Keyboard/Synth rig for Live Dance/Top 40 Covers.

[wheresgrant3]

It's been a while since I've posted in this forum. I used to ge a regular around here and there were several players playing live music and. I've been playing for 10 years in a popular  Party Band playing a mix of dance, rock and top 40. We've recently revamped the line up to include two incredible singers and we are making the move to a full fledged top-40 band covering mostly dance music from the 90's and last decade. Usher, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Adele, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, J. Timberlake and a ton of hip hop. Our band has two keyboard players and I'm quite proud of that fact. Absolutely NO BACKING TRACKS  For years I was the primary keyboard player and my main rig consisted of  a Triton Extreme,a Roland XP30 and varying VA's (Micron, R3, Micro Korg). Adding a 2nd keyboard player (more of a traditional piano player than me) he's added a Korg M3 and a Virus B. The other player handles most of the bread and butter and foundation riffs to songs, otgan, piano, wurly and the base synth tracks of dance songs. I'm essentially the extra (3rd) hand and in most cases I add extra dynamics, subtle parts you hear on the tracks that two hands couldn't possibly pull off.  Filter sweeps, string pads, arrpegio lines, sub drops and fx and percussion. We meld really well with one another and look forward to collaborating on parts together to fill out the sound. We retain that synthy edge while presenting these songs as a live band. .

 

 Two years ago my Triton Extreme went into the repair shop never to return. To get by while it was being repaired I replaced it with a Micro-X keyboard. The intention was temporary but the little thing grew on me.  I actually own two now (in case the other craps out... they are built like toys after all). It's a handy little swiss army knife for 'go-to' rompler sounds and (in my opinion) has some of the best sounding presets in the Korg library for dance and hip hop. Thick synth stacks, glossy pads, ripping leads and tons of decent fx.  I loaded up my favorites  in a 'favorites bank' (go to patches are Analog 101, Raw Saw, Raw Square, Rythmn Horns, Divs Strings, Steam Sweeps, Detuned lead), I can easily jump octaves with the on board controls and I'll edit combi's at home when I need to.

 

I owned an M3 for a while, but I never gigged with it.  It was heavy and bulky (stage space is limited at times) and honestly the M-series has strengths in a number of areas... dance and electro is not one of them. The Triton soundsets crush them. The M-50 didn't seem too durable. Given my friends unit in the repair shop I think I made the right choice avoiding it. 

 

I also use the XP30 (for organ and horns) and for a long while a Fantom...  I midi it and vocode using an V-Synth XT. Lately my XP30 has been acting up (not sending midi data and some strange modulation when depressing keys). I'm considering a new budget synth (under $1500) for gigging and my choices are all over the map. I want light and affordable (constant gigging puts trememdous wear on our gear).  I've been thinking about an Novation Ultranova, Roland Juno Di, and the Korg Krome (an improvement over the M-50 for sure), I have bread and butter covered with the Micro X (great organs, passable horns) what I really need are dance stacks, great  strings, pads, detuned patches, some grit when needed. It would also be nice if it was a well rounded rompler as well rather than a one trick mono or poly VA.  I change alot of patches (I imagine I use 20-30 patches and change at least 50 times for 70-75 songs a night). My instinct leads me to the Krome. I'm familar with Korg, layout, programing. Easy to use and it's lightwieght and affordable. The only downside is, I'm bored really with even the latest Korg sound offerings. Lately I've been looking over at Yamaha MOX series and especially the MOXF. The price just dropped on the MOX series by $200... and the MOXF is in striking range.  it's light, decent build quality and has nice on board controls (no menue diving for transpose/octave).  I'm just not familar with Yamaha's soundset or programming.  Any other suggestions on hardware or even software synth setups. I really need plug and play... I used to spend hours and days creating just the right sounds. Now I work a professional day job and I don't have unlimited time for patch creation and programming. With 7-8 other people on stage, space is at a premium. A 61 keyboard is nice but I could get away with 49 keys. (You'd be surprised in tight spaces how close your keyboard can be next to a ride cymbal). Besides live many presets need minimal tweaking to blend in a live band mix. And since I'm always the last to set up (on what ever side of stage) I also need a simplified setup (which is why I prefer hardware) that is quick and painless. I have my setup down to 20 minutes. That includes droping my cases and starting to run cable. 

 

Any ideas or suggested options?

