Splitting your Click and Loops

Posted by Will in click tricks

One of the the first things everyone wants to know when using & creating loops is how to split the click and loop. Most people can create a loop on their own after spending some time toying around with it, but after that they want to know how to actually use the loop live with click and loop. If this is your situation then no worries, we will take a look at it today!

We’ll look at two different loop setups and how you would split your loop & click when using those configurations. Let’s assume you’ll either be running your loops off of an iPod (or iTunes from your computer), or running them off of your laptop and out of a DAW like Live, Logic, etc. Let’s start with the iPod option.

Running Loops off an iPod

Before we get to the end goal of running our click and loop separate from our iPod on stage we’ve got to start back at the software. There’s a lot of great software you can use to create and edit loops but for the sake of time we won’t go into those here. Let’s assume you’ve got a software like Garageband and you’ve got a loop created and want to ultimately split your loop and click.

1. You won’t be able to use your Software’s click when you “render” your loop. You’ll need a recording of a click or you’ll need to create an instrument and “play” your click (i.e. a hi-hat on quarters or a simple shaker). If this is you I would suggest checking out our Foundations for Garageband which provides you with the flexibility of an external click but within your recording software.
2. Put your click in a separate track from the rest of your loop. You may want to “route” all your click to one track that will allow you to “submix” your loop and be able to control it’s volume with one fader. It will also come in handy for our next step.
3. Pan your click track to the left and the loop master track to the right. This way we only have click in the left and only have loop on the right. This will split our loop & click to different sides when we ultimately want to play it out of our iPod.

From there you can run out of your iPod into 2 direct boxes, one for click that will only be in your in-ears and one for the loop which will go to the mains & your in-ears. Then simply rinse & repeat as needed!

Running loops off your laptop

If you’re running loops off of your laptop and using some sort of DAW software then we’ll assume you are using the software’s built in click. If you want to use a separate click (like our Foundations for Live) then you can follow the above directions and adjust your routing for stereo/mono. If you are using your software’s click then lets look at two options for splitting the click & loops: running your loops in mono and running your loops in stereo.

Running loops in Mono

If you’re running loops in mono then your output configuration would be click on the left and loop on the right. Even though you’re sending 2 signals, your loop isn’t in stereo. If this is you then here’s the configuration…

1. You’ll want to route your software’s click to Out 1 which for us will equal left. It depends on your software on where the click track is and how exactly your routing options are named. If you’re using Live then route your “Cue Out” to 1.
2. We then need to route our “Master Out” or our Loops Master Track if you’re submixing the loop like we mentioned earlier to 2, which will equal right. If you’re working in Live this is what the finished configuration should look like for you.

Again.. Just rinse & repeat as necessary!

Running loops in Stereo

If you’re running your loops in stereo your output configuration would be click out of 1 and Loop running Left and Right. You’d need some sort of audio interface to send 3 outs from your laptop. When running loops in this fashion you can actually split your loop to separate outs and have your sound guy blend them at the board. I would only suggest doing this if you have a great sound guy and someone with a good ear to blend them well. If you’re in stereo here’s the configuration..

1. You’ll want to route your click out of 1 on your interface. In this case we won’t be thinking of 1 as left or right. It will simply be a mono sound source.
2. Route your Master Out or loops master out to 2 and 3 of your interface. In this case we will be treating these as Left and Right.
3. If you want split your loops further then send those out any open outputs on your interface and make sure to group similar sounds together as good as possible. I.E. Loops (L/R) Keys/Synths (L/R), and low kick (mono), any BGV’s (mono) etc.

Again remember the exact configuration on all this differs depending on your software and your interface (if you’re using one). If you’re looking for a good click sound then again I’d check out both our Foundations for Live and our Foundations for Garageband.

If you use Ableton Live check out this great post and video from fellow blog contributor and editor Jake Sumner. If you use Garageband then check out this video from a friend of our Kyle Campos on how to create your own click in Garageband. Good stuff!

Want to learn more about using a Click? Check out our Click Tricks articles for more tips! Are you new to using loops? Then check out our Transitioning your Band to Using Loops series.

Will Doggett is a certified Ableton Live Instructor, musician, worship leader and educator based out of FL. He currently works in the Worship Ministry at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale and teaches Ableton Live and Ensemble courses at Ocean's Edge School of Worship . You can reach him by Email and find him on Twitter @willdoggett. He's currently available for consultation and training for churches and musicians interesting in learning to integrate Live into their setups. Want more info? Shoot him an Email!

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