How To Use Backing Tracks (and where to find the best ones)

[@susanna5579]

I am so happy that I came across this amazing channel!!! Thank you so much for this really valuable content!

[@pro_muso]

Aww you are so welcome. Thankyou for saying so 😊

[@PhilipHawthorne]

Karaoke version now gives the individual tracks proper names, for example Roy_Orbison_California_Blue(Lead_vocal_Custom_Backing_Track).mp3 and Roy_Orbison_California_Blue(Click_Custom_Backing_Track).mp3. This saves a lot of hassle!

[@colincannings7946]

Hi, I've been looking for the track; Shutters and Boards, also the track; Do What You Do, Do Well, and there are others that I've never been able to find on Karaoke Version. However, I have used Karaoke Version, a number of times.

[@TheFendertak]

Hi Todd, I'm so happy right now to have found your page, this tutorial on backing tracks is epic, thanks so much well explained throughout, I have yet to view the vlx3, I too use karaoke version, but not in the way you mention, I just take out all vocals and transpose if needs be, your way I will definitely have to try, the daw I have is reaper up to date, also studio 1, but the player I use is the Merish plus, 11 years old now and also even older is the Okyweb 1, yeah I also use midi files, But let's be honest here midi is midi and no matter what you play them through it's always going to be a midi file, MP3 is the way to go for sure, I think I'm correct on what I'm saying? right now what got me to you is backing tracks players, I want to upgrade from the mlive merish plus and driven demented with not knowing what to go with next project going forward, I am a singer guitar player like yourself and also on stage now play keyboards, audya 5 and on top Korg m1, and for my lyrics I use songbook app, and as you said half the time I don't even look at it lol, but I know it's there if needed, if not well then if I get stuck, I pop in any words to fill the gap, sure half the time people are not even listening, but anyway I was contemplating going to merish 5 plus but that's let's be honest 2000 euro down the drain on a glorified midi player, then I came across B. Beat by M-live and they got back to me by email saying it has no sound engine and don't play midi but from what I hear plays mp3 flac and even stems, but also I came across a guy that has an app called songtraxx and he uses an ipad to play everything through, surely this cannot possibly sound that great, but your way yes it is time consuming but only needs to be done once, so now I'm really interested to see your video clips on the Vlx3 and how it would benifit me with sound and ease of use, I'm trying to get as close as I can to a live band, and really midi is certainly not going to give me this nor the player I'm using now the merish plus, You swear by the Vlx and band helper, I'm exactly in the same mindset as yourself Todd, I'm so sorry for rambling on here, I just want to paint a picture for you and for your other subscribers, thank you so so so much for passing your secrets on, because you and I know only too well most musicians would prefer to keep their secrets to themselves, you or I are not one of these people, and will always help someone if I can and advise, So finally what I have been looking onto so far in way of backing track players is the merish 5, also the B.beat and I have only heard of the idoro but really no solid enough information on these players yet apart from Italian, but Vlx 3 I will give utmost attention to next, after all your the expert here and have the full experience of it and the band helper all put together sounds promising, maybe the onestop shop here, no need looking any further, thanks again for sharing this... Regards Martin

[@pro_muso]

That’s awesome Martin. Thanks for your response. To answer your question I don’t think you need any kind of backing track player. Almost everything plays MP3s now so you can either use a laptop, and iPad or any kind of tablet. Obviously I use the VLX 3 extreme which imports MP3s or WAV files. But to buy a dedicated MP3 Player I think is a big waste of money. Given that you have a similar set up to me I am very confident you would be super happy with this unit. Let me know how you go :-)

[@tom_hengst]

Really thought through. Thank you.

[@pro_muso]

Thanks Lesko 👍

[@Paulalanartist]

Great job my friend! Thanks!

[@pro_muso]

You're welcome mate. Thanks.

[@justin.davies]

Brilliant Tod, thanks for sharing!!

[@pro_muso]

You're welcome Justin. Thanks for taking the time to comment. :-)

[@justin.davies]

@@pro_muso pleased to discover you are in Perth, looking forward to catching up at a gig sometime :)

[@pro_muso]

@@justin.davies Come say hello 👋

[@robbiehague8352]

So if you have a count-in for a song on the backing track, do you just allow that to play through the PA? It doesn't look like you're using in-ears to keep from the audience from hearing it. Just curious

[@pro_muso]

Yes I use an intro click track. Usually an egg shaker or something just loud enough to hear.

[@robbiehague8352]

@@pro_muso Ahhh, makes sense. Nobody would even notice something like a shaker. Thanks man and keep up the good work!

[@wallamlynch1783]

Try finding Lloyd Cole ..Lost Weekend;Can’t find it anywhere

[@bjarkenielsen8515]

Really helpful! Thanks

[@kenkohncke7929]

Great stuff, thanks Todd. After watching this I joined Karaoke version and downloaded a few tracks. However I found that I couldn't download the individual tracks as you showed you do. Maybe they don't allow that anymore? The other problem I encountered was that there was a long silence at the start of two tracks that I downloaded, so no idea when the instruments come in. This is due to only vocals and acoustic guitar intro and 1st verse. I need something for me to keep time to. Usually I have at least drums and bass all the way with the Band in a box tracks that I make myself. So I will try to put the downloaded track into a daw and add something. I like you are a vocalist and guitarist, only doing a few gigs though. But trying to improve every aspect of what I do. I have been using the TCH Play Acoustic, but just ordered the TCH Voicelive extreme 3. Looking forward to the automation. Cheers, Ken.

