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Best choice for BIAB tracks playback at a gig..
as far as ease of use and quality of sound....
laptop or tablet?
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Best choice for BIAB tracks playback at a gig..
as far as ease of use and quality of sound....
laptop or tablet?
Wait. I need to get some popcorn. 
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Question is not really clear, what do you want to do?
If your talking about rendered tracks then any mp3 player - heck your phone can do it.
If you talking about using BIAB live, a laptop (but my MS Surface 3 is both a laptop and a tablet and runs BIAB fine).
And in terms of quality of sound - that is dependent more on the PA than the audio device you use to play the tracks. Unless you are using midi in which case the sound quality comes from the midi synth.
I knew I should not have tried to answer this question...
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Journeyman
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I use 13" MacBook laptop. Song list folder is set up ahead of time and played in jukebox mode so songs load automatically. I shrink BIAB to the right 3/4 of the screen and have lyrics, which are in a separate folder, stacked in order on the left 1/4 of the screen.
Jazzmandan is correct as to sound.
I have a choice of 3 PA options to select from depending upon the size room/audience.
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Thought I was clear on my needs...
I play piano live, and use the BIAB tracks for bass, drums, & Guitar.
I'm using a BOSE L1 1S with B1 bass and Tone Match..
I've been using CDs/DVD player, but need to update the technology.
Have an old iPod, but the screen is too small and the scroll wheel is too touchy...
A MacBook is way out of my budget - thinking more like $200 or so...
Would using BIAB via a laptop at a gig provide a better quality track than a rendered WAV file?
Thanks... and what's with the 'popcorn' response??
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Thanks... and what's with the 'popcorn' response?? He thought it might turn into a lively debate.
 Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
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Would using BIAB via a laptop at a gig provide a better quality track than a rendered WAV file? Can't imagine how in the world that could be true. The sound would not be any different. However, if a singer stepped up and wanted a different key your rendered wav would be of no value. Or if a real drummer wanted to sit in, only having BIAB playing live would you be able to mute the drums for him. Or if a guitar player wanted to step up, with BIAB live you could mute the guitar track and he could read the chart.
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“Would using BIAB via a laptop at a gig provide a better quality track than a rendered WAV file?” As the Jazzman said, there would be no difference. Laptops are very cheap these days, although you would have to stretch your $200 limit to get one. With what you have invested in the Bose system, I wouldn't skimp on the playback device. We use a laptop with a little free program – “Digital Fake Book”, which allows you to create set lists and start/stop/advance songs with one keystroke. It also lets you enter the lyrics/cues for each song. http://mike-warren.net/dfbhelp/ I would avoid using the 1/8” output from the laptop, and instead, get one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Peavey-USBP-USB-Audio-Interface/dp/B004A4PSEU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424697083&sr=8-1&keywords=peavey+usb-p It makes a big difference. Hope this helps a bit. Regards, Bob
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If I was intending to play live gigs, I would export all the songs (backing tracks) for my set list into folders as wave files. I would then use one or another music player in the laptop or tablet to play the songs.
I would not use BB or RB as the player and attempt to play the tracks from within either. I've seen it done and it works OK.... but when gigging live, I always keep in mind "Murphy's Law" and proceed accordingly. Nothing like a crash in the middle of a song or a set to make your night.
It would be a convenience thing and for simplicity. Just create a set list (or lists) in your player and let it handle the playback.
Whether it's a lappy or a tablet, if it's playing waves, there's no difference in the quality. You do not want to use MP3's no matter what player you choose. There is a possibility that with a nice sound system, there will be a noticeable degrading of the quality to one degree or another. Some time back I played guitar once a month at a prison ministry with my church and I used my mp3 player with some BB/RB backing tracks....and the sound quality was not nearly as good as I would have liked. So stick with waves if at all possible.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 02/23/15 02:54 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Mmmmmmmmm............. popcorn.
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you mention that the screen is a bit small on the MP3 player... do you mention that because it makes it hard to pick the next song? Picking the song isn't a problem if you use play lists. You can set up most MP3 players to play a list of songs in whatever order you want, so you never have to physically "pick" the song
If you just want the backing tracks, and you can live with a static set list, then an MP3 player is a very low cost replacement for your CD player. You could easily have a backup MP3 player in your pocket.
If you are accustomed to hearing your backing trax played from CD, then you are used to hearing WAVs. I'm not sure if all MP3 players can also play WAVs, but if you compare a WAV and an MP3, and find that you prefer the WAV, then you'd obviously want to get a device that can play WAVs
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Obviously if you want your playback device to do more than just play backing tracks (for example, provide sheet music or lyrics) then your best bet is a PC or tablet.
The advantage of a PC is that they are often less expensive than tablets, and there's an abundance of music software and playback apps available for notebooks. (like the one Bob named. )
Tablets are more compact, and you can buy brackets that attach to a mic stand to put all that functionality at your fingertips. Its a more compact system because you don't need a keyboard or mouse. There are now interfaces for tablets so you can get high quality sound and not have to rely on headphone jack output. Apps may be limited compared to PC, but I'm sure there are still enough to provide quite a bit of choice.
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Thanks for the replies...
I converted all MP3s to WAVs a while ago - I did notice a slight improvement in quality, but even coming thru the BOSE, they just don't sound clear and sharp - rather muddy actually... so is this due to using the 1/8" headphone jack out of the iPOD?
I know nothing about audio interfaces, other than everyone saying they radically improve the quality.. but they are strictly a USB connection (laptop), right? So I couldn't use one with a tablet?
And from what I'm reading above, the quality of the playback device WILL make a difference in the quality of the sound of the WAV files... so a $300 laptop would give me a 'better' sounding WAV file than a $99 tablet?
Appreciate all your input...
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Converting MP3's to WAV's isn't going to improve the quality of the audio, since the quality was already reduced when converting to MP3 in the first place. You would have to render each of your files directly to WAV from your to get the best quality sound.
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What I meant was I went back into BIAB and rendered all my songs as WAV files - tedious task, but everything I read indicated it was worth the effort. Again, can't say that I hear a BIG difference when I play the MP3 and then the WAV - but that may be due to my using the headphone output? The tracks do sound a LOT better thru the BOSE than my previous JBL Eons..
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