Alan Steinberger

It just occurred to me that when I did my sound check earlier, my meter was several inches above the Spacestation. Also, being only two feet away, the side speaker probably didn't figure into the total. I would expect real-world results, or with the meter on-axis, to be at least 1 or 2 dB better than what I measured, confirming Aspen's claim of 105 dB output.

I just performed a sound check on two Spacestations from the current shipment: mine, and one I'm returning to Aspen later today. I plugged in a Nord C2 set to its pipe organ model with all stops and couplers engaged (but no reverb). Nord volume was at 12:00. Each Spacestation's controls were likewise at 12:00. My SPL meter was two feet away, set to A-weighted, slow response. I was playing two-fisted triads doubled in several octaves, with and without pedals. With each unit I was easily able to hit in excess of 95 dB without a hint of distortion. With careful boosting of the Nord output and/or the SS input, I could cross the 100 dB line without distortion. Starting at around 103 dB I could begin to hear some chrunchies. Adding the Ventilator II made no difference to the overall level other than providing another point at which one could overdrive the system. I had hoped to repeat this test with a Mackie 1202 in the signal path, but realized that both it and another small mixer are packed away in my road cases. I think it's safe to assume, however, that adding a line mixer would allow one to tweeze out an additional few dB. Conclusions: First, I'm glad I'm religious about using ear protection. Those 31 dB earmuffs came in handy this morning. Second, the Spacestation gives me as much volume as I'll ever need. More than 95-100 dB on stage means either that it's the job of the FOH engineer, or that I accepted a gig I shouldn't have. Third, those of you playing in super loud bands, especially when you're kicking bass pedals, should certainly heed Aspen's advice about adding a sub.

Sorry, I think I just snagged the last one at that price. But there are currently a few available for $85. (And thanks for the heads up, B. J. Love and rickp!)

I would say we were at least very nearly as loud as a fully mic'd cover band. There were solo mics within the horns, and the sound engineer, Tomo Sato, plugged a DI into the Spacestation's sub out. Perhaps he'll weigh in - he was astonished to see me walk in with this brand new piece of gear that he had only just been reading about here.

Gig report: I used my new Spacestation with an aggressive big band in a very loud room last night (Typhoon, at the Santa Monica Airport). I was playing piano, elec. piano and B3 from a Nord, with the Spacestation on the floor inches behind me, angled slightly upwards. This band is so loud that, coming back from the break, I asked the bass player "why, exactly, am I bothering to turn off the ringer on my iPhone?" I have, on past gigs, given out ear plugs to musician friends in the audience who weren't prepared for 18 people playing fortissimo in a hard, reflective room. Over the course of the first half of the first set I kept turning down the overall volume and reducing the width. I had way more power than I needed, and definitely no call for a sub. Next time I'm there I'll push the cabinet farther behind me, and start with much more modest settings. At the end of the night the bass player mentioned that he heard me playing parts he had never heard before. (Could be the power and clarity of the Spacestation, or maybe just those three margaritas I enjoyed...) I've played this room many times with both a Bose L1 and an Acoustic Image Corus, and while all three systems have their advantages, the Spacestation seems to be the best match for my musical role within a big band. All in all, a big win.

Likely more case than you're interested in lugging around, but the SS fits perfectly in a Pelican 1620.

Thanks for the welcome and kind words, guys, and Andy, I'll try that tip sometime of putting the SS in a corner. Or, more likely, I'll just aim the side speaker at that one table whose diners never shut up. :-) (Some awfully nice pianos among this forum's members, by the way. This is a classy crowd!)

No, I offer it as a contrast to the usual venues in which we'd use a Spacestation, and I still do my share of cheap jazz gigs in multi-thousand dollar facilities that are optimized for serving food and alcohol. :-) The challenge when working with orchestras is being loud enough in the house without leveling four stands of string players directly in front of me. I was lucky in that the harpists, sitting immediately to my left, and thus with the side speaker pointing right in their direction, were off-stage for the selections I played on. We would have otherwise needed to provide them a baffle. On the other hand, the drummer and pianist sitting behind me were both able to hear the Nord quite easily.

I thought I'd throw in my 2¢, as I'm often performing on keyboards in halls seating 2000-3000 without benefit of a front of house system. I have in the past used multiple Bose L1 systems, which are of course superb, but it's a lot of gear to set up and tear down, and these days I'm down to just one L1 Model II. I've been working this week in the 2265 seat Walt Disney Concert Hall, playing Hammond organ parts with the LA Phil. The tech-savvy conductor, Esa-Pekka Salonen (https://www.apple.com/your-verse/orchestrating-sound/), preferred I use a synth to a real B3 and Leslie, so I brought my Nord C2, and Aspen very kindly lent me a Spacestation v.3. He and I were both curious to see how it might work in a venue considerably larger than ever intended for its application. Not only did I have plenty of volume, but the sound in general, and the built-in Leslie simulator in particular (my Vent II is still in transit), was by far the smoothest and creamiest I've ever heard out of the Nord. I neither felt the need nor desire to add a sub, despite having some left hand bass. Aspen attended last night's concert, and reported that even up in the balcony he could clearly hear the organ in stereo. Both musicians and technical staff were highly complimentary. Needless to say, I placed an order with Sweetwater immediately after the first performance. This little box is a no-brainer purchase for everything from jazz clubs to concert halls, and will become my stereo stage monitor for larger venues like the Hollywood Bowl.