Enhancement Suggestion - Audio Files

[revola]

I play in several bands with different instrument configurations.  I create backing tracks that are uploaded as MP3 audio and triggered to play when I start a song.  Problem is that a single backing track does not work.  Depending on whether I am doing a solo gig, or playing in band A (which might need drum and bass), or band B (which might just need guitar), I create multiple backing tracks and upload them all.  Then when I have a gig, I have to go in and reorder the backing tracks for each song so that the appropriate backing track is triggered.  A lot of work.  It would be cool if I could associate a backing track (audio file) with a project.  Then, although all 3 backing tracks are stored, the project specific backing track would be the one that gets triggered.  Any chance that this would be possible?  Thanks.

[Tasten-Bert]

Hi revola,

if I got it right it feels as if you're running all your individual projects within the same Bandhelper or Set List Maker database, probably with a particular song in one entry only. Is it so? Two options:

Create individual databases for each project/band configuration. Songs can easily be copied from one to another, keeping all the settings and enclosures. Now you only need to replace the audio file with the respective other one. This is how I handle my different covers bands with sometimes the same songs.

Or, if one database only is a must for you, copy the song, add something like ,,small band" to its name and replace the audio file. To me, this wouldn't be my choice as it makes the songlist a bit crowdy.

Good luck and cheers from Germany

[Ahiru]

You may also want to investigate Smart Copies of songs, wherein the main song has backing tracks appropriate for band A, and a Smart Copy B has a backing track for band B, another Smart Copy C for band C, etc.  (In this use case the Smart Copies inherit all the data from the main song (including future edits) except for the different backing track, making them easy to maintain.)

Create master 'picker' set lists of only the main songs, another with only Smart Copies for band B, another with only Smart Copies for band C, and so forth. 

When creating a gig set list for a given band and when selecting songs, restrict your choices to the appropriate 'picker' set list (using the 'Add songs from:' option at the bottom of the pick list if using the web app).

(We use this method to manage alternative backing tracks that are gig-dependent)

[arlo]

If you have the same kinds of backing tracks attached to each song in the same order, you can change Settings > General Settings > Default > Recording from one gig to the next. This gives the same result as reordering the recordings -- it makes recording 2 or 3 or whatever the default instead of recording 1 -- but is much easier.

If there's a case where projects 1 and 2 use the same backing track, you could attach it twice to maintain a consistent structure of attached recordings across all the songs.