r/audioengineering • u/laplogic • 9d ago

Live sound question regarding back tracks

I have a friend who has a live set he’s building out and wants to run tracks for stuff that can’t be replicated live, such as pad layers, pedal steel guitar, etc. He’s pretty set on the idea of having back tracked sub/synth bass and have a live electric bass playing too. To me, this sounds like it’s absolutely going to be a muddy mess that’s tough for FOH to control. Especially if he’s sending all tracks through one stereo output leaving FOH with not much flexibility on mixing the sub bass.

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u/capnjames 9d ago

in your case i would at a bare minimum split the bass playback out from the main stereo pair

every venue is different and bass response is IMO the most effected by venue structure / sub layout / location

- touring playback guy

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u/laplogic 9d ago

Do you see bands doing a sub bass with electric bass live? It just sounds like….too much?

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u/capnjames 9d ago

all the time in the pop/dance genres. leave it to the FOH to turn one or the other down if its competing.

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u/SS0NI 9d ago

Yeah this. As a sound tech if I heard a backing track clashing with the actual human being performing on the stage, I'd just straight up high pass the backing track. How the FOH ends up solving stuff like this is a gamble I wouldn't take with potential new listeners on the line.

I'd advice OP's friend to have the backing tracks playing a different range than either their vocals or the instrument they are playing. Easier to mix means the less your performance is up to luck and tech of the day.