Any suggestions on my live gig solo setup?

[leandrusi]

Hello, Ive recently got some solo piano gigs at some weddings and fancy events. I have a little setup for live, Ive used it and it delivers, I dont have any particular problem with it, but I would like to hear your thoughts if you have any technical suggestion, opinions, hacks, whatever would help me sound better.
For the moment Im using:
-Midiplus X8pro (88keys midi controller thats light and easy to carry).
-Laptop with Ableton and a Scarlett audio interface (no perceived latency) and I use Noire and CFX pianos.
-2 Samson auro (6" 100 wats each) active speakers for amp.

I know there are better midi controllers as well as better speakers, you can speak your mind about it and I will consider it, but you might have also suggestions on what I already have (wich I will appreciate since Im slightly above broke currently lol).
THANKS!!

 

[Bouncingogre]

I wish you the best of luck with your bookings and future gigs .
I don't play gigs, but I'm sure you'll pick up lots of advice here

 

[BrianT]

If it's not broke, don't fix it! At least that's the thought that first popped into my mind.

I've actually not used a single thing on your list so have zero personal experience with it. I would find it interesting to see and hear (in person) but not likely.

How do you like the sound of the Samsons? I've never heard a pair of those. I have a set of Behringers (5.25", 150watts,) that are like playing a cheap radio (the only thing in my PA system I'm sorry I bought). Also a set of Alesis monitors (6", 60watts) that are heavy and bassy that I use for my keyboard monitors on stage. I would guess they'd put out enough sound to fill a small room with "background piano" pretty well. Adding vocals, I think I'd need more.

 

[mwtzzz]

The quality of speakers is one of the most crucial components when playing live, so whenever you can, try to replace your Samsons. In my band we use Electro-Voice PXM-12MP as floor monitors. A single one of these would also work for you as your main speaker, either on the floor or mounted on a PA pole.

 

[leandrusi]

If it's not broke, don't fix it! At least that's the thought that first popped into my mind.

I've actually not used a single thing on your list so have zero personal experience with it. I would find it interesting to see and hear (in person) but not likely.

How do you like the sound of the Samsons? I've never heard a pair of those. I have a set of Behringers (5.25", 150watts,) that are like playing a cheap radio (the only thing in my PA system I'm sorry I bought). Also a set of Alesis monitors (6", 60watts) that are heavy and bassy that I use for my keyboard monitors on stage. I would guess they'd put out enough sound to fill a small room with "background piano" pretty well. Adding vocals, I think I'd need more.

Thanks man, I wont need vocals. Samsons are surprisingly loud, clear enough and have nice bass for a piano sound. Trebble I find it a little harsh some times (just a little), I wish I could attenuate, soften or "muffle" it somehow, so that I get a more warm piano sound, I just lower the "trebble" knob a bit.
I think they kill at outdoor gigs, due to their power and clearness. But for an intimate piano sound indoors I might consider others. Another user suggested Electro-Voice PXM-12MP, wich is impossible for me to buy rn.

 

[BrianT]

Thanks man, I wont need vocals. Samsons are surprisingly loud, clear enough and have nice bass for a piano sound. Trebble I find it a little harsh some times (just a little), I wish I could attenuate, soften or "muffle" it somehow, so that I get a more warm piano sound, I just lower the "trebble" knob a bit.
I think they kill at outdoor gigs, due to their power and clearness. But for an intimate piano sound indoors I might consider others. Another user suggested Electro-Voice PXM-12MP, wich is impossible for me to buy rn.

Do your VST's have EQ settings that you can adjust to tailor your sound to the room you're in or the speakers you're using? The only VST I've ever used is Pianoteq and I can do quite a lot with the setting right in there, before it would ever get to the loudspeakers. (Have never really messed with that for live stuff as there are other EQ things readily available on the mixer we use. I'm usually playing with a 3-piece jazz group.)

One thing about solo piano type gigs, you only have to make one thing sound good.

 

[mwtzzz]

One thing about solo piano type gigs, you only have to make one thing sound good.

Yeah, the piano, that's all. When I hear "solo piano" I'm thinking piano and vocals, No backing tracks.

 

[mwtzzz]

Another user suggested Electro-Voice PXM-12MP, wich is impossible for me to buy rn.

Whenever you get to that point, look at Electro-Voice, RCF and high-end Yamahas. Those are the best quality you'll find in the $1000-$2000 range. Also they are built for gigging, you can abuse them, toss them around, without fazing them. The build quality is excellent.

As I mentioned, my band uses EV PXM-12MPs for floor monitors. For mains we use Yamaha DZR-12s. If we didn't have the Yamahas, we'd be looking at mid to upper range RCFs.

We're a busy SoCal cover band. I play keys. The great thing about the aforementioned speakers is the excellent flat frequency response, which is what you need for synths and piano. In addition to keys, we've also got sax, three vocals, and electric guitar going into the sound board. (Guitar is split between his own backline and the PA).

 

[Stilli]

Take a look at Gig Performer as a replacement for Ableton Live, fully customizeable for your vst's and hardware integration.
You may also solve your eq problems.

