Danny Linguini

Actually this would push everything out the front speaker (unless you're wondering if one of his two cables is sending no signal). Yep, that's what I mean -- one cable could be dead (I've had it happen more than I'd expect, even on new cables). Front speaker gets what's common between R & L, and the side speaker gets what's different between R & L. If there's only one line coming in, there can't possibly be any commonality between R & L, which means it should go to the side speaker.

Ooh, that is tempting. I wonder if they'd take the PX-5S in trade!

Reviving this old relic of a thread because I feel like it. I love this board. As some of you may have seen (and be bloody sick of reading about), I picked up a PX-5S for practicing at home. Sounds nice, much better for practicing than the Kurz SP4-7, but damn that action is heavy. And something about the decay/sustain on the AP's is just not natural sounding. And I cannot get the velocity response to be more real piano-like. It's a nice board for the price with nice sounding pianos, but for me, it can't touch the CP4. Every once in awhile I unbag the CP4 at home to set up sounds for new songs that I want something other than a AP for. So of course while it's out, I hammer away on it. And goddammit what a fantastic feeling and sounding board, especially through the SS3. This is one of those rare finds that when you sit at it, it just inspires you to keep playing. There is absolutely no question in my mind that this was the best board for me and my live gigging, and my only regret is that I don't have another one to keep at home. The one thing I'm kind of upset at myself about is that I haven't really dove (dived?) very deeply into the controls. The worst example of this is what lekanout is talking about in the post just above this one -- I just cannot get the steps to assign and recall quick select voice mode embedded in my crappy memory without RTFM. The reason is mainly that when the board is set up, I'm too busy playing it to want to waste time plowing through the semi-useless manual (it only gets a semi-, because the there's the PX-5S manual that is absolutely totally useless). That is probably my only complaint about this board, that quickly assigning and accessing performance set-ups is not as intuitive (to ME) as I'd like it to be. But setting up the performances themselves is now a breeze, and I can just get lost wading through the banks of pads and synths. And of course there's the pianos. Yamaha knocked this one out of the park.

No need to apologize -- I think we've all experienced that kind of frustration with gear. Especially after seeing so much fanfare about this particular amp and experiencing not quite the same thing in person. You'll also see that a few other owners have experienced a similar initial disappointment with this amp until they've dialed it in. It didn't take me too much time to get my CP4 sounding like I have a 9' grande in my 13' dining room. All is good. Play around some more, and definitely come back and let us know how you make out.

Might be a stupid question, but are you sure you're feeding stereo into the SS? It almost sounds to me like it's only getting one side, which I think would automatically push everything out the side speaker, and yes, all by itself that will sound like crap. You'll get similar results if you turn the Width knob up too high. Make sure you have two good, equal cables coming from a stereo source going into the SS's L&R inputs. Placement of the amp in relation to where you are is also important -- if you're immediately to one side or the other, you'll get an earful of side speaker and not hear the fuller front drivers. As most here are suggesting, take a little time to dial it in before giving up hope. Every speaker system needs to be tweaked to sound just right -- I'm sure whatever PA you're using now didn't sound like it does right out of the box without at least a little fiddling; and the uniqueness of the SS sometimes requires just a bit more tweaking. That being said, if you're using higher-end 12" or 15" active speakers, you're not going to get the same depth out of the SS -- but it certainly won't sound like an old AM radio, either. What you will get is very clear sound and a 3D stereo 'blossom' that you can't get from conventional stereo speaker cabs. To paraphrase Aspen's suggestions on getting started with this amp from many, many seasons back in this thread (I think I have it close, at least it's how I worked with it): - Turn all the settings on the amp down to 0, then turn up the main level only. I started about 9:00, or 1/4 volume -- you shouldn't need to go much higher than that in a small room. - Bring up the mid and high levels to taste (mine are both at 1:00). - Slowly bring up the Width, maybe 1/8th of a turn at a time. The best setting for this will vary greatly depending on the room you're in. In my little music room, I've got it at about 10:00 and that's about perfect. Larger rooms or more open areas may need more width setting. Most of all, don't be afraid to ask questions here -- there are now plenty of users of this amp with all kinds of experience in all kinds of surroundings. Guaranteed somebody will be able to answer any questions you have.