[@pro_muso]

Hey Ken. Glad it helps mate. Yes you can still download individual files. Whatever you have solo'd or muted in the interface will reflect in the download. The reason there is silence at the start of your tracks is that they are all set to the tempo and length of the song. For eg, if a guitar comes in halfway through the song, the first half will be silent. So when you find a DAW, they will all line up in the right place. You're going to love the VL3X I hope that helps. :-)

[@bobzadokblokjr]

I’m a bass player. Can I mute the bass track, only?

[@pro_muso]

Sure can 👍

[@bjarkenielsen8515]

Hi again. In this video you mention two-three potentiel videos on the VL3extreme. Particularly the video about setting up automation backing tracks in the VL3Extreme caught my interest. I cross my finger and hope for it to be uploaded here in 2021. EDITED---: I found two really good tutorials elsewhere. One on automation and one on amp modelling adjustments. So, I guess these video topics are already covered. --- END EDIT You mention the VL3extreme as "the best product" and it really has caught my interest, even before I came across your videos. However, my search on online forums indicate that the previous versions seem to have had issues with the screen, the memory card connection and small metal shavings from the buttons building up inside the box after extended use. Have you had any such trouble with this version, - VL3Extreme? How long time have you used it and have you had any other issues with it? One again, I much appreciate your videos

[@pro_muso]

Hey man. So sorry for the year long delay. I have only just revisited my channel. The point is likely moot for you now but I have only had issues with the memory card. What I do now is unscrew the bottom plate and just gaffa tape it up. That way if I ever have an issue at the gig, I just open it up, remove and clean the memory card and put it back in. Having said that I haven't had a problem in a long while and I use it 3 times per week on average. I actually have two of these units just in the event I run into a problem I cannot immediately fix. If nothing else it is peace of mind when you are doing an important gig to know you have a spare. I hope that helps Bjarke :-)

[@ruudjansen2412]

Great tutorial Pro Muse!... you give a lot of awsome tips and thanks for that!.. One question: the backing tracks from Karaoke version are all in mp3 (or also in wav format) ? I see that you convert them anyway later into mp3 but was curious to know if Karaoke version would come with wav files as well

[@pro_muso]

Ruud Jansen Yes I have wondered the some thing. And have searched for somewhere on the interface that allows a.wav download. But unfortunately I cannot find one.

[@pro_muso]

Ruud Jansen I will let you know if that changes. But I think in the interest of a smaller file size, they have stuck with MP3s.

[@ruudjansen2412]

@@pro_muso Hello Tod, how is life in Australia?, .....

[@pro_muso]

@@ruudjansen2412 Hey Ruud. Sorry for the long delay. Life is pretty good here. What city are you in?

[@ruudjansen3645]

@@pro_muso Hello Tod, whaaauw long time ago you have been active!...you're still in music?.. I live in the Netherlands near Rotterdam and the Hague and am producer/songwriter. I still have to thank you for your great video about the VL3. I followed your complete routine, have bandhelper and karaoke version now and have fully automated and synced bandhelper with my tablet and VL3. For gigs it works amazingly!.. so thanks for this and hopefully you're still in music!.:)

[@barryisroff7336]

4So when you download the individual tracks, does it charge you as if it was the whole song each time? (So $2.99 per track instead of $2.99 for the whole song?)

[@pro_muso]

No mate. Once you pay 2.99 you can download whatever individual tracks you want, an unlimited amount of times.

[@frankyvanbrabant8451]

I can't find the song One way by the levellers...

[@pro_muso]

Hey Franky. I can’t help you there mate. As many songs as they have, they won’t have everything. It’s probably out there online somewhere though. 👍

[@sendforacar9323]

I use this site. The bass always sounds wobbly when it's taken down in key.

[@pro_muso]

Yeah I agree. I actually use a pitch shifting software called Time Factory which is a little better. But it's expensive.

[@garyshumate1362]

Are you using a Mac?

[@pro_muso]

Yes

[@willcastano3529]

I was checking some tracks on that site and they still sound too amateurish to me, like a raw midi file with no edits at all.

[@pro_muso]

Really? I have over 70 tracks and they’re all live instruments and sound great. Maybe you got unlucky with what you were searching for. Don’t give up on it, there are some great backing tracks. 👍

[@pro_muso]

Can you tell me which tracks sucked? I’d be interested to know if they do use midi. Perhaps they were early tracks or something.

[@willcastano3529]

@@pro_muso I checked some depeche mode tracks (ie. strange love) and the beats, synths and bass sound like general midi, I use to get my backing tracks with addictive drums, ample bass and some synths with great presets that let me play, in a lot of cases, near to the original recording, the only thing thats sÛčkš always is me singing and playing my guitar/synth.

[@pro_muso]

@@willcastano3529 Sounds ok to me. It has a very high rating from other users with 77 votes. Maybe you have a particular taste. I guess at least with midi you can change the actual sounds you prefer.

[@UtimusProphetia]

I am glad KZbin has 2x speed feature, else I might have gone to sleep...

[@pro_muso]

Mep mep

[@buddhismful]

Main title : How to learn how difficult is to use backing tracks.

[@pro_muso]

Haha 😆 Yes it can be if you’re new to it.

[@vicorochavidal535]

no te he visto usar el voicelive 3 extreme en ninguno de tus videos, cuando subes algún video donde lo usar