Dig My Rig--Let's see your setup!

[Mighty Ferguson]

I posted this on KC2, but I don't think I did it over here. Pic taken at our rehearsal space. Kronos 2 61 over a Roland VR-700. All sounds come from the Kronos, the VR-700 is functioning as a controller. The VR-700 can also be used for backup bread and butter sounds if something goes wrong with the Kronos, although I've done so much work on the Kronos sounds and because we use sequences for some backing parts/sound effects on a couple of songs, I'd still be pretty screwed.

 

It took jumping through a bunch of hoops, but I've got it set up so I can control the Kronos CX3 drawbars from the VR-700 drawbars, as well as get the high trigger point on the VR-700 keys for organ patches. For other sounds, it transmits regular trigger point/velocity info. Ventilator 2 is mounted to the left of the Kronos, with audio being routed out a separate output on the Kronos and then back in to one of the inputs to be mixed with the other sounds for each song. So no matter what song/sound, overall volume for everything is always controlled from the Kronos master volume. I've got the Vent in arms reach because I like to play with the overdrive level during solos and stuff. If someone has an easy way to remote control that from a Kronos knob, let me know. To the right of the Kronos is a small mixer for the audio of the two keyboards and a monitor feed back from the board. I send a feed from there to the PA for the audience. Out of the picture is a Mackie speaker I'm using as a stage monitor.

 

And yes, the front of the Kronos is sitting right on top of the VR-700. I'm using the riser part of the second tier of the stand for the back of the Kronos, then the front sits on some non-slip pads on the VR-700. It works, with these two boards at least.

 

http://i.imgur.com/V1xbNOo.jpg

[DanL]

After my major failures with the Receptor, here's my updated rig, with the Nord Lead A1 replacing the Moog Phatty and Ultranova.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj60/dan88z/Mobile%20Uploads/20160126_110604_zps2tvxijcy.jpg

 

Here's what's in the rack, just some basic stuff. The laptop is used for learning songs and doing some library stuff with the Nord, it's not really part of the rig.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj60/dan88z/Mobile%20Uploads/20160224_115633_zpsltx1nhov.jpg

[Tonysounds]

Hey Dan, have you gigged this rig yet? I worry that a triple stack obscures you from the audience....not to mention the reach!!

 

I front my FLoyd band, so that is not an option!

[tucktronix]

My setup with the blues/soul/funk/rock band..

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa20/tucktronix/12744301_10206052984059769_2793002512991503711_n.jpg

[DanL]

Have not gigged it, but have rehearsed with it. It's not too high, and I use my stool set up pretty tall, and stand quite a bit depending on what's going on. Also, I set up at a 90 to the audience, facing the band. No one wants to see my ugly mug anyway! I don't sing in this band at all.

 

The reach is fine- the gap between the SK and Nord is only about 4".

 

The only ergonomic issue I have found is during the 1st synth solo on Dogs, there is B3 holding chords in the upper part of the keyboard, so I've been doing the solo left handed.

[Tonysounds]

Dogs....i've done it both ways (left and right handed solo).

 

With the Receptor (damn dude...I'm still stunned at that), I had the solo in the left hand. Now, the Moog gets the feature, and that's on my right.

 

It was easier to play the solo with the left hand! :LOL

[Joe P]

I posted this on KC2, but I don't think I did it over here. Pic taken at our rehearsal space. Kronos 2 61 over a Roland VR-700. All sounds come from the Kronos, the VR-700 is functioning as a controller. The VR-700 can also be used for backup bread and butter sounds if something goes wrong with the Kronos, although I've done so much work on the Kronos sounds and because we use sequences for some backing parts/sound effects on a couple of songs, I'd still be pretty screwed.

 

It took jumping through a bunch of hoops, but I've got it set up so I can control the Kronos CX3 drawbars from the VR-700 drawbars, as well as get the high trigger point on the VR-700 keys for organ patches. For other sounds, it transmits regular trigger point/velocity info. Ventilator 2 is mounted to the left of the Kronos, with audio being routed out a separate output on the Kronos and then back in to one of the inputs to be mixed with the other sounds for each song. So no matter what song/sound, overall volume for everything is always controlled from the Kronos master volume. I've got the Vent in arms reach because I like to play with the overdrive level during solos and stuff. If someone has an easy way to remote control that from a Kronos knob, let me know. To the right of the Kronos is a small mixer for the audio of the two keyboards and a monitor feed back from the board. I send a feed from there to the PA for the audience. Out of the picture is a Mackie speaker I'm using as a stage monitor.

 

And yes, the front of the Kronos is sitting right on top of the VR-700. I'm using the riser part of the second tier of the stand for the back of the Kronos, then the front sits on some non-slip pads on the VR-700. It works, with these two boards at least.

 

http://i.imgur.com/V1xbNOo.jpg

 

Nice rig, man. I see I am not the only one who uses yellow vinyl tape to locate things. What are they for on your rig? You have 2 on the VR and one on the Kronos. Kronos one looks like it locates the sequencer stop? And what Mackie do you use?

