Anyone run their patches bone dry?

[bluzeyone]

With the exception of some e-q shelving ect. Or do you always put a tail on that kite(reverb /delay)? Reason why I ask is I was beefin' up a piano patch and found it aggressively nice to play raw and dry. How bout you?

[J. Dan]

I try to use effects sparingly.....sometimes bone dry. Especially organs, EPs, and pianos.

[yannis D]

I dont use effects all the time and one of the basic reasons is that one really cannot know how his/her effects sound in the audience. I prefer to let this be arrangeg by the FOH guys, when there is one. I generally prefer to use effects only when i want to underline my sound or give this litlte "something more", for a part of a song or a hole song.

[WesG]

I'm with Yannis here. Reverb etc often becomes mud by the time the audience hears it.

[SpaceNorman]

I don't use a lot of effects. Most of my patches are essentially "dry" - especially pianos and organs. Strings and pads are about the only sounds that I tend to slather with reverb. Everything else ... not so much.

[Mr. Nightime]

I'll use the effects sparingly. One thing I was taught is that the effects should only be noticeable when they're missing.

 

That being said, I disagree with Yannis. I don't trust the FOH guys in any way with my sound.

 

 

[DanL]

Not bone dry but I don't use much reverb. Delays or chorusing all depends on the sound I'm after.

[marczellm]

It SHOULD be the mixing guy's job to know what eq/reverb to use, but it is hard to find one who knows how to do their job well.

 

One thing I work hard to remember is to turn off all onboard reverb when playing in old churches

[Skinny]

I don't think I ever added reverb to any of my sounds.

 

However, I pretty much had effects chains on all of my sounds on my Triton. That's not to say I loaded them up just because I could; I had many complex Combis programmed with splits/layers/output routing for a lot of dance/pop tunes, with tasteful effects to add a little color.

 

One funny thing about the Triton - not sure if other 'boards are the same way - when you remove effects from the sounds, they're weak, quiet, and lifeless. Maybe they're loaded up with effects to sound good in the store...?

[Marzzz]

Maybe they're loaded up with effects to sound good in the store...?

Bingo!

[Stokely]

...and sound good in stereo, so obviously if you play mono you need to make sure the patches still sound ok mono before-hand!

 

Most places are going to have reverb by virtue of the FOH sound bouncing around...some way too much. Then again, places like an outdoor gig might have none of that. We typically don't have a soundman unless we are playing at a benefit etc so I stay on the dry-ish side by default. One great thing about in-ear monitors is that I can actually hear my patches well enough to notice things like reverb ;-)

[Jazz+]

On live gigs quite often. The rooms are already reverb effected enough.

[Joe Muscara]

I want to hear the "reverb" of the actual room I'm in, not some artificial thing when I'm playing. The only time I use reverb is when I'm trying to create a room in a recording.

 

That's one thing that bugged me about iOS 8 (or was it 7? ). Apple added a little reverb to the notification sounds. Ugh. They used to be dry.

[RABid]

Built in Effects + PA Effects + Natural Room Reverb = Mud

 

Well, at least, much of the time. I use echo if the part calls for it, course or flange on pads to match a recording, never reverb.

[Bill H.]

Pianos always dry. It may sound a little stark through my stage monitor, but that's never the case in the room. I sometimes put a small amount one reflection echo on my pads though. It gives them a little air.

[mate stubb]

I use echo or chorus on EPs sometimes, echo on organ occasionally, reverb hardly ever.

[synthizen2]

Just a tiny "splash" of reverb on most of my sounds, even live. I haven't played stadiums yet; if I ever get to that place, I will then worry about removing the reverb altogether. Most bars, small clubs, even modest sized festival stages... all seem to come out OK with the tiny reverb splash.

[Skinny]

That's one thing that bugged me about iOS 8 (or was it 7? ). Apple added a little reverb to the notification sounds. Ugh. They used to be dry.

#firstworldproblems

[B. J. Love]

In the blues band, I run the piano dry. If I want a reverb effect on the EPs, I'll usually choose a plate - you can make 'em gooey and still keep it pretty short. For the Hammond, I'll run dry or add a spring reverb - again as an obvious effect. My solo act is just piano with LH acoustic bass. I run them dry out of the instrument, but send just a touch thru the vocal reverb - usually a small hall - just to put everything in the same "room."

