Do you have a practice rig that stays at rehearsal space?

[Ed Coury]

I'm thinking about putting together a low-cost rig, which I can leave at a practice space. That way I can keep my "real" gear at home. Do you do this? Did you buy lower-cost new gear, scout around for used bargains, or just use some of your older 'boards for this purpose.

[Moonglow]

How often do you guys practice? My band practices only once or twice per month (usually during a week that we don't have a gig), so I take the same two keyboards I play out with to rehearsal and just deal with the set-up/tear down. I've used different keyboards at practice but found, to varying degrees, the different keyboard feel, height, sounds, sequence of program changes, etc., impacted on my comfort level when first playing the song at a gig. Of course, the degree of similarity between your rehearsal vs. gig rigs can affect this "transfer of training" issue. It seems the type of music you play can also affect your decision; if it's some straight-forward piano, organ, Rhodes, etc., having a rehearsal rig could certainly work.

[BluesKeys]

I have a second rig that started out life as my full rig then when I got new gear about 4 years ago it became my practice rig. Then when I found myself in two bands it has found it's way back into service, since I leave one rig on the bus (for the traveling band). I have upgraded it a bit with a Triton LE (used) and a GEM RPx, so the sounds are more up to date.

 

I really liked having a rig at the rehearsal room. All I did was bring an amp and a suitcase of cords and such. I felt like a guitar player when rehearsal was over. I was out the door in short order.

[eric]

I set up part of a rehearsal rig several years ago and it has been extremely helpful. My main band rehearses in our drummer's parents' basement. We have a small PA set up full time and the room is not used for anything else. I have a Motion Sound amp, all cables, pedals and an Invisible stand set up and ready. I usually just bring in my Electro in a gig bag and put it on the stand. Plug and play. If I bring my S90 or ES6, there are extra power/patch cables already in place for them. The stand/amp/cables pretty much duplicates my live setup (other than not being stereo).

 

This has made my rehearsal life extremely easy and eliminates the need to schlep my gig rig and deal with cables. The only improvement would be having a keyboard always set up there. I have toyed with the idea of this, but our rehearsal schedule is very cyclical and sometimes we only rehearse about 1x per month and other times 2-3x per month, depending on what is going on and our need to learn new material.

 

It has been a huge time-saver just to have the stand, cables, pedals and amp dedicated to the rehearsal space. Like BluesKeys, I feel like a guitar player when I can pack up and be gone in 30 seconds.

 

Regards,

Eric

[yannis D]

With my main group(s) i rehearse in my studio. I got there my Hammond/Leslie, Rhodes 54, Intercontinental (fantastic farfisa sounds), drums, guitar and bass amps, computer, small PA, etc. They're all set. The only instrument that leaves the studio for the gig is my Nord Lead 2 (as i always have my Electro, XV 2020 and laptop/controller at home, always ready to go).

As the studio is a basement, i do have concerns about floods (it happened twice) and thieves (never happened). But to have everything set up and ready to rehearse in a space wich is mine, is just a gift from God.

 

[Tusker]

It seems the type of music you play can also affect your decision; if it's some straight-forward piano, organ, Rhodes, etc., having a rehearsal rig could certainly work.

 

Same issue here. If I am doing the timbre switching thing, I would have to duplicate my rig to be able to rehearse meaningfully. I need more practice on the patch changes, levels and slider/pedal movements than on the notes, usually.

 

Jerry

[The Real MC]

I have a practice rig. It consists of cheaper expendable keyboards and amps so that if it is stolen then it is not a big loss.

[DanS]

I leave the S80, and usually the PEK at the drummer's house.

My K4, all cabling, stands etc, are always setup.

I bring the X7 home.

I'd like to eventually get an 88 weighted action for the studio, then I wouldn't have to ever think about bringing the S80 home to record piano/EP parts.

[Mr. Nightime]

I use the same rig for rehearsal as I do for gigs. The one thing that makes is convenient is that our rehearsal space is also our storage space. My gear is already there, so I just have to set it up, not schlep it. At the end of rehearsal, I can just turn everything off, and say good night. I'll come back later and tear down.

 

We've got a couple weeks off, and since it can be hard to squeeze in a rehearsal, we've got two of them before our next gig. I'll just go in a day or so ahead of time and set up, then leave it set up for the next rehearsal.

 

I've been in a couple bands where there was a rehearsal board there, and in both cases, I wish I'd had my regular rig. One had a Rhodes 73, but all I had was 61 note boards, so on one particular song, I couldn't play what was rehearsed because I didn't have the lower keys. The other had a Hammond with no Leslie. While fun to play, it was not indicative of my normal sound, as there was no piano.

