cassdad

Gee…. as far as iconic, I can’t believe no one’s thrown in the Wurly!

Well, this thread spurred me on to try a little experiment which I did today. My new Motion Sound KP-612SX has several “outs” (see pic)…. 2 of them being “Left Out” and “Right Out” (both XLR, assumedly for feeding FOH or recording). Surprisingly, it also has a single 1/4 inch jack Out labeled “Mono Out”. So I played piano and concurrently recorded 3 tracks into Logic Pro: Left & Right Outs to tracks 1 & 2, and Mono Out to Track 3. Then, listening thru headphones, I alternated playing back just tracks 1 & 2, and then just track 3. (I also played back all 3 tracks at the same time, but no conclusions from that). The stereo of playing back just tracks 1 & 2 was a far, far better piano sound than just playing track 3 (mono). However, I must say that, the mono (track 3) by itself was not bad…. it was just, well, mono. But I did not hear any glaring negatives, no severe comb filtering, etc. It sounded, let’s say “reasonably good” for mono - exactly what I’d expect. I do not know what, if any, processing Motion Sound’s “Mono Out” jack/line has (none mentioned in the manual). However, I think I can conclude that if I had to only provide the sound person a “mono” out - this would be acceptable. My 1st preference would still be to provide a left & right XLR and tell them to pan “full left & full right”.

What brand / model / Voice are you using?

It’s not “chorus” that gives the stereo effect. It’s the fact that the piano is sampled / recorded in stereo, ie. similar to one microphone on the left and one on the rigtht…. similar to having 2 ears.

THIS!!! Thank you, JAZZPIANO88. This is why you would want to pan “hard” left and right = because that is called “stereo”! Stereo IS “panned hard left and hard right”! And as far as the comment of a 50 foot wide piano… that’s ridiculous. Even at home, I’d dare say most people’s stereo system speakers are at least 8 feet apart…. and that does not mean listening to a piano is like listening to an 8-foot wide piano! It’s called stereo, that’s all. Apologies if that offends anyone - I certainly don’t intend to. I really don’t see why a FOH system can’t be stereo. Agreed, not all people will hear left and right equally. But even in your home, if listening to your home stereo system, rarely is everyone sitting exactly in the sweet spot. Yet stereo still sounds far better than mono. At least to me.

OK - why not? What is the reason?

Yes - THIS! I was cringing as I was reading some suggestions of just bring crappy lightweight gear, etc…. for me: every time I play, no matter the money nor the venue, it’s an opportunity to showcase what I bring to the table, and I’m simply not going to sound my best on a crap rig / amp. It’s like trying to win the Indy 500 in a ‘56 Volkswagen Bug - doesn’t matter how well you drive, you’re going to look inferior.

QSC Touchmix 16. I just looked at the specs…. although it does have one “stereo” input, it does not specifically state that it is a stereo mixer…. but it does have separate left and right outs. When I looked at it, I thought it could pan true left and right…. but the sound guy says it’s “mono”. I don’t know.

Hmmm….. the “house PA” was a QSC 12 inch powered unit hung in the air on the left, and another identical one hung to the right. And the outs of his mixer were simply the left one going to the left QSC, and the right one to the right QSC. Still seems like a stereo-capable path to me. In fact, I’m not understanding how it could be otherwise (unless the 2 speakers were wired serially)?

Background: I’m a big “got to hear my digital piano in stereo” because I think it sounds incomparably better than in mono. So… I handed 2 XLRs to the sound guy, “telling him to pan one full left and pan the other full right”. He responds to me that his PA / FOH mixer “is not stereo, it’s mono, so it won’t make any difference”. I told him to please just make me happy and do it. And I’m told it sounded great in the venue. Question: For you “live sound” experts: Is panning an input full left or right any different in a mono system than a stereo system? Specifically - If I put the left channel of my piano into input #5 and pan it full left, and the right channel from my piano into input #6 and pan it full right - won’t that still result in true stereo at the FOH? (As long as the mixer has separate left and right outs). In other words - if the mixer has a “pan” control, can stereo still be accomplished even in a “mono” system? (I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mixer without a pan control.)

