Dig My Rig--Let's see your setup!

[Michael Wright]

Cool !!

[Franz Schiller]

 

I have to cover a lot of sounds so this is the smallest setup I could go with. The old analogs got lots of love, and there was an awesome PA at the show where the Taurus pedals could breathe fire.

 

With the exception of the Taurus, everything is MIDI controlled. I programmed my trusty MIDIBoard with all the patch changes, effect settings, and volume levels for all the boards. One button and I am ready for the next song. Not shown are my racks which are offstage. The Polypedal was retrofitted to work with my MIDIBoard, which now functions as MIDI sweep and foot controls.

 

I'm in the process of retrofitting my Taurus 2 controller pedals with a MIDI interface. I have other sounds besides bass that I need to cover with my feet. A Moog Minitaur will be a worthy substitute for the Taurus pedals.

 

The Andromeda covers a lot of analog synths sounds like my Memorymoog and OBX. Alas, there are some sounds that only the OBX can pull off like "Tom Sawyer" and the filter sweep in "1984" (yes we are playing "Jump", hangs head in shame).

 

I'm exploiting the Mix feature on the Andromeda a lot with splits and layers. I'm pulling off some busy keyboard intros like "Final Countdown" with no sequencer, no backing tracks, just my hands and feet. The band hadn't heard me play the intro until the show and it blew them away.

 

This band is going to be a lot of fun.

 

Whoa! That Midiboard has got to be heavy! I respect your commitment to that axe.

[The Real MC]

Whoa! That Midiboard has got to be heavy! I respect your commitment to that axe.

 

Bought it new in 1989. I kept an eye out for a modern equivalent, but no one makes anything as powerful or with the nice action it has. So I said screw it, I'll pick up a used one for the road and leave one in the studio. It's my main workhorse in a MIDI system.

 

I always was cautious about my back and have never hurt it. Hard to believe that I'm 55 years old and still hauling piles of gear. And this is including the Anvil cases. Those things keep me in shape.

[Mighty Motif Max]

This is it....

 

 

 

My rig, that is.

 

So last year we moved four hours north. The new house had an accessory building back a ways from the house. It had heat, and stayed pretty cool during the summers. I was allowed 1/2 of the building for some of my music stuff, the other parts housing exercise equipment etc. A few pages back in the thread you will find a post that I made last year with my temporary setup. Here is what the building looked like before we bought the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward about seven-eight months. Replaced the wood stove with a new propane stove, bypassing the faulty in-floor heat (wouldnt shut off and thermostat was worthless, used a ton of electricity, was intermittent. You would go back in winter and find the temperature anywhere between 35 degrees Fahrenheit and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Worthless. Anyway, so we replaced the unused wood stove (allergies) so that the building could remain heated. Changed out the dim light bulbs, did a lot of unpacking, a lot of rearranging and moving everything around a lot. Still not perfect because there are still boxes, but this is as nice as I can get it until we find storage. This will be long term. The result:

 

Panoramic shot of my half of the building:

 

The keyboard enclosure:

 

The goods:

 

Yamaha YS200; now retired from gigging, Im keeping it around since its own sounds still work OK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mighty Motif Max]

The Kimball Broadway (R-80) organ, with the Yamaha PSS-470 on top. I use the PSS as a solo manual sometimes.

 

Storage space next to the Broadway/PSS-470

 

Kimball Valencia III (S-20) organ, with the Casio Casiotone CT-370 on top, as a third manual.

 

Storage space behind the Valencia III/CT-370

 

Yamaha PSR-295:

 

Five accordions, pretty much just decorative at this point. Next to the desk with the PSR-295 on it:

 

The gig rig: Yamaha Motif XF8 on the bottom, Korg Krome 61 on top. Korg used as a midi controller.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mighty Motif Max]

Sound equipment running into two Klipsch K4 speakers. I run whatever keyboard I am using at the time into one of the tape inputs on the Yamaha receiver. I can connect another one to the second tape input set, but can only listen to one at a time.

 

Yamaha YPG-235: I used to gig this before getting the Motif.

 

Yamaha Clavinova CLP-130:

 

Third storage section behind the sound stuff:

 

 

The nice view out the front:

 

Part of the ceiling:

 

Other part of the ceiling:

 

View out one of the side windows:

 

A painting I found at a neighbors antique sale last year:

 

 

 

 

Oh, this answers the inevitable question of how I get in there :

 

 

 

So Im really happy with how it turned out. We bought the house a year from yesterday. How do you guys like it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zxcvbnm098]

Damn Max...a separate building for keyboards. Envious!

[jefsco]

 

nice little keyboard cabin, with a view, you have there, max!

 

 

 

[TommyRude]

So... in your keyboard cabin you have a keyboard corner? Nice!