[Threadslayer]

Pianos always dry. It may sound a little stark through my stage monitor,

Stark. Of course. That's it exactly. I've been trying to capture that unpleasant sensation in words for decades. Thank you. I find this especially hard to take with piano patches. I'd rather hear the FOH bouncing back of the rear wall than a 'stark' (snark?) monitor sounding like fingernails on a chalkboard.

[Ken Beaumont]

I send them to the FOH dry, but add a little reverb to my monitors. My vocals I keep that dry in my monitor no effects and a flat eq. I can't stand heavy reverb in a vocal monitor or anything other than vocals in it drives me crazy.

[sagetunes]

Pianos---bone dry. Even if it sounds a bit brittle all by itself, it cuts thru the mix, and i find it sounds strong on the live recordings. Clone Organ, just a touch of reverb, slight wetness translates into some warmth. Wurlitzer EP---tremelo, dirt...no reverb. Rhodes--studio recording--bone dry, live gigs I can't use digital Rhodes because I don't have one that I like.

[bluzeyone]

Great feedback here! Thats the first thing I noticed. Really brought a sense of realism and intimancy. Certainly couldn't call the "Grand piano" a grand piano but a humble decent upright for sure. I feel the pain of reverb in a reverb room. Yuk! Also know the pain of soundcats not having a clue how to mix keyboards. Makes for a looong mid-range muddy gig!

[bluzeyone]

I swear some of these sound guys Set the knobs to 12 o'clock, Say you are ready and walk away for the rest of the night!

[Mr. Nightime]

I swear some of these sound guys Set the knobs to 12 o'clock, Say you are ready and walk away for the rest of the night!

 

That is EXACTLY why I won't depend on the FOH guys for my sound.

 

There's a revived thread about how we came to this place. I looked at my first post, and it was about how I refused to NOT have my amp on stage, relying of the sound guy.

 

That view has not changed

[Threadslayer]

Even if it sounds a bit brittle all by itself,

Another good word for it.

[JeffLearman]

There's usually already too much reverb in most venues, so why add more? It can be cool to use as an effect, like a guitar amp reverb, but either rarely or sparingly. If everyone adds reverb to everything, it just muddies it all up.

 

On the other hand, a little carefully crafted stereo reverb can add image that actually makes it easier to mentally "locate" the instrument. For example, minimizing tails but having shorter early reflections on the same side the keyboards are on stage, and longer early reflections on the opposite side, helps (better than panning, actually) to mentally locate the piano on its side in the soundstage, and the visual and audio images line up. But as mentioned above, used sparingly, not enough to make a very roomy sound, just enough to add the image.

 

I haven't actually done this live, only in recordings, but I'm convinced it would be good live too, in a venue with a decent stereo setup. I haven't had sufficient control over the reverbs I've used live (haven't used computer-based reverbs live).

[Theo Verelst]

There are a number of reasons why a live-produced sound can have effects built in: to make the sound warmer or more alive in general, to compensate for certain deficiencies (like sample boringness) or errors (sampling error corrections with a Lexicon, for instance), to specifically work on subjects like a certain type of sound with warmth and speciousness in the right places, and things like presence and reverb compensation (like a PA with a reverb can make a sound more smooth and less boomy, provided the used (anti-) reverb and sound system are of sufficient quality.

 

Except for basic chorus (bit warmer, nice stereo image and possibly emphasis of certain tone ranges as intended) some first reflection or speaker system challenging delay, and a touch of nice reverb just because that (should) sound so darn good, all these subjects are hard.

 

T.

[ITGITC]

 

Performing live always presents a unique set of challenges.

 

If I'm working with a sound guy, I'm going to keep it simple and hope for the best...

 

And, agreeing with Kanker, mono is the way to go (with minimal effects).

 

OTOH, if I'm playing a gig in someone's living room, anything goes. I use two QSC K10s and play in stereo using whatever effects that will help me sound my best.

 

In the words of my father: Use the force (your ears), Luke.

 

Happy Holidays, my KC friends!

 

Tom

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HammondDave]

Yes.