Live click

Hi all,
I've been thinking about using a click for live playing and am not sure of the best way to do it. It's coincided with me thinking about using earplugs too as I'm sure I'm not doing my ears any good. I've tried earplugs before but do not like the disconnected feeling it gives - so I'm thinking of trying the kind that attentuate equally across the frequency range rather than just killing the top end.

So, how do you go about putting this all together? My worry is that a loud click will also do hearing damage, especially if using in ear headphones. At home I use big studio style closed headphones, and even with them I like to have the click fairly loud. The metronome I use (Tama Rhythmwatch) doesn't seem to have sounds that work well in that situation (IMHO anyway - too short and sharp).

So is the answer those molded in ear phones with a click with more clave like sounds maybe?

Thanks!

PS - what do you think of using a live click generally?

I would say that using a metronome live depends on the type of music you're playing. If you're playing free jazz or Grateful Dead type stuff, I wouldn't use a click live - tempo shifting is natural in improvisation based music. But if you're playing pop or some kind of electronic stuff, it's a different story. In these genres, a steady tempo is to be expected.

Sorry -- no recommendations for a metronome aside from the Tama RhythmWatch which is what I've been using for the past several years. I don't see a problem with it....

I used the trusty old Roland DB 90 and a pair of Shure in ear monitors for years live and it worked flawlessly.....

Yeah, I'd love to have a metronome with a more "wood" sound. My Boss DB30 is loud and does the job right, but sometimes I feel that that high pitched beep is going to ruin my hearing.

I use Sennheiser HD280Pro headphones and the click is easily heard.
(They're very ugly looking headphones though)

Cheers.

I highly recommend custom in-ear monitors not only for the great live monitoring but for the hearing protection. I use Westone ES2s. You don't have to have high volume levels and it really saves your hearing. Depending on how your band uses monitors, you can run the RhythmWatch through the monitors and only have it in the mixes for appropriate members (and to avoid it being heard by the audience). If you would be the only player with in-ears, then only you get the click.

I use the Tempo app on my iPhone and it works just fine. Sometimes I just use it as a visual reference with no volume to help me remember tempos during a set. Live application of click really does depend on the style, as Fishbones said. It can make a song feel very stiff and unnatural.

My Boss DB30 is loud and does the job right, but sometimes I feel that that high pitched beep is going to ruin my hearing.

Click to expand...

Aha - I'm in Japan for a few months and found one of these in a little drum shop in Tokyo two weeks ago. I've been over the moon with it - had never heard of them before. To get rid of the high pitched sound I've been putting it on offbeats which have a lower pitch and then hearing that as the downbeat. Since it's got a pitch setting on it I wonder if we can apply this to the actual click sound...


As for using a click live, I've been getting the click from Ableton Live with a Macbook (using an interface, since there are also audio outputs going to the sound desk from the computer) and then running the click through a little headphone amp to control the volume from the drums. Either Sennheiser HD 280 or HD 202 headphones, with earplugs underneath (if you're in the UK try going to the House of Hearing to ask about their earplugs - expensive, but they cut the sound evenly across different frequencies so there's no muffling)

Caroline

It's expensive, but you can get custom molded IEMs with an "ambient vent" option, which is just an additional hole in the mold through which a small amount of external noise can pass. Used them for years, and you can keep the volume way down, which is great for long gigs (not only a hearing saver, but a headache saver, too!).

While wearing any earplugs or IEMs, it's difficult to hear certain parts of the band sometimes. Mostly, though, it's tough to hear the bass drum. With a small mixer, you can mic the bass drum, or split the signal with a mic splitter, and route the bass drum mic signal, and the click, into the mixer, and then use the headphone output for your IEMs. Usually it's pretty easy to hear the bass and guitar amps on stage during a rock gig, but the vocals can get lost. No problem, though, if you want to hear vocals, just get a "send" from the FOH or monitor mixer, have the soundguy put the vocal mics (and whatever else you need) into the send, and connect it to your mixer. It helps to have a pocket full of various connectors to help make this happen (female and male XLR turnarounds, quarter inch<->XLR adapters, etc.). Crown Royal felt bottle covers work great as a carrying case!

Agreed on high-pitched clicks being annoying, too. Use an MPC-style click sound if you can, or have a friend make you some click tracks with Pro Tools (my favorite is the "Hollow Pluck" sound in the plug-in called TL Metro), or use the EQ on your small mixer to turn down the high end.

Caz said:

To get rid of the high pitched sound I've been putting it on offbeats which have a lower pitch and then hearing that as the downbeat. Since it's got a pitch setting on it I wonder if we can apply this to the actual click sound...

Click to expand...

Excellent idea!!!! I'm gonna try it as soon as I get home. The only "drawback" is that the lights won't match the sound, but I don't look at it while I play so it doesn't matter.

And about the pitch.. no, you can't change it. The pitch function is simply a digital pitch pipe, for tuning purposes.

Like brentcn said, if you know what setlist you'll be playing you can make clicktracks with a more friendly sound on some software like GuitarPro, or FLStudio or whatever and put it on an ipod.
The problem is that if you want as many tempos as a metronome offers you'll be a whole lotta time making clicktracks..

Cheers.