 

[eac]

My 2 cents: upgrade the speakers. 6 inches with 100 watts isn't the best choice IMO. If you're going with 2 speakers (for stereo I assume), look at the plethora of powered 8" speakers out there. I'm not suggesting this for you need to be louder, but the bigger speaker and more power will lead to better freq. response, less distortion, and a more pleasing sound IMO.

 

[leandrusi]

Whenever you get to that point, look at Electro-Voice, RCF and high-end Yamahas. Those are the best quality you'll find in the $1000-$2000 range. Also they are built for gigging, you can abuse them, toss them around, without fazing them. The build quality is excellent.

As I mentioned, my band uses EV PXM-12MPs for floor monitors. For mains we use Yamaha DZR-12s. If we didn't have the Yamahas, we'd be looking at mid to upper range RCFs.

We're a busy SoCal cover band. I play keys. The great thing about the aforementioned speakers is the excellent flat frequency response, which is what you need for synths and piano. In addition to keys, we've also got sax, three vocals, and electric guitar going into the sound board. (Guitar is split between his own backline and the PA).

I dont know how to multiquote lol
Yeah, will try those, specially if I keep getting more solo piano gigs. Until now I almost never needed to own speakers since my gigs were as keyboardist on bands, and sound was taken care by the event/bar/festival.
Anyways, Im from Argentina so imports are really expensive here... but its possible.

 

[leandrusi]

Take a look at Gig Performer as a replacement for Ableton Live, fully customizeable for your vst's and hardware integration.
You may also solve your eq problems.

Ive got Gig Performer! I didnt had much time to test it yet, but it looks nice, I need to watch some tutorials, tried to make a simple split and got lost.
I dont have any eq problems though, in Ableton you can eq easily and even load eq vsts.
For me to replace Ableton, Gig P would need to really really beat it in performance and use of resources, I havent found any particular feature that they didnt had in common in some way or another.

 

[leandrusi]

My 2 cents: upgrade the speakers. 6 inches with 100 watts isn't the best choice IMO. If you're going with 2 speakers (for stereo I assume), look at the plethora of powered 8" speakers out there. I'm not suggesting this for you need to be louder, but the bigger speaker and more power will lead to better freq. response, less distortion, and a more pleasing sound IMO.

Youre absolutely right! My bad though!, I meant to write 8" idk why I said 6. These Samsons are 8" both, I read somewhere that was the minum acceptable size to get nice low end for piano sounds, as you are confirming.
They sound good, not as warm or "elegant" as in my studio monitors, but a little just a very little harsh on the trebble, I might just eq it via daw. Maybe from a distance it sounds just perfect, Im always listening right next to the thing while its designed to project the sound into an open space...

 

[Stilli]

......
I dont have any eq problems though, in Ableton you can eq easily and even load eq vsts.
.......

Quote: "...... Trebble I find it a little harsh some times (just a little), I wish I could attenuate, soften or "muffle" it somehow, so that I get a more warm piano sound, I just lower the "trebble" knob a bit. ...."

Gig Performer works with VSTs and allows you to use widgets to control the features you need to access in a live situation, the widgets can also be mapped to physical controls on your keyboard or other hardware device.

 

[leandrusi]

Gig Performer works with VSTs and allows you to use widgets to control the features you need to access in a live situation, the widgets can also be mapped to physical controls on your keyboard or other hardware device.

Sounds good to me. Ableton has exactly that too. As I said, the only way I would be inclined towards Gig Performer is if it offered better performance (not pun intended).
Some setups on Ableton can be heavy on my cpu/ram if I load many or heavy vsts at the same time, specially when working on lower buffer sizes to get less latency. Do you know any feature in GP that improves this? Like automatically turning off unused vsts or something?

 

[Stilli]

................
Some setups on Ableton can be heavy on my cpu/ram if I load many or heavy vsts at the same time, specially when working on lower buffer sizes to get less latency. Do you know any feature in GP that improves this? Like automatically turning off unused vsts or something?

The GP application has a very low impact on resources, can use an almost unlimited amount of VSTs organised in 'Rackspaces' for different setups (sounds or songs) and will only load those in the open Rackspace which will stay active until a different Rackspace is opened.
The 'Predictive Loading' feature allows a predetermined number of Rackspaces to pre-load to elimate delays for those VSTs that do not load instantly thereby allowing instant changes with no delay.
Unlimited 'Variations' within each Rackspace allow for instant access to changes in Widget settings with one click.
'Sound Persist' allows the current Rackspace sound to continue while keys are depressed when changing Rackspaces for smooth transitions and preserving audio tails.
'Songbook' allows you to optionally create playlists and also remembers all settings for instant recall.
GP includes a 'Media Player' for pre-recorded playback, full control of midi in/out signals and audio mixing for each Rackspace and has an active Community and Support that you don't have to wait days for an answer.
The Interface is very intuitive with a low learning curve for basic funtions which are adequate for most circumstances.

I have used both and IMO GP out-performs Ableton in every respect for Live work, GP comes with a limited number of included VSTs and is not full of stuff you never use, I am sure that once you try it you will never look back.