Moogs and Effects Pedals and Ableton, Oh My!
Previously I had a T.C.Electronics multi-effects unit attached to the Little Phatty for a bit of chorus and reverb or the occasional delay, but it’s a second hand unit and it’s outbound signal is dirty, so it’s not anything I would want to take to a show and put through a PA. Plus it is a rack unit,and the foot-pedal bass effects just work so much better for me. I’m pretty excited to integrate it into my current set up for my next show with Shot in the Dark which happens on Friday, December 20th.
This will be the first show we’ve had where we can turn up. Our maiden voyage, when we weren’t yet a band, happened in the front room of El Rio in San Francisco and we were a little unprepared when it came to understanding how our live sound needed to be handled. Then we played at Wild Side West and understood we needed keep it down. Finally we’ll be able to crank up the bass and drum machine and guitar and play the way we (mostly) play in rehearsals.
This will also be my first time out running Ableton as part of the performance. I feel I use about 5 percent of Ableton’s capabilities, so I’m a little self conscious about getting on stage with a laptop and the Akai controller. However, I’m also playing keys and singing so it’s not like I have an additional 2 hands to tweak the Ableton tracks on the fly. Ableton is replacing my Roland SP-555 sampler which I had in my set up for a few years. I felt really sure of the sampler. It’s been a bit of learning curve, getting the feel of the controller down, and then I’m left with the question – what constitutes live performance? If I’m triggering the samples on the fly, but I have a chance of screwing it up, wouldn’t it be better to just sequence everything? And if I’m just sequencing everything, then what is my added value on stage? Before I go spiraling out of control on these questions, I’ve promised myself to just keep everything as it is right now and worry about making changes after the December show . . . except for adding in the bass effects pedal; and re-recording a keyboard track for the Ableton tracks; and replacing the high hat part on one of the songs; and re-editing the ending on another song. But after that, I’m on lock-down, practice mode only. Really. I mean it.
Post script on the War Horse entry – I actually ended up talking about watching War Horse to my therapist. Isn’t that weird? Also, that wasn’t even rock bottom. I’ve discovered Suburban Shootout. I need to get out more!
