since some of you guys have performed live with your bands/projects, i thought i’d ask here.
i’ve basically got a laptop with Reason which is use to create the songs but sequence through Adobe Audition.
i just want to do vocals live, with the laptop running the music, what extra cables/leads do i need to hook up the laptop to PA system?
You should consider getting an external soundcard, preferably one intended for professional use. You will get significantly better sound quality this way.
I recommend M-Audio. Their desktop card has worked great for my recordings (Delta 66), they probably have something for laptops too.
The M-Audio Firewire 410 I use at work is a lemon.
I don’t really know what a good alternative is, but I’d steer clear of that model.
That sounds like a really boring performance. No offense. Never been into the one man show thing. Why not form a group, even if it’s just 2 people, so that there is some live instrumentation?
That sounds like a really boring performance. No offense. Never been into the one man show thing. Why not form a group, even if it’s just 2 people, so that there is some live instrumentation?
have you gone to any up and coming “industrial/electronic” band shows? tends to be along the lines of a guy and a laptop or 2 and a keyboard/guitar.
I’ve used m-audio for live stuff when I’ve got a laptop along.
I’ve seen some pretty good one man shows. Who cares if there’s a laptop/a lot of backing tracks, etc…as long as there’s a good performance. See Former Ghosts.
Maybe I’m just defensive, since I’m a one man noise act. Hrm…[:)]
Wish I could help with the original question, but I don’t use any of that stuff.
you can plug your laptop straight into the desk/PA via its line out if it has one (headphone out is not so good!). I’ve done this before, it’s not necessarily the best solution, but it works well enough. you will need an adaptor as the output will only be a 3.5mm stereo jack, and the desk will (probably) only support 1/4" jacks and XLRs. And that’s another thing - stereo or mono? Stereo isn’t generally used for live, but if you do want to have a stereo backing track your adaptor will have to split the signal to two mono lines (unless the desk has a stereo line in). and yeah, an External soundcard would be better, as already stated, but the more gear you have the more there is that can go wrong. the plus side with an external soundcard is that you get a cleaner signal (i.e. better sound quality), and have better connections making it easier to hook up to a desk/PA. I should also point out that if you do connect your laptop lineout directly to a desk then the adaptor will be quite bulky and vulnerable to being knocked, interrupting the signal. you have to be careful! soundcard wise, m-audio are good, as are focusrite, MOTU and E-MU. Avoid Creative like the plague. Digidesign Mbox2 Pro (and upwards as they have better AD convertors) is a good card, but you’d probably need to be running pro tools to get the best out of it.
If you’re gonna do one or two guys and a laptop, it’s imperative the audience has something cool to look at, imo.