Whats a killer REVERB for live solo piano?

[leandrusi]

Hi! Ive recently gotten some gigs to solo piano at some weddings and fancy social events and I want to get the best sound possible with my current gear.
Ive got a pretty good midi controller+laptop with piano vsts combo, but I could use some reverb. The default on the vsts themselves, as well as the stock rev in Ableton are ok and do the job, but I imagine theres gotta be some other dedicated reverb that could really enhance the sound/stereo image of the piano, to get a really elegant, full sound.

And before you suggest "Valhalla supermassive", Im not looking for the piano to sound like its in outer space and the chords to last longer than they supposed to so they start to crash with eachother into a harmonic chaos, I just need something NICE that mimics a medium/large space with a grandpiano sounding good on it, thanks! lol (Just in case, im just joking, and I love Valhalla, but not for this kind of job, Its cocktail, not lo-fi, or "ambient").

So, Ill be wating for your kind suggestions, thanks in advanced! CHEERS!

 

[happyrat1]

Buy an FX pedal with digital delay. Zoom MS70cdr works very nicely for my purposes.

 

[mwtzzz]

In general you need very little reverb when you play out, owing to the natural ambience in the venues you play. I run the PA in my band, I use the mixer's built-in effects to add a *slight* amount of reverb (almost unnoticeable) on everyone's channels and that's it. I don't add any reverb on my keyboard patches.

If you absolutely want/need a pedal for reverb, you can use the Boss Space Echo. I've got one, but I never use it, due to aforementioned reason.

 

[BrianT]

Probably a lot depends on the room, and that's going to be different everywhere you go.

Even a substantial acoustic grand piano will sound quite different in different spaces.

Have you ever put your keyboard into demo mode or played back a piano track on it and gone out into a room to listen to what it sounds like out there? It can sound pretty good, whether mono or stereo (not wanting to open that can of worms) but usually quite different from what we keyboard players tend to like in our monitors.

I'm not sure reverb is your friend in most cases, and even when it is, minimal is probably best. You can get some strange sounds when studio reverb meets room acoustics, not likely the heavenly thing you may experience in your headphones.

 

[mwtzzz]

And actually, when playing live, slapback delay is better than reverb, for reasons given by @BrianT

 

[musicbysterling]

As little as possible for ANY device you choose. When you’re setting up your sound, I’d suggest dropping the reverb mix by at least 25% for the signal to FOH. Also, if the device of your choosing has reflection controls, avoid the late reflections, as the room will usually have ample late reflections.

 

[Stilli]

.............

And before you suggest "Valhalla supermassive", ......

Valhalla have other superb reverbs as do Soundtoys and Bluecat which may be worth a try depending on what sort of sound you are after, I personally wouldn't use Ableton's Reverb for anything.
As others have said be careful with reverb in a live setting as you may get a lot from the room anyway and unless you are performing a piano ballad a little may be too much.
You could also try a Piano VST like Modartt's Pianoteq which not only has superb piano voices but has built-effects which are matched to the instrument.

 

[leandrusi]

Thanks to all! I think I wasnt paying enough consideration to the actual natural room´s reverb. Ill definitely keep it under 25%.
About using an FX pedal... unless I witness ABSOLUTELY MIND BLOWN ASTONISHING results, im not buying one, for ease of use, set up time, carrying gear, more cables, etc. reasons. Pretty much prefer just a vst I can load on my daw in 2 clics. But it needs to be a good one that sits well on my sound chain, so Ill be testing Valhalla, Soundtoys and Bluecat, as well as built in Pianoteq´s, as you suggested.
If you can think of another you liked, please tell me. Thanks!

 

[BrianT]

as well as built in Pianoteq´s,

I don't tend to care for their presets but I do kinda like what I can get out of it when I tweak it.

I've never tried playing Pianoteq live, not even sure which piano I'd use. For in the studio however, where I can bask in the glow of pretty much any room I can simulate with whatever microphone positions I happen to like at the moment, I'm definitely fond of the Bosendorfer unless needing something bright in which case the Kawai works well. I know some are not fans.

For live work, at least thus far, I find the German Grand expansion for the RD-2000 (my usual for gigs) has a couple that I really like. And there is some reverb onboard the RD-2000 anyway if I want to use it. So far, I've not really found it to enhance live sound all that much. There is typically just a little happening on the mixing board, not a lot.

Good luck!

 

[Stilli]

Thanks to all! I think I wasnt paying enough consideration to the actual natural room´s reverb. Ill definitely keep it under 25%.
About using an FX pedal... unless I witness ABSOLUTELY MIND BLOWN ASTONISHING results, im not buying one, for ease of use, set up time, carrying gear, more cables, etc. reasons. Pretty much prefer just a vst I can load on my daw in 2 clics. But it needs to be a good one that sits well on my sound chain, so Ill be testing Valhalla, Soundtoys and Bluecat, as well as built in Pianoteq´s, as you suggested.
If you can think of another you liked, please tell me. Thanks!

Cherry Audio do quality plugins but I have no experience of their reverb.
Why are you using a DAW for live work?
Check out Gig Performer ... you'll never look back.

 

[leandrusi]

Cherry Audio do quality plugins but I have no experience of their reverb.
Why are you using a DAW for live work?
Check out Gig Performer ... you'll never look back.

Hi! Will try Cherry Audio plugins and Gig Performer, thanks!
My current DAW gives me everything I need to piano/keyboard in a band and solo context. I can split, layer, mix, apply FX, traspose, sample, run backing tracks and mix them, while using my fav vsts like kontakt, reason, omnisphere, and many more at the same time...
Good old Ableton live

 

[Stilli]

.......
My current DAW gives me everything I need to piano/keyboard in a band and solo context. I can split, layer, mix, apply FX, traspose, sample, run backing tracks and mix them, while using my fav vsts like kontakt, reason, omnisphere, and many more at the same time...
.....

Gig Performer does all that and more, much more efficiently too.

 

[leandrusi]

I don't tend to care for their presets but I do kinda like what I can get out of it when I tweak it.

I've never tried playing Pianoteq live, not even sure which piano I'd use. For in the studio however, where I can bask in the glow of pretty much any room I can simulate with whatever microphone positions I happen to like at the moment, I'm definitely fond of the Bosendorfer unless needing something bright in which case the Kawai works well. I know some are not fans.

For live work, at least thus far, I find the German Grand expansion for the RD-2000 (my usual for gigs) has a couple that I really like. And there is some reverb onboard the RD-2000 anyway if I want to use it. So far, I've not really found it to enhance live sound all that much. There is typically just a little happening on the mixing board, not a lot.

Good luck!

Your reply has made me want to ask a more broader question about gigging in another post, I see that users here have tons of experience and hence lots of info.