Can't disagree at all. Sometimes I think out loud. And when I can't think out loud, some lucky forum population becomes the lucky recipient of a brain dump.

Hey, I hear ya. And you're doing a damn fine job with your One Thing. I was thinking it would be very cool to have a sub that is specifically 'tuned' to work with the SS, but I do understand that that's already a pretty crowded market. And with all the choices out there, anybody should be able to find one that works well for them. All that being said, I would just love to hear what you could come up with for a SS-XL. I do want to reiterate, though, that I am thoroughly impressed with the SS3 as it is and the sound it puts out just in the confines of my home (mostly in my music room, but once in the bigger dining room). I can't wait to get it out into a more open area to hear it really blossom.

Hey Aspen, here's a thought -- A few guys here have been asking if you're going to design a bigger SS. How about designing your own compact sub that compliments the SS3 rather than a whole new unit that would compete with it? You've done enough mixing and matching to have an idea of what configurations work best with the SS. And you've got the perfect vehicle right here to do some market research to see what features players want most. Call it a Substation! Personally, I think an ideal solution would be the size and power of this little SA Really-mini-tremor, with the functionality of the Behringer B1200D (stereo ins, passthru outs, and hi-pass filtered outs) that actually works as it should (i.e., no loss of gain in the chain, as you've observed with the B1200D). But that's just me -- survey 100 other guys and you'll probably get 187 other preferences. Just a thought -- I'd be curious to hear what others think of the idea.

I can let you know in a few weeks -- this is basically what I'll be doing live, using the SS as my PA. I always add a little reverb in the mixer, so I'm expecting that will be enough to 'liven up' the L/R mix to let the SS work its magic. I might mess with the pan a bit, too, and see if it makes any difference on the sound width. Actually, there's no reason why I can't experiment with this at home -- I might have to plug in the mic tonight and see how many inhabitants in can drive out of the house in the process.

The Seismic Audio Really-Mini-Tremor 10" powered sub arrived today. Kind of limited in features compared to even the Behringer B1200D -- just one mono in and a mono through -- which means it's best suited for using it from the sub-out on the SS. And I gotta say, it works pretty nice. Just in my little music room, with the SS turned a hair past 9:00, I've got to turn the sub volume up almost all the way to hear it. But when you hear it, it's really quite lovely. No idea yet how loud it gets if you open up the SS a bit, because I still value my hearing. And my walls and windows and outside shingles and relatively clean police record. The difference with the piano isn't all that huge, other than a little more fullness in the lowest notes, where the SS rolls off. The real beauty is with the drum machine -- the kick drums now have some real kick. I probably won't use it in the smaller venues, but I'll definitely use it in anything medium and up. The SS with the sub isn't going to blow the walls out of your bigger clubs and such much more than the SS alone, but when all you have is the SS and no other FOH, this little sub really rounds out the sound nicely. I also have to reiterate -- I am continually impressed with how loud this little SS can get. And when it's loud, it's still amazingly clean. Here are a few pics to give an idea of its size. Very easy to move around, probably about the same weight as a typical 12" powered PA cab, and just a slightly bigger footprint than the SS -- about 1" more all around. I like it. http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n631/18to12fitty/Music%20n%20Keys/IMG_20150806_184131_zpsasdkgldc.jpg http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n631/18to12fitty/Music%20n%20Keys/IMG_20150806_184111_zpsixfqlk7w.jpg

We're all waiting to hear the sound. Or maybe Aspen's reply. Or both.

Well, aside from it being much bigger than I need and much more 'spensive than I want to spend right now, it's perfect. My thing is, I'm solo -- I've got CP4, drum machine and vocals through a TC Helicon all going through the SS. I know it can handle it volume-wise, but too many sound sources coming out with not enough bottom is not good. For keys alone I'd probably be fine. My next gig is inside in a small-mid-sized restaurant/lounge, and I'm going to try the SS alone there and see how it does. But I just ordered one of these. It's not much bigger than the SS and actually lighter, which helps minimize the schlep factor. And it's a small hit on the pocketbook. I'm not looking for window-rattling bass, just enough to fill in the bottom where the SS rolls off, mostly for the lowest notes and the drum machine kick. Review to be forthcoming.

