One example of an artist that uses this technology would be She Makes War. She's a solo performer, who uses a range of pedals and effects while performing to recreate her songs live.
(the range of pedals that Laura Kidd, aka She Makes War, uses while performing live. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/galleries/p01kqjw4)
Her songs involve a selection of different instruments, for example electric guitar, ukelele and small drums. She uses a loop pedal to record these instruments separately when performing live, which gives the effect of having a band playing. She also uses the loop pedal to record backing vocals and harmonies to her live performance, which makes it sound like you're listening to a recorded song, instead of a live one. This is brilliant, I think, as without this software she wouldn't be able to recreate her songs live without a full band.
There are a wide range of different guitar pedals available, too, for guitarists who use a lot of different tones when performing live. Using pedals means that you can change the effects and tones on guitars much faster, and while you're playing (as you don't need to use your hands to press them). This means that many musicians now have more freedom to create their music, as they don't have to worry about how they can recreate their sound live.
One guitarist who uses pedals live is Andrew Groves (Arcane Roots). This is his set up below.
(http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/article/5412-arcane-roots-tour-with-boss-pedals.html)
The first pedal (on the far left) is the Boss Tera Echo pedal. This pedal is used for creating more ambient effects on the guitar, by using the echo and ambient settings and allowing the user to toggle between them. This is useful, as many of Groves' guitar lines in his songs require a more ambient guitar tone, which wouldn't be attainable easily without this pedal.
The second pedal (second from the left) is the Boss Super Octave pedal. This pedal is used to achieve polyphonic effects on the guitar or bass, or for distortion. Again, he uses this effect a lot in his songs, so using this pedal means that he can achieve this effect easily in a live environment, which is far easier than having to use a backing track.
The third pedal (second from the right) is the Boss Adaptive Distortion pedal. He uses this pedal to achieve accurate distortion tones, and this pedal is specialised to give minimum noise when playing high up on the neck. As a guitarist, Groves often plays much higher guitar lines, so a pedal like this is better for a player like him. This type of technology makes his tone sound clearer of unwanted noise, which he wouldn't be able to achieve as effectively without this pedal.
The fourth pedal (on the far right) is simply a chromatic tuner, which makes it easier and faster for guitarists to tune up when on stage. This means that switching between tunings can be done very quickly, so that more time can be spent playing music instead of waiting around for the guitarist to tune up.
Without the technology these pedals offer, Groves wouldn't be able to play his music as close to the recorded versions of his songs as he does.
Technology has now also been developed that means that guitarists and bassists can now plug straight into a PA system for amplification. This means that they don't have to carry their own amplifiers to performances, which can be expensive and heavy to transport. This also makes setting up generally simpler and easier, and has become the main mode of amplification for many touring artists in recent years.
Recently, electronic drum kits have also been developed. These drum kits usually come with a control pad, which means that the volume and other factors of the drum kit can be altered. This may be a more ideal option for a home drum kit, as it's easier to keep it quiet (for the neighbours), but still be able to practise effectively. They are also generally more portable than regular drum kits, which is much better for touring musicians as, like amplifiers, drum kits are large and can be expensive or awkward to transport.
((example of an electric drum kit by Pearl, which has been made to look like a normal drum kit. http://pearldrum.com/products/kits/electronic-drumsets/epro-live/))
For artists and DJs that use a lot of samples and don't perform live with instruments, technology has been essential in their live performances. Dance artists can now turn up to venues with just their laptop and a mixing deck, and can be ready to perform. This means that it's much simpler for them to transport their things to venues, but also that it can be very detrimental if their equipment sudden stops working or is stolen
(artist Skrillex, with his equipment while performing http://stoneyroads.com/what-equipment-the-top-producers-use-to-deliver-their-music-live/)
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