 

The only way I'd have a rehearsal rig now is if it was identical to the gig rig. And as soon as I tweaked a patch on the synth, they'd no longer be identical.

 

[drawback]

I play with too many artists to do this, but my practice gear is my Electro, AER Compact 60 (pouches in the softcases hold pedals & patches) and a cheap scissor stand that attaches to the Nord gig bag.

 

One bass player I work with has an Alembic - probably weighs as much as the Electro!

[kanker.]

Practice?!? When's the gig?

 

[Tonysounds]

I rehearse with two bands, when we rehearse. I bought a pair of EV SH1202s for $200 a couple years ago, so one stays at each rehearsal spot, and I have an old Crest power amp at one place, and a Phonic power amp at the other. Both rehearsal spots have a Roland M120 line mixer in a rack with the amp, a 2tier keyboard stand with mic stand and mics, expression, sustain and leslie footswitches/pedals, audio and midi cabling set up for 2 keyboards, ready to go. I normally just bring my Electro in a gig bag., but if I need to bring a motif or my midi rack, I can with no extra grief. (Except for the stairs, as both spaces are both down in a basement.) When I pick up my PC3x, my Motif 8 will stay in the basement of the Freud rehearsal spot as the PC3 will be the gigging board for Hello Dave, and depending on how I like its controller functions, possibly the main controller for Pink Freud as well, and my A90 will stay at home.

[MusicWorkz]

I prefer to keep my gear with me...we don't have a dedicated, private practice studio where I could. Even then, becasue i also use my gear for production, I liketo keep it close where I acn put my eyes and hands on it quickly when I need to.

[DafDuc]

If we had a space that didn't have to be used the rest of the time, I'd do it in a heartbeat. It's one of the reasons I have extra gear, but my last 3 bands, I haven't been able to do that.

[Blue JC]

My current stage gear (PC2x, PC1x, NE61, Eon15 G2) lives in the truck and only comes out for gigs. My previous stage gear (PC88, XB2, KC500, MS Pro) stays set-up and ready at our rehearsal space. Our entire rhythm section leaves old gear and an old PA set-up there all of the time.

 

As we can only rehearse on Sunday afternoons (after Saturday night gigs), being able to walk in, power up and play is probably the only reason that we do manage to rehearse.

 

Since I am unable to part with any of my old gear, I rotate replaced gear to the rehearsal studio.

 

I often wonder if psychologists have a clinical name for this condition: unable-to-part-with-old-gear syndrome?

[BluesKeys]

Since I am unable to part with any of my old gear, I rotate replaced gear to the rehearsal studio.

 

I often wonder if psychologists have a clinical name for this condition: unable-to-part-with-old-gear syndrome?

 

seems to be a problem for me as well.

[David Loving]

I have two rehearsal set ups. My band "work release" has its own studio that's secure. We have a pa, board, drum set, congas, bass amp, a hammond organ - I forget the designation but it's the same one BookerT used on green onions with the internal spkr wired around to use a leslie [not my hammond - belongs to the b3 player, Wayne T ], and I leave my Kurz pc2 out there all hooked up. Another band I'm in, "Texas Rock Association" practices at the drummer's home studio and I leave a nord electro 2/61 out there. Really helps the rehearsal time and travel. Good to just go in with minimal set-up, or just switch on the pc2 and play. The R&B band never rehearses, but then every gig is a rehearsal for us, so all they ever see is my gigging gear.

[keyoctave]

The band I'm with now practices once a week, sometimes twice. I keep my keyboard amps, stand, pedals and cables in the practice place set up and ready to go. I carry in my PC2X, Triton LE and Voce module with the power adaptors. I then take them home and use them in my 'studio' setup at the house. I would perfer to have a second rig and leave my main keyboards at home during practice, using them for home and gigs. The PC2X can be a bitch to carry around all the time.

[SpaceNorman]

I've slowly but steadily been growing a "practice" rig over the past couple of years. At first it was just an amp. Then a move to a "Z" stand in my gig rig let the old "ironing board" stay at our rehearsal space. Last week I left my semi-repaired P200 - as well - as well as spare pedals and cables. I'm thinking I'd have a "whole" second rig if I take my old DX7IIFD. Come summer I'm going to be riding my bike to rehearsals!

[NewImprov]

I'm currently rehearsing with 3 bands, and have different setups for each. I wish I didn't have to shlep gear around to each, but that's what I do. However, one of the bands rehearses at a storage facility that one of the top local soundguys uses to store his gear, so there's a really excellent PA there, and it's always setup because the soundguy's band rehearses there too. I play mostly faux-hammond in this group, kicking LH bass, and it just sounds so freaking great through this, better than any of the clubs we play. We're considering inviting about 10 people at a time to our rehearsals, to hear how good we can sound.