Very nice and thorough insight. Yes, the SS does sound great on its own, especially considering the size. Much to my doctors chagrin, I like salt. So I've got the PX-5S and the drum machine running through a dry mixer (no effects in the house unit), and I'm still torn. The drums do sound much better than I expected, but .... in many of the songs, the bottom roll-off of the SS is obvious. I don't know if people (not) listening over dinner and beers would even notice, but I would. I can kick up the low EQ on the piano and the drums, but we know what happens when we try to make up for lack of physical speaker area with the EQ knobs. It doesn't sound bad at all -- in fact I was rather pleasantly surprised for the most part -- and it might very well sound better with a little more volume in the larger space of a live venue with hard floors than the small, carpeted area of my music room. There was also a very noticeable improvement when I held the SS tilted back, so it will be down to the workshop to chop up a block of leftover something to stick under the front. I just don't know. I still think I'll grab a smaller inexpensive sub just to try out. Yes, I think that's just what you guys would like.

Well I guess the wife is tired of me openly mulling whether I need a sub with the SS or not. I'm very happy with the CP4 through it alone, but I keep wondering if the drum machine is gonna sound like a banging on a bunch of cardboard boxes (which it does even through the Yamahas if I don't EQ it just right). I suppose I could just plug it in and find out, though the confines of the house are no comparison to a live venue. Anyway, she finally said just get one. Since I've totally blown my GAS budget for about the next 5 years and I'm not playing Carnegie Hall in the foreseeable future, I'll keep it light-duty. I'm expecting a couple more outside gigs before the summer is over, so I know it will come in handy there. Watch out, UPS. You too, neighbors with the fireworks.

My impression is the side speaker is very mid-rangey by itself -- no lows, no highs. But that could just be the nature of the R-L signal that's being pushed through it. If somebody on stage is in direct line of it and not getting any of the front, it's gonna sound like crap to them.

Oh yeah -- and pads and strings and that stuff. All the setups I use sound wonderful. I was coincidentally pondering on that very question myself. The thing is, about 6 months ago when I was last looking to upgrade my live sound, I was in the duo. I did give the SS a close look; but knowing the places and the close quarters we usually play in, if I had gotten a SS at the time, it would almost always have to be situated where my partner would have been getting blasted by the side speaker. The guy is very old-school -- as in stuck-in-his-ways-ain't-never-gonna-change-for-nothin'-or-nobody old school. So I know there would have been nothing but bitching about the sound, because his simple mind would not have been able to comprehend the possibility that it sounds different out there than it does up here, forget trying to educate him on the fact that the amp is designed to do exactly that. So I went the traditional route and just upgraded the active PA speakers. Then a few months ago I got tired of his crap and sent him packing. My first solo gig was outside, so the two speakers in fairly close proximity to each other (on a double-mount on a single pole) worked pretty well. My second solo gig was inside, in a place that we had played often as a duo (and in fact was the proverbial last straw for me because he kept playing louder and louder all night, despite me and everybody else telling him to keep it down -- but that's another story). So I set up with the two DBR-10's on separate stands, because now I had room for two stands, and proceeded to blow the place out. It was impossible for me to tell how loud it was because I was smack in between them both. After several visits from the proprietor and the usual palms-down gesture, I eventually got it down to a reasonable level, but those two speakers were absolute overkill for that venue. And that's when I said f@ck it, it's time to take a serious look at the SS3. Fired a few more questions out here in the forum, got the answers I wanted to hear and finally pulled the trigger. My thinking here is, in places like that where people want to be able to talk over the music, the SS will be much easier to control and still sound full. The fact that the CP4 sounds so damn good through it is just icing on the cake. Now what's really interesting is that I also grabbed a PX-5S for the home music room earlier this week, and it sounds awesome through the studio monitors, where I was never overly thrilled with the CP4 through that same setup. When the SS3 first arrived, I plugged the PX into it, and while it sounded ok, I wasn't immediately blown away by it. It sounded good, better than any other keyboard amp (though I've never run the PX through anything but studio monitors), but I had a hard time dialing the AP's in to where I really liked it. Then last night I unbagged the CP4 and hooked it up, straight into the SS -- no mixer. In a very short time I had it EQ'd to where it sounds like I'm playing a concert grand in my dining room. Blown away. So the CP4 being not-so-amazing in the studio monitors is fine, because the PX-5S sounds great there, and it was intended for home use. And the CP4 sounding like it does through the SS is just perfect because that's my gigging board.

