I need your help for my new keyboard - not easy

[Killerloop]

Hi!

I know you will call me crazy (I understand) because i spent a lot of money for my keboard rig and i am nevertheless a little bit unhappy.

 

I have a Yamha S90ES, a Nord Stage Compact and a Tyros2.

I love ALL of them really!

 

I'm playing in 3 Bands:

The first is a rock cover band with drums, bass, e-guitar, singer. a pretty loud band where I play lots of organ (Nord Stage) Ac. Piano and Synth (S90ES).

 

The other one is a small Soul group (singer and me and sometimes percussions). Here I'm playing ac. Piano and EPiano.

Somethimes I'm playing the Tyros too. With ACMP. but therefore I would need also a a weighted action for piano.

 

I really don't like playing acPiano on the Stage Compact. It is terrible. Organ is SUPER and Rhodes is "ok".

 

 

THe real problem is my last Band:

This is a small coverBand. Here I'm playing most of the time Organ and ac. Piano and Sometimes Synth. But we just play in small restaurants and so on. So my setup should not be that HEAVY!! Sometimes I cannot drive directly close to the location with my car. so the weight is a real problem (for the S90ES) But here I'm playing really much ac. piano and the stage is pretty bad for this instrument I think. With this waterfallaction very often it sounds unbalanced. very soft playd sometimes follows very hard tones.

 

On the Nord ELECTRO (2 or 3) the piano and EPiano souds were better balanced to this waterfallkeyboard than on the stage. The keyoff samples are so loud, because of the fast keyboard. And there is NO pressure point.

 

What can I do?

Thanks a lot.

[RedKey]

Have you played with the various dynamic settings on the Compact? Shift+Type gives you 3 additional choices for dynamics per patch beyond the linear. I find (and many do not) the compact to be very dynamic on piano. I do not always use the preset curve though. Not sure what you mean by "Pressure Point". I love the action and piano sound on the S90ES. Maybe the best IMHO. But you can't beat the Stage Compact to throw in that little gig bag on your back like a backpack, and head off for a gig needing Organ, Piano, and some Synth. It is perfect for that gig. Sorry, not trying to be a Red Fanboy. You've got some great pieces..... just hope you can make the most of them.

 

Maybe loose the Tyros and get a Kurz PC3...... Just keep the S90ES & Stage...they are such great pieces.

[Pale]

I have the same problem, only different boards. I also play in a loud, rock cover band. Doing only piano,hammond and rhodes. A year ago I dropped real rhodes from my rig, now I carry only yamaha p120 and hammond xk1. It's still pretty heavy, especially if I'm taking a leslie to the gig.

 

What I usually do is to drop the hammond from the rig if we are playing in a difficult location (parking very far from the bar), or being payed less then I feel it justifies bringing the whole arsenal. I come from piano and I only recently added the hammond to the rig, so I can do the whole gig without the organ. The only modifications to set lists include removing 2 or 3 songs that are really hammond heavy (like Gimme some loving, or Like a rolling stone). Or I just modify such songs to sound good on piano/rhodes (With a little help from my friends for example sounds pretty good on piano).

 

Also, if you already don't have it - get cases with casters. I have everything on wheels, and the schlep factor is greatly reduced by those.

[Aidan]

+1 on wheeled cases. Although cumbersome, I can even manage my 25kg RD700GX when its in its case. My hatchback MPV has a totally flat load space, so I can use the car to "pivot" the case into the back when done. Stairs can present a problem, though if there aren't too many you can "sledge" the case up and down.

 

As far as gear choice is concerned, I'm not sure what the Tyros is bringing to the table for you. It's a great one-man-band instrument, but the S90ES should have most of the same sonic bases covered for you, yes?

 

The Kurz PC3 is certainly another possibility if you want to lighten your load - it's just a question of whether you can live with the action. I've only tried the PC3X so can't really comment on that. But sonically, I liked what I heard.

[Killerloop]

Hi!

Thanks for your revies.

 

The Tyros I need for the ACMP. So playing with Styles. Alone or sometimes with a singer or guitar player.

 

The S90ES I really like, Jsut the weight!!

 

The only thing I am not happy with on S90ES are 2 Sounds. (See another Thread please) ;-)

 

I now the P120 very well and like the action, weigth and pianosound. But I think the real problem is to have a really bad Organsound and NO Synth. Also the Rhodes are good but there is just one Sound. So nothing to change like more Chorus, or more Fazer whatever.

[Pale]

That's true, the p120 is really scarce on sounds, but the piano and rhodes are good, and that's enough for me to pull through most of the gigs. Any time I need something more I take the hammond with me and complete the rig. I usually don't play pads,strings,brass etc.

 

You might consider getting a module of some sort (either organ, or general usage), and combine it with either NORD (for piano) or S90 (for organ). That would considerably reduce your schlep factor. OF course, if you can live with hammer mechanic + organ (s90) or waterfall keys + piano sounds (nord).

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

If you don't mind the opinion of a guitar player....

 

Formerly I carried various combos of amps and speaker cabinets, and stacks of guitars to get 'MY SOUND!!!!!!'

 

At one point I was carrying ten speaker cabinets, and a Marshall fitted out as a preamp to feed Crown amplifiers, and something like ten guitars.