Apologies - I thought you were writing of the Yamaha MOXF8, my bad!

Why not? I carry it everywhere…. it’s very light (30 lbs I think) and easy to carry. And, for me, I think it is the perfect keyboard for both live performance and recording. And very dependable… I’ve been using it & carting it for many years. And I’m old…. YMMV.

Well, I’m sure someone will correct me if incorrect, but I think your “volume vs trim” issue stems from a lack of understanding about how an amp works. My understanding is that, basically, an amp always amplifies at full volume. Volume is controlled basically by the amount / level of input into the amp / pre-amp. Thus, call it “trim” or “volume”, ultimately all one is doing is throttling the amount of input to the amp. My simplistic understanding FWIW.

My twist: IF I did the gig, I’d leave my equipment there, but I’d stay there the entire time (festivals can be enjoyable), and store my 88-note keyboard in a hard case on the stage.

I’ve been using the MOXF8 (several of them actually) for many years, and unfortunately, that appears to be how it is designed to work. Yup, I wish I could seamlessly switch voices (“voice hold”), but that is not a feature of this keyboard. However, what I do is go into “Performance Mode” where you can have up to 4 voices, and then you can easily switch any or all of the voices instantly on or off (Or turn on a new voice before shutting off the other voice)…in Performance Mode, they are the buttons over on the far lower right side labeled “Part Mute”, button numbers 9, 10, 11 & 12. I think this is the best work-around. Also, what some people do is go into “Song” mode, where you can have up to 16 voices (1 for each track)….(or assign them to different MIDI channels and then change your “send” MIDI channel) and then choose which track you want to play (but that is not my preferred method for live performing). Hope that helps.

And the tax bills.... if you look at Zillow... the last owner was paying property tax on a value of $181K!!!! The new owner will have to pay tax on the purchase value!

Well, frankly, simply for the novelty! I can hear any local audience just oohing and aaawwwing were they to walk in and see such a keyboard. I think it would really get some attention (if nothing else than for its novelty)! But, again, no venue I'm currently playing in could spare such a large amount of real estate. OK, yes, I need to play more stadiums...

….because it would take up WAY TOO MUCH stage real estate in most local venues. (I believe it’s 6 feet in diameter.). Fine for stadiums, but I think that would be about it! (Not to mention the transport, set-up and tear-down effort!)

Kind of related: I often play in a band where the guitarist believes he’s playing at a reasonable level (he’s not, but let’s just say he might be) - but he has his amp firing up into his microphone, that he leaves on all the time…. so he is actually quite loud out of the FOH PA (and monitors). (More rationale supporting the use of IEMs!). This is a recent development, in that previously he fired his amp down low, through his shins, thus determining his volume by the reflection volume from the rear wall of the venue…. ugh!

I have always played and performed only sitting. For me, I utilize the sustain pedal greatly in my style of play, as well as utilizing most of the 88-note keyboard. Both techniques require me to be seated when playing.

Wow - I bet that sound is absolutely pristine! Just wondering what digital piano a pianist of your caliber is using?

I have to strongly disagree. Before and after my purchase, I found them very responsive, and this was recently. I also am in the Motion Sound camp. IMO, my new KP-612SX is hands-down the best amplification I’ve ever had for digital piano. Simply clean and powerful, excellent, balanced tone. Built-in mixer, and one combo unit pushing out excellent stereo (with the amount of stereo spread being adjustable). For me, it’s the keyboard amp I always dreamed of. And when I couple it with it’s extension speaker, the SL-512, you can seriously drown out the guitarist (if you want to)!

FWIW, I’m using Logic Pro on my MacBook Pro running “Sonoma”, OS version 14.1.1 with no problems.

EXACTLY!, right? Oh, THANK YOU!….. so well stated!

Forgive me for venting on this all-too-often discussed subject. But I’m once again upset by some band members whose benchmark of quality musicianship is “sounding exactly like the original recording”. I submit that, if what the audience wants is “the original recording”, then they want a DJ, not a live band. I also suppose this closely aligns with the subject of using “backing tracks” discussed on another recent thread here. IMO, live music can and should be so much more than just “regurgitating the original recording”. I feel better now, even if I am in the minority. 😃