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Amplifying vintage keyboards


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Curious if anyone has any DIs, preamps, or effects boxes they like to use as secret weapons for electromechanical keyboards.

 

I"m prone to carting my Wurlitzer 200 and Clavinet D6 to gigs, because it brings me joy and because my back can still take it (for now, anyway!). I used to bring a Fender tube amp (Hot Rod Deluxe combo) in addition to my Motion Sound KBR-3D on those gigs, because the Wurli and the clav both sounded flat through a clean, solid-state amp. They needed to be brought to life a bit, like an electric guitar.

 

When I started bringing my laptop to gigs, I started using Mainstage"s amp sims to process the old keyboards instead. Saved me bringing more heavy gear, and gave me a lot of tonal flexibility. I like it, but it has tradeoffs â a hair of latency, some occasional digital sonic weirdness, and the usual risks of using a computer to process audio.

 

I have a SansAmp Bass Driver DI in my bass rig, and I"ve messed around with that with the Wurli â it"s cool, and quite powerful for tone shaping, but definitely tailored for the frequencies of a bass guitar more than a midrange keyboard instrument. Still, curious to try it with the clav...

 

I"d love to hear about other folks" experiences and preferences, now or back in the day, onstage or in the studio!

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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Curious if anyone has any DIs, preamps, or effects boxes they like to use as secret weapons for electromechanical keyboards.

 

I"m prone to carting my Wurlitzer 200 and Clavinet D6 to gigs, because it brings me joy and because my back can still take it (for now, anyway!). I used to bring a Fender tube amp (Hot Rod Deluxe combo) in addition to my Motion Sound KBR-3D on those gigs, because the Wurli and the clav both sounded flat through a clean, solid-state amp. They needed to be brought to life a bit, like an electric guitar.

 

When I started bringing my laptop to gigs, I started using Mainstage"s amp sims to process the old keyboards instead. Saved me bringing more heavy gear, and gave me a lot of tonal flexibility. I like it, but it has tradeoffs â a hair of latency, some occasional digital sonic weirdness, and the usual risks of using a computer to process audio.

 

I have a SansAmp Bass Driver DI in my bass rig, and I"ve messed around with that with the Wurli â it"s cool, and quite powerful for tone shaping, but definitely tailored for the frequencies of a bass guitar more than a midrange keyboard instrument. Still, curious to try it with the clav...

 

I"d love to hear about other folks" experiences and preferences, now or back in the day, onstage or in the studio!

 

You need to get to know a quiet and humble genius in Texas (Arkansas?) named Greg Lounsberry. He specializes in keyboard-friendly mono and stereo overdrive and line boost pedals that are just exquisite. I have the Tall Fat and Wide as a secret weapon to effectively salvage the tone of any 1980s-era synth with wimpy output gain. Works wonders.

 

Learn more at his website.

 

Tell him "Dr. Mike" Metlay sent you.

Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) :D

Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant

Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1

 

clicky!:  more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my bookmy music

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effects boxes they like to use as secret weapons for electromechanical keyboards.

 

Agree with Dr. Mike about the Loundsberry pedals. I don't own any but JA uses/endorses them and Lachy Doley uses them on B3/clonewheels. My not so secret weapon stolen from Danny Louis (Gov't Mule) is the Line 6 M13. I have a Line 6 M9 on my Wurlitzer 200. Sounds fantastic and can be had used for about US $200. I'm more pickey with my Clavinet. I use analog pedals. I also have the Vintage Vibe pre amp replacement. This is worth every penny.PM me if you want more details.

:nopity:
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For recording I like to use DI straight off the harp RCA connector on Rhodes pianos. The pickups are extremely sensitive to input impedance of receiving devices (which is why I bypass passive controls on stage pianos), enough that the wrong box can screw up the tone. Noise can get worse with the wrong DI too. After experimenting with different DIs I settled on the Countryman type 10, quiet as a mouse and great tone.

 

I reamp the Rhodes signal into an old British guitar tube amp - Selmer "croc skin" Truvoice Twin Thirty with original alnico speakers. Why should guitar players have all the fun?

 

For gigs I plug straight into a Fender Dual Showman Reverb - head version of Twin Reverb, lighter and cheaper - into speaker cabinet.

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When going direct with Clav & Wurli, I've used the Tech21 (Sansamp) Flyrig 5 with a Vox Wah.

Reverb, Tap Delay, 2 Ch of shaping and drive, speaker emu. Weighs a pound and fits in the lid of the Clav.

Looks like V2 has XLR DI built in. Nice.

 

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Attachments won't upload .... I prefer my May 1965 Twin Reverb.

 

I unfortunately can't recommend modern reissues. Money would be better spent on used Silverface faces that can be easily serviced, repaired and rebuilt and used good components and proper construction methods.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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! do not know if there still around but I have a Speakeasy 1000watt pre amp I would like to try on a wurly if I had one . In the seventies when I played in acountry rock band I had a Wurlitzer 200 a and a Ampeg Vt 212 not sure that's the right number ,but it had two 12inch speakers and a 100 watt tube amplifier which weighed 95 pounds but the wurly sounded beautiful through it . Wurlitzers used to cost $650 brand new , the last one I bought was $500 new because they were doing a gone out of business sale .

 

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I'd be curious to try the Audient Sono that I keep seeing advertised here. Tube preamp with classic speaker/amp modeling.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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