 

I have friends in Minnesota, they all have vacation cabins up by a lake, looks like a helluva lot of fun, good for you man!

[Joe Muscara]

That looks awesome Max! The only problem I can see about having a setup in a separate building like that is getting there in your winters.

[The Real MC]

Gear is cool, but a tranquil cabin in the woods to house the studio is even cooler.

[hatricklov]

That gives a whole 'nother meaning to "woodshedding"!

[Mighty Motif Max]

That looks awesome Max! The only problem I can see about having a setup in a separate building like that is getting there in your winters.

 

Luckily the building is only about 100 from the house. There is a gravel path leading to it too, which is nice.

[Mighty Motif Max]

That gives a whole 'nother meaning to "woodshedding"!

 

Well, almost literally. You see the door behind the one organ?

 

Its actually a dot to a compartment to store firewood in. You can load it from the outside and take it out from the inside, so you dont have to carry wood through the building. We keep some wood in there for campfires. Otherwise it is unused.

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, living here in the woods also means that you have these nice guys around:

 

 

[The Real MC]

Of course, living here in the woods also means that you have these nice guys around:

 

 

That's how you sharpen your karate skills - by walking into a spider web and flailing your arms in a panic

[Marzzz]

I much prefer those over these:

 

[PianoMan51]

The woodshed looks like the perfect place for a guitar amp.

[Mighty Motif Max]

The woodshed looks like the perfect place for a guitar amp.

 

Put the Marshalls and the Mesa Boogies in there, but not the DV Mark Jazz amps and Twin Reverbs.

[The Real MC]

This is the diagram showing the routing between keyboards and racks for the rig I am using with the 80s rock band.

 

I've always been a systems guy and have built a few MIDI keyboard stage rigs over the years. The 80s rock band I just joined has driven this one - the songs they are playing requires a lot of sounds. Just a few more cables and I/O panels to finish and this will the most flexible system I have ever built and is ready for anything. Despite the appearance, it is not that complex and sets up easy - I was conscious about minimizing the cabling, most of it is in the racks. And the racks are the LIGHTEST I have put together.

 

I built the I/O panels to interface to keyboards and racks, and I arranged the panels so that they are in close proximity when the racks are stacked. That permits interconnect cables between racks as short as possible which reduced the tangle of longer cords. For the shows where there are multiple bands, the racks are set offstage. Only the keyboards get changed out, with long cable bundles to the racks. This facilitates fast changes between bands.

 

While it was tempting to use big racks, I learned long ago that they get heavy fast. I need to load in/out by myself so the weight had to be kept reasonable. I use a Magliner cart that converts into a dolly, so I can pile the cases and minimize the trips back and forth to my pickup truck.

 

The system is designed to be modular - there may be circumstances I don't need all of this, I only take what I need. The core components are the Kurzweil MIDIBoard, Base Analog Rack, and Kurzweil rack (pianos, brass, reeds). IE Southern rock would not need the analog synths. As the demands of the music grow, adding components is easy. This diagram shows the maximum I could conceivably need for any genre. OK, if I did another Pink Floyd "The Wall" show I would have to add the Memorymoog.

 

http://www.retrosynth.com/~analoguediehard/tour/2018-stage-setup-diagram.jpg

[CowboyNQ]

Wow that looks pretty darn awesome!

 

My favourite part:

 

Oh yeah!

[The Real MC]

Wow that looks pretty darn awesome!

 

My favourite part:

 

Oh yeah!

 

While "rock star setup" was (sorta) tongue-in-cheek, I wanted to avoid being obstructed by keyboards. Visual impact was another goal with this arrangement - I want people to see my arms and hands moving. This takes a bit of practice and some pre-planning of patch arrangements. That's why the Hammond can double as a MIDI controller for the Andromeda - the Andro is to my left and there are parts that I play better with the right hand.

[Al Quinn]

Wow, impressive setup! Can you share audio or video so we can hear it in action?

[vonnor]

Being a tech head, I absolutely LOVE the diagram! Gotta do one up for my rig now.

 

~ vonnor

[mcgoo]

My room's been updated a little, so here are a few new pics:

 

Studio:

 

Keyboard Wall:

 

Booth:

[The Real MC]

NICE!!!

[zxcvbnm098]

Nice in an understatement.....wow.

[vonnor]

Swap that Klingon out for a Vader and your studio would be perfect.

 

~ vonnor

[mcgoo]

Swap that Klingon out for a Vader and your studio would be perfect.

 

~ vonnor

 

..... not a chance!

[PianoMan51]

Why is it that when I setup my studio Im so proud, yet everyone else treats me like a six year old who has placed all his toys in a semi-circle around him?

[Markyboard]

Being a tech head, I absolutely LOVE the diagram! Gotta do one up for my rig now.

 

~ vonnor

 

I can't see MC's block diagram :idk...but here's mine :