How much backing track is too much?

[Paul S]

I was in a Bon Jovi tribute band for a period and, for some shows, we used back projections that were relevant to the music so, for some songs, used a click track.  Also, for some songs, we used backing tracks that added a layer of BVs or maybe the odd sound effect or extra guitar - just to beef it up a bit.  So, again, used a click track.  Some songs we just played bareback.  IMO it made us a better band, putting on a more polished show.  But I wouldn't dream of doing it at the Dog and Duck with my blues rock trio.  I think it entirely depends upon the type of music you play and where you are playing it.

 

@diskwave how old are you?  I'm curious as you are always harping back to how much better music was in the old days but I suspect I am actually older than you yet don't share your views.

[Dood]

17 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

Youtuber slapping in particular, the sort where you just hear the clatter of strings on frets sounds like a filing cabinet falling down a fire escape 

 

Or as I like to describe it, building a shed with a drumkit. 

[Terry M.]

54 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

Youtuber slapping in particular, the sort where you just hear the clatter of strings on frets sounds like a filing cabinet falling down a fire escape 

PC/laptop speakers will always make it sound like that 😂

[Dood]

7 minutes ago, Terry M. said:

PC/laptop speakers will always make it sound like that 😂

 

At the risk of derailing the thread too much, that is my absolute pet peeve.

 

"But I can't hear the bass in your review videos!" 

"Sorry to hear that, what are you listening on?"

"My phone..."

"Right.."

"But its a good one though!"

 

No, no it isn't. 

 

 

 

Edited Monday at 12:44 by Dood

[Dood]

My other pet peeve is auto-correct.

[Dad3353]

2 minutes ago, Dood said:

 

At the risk of derailing the thread too much, that is my absolute pet peeve.

 

"But I can't hear the bass in your review videos!" 

"Sorry to hear that, what are you listening on?"

"My phone..."

"Right.."

"But its a good one though!"

 

No, no it isn't. 

 

My other pet peeve is apostrophes. 

 

...

 

 

[fretmeister]

I'm generally not a fan, but if a band has 1 or 2 tunes that needs a cello or a 6 man horn section it's just not going to be practical to pay those additional temporary guys for 7 minutes work - and getting amateurs for fun won't happen for 7 minutes either.

 

So for me, it's all about context.

 

I saw Devin Townsend once and his main Macbook crashed and had to be restarted. He told everyone that was happening and that the lappie basically contained a complete orchestra as well as the lighting rig sequence. The venue wasn't big enough to fit an entire orchestra even without an audience so no problem there.

 

Queen used to have large choirs in backing tracks too for the odd song... but then when they needed Piano while Fred was running about Spike would come out and play piano instead.

[ordep]

I have no problem with it if it is essential to the music. 

 

My four piece band once played a cover of Coolio's Gangstas Paradise for a show. I am in charge of triggering the Choir sample for every chorus. No way the other 3 can pull that part live and sound like a full georgian church choir while the other one raps. 

[SteveXFR]

4 hours ago, Terry M. said:

PC/laptop speakers will always make it sound like that 😂

 

Even with decent headphones, some of them are just clatter without notes. Very much like Fieldy from Korn

[Terry M.]

41 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

Even with decent headphones, some of them are just clatter without notes. Very much like Fieldy from Korn

I would say that's the more percussive end of the slap bass continuum that followed Larry Graham's example. I'm not an expert on the topic but he seemed to thump and pluck actual notes and less muted hits. 

[tauzero]

5 hours ago, Dood said:

My other pet peeve is auto-correct.

 

My pet piamh is Irish names.

[Elfrasho]

I don't mind them. I dep in a few wedding bands who run them and my own band use them.

I see them as an extra bit of sheen to the whole sound.. bit of keys or synth for bands that don't have a keys player and maybe a bit of bvs . Also great for a shaker or something.

 

If the tracks start to have solos or they have parts that the players on stage should be playing, the line has been crossed! 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I'm not a fan of backing tracks or bands that use them. It can turn something advertised as a gig into something more akin to karaoke.

[diskwave]

21 hours ago, Paul S said:

how old are you?  I'm curious as you are always harping back to how much better music was in the old days but I suspect I am actually older than you yet don't share your views.

There are only so many people who have great writing talent when it comes to music. Back then if a seasoned old producer who new a good tune, didnt like your offerings you were toast... Been there, got the T shirt.. twice from memory. Now we have everyone plus the hens and the chickens...  "writing music"?  

 

At the risk of repeating this age old boring statement. As an extreme eg...  "Agadoo" is a superb silly billy party tune. No one today gets anything even near to that example. In other words even the daftest tunes to be good have be well written.

 

And lastly. Everywhere I look advertising people are using old pop tunes to sell product to young people. Why?

 

 

 

 

[BigRedX]

@diskwave You neatly side-stepped the age question. I'm probably only a year or two younger than you but I have yet to turn into my dad.

 

"Young people" like all sorts of music, although IME quite a few of them don't realise that the tunes in the ads are old. In a way I am glad that lots of music is not longer bound by age, as it means the gigs I play aren't all populated by 50 and 60 year olds trying to relive their youth. There's 30 years age difference between the oldest (me) and youngest in my band, but we all have similar broad-ranging tastes in music which is why the band works. Later this month we'll be doing a gig with a great new post-punk/goth band who look like they are in their early 20s and may actually be younger than that.

