Gigging with a loop sampler??

[JazzIsGood]

The plot thickens. The venue sent me a PDF of all the gig info, which includes this-

14.Are backing tracks allowed?No backing tracks, fillers, or other
electronic music is allowed during performances at VENUE.

Stay tuned for developments!

[Doublea A]

The plot thickens. The venue sent me a PDF of all the gig info, which includes this-

14.Are backing tracks allowed?No backing tracks, fillers, or other
electronic music is allowed during performances at VENUE.

Stay tuned for developments!

They always say that.
Keep it classy and no one will complain


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[ronjazz]

It's your creativity, so it's real jazz and real live music, and if you do it well, it becomes art, especially if you get into orchestrating and overdubbing. It's also utilized by some of the very best jazz guitarists, including Bill Frisell and others. It's worth a shot, I have been playing jazz for 50 years, and I really like using my loopers in live situations that are solo or duo. It's also, once you get good at it, giving the audience a little more to hang onto. It's really just another part of the technology, like your amp or electric guitar or effects.

[ronjazz]

Virtually all of my learning comes from performing live with others.
No way I would ever forgo that with a loop/sampler type approach.

You wouldn't have to forgo anything, it's just another learning experience. I play more often with a group than solo but I enjoy the solo gigs more with a looper, which I don't use on every tune, but on the ones I think will benefit. As a 7-string player, one can lay down a very nice groove and even play for dancers.

[ronjazz]

With a partner it's too much work, it's like playing with someone who doesn't know the tune.
It needs rehearsals and now I'm too old to mix rehearsal and teaching, talking instead of playing.
My partners are older so you can imagine that everyone has to be ready in order to avoid many things that distract from playing music.

I'm not sure I understand. If your partner plays the melody, why can't you record your accompaniment and then hit the loop button? If you do it right, it gives you a nice basis to solo when it's your turn. And if a horn player plays the melody and then solos, you have a couple of different choruses to play over, since you played two choruses of accompaniment, and as a jazz player, did things differently the second time. In my duo work, I'll play an intro, and hit the button when the singer or sax player comes in with the melody. Then I just have to hit the button again at the beginning of the next chorus, and if the horn player is soloing, I can add fills as overdubs. When it's my turn, I can just improvise on the form. It takes focus and a reasonable ability to keep reasonably steady time, which are real challenges that are mastered with practice.

[kris]

I'm not sure I understand. If your partner plays the melody, why can't you record your accompaniment and then hit the loop button? If you do it right, it gives you a nice basis to solo when it's your turn. And if a horn player plays the melody and then solos, you have a couple of different choruses to play over, since you played two choruses of accompaniment, and as a jazz player, did things differently the second time. In my duo work, I'll play an intro, and hit the button when the singer or sax player comes in with the melody. Then I just have to hit the button again at the beginning of the next chorus, and if the horn player is soloing, I can add fills as overdubs. When it's my turn, I can just improvise on the form. It takes focus and a reasonable ability to keep reasonably steady time, which are real challenges that are mastered with practice.

It's all about what partner you play with.You need to know him well and know what to expect.
If you're playing alone, no problem.I guess that's about it.

[Spook410]

The point is to provide your audience with good music. They will be fine with whatever you do as long as it sounds good.

Loopers are great but do require a bit of skill. Also given the lack of dynamics might want to keep to solos on the short side. IMHO every guitar player should know how to use one. For practice and composition if nothing else.

Pre-recorded loops are fine. You'll need some way to coordinate tempo and sync. Harder than you think when used as an insert.

Backing tracks, IMHO, are more effective than a looper. As long as you keep backing volume to a minimum and play over it. Something like iRealPro may work for you but choose your instruments with a bit of care. Doesn't sound as good as backing tracks but has a lot more flexibility (key, arrangement, versions).

Higher fidelity sound is necessary with any sort of backing. If you run it into a guitar amp it will sound pretty cheesy.

Finally, you're not limited to one thing. You can apply all of these techniques to your set.

[JazzIsGood]

Well after all that, they told me 3 days before the gig "we raised the budget and we want you to bring a 3rd musician" so I brought a bass player and it went great.

But I'm gonna do the LS thing if they bring me back as a duo.

[ronjazz]

The point is to provide your audience with good music. They will be fine with whatever you do as long as it sounds good.
Loopers are great but do require a bit of skill. Also given the lack of dynamics might want to keep to solos on the short side. IMHO every guitar player should know how to use one. For practice and composition if nothing else.
Pre-recorded loops are fine. You'll need some way to coordinate tempo and sync. Harder than you think when used as an insert.
Backing tracks, IMHO, are more effective than a looper. As long as you keep backing volume to a minimum and play over it. Something like iRealPro may work for you but choose your instruments with a bit of care. Doesn't sound as good as backing tracks but has a lot more flexibility (key, arrangement, versions).
Higher fidelity sound is necessary with any sort of backing. If you run it into a guitar amp it will sound pretty cheesy.
Finally, you're not limited to one thing. You can apply all of these techniques to your set.

Excellent. iRealPro is limited, but If I get something I like, say a good drum feel, I will dump it into Logic and record my own bass lines, along with whatever sweetening I prefer, whether it's acoustic rhythm guitar, percussion, string pads or ethnic sounds like steel drums. I do a lot of commercial work, my jazz influences are always there, but working at a high-end country club demands a polished product for both background/listening (solo guitar can be perfect in that situation) or dancing. I have a pair or Digitech JamMan Solo loopers, and can actually use them together with a 3-button footswitch, although I generally keep one as a backup. They take a memory card that will allow 99 tunes, and memory cards are cheap enough that you can create specific programs on each one and switch them out in 2 minutes. So I have a swing/oldies dance collection, a classic rock collection, a country card, a Latin/bossa card, and a holiday card, which all fit into a 2"x3" little container. I don't have a jazz card, because that really does want live music, even if it's just bass or second guitar. I do have an excellent quartet, and we work quite regularly, but the solo/looper thing enables me to be a full-time player without a day job, and I like playing for Senior facilities, which almost never have a big enough budget for even a duo. I have two of those this week, one hour each, and will earn the equivalent of teaching 10-year-olds Iron Maiden licks for 10 hours, and I will get to play Sinatra/Bennett tunes and some great Elvis-era oldies. So, there you go. And I go through a Bose Compact or S1, so the sound of the tracks is really quite good. I appreciate the purists, but I like to eat.

[Doublea A]

The point is to provide your audience with good music. They will be fine with whatever you do as long as it sounds good.

Loopers are great but do require a bit of skill. Also given the lack of dynamics might want to keep to solos on the short side. IMHO every guitar player should know how to use one. For practice and composition if nothing else.

Pre-recorded loops are fine. You'll need some way to coordinate tempo and sync. Harder than you think when used as an insert.

Backing tracks, IMHO, are more effective than a looper. As long as you keep backing volume to a minimum and play over it. Something like iRealPro may work for you but choose your instruments with a bit of care. Doesn't sound as good as backing tracks but has a lot more flexibility (key, arrangement, versions).

Higher fidelity sound is necessary with any sort of backing. If you run it into a guitar amp it will sound pretty cheesy.

Finally, you're not limited to one thing. You can apply all of these techniques to your set.

Good points. Well said


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