3 keyboard setup, does it work for you?

[DanL]

Stand up when you sing!

 

I do a combo of sitting and standing even with my 2 board rig. With the 3 boards, the top board will mostly be for leads, and I will probably stand up for them since it's my little time in the spotlight. I set up facing the band with my rig at a 90 degree angle to the audience in the 3 board band so people can still see me. I'll probably be more visible without the L shape double keyboard stacks.

[niacin]

Neal Evans has a Roland A-70 (or similar) on top of his Hammond, and his Clavinet on top of that. Yeah it's not a great pic, you can find videos that give you a good look. Playing left hand bass all night like that would kill me, but he manages just fine.

 

http://www.dirtyimpound.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Keyed_NealEvans.jpg

[stevie b]

Stand up when you sing!

 

I do sometimes when soloing on keys.

I don't actually sit low to begin with and never have found a drum throne tall enough to suit my tastes. I've resorted back to carrying around a bar stool which leaves me half sitting/ half standing.

With that, the bottom keys are higher than they would be so overall stack height still matters.

[CEB]

[video:youtube]

[Adam Burgess]

Few years ago, my rig was a stupidly heavy Fatar 900 or something, an XP50, a Juno60 on a Quiklok 3 tier stand. I'd sit and it was fine. Also had a U20 (with hardly any keys left on it) offstage for one specific digital synthy string sound on it. Hmm, that was a Roland period...

 

Standing, L-shaped with 3 (or 4) is the only way to go, I found. I'm pretty tall and stands have been my nemesis many times. When I transitioned into Stage 2 land, I had that atop a CP33 and a Triton to the side. Really enjoyed it.

 

Last resident gig I had, I could've done everything I needed on the Stage 2, probably... But much harder to set up and care needed with splits/sampling etc. Had the Kronos atop that which actually did most of the work. No room for anything else to the side, unfortunately. But I did strap an AX-Synth on now and again (!)

 

So, like anything - it depends on the gig! But, I do love a good L-shape!

[Michael Wright]

Currently i have a 2 keyboard setup.. But GAS is building..

Whats your opinion on 3 keyboard setups?

I prefer 3, piano, poly synth, organ on top. I sit and stand.

[Mike Kent]

I don't like 3 keyboards stacked. A stack of 2 is great. If I have 3, then I go with an L setup.

 

I always stand to play. I usually use 2 keyboards stacked. When I use 3 one is put to the side. Left or right side depends on my placement on stage, the songs. etc. But I don't often play 2 keyboards simultaneously that are 90 degrees to each other. The one on its own is mostly played just by itself.

 

If I'm playing lots of demanding organ (VK-8, VR-09, or Hammond), then it is often not in the double stack, but by itself because playing organ properly usually takes all of me, both hands. I don't often play organ with one hand and some other instrument with the other.

 

Sometimes the one to the side is there for limited use, a special application for a small number of songs, like for this concert:

(anyone else annoyed by the slant on the organ in this pic?)

 

http://i343.photobucket.com/albums/o480/SynMike/synths/IMG_9739.jpg

[Losendoskeys]

My 3 stack vocal set up looked like this:

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o430/alanjpearson/Keyboard%20Rig/DSC01721.jpg

[Michael Wright]

http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv94/ouananiche1/IMG_0731.jpg

[allan_evett]

 

The more they pay, the more I´m the slave.

When they pay not much, I´m the man deciding what will be set up on stage and bring in my ego.

 

A.C.

 

I'm with Al Coda on this. Three keyboards+ is great, when it's called for and the pay is appropriate. For a Pink Floyd tribute gig I covered last year, this is what I used:

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt198/allanevett/1-15_zps5lcour99.jpg

The S90XS / JP-50 / Kronos 61 stack well on the Standtastic KSB103, and it's very helpful to have this variety of tools on hand for the gig - but only when there's time and space to rig this type of setup. For the same gig I sometimes eliminated the JP-50 and separate rack/mixer - which is typical for most of the basic, weekend-type gigs that I play.

 

 

I have an assortment of gear I can build several configurations of keyboard rigs from.

It´s not the latest greatest gear, but gear I know well.

 

My typical two keyboard stack varies. While there's usually a weighted 76 or 88 on the bottom (Kurzweil Forte 7, or Yamaha S90XS), the top can be either the Kronos 61, or Hammond XK-1c - depending on how much synth / ROMpler is needed up-top. I used to use the JP-50 second tier for country (the SN fiddle-elec. violin, banjo, and accordion are mainstays for me), but with so much B3 in country now I feel a bit lacking without a solid clonewheel; so the Kronos is the best compromise there. And covering with one keyboard has come into play more often recently. While the S90XS can cover that capably (with a couple of dialed-in Motif XS organ Voices), I've been programming the Forte 7 to step into that role. Like A.C., I have other stuff that can be brought into play as needed - modules, computer, additional keyboards; but that depends on the gig. Been awhile since I've done anything live that required extensive stack-n-rack work, virtual or hardware.

