Brian

Lots of good ideas on this thread. Hopefully this will be useful too.

Here is what I use live if there is no house setup. BB to midi to GarageBand (Jammer, MultiTracker, etc. on PC) then to an mp3 player, I use an ipod. Always have a backup or be ready to unplug and wing it. I don't like setting up a lot of gear. It's singer/songwriter shows mostly. If I play solo the sound is run through my own Marshall AS50D which is plenty for small venues. The sound quality of the guitar/ipod/marshall is great. People really enjoy it. A lot depends on the work you do on the computer ahead of time and the sound testing you do in your home studio. Polish your tracks so you are not fussing with sound adjustments on stage unless ambient noise demands it.

Good prep ideas on this thread.

One thing I always do is explain to the audience that they are hearing me live on guitar and vocals with background accompaniment. Backing tracks are very rare and sometimes not allowed in some snobby songwriter venues. I tell them they are hearing my full demo song with the same arrangement used when sending it to Nashville. The audience loves it, some guitar players get their boxers in a bunch, other players come by and check out my rig.

Hope you have a great run this summer.

Dave G
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