[TimR]

14 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

You neatly side-stepped the age question. I'm probably only a year or two younger than you but I have yet to turn into my dad.

 

It is a bit rose tinted.

 

There was a lot of absolute rubbish in the 80s. I endured it. The 90s and 00s wasn't much better. But with the huge amounts of material, some good tunes do come through. 

 

It's a good point about not having producers giving music a sense check. Everyone should have a second pair of ears listen to their music for criticism. Saves a lot of playing gigs and wondering why no one is coming to see your band - and thinking it's your social media at fault. 🤣

[Boodang]

One second of backing track is too much for me. Live is live. I'd rather it sounded raw than turn into band karaoke! 

[Leonard Smalls]

Our last gig with Weeds was put into serious doubt when our singer was too skint to fly from his home in Ireland to do the gig.

As we use a backing sequence anyway (why have a keyboard player just to press "go" on a sequencer?) we quickly recorded the rest of us and sent him an MP3 (this is how we record anyway!).

So he sent us his vox.

Then at the last minute second guitar dropped out too. But as we had them both on multi track we went ahead anyway and stuck a couple of dummies on stage in their place.

And we went down very well indeed!

 

[TimR]

Did they use music stands?

[Leonard Smalls]

2 hours ago, TimR said:

Did they use music stands?

The dummies did... They also got roundly trashed, piñata style, towards the end of the gig 😆

[MichaelDean]

On 01/04/2025 at 10:30, diskwave said:

And lastly. Everywhere I look advertising people are using old pop tunes to sell product to young people. Why?

I think you might be overestimating the number of young people watching TV  in order to see the adverts. Over 50% of 16-24 year olds are barely watching any live TV *, so the adverts are aimed to an older demographic, with whom the songs will resonate.

*https://www.ofcom.org.uk/media-use-and-attitudes/media-habits-adults/gen-z-swerves-traditional-broadcast-tv-as-less-than-half-tune-in-weekly/

[PaulWarning]

37 minutes ago, MichaelDean said:

I think you might be overestimating the number of young people watching TV  in order to see the adverts. Over 50% of 16-24 year olds are barely watching any live TV *, so the adverts are aimed to an older demographic, with whom the songs will resonate.

*https://www.ofcom.org.uk/media-use-and-attitudes/media-habits-adults/gen-z-swerves-traditional-broadcast-tv-as-less-than-half-tune-in-weekly/

not good news for the BBC at all, bit of a contradiction, TV audience falling but commercial radio rising, I'd have thought Gen Z would be using Spotify etc, but then, what do I know? 

[EssexBuccaneer]

We use some backing for synths/samples etc. For some songs it’s essential - born in the USA is an example. We’re have one guitarist, one bass, one drummer, and a singest.

 

Don’t like the things we do? You’re free to leave the pub 😊

[TimR]

1 hour ago, EssexBuccaneer said:

We use some backing for synths/samples etc. For some songs it’s essential - born in the USA is an example. We’re have one guitarist, one bass, one drummer, and a singest.

 

Don’t like the things we do? You’re free to leave the pub 😊

 

Booker T and the MGs had a great way of writing. They'd get into the studio and jam with the tape running. They'd record everything, the tunes would be very busy with lots of playing. At the end they'd listen back and strip everything back to bare bones and add back oy the bits that enhanced the tune.

 

Have a look on YouTube for acoustic  versions of Born in the USA. 

 

Often I will come across this with our guitarist "we don't have keys", "we are a rock band", "we only have one guitarist", "there's a brass/strings section."

 

Then I'll find a live version of the song with stripped down instrumentation. "That's great, let's do that version..." 

 

No, we do the original version everyone else knows, but we arrange the instruments to suit our band.

 

If it can be played on a piano or acoustic guitar it can be played by any band. 

 

 

Edited 10 hours ago by TimR

[Dood]

24 minutes ago, TimR said:

 

Booker T and the MGs had a great way of writing. They'd get into the studio and jam with the tape running. They'd record everything, the tunes would be very busy with lots of playing. At the end they'd listen back and strip everything back to bare bones and add back oy the bits that enhanced the tune.

 

Have a look on YouTube for acoustic  versions of Born in the USA. 

 

Often I will come across this with our guitarist "we don't have keys", "we are a rock band", "we only have one guitarist", "there's a brass/strings section."

 

Then I'll find a live version of the song with stripped down instrumentation. "That's great, let's do that version..." 

 

No, we do the original version everyone else knows, but we arrange the instruments to suit our band.

 

If it can be played on a piano or acoustic guitar it can be played by any band. 

 

 

I do enjoy the challenge of making songs work without the full compliment of instruments on stage. I play (on bass) the keyboard parts and bass line for songs like Summer Of 69 (yeah, yeah, I know lol) when we’re just a 3 piece. 
 

In another band, on the subject of Mssr Adams, in a moment of pure show boating, in Run To You, my singer would lean over my shoulder to play the bass line on my bass whilst I played the harmony to the guitar solo up the dusty end. Guitarist would huddle up to for maximum on stage cheese . Sounded great and was fun to do.