[DanL]

I have had ZERO response by both Muse and iLok in over a month. Muse pretty much said "it's old and we don't know what the former owner did to it". I followed up with a "what would it take to replace the hard drive if you think that's the problem" and got nothing.

 

iLok apparently read from a "customer service" script and after about 8 emails finally circled around to the initial question of asking the former owner of the ilock (which was Muse it seems) to transfer the ownership of the software to me. I said yes, and never heard anything else.

[marczellm]

http://i.imgur.com/VjnFOmKh.jpg

Using the kind of setup you mentioned, I'm not sure how I could get both of the above, but I'm always willing to look at other options if they can streamline the rig without compromising preferences.

In different bands, I used my JUNO to send Program Change to the NS2 and vice versa. Also MIDI control is possible both ways and with configurable ranges, however some workarounds are needed.

[Mighty Ferguson]

Nice rig, man. I see I am not the only one who uses yellow vinyl tape to locate things. What are they for on your rig? You have 2 on the VR and one on the Kronos. Kronos one looks like it locates the sequencer stop? And what Mackie do you use?

 

Thanks Joe! Yup, yellow tape below the start/stop on for the sequencer on the Kronos. It helps draw my eye to the right button under stage lights, etc. Before I put the tape on I hit the tap tempo button by mistake on more than one occasion. I think part of the problem is you can't disable the tempo light, even when the sequencer tempo light is blinking out of sync with it. A shortcoming of the Kronos, but a bit of a nitpick if I can solve it with tape I guess.

 

The two pieces of tape on the VR-700 are just to give a visual indicator of where a 61 key synth would begin and end, mainly for organ playing. The CX-3 in the Kronos will of course play below and above that range, but I try to keep my playing in the range of a real tonewheel manual and the tape is a bit of a security blanket for that. I could probably just limit the range of the patch in the Kronos too. Meh. :-)

 

I also have a bit of tape on the Vent to mark of where I like the knobs, as they get moved a bit when it's in transit in my bag. It blends in with the Vent's colors though, so it doesn't stand out. Not shown is the yellow tape on the stand that helps me put the VR-700 in the right place each time. As I'm resting the Kronos on it, it has to be in the right place or the Kronos wobbles a bit.

 

The Mackie is a Thump 12 that I acquired through a Craigslist trade for a bass I had and didn't play (because it was hard and I wasn't good at it right away). It's not the best powered speaker, but I'm happy enough with it for stage monitoring and it's really lightweight compared to some of the others people on here favor.

[Mighty Ferguson]

My setup with the blues/soul/funk/rock band..

 

I love seeing people gig with the CX-3. I have such a soft spot for that beast. 2 sets of drawbars, a flat top you can put another synth on, the keys feel great, and through a Vent it sounds awesome. In a hard case it might as well be made out of solid gold it's so heavy. If I didn't need 76 keys in my current gig (and felt confident enough in the Kronos to gig without backup bread and butter sounds), I'd totally be gigging mine still. Even with it sitting unused at the moment, I have no plans to get rid of it.

[Canoehead]

Hey Ferguson, how did you get the VR 700 drawbars to control the CX3 engine? I've been looking for a way to do the same with a Studiologic VMK Organ and Kronos?

 

Thanks,

Gord.

[Mighty Ferguson]

Hey Ferguson, how did you get the VR 700 drawbars to control the CX3 engine? I've been looking for a way to do the same with a Studiologic VMK Organ and Kronos?

 

Thanks,

Gord.

 

The Kronos CX-3 engine drawbars are controlled via MIDI sysex messages. You can control them with different messages for either Program mode or Combi mode. I think I've seen both posted on here, so a google search of this site will probably turn up the Program mode ones. I use them in Combi mode as I can set up both manuals that way, or I've got other sounds up on one or both of the keyboards as well. This is the sysex for Combi mode:

 

F0 42 30 68 43 1C tt 00 04 xx 00 00 yy F7 where

* tt = combination track 1-16(00-0F)

* xx = db num (0-8)

* yy = positon (0-8)

 

So basically that means set tt to whatever Combi part you're using for CX3, xx for which drawbar, and yy for the position of that drawbar. So knowing that, you then need to be able to transmit those values from the VMK sliders. My VR-700 drawbars transmit sysex, but the wrong values so I needed something to translate those. I took a quick look at the VMK MIDI spec and it looks like the sliders transmit MIDI Control Changes, so you will also need something to translate the values into the proper sysex. I'm using a MIDI Solutions Event Processor box, and I'd recommend the same for you. You can set it up so that the MIDI CC number and value send out a specific sysex message. You'll probably need to use a range for the CC values, as they go 0-127 rather than 0-8 like a drawbar. I think it would look kind of like this:

 

Slider 1 CC# xx value 0 = Kronos drawbar 1 position 0

Slider 1 CC# xx value 1-16 = Kronos drawbar 1 position 1

Slider 1 CC# xx value 17-32 = Kronos drawbar 1 position 2

 

...and so on for all 8 positions of all 9 drawbars. That may require the Plus version of the Event Processor box, which has more memory. This stuff is a bit daunting so I'd recommend buying the Event Processor from Bruce at Ashby Solutions. He'd be able to tell you which version of the box you need for that many instructions, as well as program it for you for a nominal fee. He might also be able to condense it to something more simple with less instructions. Well worth it in my opinion.

