Alright, I'm very new to the stage piano scene, but my jazz and blues band has starting getting gigs, and I want to improve my live sound. I've saved up a bit, and my budget is right around 2 grand. I currently have a Casio Privia PX-130, which for the price sounds great, but it has a lack of diversity.
I run through a Roland KC-60 amp... which I'm not happy with, it doesn't sound great, and I get a lot of distortion when I play louder (which makes sense, it was a cheap amp and my only option at the time). I've oddly been the most happy with my sound when I ran through my friends bass amp, unfortunately I don't remember the brand.
Now, obviously I have a few decisions, and I would like advice from those that have been there. Firstly, do I run with just keys or do I get a decent laptop and run through VSTs? I mostly use pianos and organs, but I've used strings plenty and my sax player REALLY wants me to have a Styx-esque synth sound. So having a few Synth Lead effects, and maybe some pads too, would be excellent. Is there a keys setup out there that has these options without a laptop? Better yet are there keyboards that I can load VSTs into? I've googled it and come up with nada, but I know that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
If I do run through VSTs on a computer... do I even need a new keyboard? I'm ok with the feel of the Privia, not the best but not bad either, and it has 88 keys and can be used as a controller. If that's the case, I know not any laptop will do, I tried using my current laptop and it had about a quarter to half second of delay... way too much for live performance obviously. So then what options are out there? Do I need to go all the way to a MacBook Pro or is there an external sound card or something that fixes it?
Secondly, what kind of amplification do I need? Is it pretty much PA or gtfo? Or will a bass amp work well? I'm not doing massive venues (I wish) but we do bars sometimes, and then sometimes we do outdoor events, so I do need something that can crank pretty well. Some venues have just had me run through their PA, which worked well, but not all places have that option.
I'm sorry to ask so much all at once, but sometimes I feel like the only keyboardist in my area, I have no one to ask about these things in person, so I figured I'd give the good ol' interwebs a try. Thanks in advance for all your advice!
I run through a Roland KC-60 amp... which I'm not happy with, it doesn't sound great, and I get a lot of distortion when I play louder (which makes sense, it was a cheap amp and my only option at the time). I've oddly been the most happy with my sound when I ran through my friends bass amp, unfortunately I don't remember the brand.
Now, obviously I have a few decisions, and I would like advice from those that have been there. Firstly, do I run with just keys or do I get a decent laptop and run through VSTs? I mostly use pianos and organs, but I've used strings plenty and my sax player REALLY wants me to have a Styx-esque synth sound. So having a few Synth Lead effects, and maybe some pads too, would be excellent. Is there a keys setup out there that has these options without a laptop? Better yet are there keyboards that I can load VSTs into? I've googled it and come up with nada, but I know that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
If I do run through VSTs on a computer... do I even need a new keyboard? I'm ok with the feel of the Privia, not the best but not bad either, and it has 88 keys and can be used as a controller. If that's the case, I know not any laptop will do, I tried using my current laptop and it had about a quarter to half second of delay... way too much for live performance obviously. So then what options are out there? Do I need to go all the way to a MacBook Pro or is there an external sound card or something that fixes it?
Secondly, what kind of amplification do I need? Is it pretty much PA or gtfo? Or will a bass amp work well? I'm not doing massive venues (I wish) but we do bars sometimes, and then sometimes we do outdoor events, so I do need something that can crank pretty well. Some venues have just had me run through their PA, which worked well, but not all places have that option.
I'm sorry to ask so much all at once, but sometimes I feel like the only keyboardist in my area, I have no one to ask about these things in person, so I figured I'd give the good ol' interwebs a try. Thanks in advance for all your advice!
