How do you do backing tracks live on a budget?

[Jerry Fitzgerald]

Wondering what people use to perform live with backing tracks on a budget? (ableton, laptop, iPad, mixers, iOS, interfaces)

[Bart Elliott]

I would recommend that you do some searching on the forum here at the Drummer Cafe. I'm fairly certain that we've discussed this in the past.

In short, any of the items you mentioned can work; the specifics are up to you and your budget. I've done everything from computers/software, ADAT, DAT, CDs and iPods.

What you want to look for is something that not only will allow you to play stereo or multi-track mix, but that has a clean feed (send). Often times low-budget playback devices can be noisy... and you don't want that in the mix, so check for that.

If you are only using a stereo mix, you have a lot of options. If you need more control or have more than a stereo mix, such as a stereo mix plus a click-track, for example, you have narrowed down what you'll need to accomplish the task.

I would use what you have handy, as long as the sound is clean and high-quality.

If you have a more specific question, such as a particular configuration, etc., then we should definitely discuss that further.

Hope this helps.