Need Multi-Channel Standalone Player For Laptop

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

heylo,

here's my situation.

i play in a band that wants to use a 4 channel mix.
we play some songs with pre-recorded beats and instrumentation.

one mono mix for the drummer, one mono for the stage monitors
and one stereo mix for the house mix.

so i figure i can make a 4 channel mixes in wavelab.
though in what format should i use? i want just 1 file
for each song.

my idea was to bring a laptop and run outs from a pro audio
box. i know there's plenty out there with 4 channels out.

so anyways... what software is available that is dummy proof?

in the best of all worlds i'd like to set up a playlist.
have the program play a track and then cue/pause the next track.
then have the drummer either hit the spacebar or even better
stomp on a trigger of some sort to play the next selection in
the playlist.

we have access to both pc and mac laptops.

many thanx!!!!
b.p.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Hi B.P.

I have a thought about controlling the app. If the app you choose can
be controlled via MIDI then you can use a programmable foot controller
like the Behringer FCB1010 to send MIDI notes or program changes, and
that should work. Also, I haven't looked for one, but there might be a
small external keyboard-type controller device with Stop, Play, FF, REW
buttons. I know I saw some around in the late 90's but haven't looked
since. These were often configurable to send the keystrokes need to
start, stop, play, etc.

I'm going to be in a situation with very similar needs soon. Please
keep me posted on your experiences with Wavelab. I've looked at it a
little but know almost nothing about it. Also, if there are better
alternatives I'd like to find them. Like you, a playlist that can be
triggered would be ideal.

Good luck and, again, please keep me posted.

Dean

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

One more thought...

I just saw mention of an app named Mixere in another thread. From the
brief description it was not clear if playlists were an option or not,
but it might be of interest since it plays back multiple WAV files
simultaneously.

Dean

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On 3 Aug 2005 15:32:09 -0700, blipppy@yahoo.com wrote:

>what about all those cool Super Audio/ DVD-A discs
>out there. aren't people ripping them into their computers?

Nope.

Kal

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Hey B.P.,

The Windows Media file format is something I've read about, but never
actually tried. It sounds interesting, and the Windows Media Player
does do playlists, so it's a possibility. The player seems a bit crude,
but it should work. I did enough reading to find out that there exist
extended multi-channel WAV file formats, but I'm not sure which (if
any) apps support them. I should demo Wavelab and see what it does.

I am also going to check out Ableton Live as a playback app, though I
say that without knowing how appropriate it is for the task at hand.
While it doesn't support surround per se, I think one could set up a
stereo track to go to the mains, and use other outputs as needed. And
while it doesn't support playlists, one could just put all of the songs
for a set in one session. Again, I say that without actually trying it
to see if it's a reasonable way to do things. But Ableton promises to
have some nice features for live work - external triggering via MIDI,
etc.

As for other bands doing this - I know that one other band using extra
tracks live (which is quite common around here for bands that play
weddings and small clubs) is simply using stereo. There's a mono mix of
the extra tracks on one side and a click track on the other. Of course
the click track only gets sent to the drummer's headphones. They use a
minidisc player live. But I'm like you, it would be so much nicer to do
have the extra tracks in stereo.

I'm not sure how one would go about creating a DVD with mult-channel
audio, but that might be worth investigating. Again, please keep me
posted on what you learn.

Dean