[AnotherScott]

In terms of the Yamahas, the new version of the MOX, the MOXF, will let you load custom samples (if you add a $150 flash card), and that may be helpful for some of the songs you want to cover. OTOH, if the stock MOX sounds will cover you, most of them are available in the very small and inexpensive MX 49. Unlike the MOX series, you can't edit MX sounds on-board, but you can edit them from your computer if you need to, with third-party software.

[LittleWiggler]

I play keys/guitar in a similar type band, but we are tracked.

My key rig is a MOX6, KingKorg, and Receptor 2+ with NI Komplete 9, u-He Diva/Zebra2, and Synth1.

I can cover just about everything current with this rig.  The Receptor has actually been rock solid for me.  You do have to think about your patch layouts with it however.  I run it without a monitor and keyboard - just midi to it to change patches (or use the front knobs).  I have a laptop that I can use if needed since I run the tracks from Ableton Live.

I use the MOX6 for more traditional stuff (piano/organs/pads), the KingKorg for knob twirling live, and the Receptor for the stuff that can't be done on the other 2.

The KingKorg can be found for 800 on HelloMusic depending on the weekend.

A Receptor 2+ would be plenty - not sure if it would be worth going to the new Quattro.

Hope that helps.

John

[wheresgrant3]

I saw the MX49 and it looked like a cool, quick and easy performance board. I know it covers bnb sounds. What abount modern synth and electronica?. I've learned over the years that I really don't need a ton of workstation features for playing live. Simple, to the point, with up to date sounds (funny aside from dubstep, the majority of pop can be convincingly played by any rompler from the last decade). I'll buy a Kronos eventually but I won't gig with it. I also have a Muse Receptor 1C but I haven't been comfortable playing live without a laptop or interface to navigate with. I even have a Macbook pro I've thought about loading Reaktor or maybe massive or Omnispheres but I need a set up that is simple and painless. Adding extra, midi controllers, cables, a 'brain' in addition to all of the activity on stage is not a real desire unless I could easily make it a one stop shop with unlimited sound output, sample playback and polyphony. I don't see that yet. 

[wheresgrant3]

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LittleWiggler wrote:

I play keys/guitar in a similar type band, but we are tracked.

My key rig is a MOX6, KingKorg, and Receptor 2+ with NI Komplete 9, u-He Diva/Zebra2, and Synth1.

I can cover just about everything current with this rig.  The Receptor has actually been rock solid for me.  You do have to think about your patch layouts with it however.  I run it without a monitor and keyboard - just midi to it to change patches (or use the front knobs).  I have a laptop that I can use if needed since I run the tracks from Ableton Live.

I use the MOX6 for more traditional stuff (piano/organs/pads), the KingKorg for knob twirling live, and the Receptor for the stuff that can't be done on the other 2.

The KingKorg can be found for 800 on HelloMusic depending on the weekend.

A Receptor 2+ would be plenty - not sure if it would be worth going to the new Quattro.

Hope that helps.

John

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I have a Receptor 1C. We should talk!!!!

[SpaceNorman]

You might consider a Kronos.  It's got excellent onboard sounds, sampling capabilities, sequencing/recording capabilities, easy to manipulate tone/key assignments (makes setting up splits and layers a snap), a ton of storage for user defined patches, the "feel" of a quality keyboard - as well as what I consider to be a very user friend touch screen interface with some very cool features such as "Set List Mode".   The ability to control external MIDI devices would allow you to send program change commands to your other sound engines - making it possible to setup your entire rig for a given tune with a single button push. 

I can't over-emphasize how friendly and intuitive the Kronos' touch screen interface is.  Over the years, I've had a ton of great gear - but have usually barely scratched the surface of it's capabilities because I simply never took the time to master the quirky, cumbersome interfaces.  I've done more with my Kronos in that regard than any keyboard or module I've owned previously. 

[wheresgrant3]

I love the Kronos but honestly the extra weight/bulk plus the added fact that we still play nightclubs puts some added strain on me and my gear. In addition to playing second keys I also video tape our shows and am managing another $2000 worth of gear. Gigging with the Micro X convinced me for the parts I play and the rig I need I don't need a 30lb flagship workstation. Remember I'm not playing piano, EP's or organ parts... my compadre is. I still intend to get the Kronos but I'll likely keep it for home use. I'm thinking the krome could make a nice compliment (they have similar patches, editing structure) then again do I want to invest $3K in the same sounding synths. Decisions.