or, better yet, an MPC1000 I can have on stage with me.
Last is an outboard audio interface. I'm getting a MOTU from one of my bandmates this week. Will this lighten the load on my CPU?
Any suggestions on what you've done or seen done?