Nice compact rig -- I like that! I think we need a 'Spot the SS' thread.

Oooh, I luuuuuuuuuv the CP4 through this thing!

You've been following this dreadful saga, eh? I guess it couldn't be avoided with all the questions I've been firing out there. I've got the PX-5S plugged into it now, but at some point I need to unbag the CP4 and see how different that's going to be to dial in. The modern grand on the PX is brighter than the CFX I use 99.9463% of the time, so things could certainly change there. I may have to use one of the brighter variations. Even in this small area, though, I can hear that 'spacial dispersion', or whatever you want to call it. If I can get that pinch of brightness to come through out of the CP4 and fill the room, I'll be a very happy guy.

But it's not just an amp ... it's an adventure.

You can call it whatever you want. I want to know how the hell this thing seems to defy physics. Mine just arrived a few hours ago, and I had it plugged in and hooked up in a matter of minutes. Messing around a bit, I got the piano eq's and amp settings dialed in to where it's warm but crisp, and there does seem to be enough bottom for the small-mid sized venues I play at. I have the main level at about 8:00, and everything else around 12, and the volume on the keyboard is way down at about 1/3, and it's just nice. But what I am absolutely amazed at is how the sound carries around corners and through walls. I've got the PX-5S demos going, and I'm walking all around my house. You can hear it downstairs almost as clear as in the same room. You can hear it in the bedroom down the hall at the opposite end of the house clearer than in the same room. Seriously, in a separate room 20 feet away everything sounds fuller. While I can see wanting to use a sub with it just because I like big bottom(s), I'm pretty sure I'm not going to need one. Cannot wait to get this thing out on its first gig.

Another option I stumbled on for a sub for use with the SS3: http://www.seismicaudiospeakers.com/powered-10-inch-subwoofer-cabinet/p/really-mini-tremor Only mono in/out connectors, so it would have to be used post-SS. It isn't super powerful at 250w, but it is pretty light for a sub and could be what the doctor ordered for anybody who needs just a little extra oomph on the bottom end and wants to keep the schlep factor down. And it's CHEAP! I'm keeping this guy bookmarked in case I find the SS alone doesn't quite have all the bottom I need (but I AM going to give the SS a fair shake first!).

Two things that I'm really happy to hear. I can't wait for mine to get here. My only real minor concern now is that I can place it well enough on my gigs that I can hear something close to what the audience hears. Being that I'm alone now, that won't be as much of a problem as when I was sharing the stage with Peter Potamus. I'm thinking of recording a piano-only clip directly through the CP4 and use it for sound checks, so I can walk around and hear just how the piano sounds out there. I really don't know why I'm just thinking about it and haven't actually done it already. PS: If you're ever playing anywhere closer to Providence, please give a shout!

Very much so!! As I said, I don't need thumping bass (and in fact, thumping bass probably would have earned me a "and don't come back" last night), I just need full enough. If your bass splits carried well over the other two players, I'd say that's sufficient. Looks like I'm off to Sweetwater. Edit: ORDERED!!!!

After last night's solo gig, I'm seriously considering the SS3 again. The two DBR10's were just overkill for this place and the dinner crowd. Had to continually turn them down to the point that, being on either side of me, I could barely hear anything coming out of them. Once I got used to the volume, things got better; but by the time I was done, I couldn't help but wonder if the SS3 would be a better solution for such locations. Not to mention the improved schlep factor of only toting one (albeit heavier) box instead of two and their pole stands. Volume is not the issue -- but being solo, depth of sound is. So again I have to throw the question out there: is there anybody in a similar situation, either solo or with a small combo, using this amp with no sub, does the SS3 alone provide sufficient bottom? And by 'sufficient', I mean, if you're playing AP's, for example, does it provide similar depth to an actual acoustic piano? Will it adequately handle a drum machine without sounding like banging on cardboard boxes, plus vocals? It obviously doesn't have to be bone-shaking bass. The DBR10's were just about right, even at that low volume, with the on-board DSP completely off, and just a nudge up on the highs and lows on the mixer EQ for the piano and drum machine. If I can get any indication that the SS3 with it's 8" woofer is up to this, I'll be placing the order today. My finger is just about on the button now, even got the ok from my better half, so it's not like I'm going to need much convincing.