 

 

 

[AnotherScott]

Three keyboards+ is great, when it's called for and the pay is appropriate.

Ironically, I tend to bring the most boards when the pay is least appropriate. ;-)

 

I brought 6 boards for the prog/ELP show I did a few months ago... I make more when I play a wedding.

 

On one side, I stacked a Casio 88, Numa Organ, Nord Wave, plus a MicroKorg velcro'd to the Nord Wave (mostly because it was the easiest/best way to get the S&H sound for Karn Evil 9). On the other side, I had a Kurzweil Artis7 and Yamaha MOX6.

 

 

[hardware]

I can access 36 parts per song using a total of 4 buttons with a 3 inch knob for scrolling.

 

Been using racks of synths and 8 zone controllers.

No set lists most of the time.

Chain functions aren't allowed.

 

Pretty sure Frankenstein using 7 parts is the most I use recently.

Most are usually 4 or 5.

Certain Tull songs have 6 since I have to do Guitar parts too.

 

I have to have a small control area for everything.

Can't be reaching around changing presets.

I swell horn sections B3 drawbars all by FC7s.

 

Just depends what Master MIDI Controller you use.

Personal preference.

 

 

 

Who has time to scroll while using both hands to play parts? I want to press a button or 2 to call up a preset and have it change the patches on my other boards, and then not have to worry about doing any other patch changes during a song. I'm trying to think how I'd pull off Dogs or something like that with just 2 boards, unless I had a rack of synths and then I'd still have to make changes to how things are mapped during the song.

 

Scroll only occurs for song selection when 2 hands are free.

One wipes my sweaty head or chugs Jager, the other selects via scroll, usually sequential, one or two clicks on the vaults combination.

I use 2 feet and 2 hands.

The days of keys only left me years ago.

 

If I could use Vector synthesis more often Id stick a joystick up my arse and rub up against my rack.

 

No shame in my approach to increase my value.

Friends tell me I kiss too much band leader ass.

I give facials and use both hands in that endeavor too.

 

This gear isnt cheap you know....

[Fusker]

This very topic has been vexing me the last couple weeks and there have been some responses in this thread that have made me reevaluate my life. ;-)

 

I'm currently running my PX and Nord at gigs, but have been ignoring my Moog, which makes me feel bad. So I've been wracking my brain for the best way to incorporate my 3rd (Moog), and oh yeah, it'd be nice to throw my iPad into the mix, so I just bought a mini-mixer as well.

 

So some of the responses here have made me say to myself, WTH am I doing making this so complicated when I would probably use the Moog in like 5 songs in a 4 hour set? Stage space is at a premium my most regular gigs, this is stupid. I should take the $100 here, $100 there and come up with a better plan that uses two KB's.

 

Mini-rant, but the topic fit the bill. Think I'm going with 2 keyboards unless it's a big gig with a giant stage....and even then I might stick with two.

[ProfD]

A 3-KB rig would be nice for convenience but I would be inclined to show 2 KBs in an L-configuration and hide 1 KB (tone generator) in a rack.

 

Nowadays, I hear mostly AP, EP or organ sounds. I do not see/hear elaborate MIDI set-ups consisting of pads, strings, brass, bells and whistles.

[keyskat]

L-shape Moog LP on the L, otherwise 2 tier with es-7 bottom sk-1 top.

Love it, but I only play 2 or 3 gigs a month.If I was F/T giggin I would get very small...If I was touring I would get big again...LOL funny how that works!

 

[drohm]

I can never get a comfortable position when stacking 3 keyboards. If I use more than two keyboards at a gig, I use the L shape. I like Piano/Wurli/Rhodes on bottom, Organ/Clav on 2nd tier, with Moog for solos to my right.

 

 

http://www.wavepackets.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/59774_10202010303118338_22714117_n.jpg

 

Usually, I only use two keybaords, but on occasion I also use a macbook with some soft synths.

 

http://www.wavepackets.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/IMG_1101.jpg

 

[seratone]

I gigged and rehearsed for a year or two with a MOX 6, a Nord electro 4d and a Korg R3 on top. I was playing in two indie bands at the time - one where I played a lot of analog/sine leads...the other we has a lead singer/bassist who often got swept away and would stop actually playing the bass - so I'd comp on the R3.... I alway use Apex Stands with and extra yoke and bars on each - one for my house and one at the rehearsal hall....hipsters would snicker when the older guy showed up with the ELP rig.... Guys in both bands laughed at me - why not use a laptop, main stage and an 88 key controller? Not sure I have an answer for that - other that I don't play music with computers - record, yes, but church and state for playing...

[aellison62]

2 keyboards for me, the days are gone when 3 are needed ( which I had for 15 years during my original band's heyday) due to multi timbral, multi zone master " bottom" boards and a utility ( VA, or analogue synth, Hammond clone, etc.) upper board, with proper programming you can easily cover all bases, for those really specific moments the IPad and it's soft synths/ sample tank, etc....can be utilized.