[jay da cop]

I had a Roland MKB300 at the rehearsal space, along with my Ensoniq SQ80. Both are controllers for me, I just carry my rack (6 space) and laptop. I had an amp there already, along with an older mixer, so I just took 5 minutes or so to plug stuff in, and away we went.

 

Jay

[bloodyMary]

I see most of you guys have your own dedicated rehearsl space, so there's a place to store the gear..

 

I've got two bands. The most active one rehearses in rented studios, and I wouldn't leave a pair of dirty socks there - it'd get stolen right away. So I have to lug my own gear, the whole setup, every time. When I get home, I never unpack it, so if it

'd be safe enough to leave the gear at the studio, I'd do it for sure.

 

 

The second band has it's own basement studio, secure enough to store some inexpensive gear. So I left an old synth there, with amp, stand and cables. I only bring laptop, plug the synth into it to run some VSTi's, and ready to go. Very convenient. Actually, I'm tempted not to bring a laptop and just use the old board's internal sounds - acceptable for rehearsal.

[JeffLearman]

I'd just like an extra keyboard I could leave set up at home!

 

I never sell guitars, and seem to hang on to mixers and all sorts of other gear, but I get rid of keyboards I'm not using.

 

Hmmm, something must be wrong with me.

 

Well, I have kept the Rhodes, even though I don't have a place to set it up at present.

[jay da cop]

Learjeff, for what it is worth, I will sell whatever sits unused for 6 months. I think it makes me work a little harder with what I have. I have NO newer gear. No Motif, no Fantom, no Triton. My newest piece is probably my QS7.1. BUT, I can program my 01w like a fiend, and am finally getting more comfortable playing with the FUNs in my K2000 (finally! - I bought it new). Just because it is older gear does NOT mean that it is less in any way (ok, except better samples, cleaner output, more FX, blah blah blah). Older gear has its merits as well. But my context is also a classic rock band, so this works for me. When I come back I am buying a new 88 weighted synth/piano, but even then, I may not go newest, biggest, baddest. But I AM looking at the RD700SX or FantomX8. Who knows.

[JohnH]

Well, my rehearsal space is downstairs in my garage. I have an old huge Carvin speaker cabinet to my left, that I used to take to gigs (what was I thinking,? but it sounds great!) a Carvin FET 900 poweramp to power it, a big Tascam Cd Player and a Mackie mixer and to my right a Mackie 300 speaker cabinet. My practice keyboard is a beatup RD 500 I bought on EBay. The metal housing the buttons and electronics section on it was in good shape, and I had just rebuilt the keybed on my old RD-500 so I mated the old Rd's new keybed and the EBay's electronics section together and those are now used on stage. My old Rd's metal housing electronics was scratched up and trashed, so it now sits on the Ebay keybed which is fine for this and that's my practice keyboard. It's no S90Es, but it works for me and I can get some good rehearsing done on it. Before I had to unpack a keyboard to rehearse, now I don't have to do it and it helps alot. If my main RD goes down I have a spare to take to a gig too. Last week my bandleader got sick so I had to haul the PA, the extra Mackie speakers and power amp and mixer come in handy on those occasions. He was out for two months in 2006 and I used this stuff then as well. It pays to have backup stuff.

 

John

[bloodyMary]

Learjeff, for what it is worth, I will sell whatever sits unused for 6 months. I think it makes me work a little harder with what I have. I have NO newer gear. No Motif, no Fantom, no Triton. My newest piece is probably my QS7.1. BUT, I can program my 01w like a fiend, and am finally getting more comfortable playing with the FUNs in my K2000 (finally! - I bought it new). Just because it is older gear does NOT mean that it is less in any way (ok, except better samples, cleaner output, more FX, blah blah blah). Older gear has its merits as well. But my context is also a classic rock band, so this works for me. When I come back I am buying a new 88 weighted synth/piano, but even then, I may not go newest, biggest, baddest. But I AM looking at the RD700SX or FantomX8. Who knows.

 

 

Now, after reading this, I think maybe I don't really need that Korg M3 I've been dreaming about for couple of months. And I could live without a VA.. This quote can cure GAS

[Jeff_D_in_MD]

I've been very fortunate because the founder, rhythm guitarist and rehearsal-space owner of our band bought with his own money a Casio Privia PX310 for my use during rehearsals. He has a PA & mixer, so I just sit down and play. It's even already on when I get there. Playing anywhere besides his house or my own is a major hassle by comparison.