 

Then one day, at another bands gig, I had an epiphany. The live rooms, the live PA, the ambient sounds, all sabotage any real reason to carry all that stuff to get that sound, as the intended audience never gets to hear it anyway! So having all this tweaky stuff is very useful for studio sounds, but in live work, maybe it doesn't supply enough value to pay for its cartage.

 

So I started experimenting with lesser setups for live work. Yeah, it is not -exactly- the same sound, but I got close enough, and now if I had to I could go to a gig on a bus. I've got a 22 pound amplifier, a shoulder bag of cords, spare strings, and pedals (and I usually take a multieffects pedal that I would be unlikely to use in the studio but which gives me fine effects live, again to lighten the load...) and I had a guitar built to emulate the best parts of the guitars that I would generally have carried.

 

Going to an acoustic gig is even easier. Though the guitar is bigger I have a smaller, lighter amp I use as a monitor, and there is no multieffects pedal or other pedals, just a direct box in the bag of cords and spare strings.. oh, and a capo.

 

The point here is that anyone who wants to lighten up can do so, as long as his ego will allow him to show up at a gig without having to look like Rick Wakeman. If you determine your self-worth by your playing rather than the gear that you hump, it should be no problem.

 

Finally, I want to offer up an old stage adage; stumbled across by watching arena and theater concerts by the likes of Brittaney Spears and Dianna Krall... the amount of gear on stage is inversely proportional to the amount of talent on stage.

[hookie]

Some good suggestions here.

 

Now, remember, below is JMHO.

 

Sounds like you primarily use ac/el piano, organ, and some synth, probably in that order?? I think you have one of the best acpiano boards in terms of feel and sound in the S90es - though I hear you saying the size and weight is a factor, at least some of the time, if not all the time.

 

If you are willing to compromise a bit - hear me out; get a PC3 (semi-weighted 76 key). The feel will not be as good as the S90es, the acpiano probably a notch down, the eps about even give or take, the organs better. But you would also have a far greater sound set - especially fantastic strings and synth sounds (though it doesn't sound like you use too many of these??). The PC3 would have way better acpiano and feel than the Nord. The Nord would have the edge in organ. The weight/size of the PC3 would fall between the S90es and Nord.

 

You might be able to go with just the PC3. It has 76 keys to help with splits if needed, decent feeling semi-weighted and responsive keybed, excellent acpiano & epiano, decent to above average organs. You'd loose a bit in acpiano vs S90es (maybe), and a bit in organ vs Norg (maybe). BUT, it is very portable. I have it in a 76-note SKB case with wheels and it is VERY easy to transport, especially compared to the Roland RD700sx I used to have. I don't regret the switch at all.

 

If you could just swap the Tyros for the PC3 that would be the best - even not bad if you had to let go of the Nord too. But I think the best would be taking the PC3 and Nord on gigs. You couldn't get a better sound/feel without going to an 88 key, much heavier and bigger keyboard.

 

Hope this helps.

[burningbusch]

Killerloop, are you aware that the S90ES has most of the arps from the Tyros 2? The S90ES/XS can do ACMP. Yes you have less arps that can be triggered at one time and fewer different arps per preset, but it still might be doable. Have you tried recreating your favorite styles as S90 performances/multis?

 

The new S90/70XS has more user control over the arps and the S70XS is 44lbs and more portable.

 

Do you need the interactivity of ACMP? Another thought would be to create your song accompaniment on the Tyros and then take the MIDI file and play it back on the S90. Or just create an audio file and play it back on a player (the S70/90XS can also play back audio files).

 

Busch.

[Killerloop]

hi! Thanks.

 

I like playing LIVE with the tyros. So Midi files are no opnion for me.

The S9ES has just ONE Arp. so there are worlds between a tyros and the s90es. Even to the Motif XS that has 4 Arp.

 

The Kurzweil seems to be very good. But I think for 76 keys i would take a motif xs.

But the point is the 76 keys re not good for pianoplaying. i play lots of balads and sensitive stuff too. And therefore i like the weighted action.

 

MAybe the stage 76 or 88. But it is THAT expensive.

[ewall08530]

Hey Killerloop,

Your dilemma is one regularly discussed here. At first I was going to suggest you add a piano module (Gem or Kurzweil ) to your stage compact to give you the light weight rig you need for your 3rd band. But you keep coming back to wanting 88 weighted keys. The weight and size of the S90ES wont fit that bill.

 

You need to check out the lighter weighted digital pianos out there. The Yamaha CP 33, Roland RD 300GX, etc. Something under 40lbs with a smaller footprint than the S90ES.

 

After you find one you like, consider replacing your compact stage with an Electro 3. Keep your Tyros for those gigs you need the ARPS. That would make for powerful lightweight rig.

 

If you want to make it even smaller and less expensive. Go with the lightweight digital piano of your choice and midi the tyros to a Nord Electro rack.

 

Hope you can get this sorted out.

 

ewall.biz

[Killerloop]

Hi!

THanks. Is not easy for me. I'm now thinking maybe to buy an old Nord STage 88 or 76. But is it that much lighter than the s90es for THIS Price?

[Nillerbabs]

The Stage definitely is lighter than the S90, but wouldn't it be a total waste buying it since you dislike the Nord ac-pianos so much?

 

I opt for Ewalls Electro 3 + lightweight DP solution. By tomorrow, my rig will be E3/FP-4, and by eventually adding a synth, i'll have a versatile and portable rig.