 

Now that its all set up, it works perfectly for me. The MIDI Solution box is very small, and is able to get enough power from most keyboards to not require a power adapter. There's no latency or anything. If you can change the CC numbers per patch on the VMK, you could even have different patches set up to control upper and lower manual drawbars.

[Canoehead]

Thanks Ferguson. That is very helpful.

 

Cheers

Gord

[ScottKahn]

My rig as of two weeks ago:

 

http://dreameternalbliss.com/images/scott_keybd_rig2015.jpg

 

But the virtual rig on the left is being replaced now with just a NI Komplete Kontrol S61.

 

Rack has Roland XP-3080, Korg Wagestation AD, and I just picked up a Roland D-550 for it. New rack case and new mixer coming soon...

 

Computer: main virtual instruments come from Arturia V-Collection and Rob Pappen Blue II, plus various other misc. ones...

 

I play keyboards in the modern rock band, Dream Eternal Bliss.

 

http://spoti.fi/1O752kF

 

[video:youtube]

 

[drohm]

My rig as of two weeks ago:

 

http://dreameternalbliss.com/images/scott_keybd_rig2015.jpg

 

Nice setup! The video is also really cool.

[JWhllr]

Apologies for bringing up an old thread again, but I finally got my setup set up again with a new Nordic addition... Novation SL MkII is hiding beneath the computer keyboard. It's a tad shy.

 

http://s14.postimg.org/pn0e6jeld/12828360_10207948259237859_1299335310006942096_o.jpg

[DanL]

Here's my updated rig with the Nord Lead A1 replacing the Phatty and Ultranova. These are from a show my band Echoes played last weekend.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj60/dan88z/Mobile%20Uploads/20160311_163054_zpsnlpaa7yo.jpg

 

From the balcony:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj60/dan88z/Mobile%20Uploads/20160311_172253_zpst9foowte.jpg

 

 

[16251]

One of my favorite threads! Keep those pics coming.

[Joe Muscara]

Apologies for bringing up an old thread again

Nope - this is one of those threads that's meant to be brought up when appropriate!

[Joe P]

Dan,

 

How do you use the pads on the FA08? I see some are lit, some are not. Triggering samples?

 

Joe

[DanL]

Joe, for this band I use them to trigger samples. The lit ones have samples assigned. I have 3 banks I use. 1 is a mix of things, 2 is Dark Side of the Moon, and 3 is Animals and Wish You Were Here. I organize them in order of their use for each set.

 

I can tell the pads are set for WWYH/Animals by the pic. 1- Dogs1, 2-Dogs2, 3-Pigs1, 4-Pigs2, 5-Sheep1 6-sheep2 7-Sheep3 9-Machine1 10-Machine2, 11-WWYH intro 12-WWYH/Shine6-9 segue wind.

 

In my other band I put them in numeric key pad mode to quickly change studio sets.

[Joe P]

Cool!

 

Thanks, so far I use mine (also FA08) for the cash register sound at the beginning of Money (I trigger it in the middle of the song too) and the hand drum at the beginning of Time.

[Michael W]

Due to medical/health reasons I cannot play out these days, so my rig is just here at home. I have a few other synths, but these are the only ones I am playing these days - my Yamaha MOXF8, Roland Jupiter-50, and Access Virus Polar. Oh, and my 27" iMac has at least a dozen software synths (Diva, Omnisphere, MOTU Ethno 2, and a bunch of others).

 

http://www.fototime.com/F2A1757143297F2/medium800.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/51B23B19AF6175D/medium800.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/611F1A0535EF93D/medium800.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/46082284ECF812C/large.jpg

 

 

[drohm]

Michael - I have watched a lot of you demo videos. Thanks for sharing! Love the rig!

[Michael Wright]

Apologies for bringing up an old thread

Youre kidding right? We live for this thread!

[DanL]

Nice setup Michael!

[Markyboard]

Very nice Michael! I'm curious about your monitoring. Do you have a monitor switcher or are they all active at the same time?

[Michael W]

Michael - I have watched a lot of you demo videos. Thanks for sharing! Love the rig!

 

Thanks! I have enjoyed doing the videos. I have been battling some bad health issues over the past couple of years, but I'm hoping to get them under control, and be back into my music soon.

[Michael W]

Very nice Michael! I'm curious about your monitoring. Do you have a monitor switcher or are they all active at the same time?

 

Thanks.

 

I recently picked up the second pair of Yamahas and probably need to get some kind of monitor switcher. Or, I can pull out a Mackie mixer that I have and use it to control the monitors.

 

I stopped using the mixer a year or two ago, because everything sounds better with my keyboards and speakers plugged directly into my Steinberg UR44 audio interface. The UR44 has a Main Output with a volume control (that I use for one set of monitors), and two sets of line outs that do NOT have any kind of volume control. At present, I have the second set of monitors plugged into one of the line output pairs, and turn the monitors on and off manually. This is obviously not the best solution.