As always, I left early for a gig today which was about 50 minutes away from my home. Somehow I managed to do it in half an hour, so I had more than enough time to unload and unpack, so I took my time.

Fifteen minutes before I'm to start, I finally open my keyboard case, and horror of horrors, I immediately realized that my Tyros power cable, was still plugged into the wall of my studio!

Thank G-d, I kept my wits about me, quickly googled samash and guitar center on my phone, and found one just five minutes away. After much pleading they let me take the power cable off their floor model, and I made it back on time!

Has this happened to anyone?

Lesson learned. I am now going to buy two more power cables. One for my keyboard case, one for my travel case, and the last to stay in my studio. Like this, I won't make this mistake again.

However I notice that the Tyros power cable is cornered on one side and rounded on the other. Is that necessary? Will this product on eBay which is rounded on both sides (it fits into the Tyros power socket), be right - or is the corner there for a reason?
http://cgi.ebay.com/AC-LINE-CORD-2-WIRE-...7QQcmdZViewItem

I have always, since I got my T2, have at least 2 backup power cables, since is no the standard PC cable ( I wish Yamaha put a decent "normal cable plug).
I found them in all computer cables and also saw some that you can use from the Radio Shack , this last ones are the "cheap" shorter, and thinner, but will do the job, some home Boom boxes use the same plug/cable type.
Long time ago happen something similar in a different instrument, and since, like you, I learn from that mistake, it will not happen 2 times.

Wow Chony! That's scary. I always hope that shouldn't happen when I gig...

Chony do you have a back up plan..if your keyboard goes down?

Another back up keyboard? Or a laptop?

it's good everything turned out to be ok.

i remember one time when i took all the equipment to the wedding place where i was suppose to play and when setting up the speakers, keyboard etc, i realized i didn't bring the extension multiplier power cord (i hope i explain it correctly) and i really needed it because the keyboard, the mixer, the effect and some other equipment get powered from that single one power plug in the wall.
but i manage to fix it, because i do improvise alot not only when playing keys!
but you wouldnt want to be anywhere next to me or my electric connections!
oh, yeah, in here we use 220 volts electricity...

I arrived at my job and in those days I played guitar and, I opened my guitar case I guess you know the rest of the story – the guitar was on a stand back at home.
I called my wife and she brought the guitar. For a half hour a I was singing with a drummer, a bass player and an accordion player, up to that day I had never sung without playing my guitar – It was strange, I didn’t know what to do with my hands – and I think that the movement of my hand from chord to chord is directly tied to remembering lyrics. I struggled with songs that I had done for years.

I play keyboard using full chords with my left hand --- The first time I played along with a midi file without using my left hand I had trouble improvising with my right. Tied together?

John C.

I always carry two spare patch cords, a spare sustain pedal and a spare power adaptor in a small case that stays in my car.

Cheap insurance.

Ian

I use to keep a bag in the van..containing a spare laptop, extra patch cords, extension cord, mic with cord, and at the time a zip disk for the G1000...After several years of never needed them....I think I finally lost the bag...

Fortunately,in the UK Tyros just uses a standard mains cable which means there are always plenty around if you leave yours at home.

I think all KBs should use a standard AC power cord plug. I dont like my Yamaha ac adapter at all.

AC adaptors allow for a cooler running instrument, and less weight.

I like the adaptor for my S900...it's the wall-wart kind that annoy me.

Ian

Hi guys, I had the same power cord experiance on a wedding job about 35 miles from home. I remembered having a house hold extention cord in my van. I cut off the end and twisted the wires around the contacts and used small wooden pegs to hold them in. worked fine. Then I discovered that I had looked my keys in the van. One of thoes days. Wow!

Jim

Keep a spare key in your wallet...it could save the day(or night)...it has for me.

Ian

I left my x stand at the previous job. Of course, my Quiklok boom attachment was part of the x stand.

I looked silly with the keyboard on a plastic push cart and my boom duct taped to an easel.

zuki

Chony,

I am pretty sure that the power cable used on the Tyros is a standard polarized 2 prong cable and can be found out Radio Shack or any place that sells cables.

There is no power transformer. It is internal.

The link you posted is for a non-polarized cable. So don't use it as the Tyros might be sensitive to that, and it is possible to plug in the wrong way.

Try something like this: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index....rentPage=search

Hi,

lucky enough to own a Pa1X that has a standard AC cable, same as mixer, Pa system, guitar amps and the like.
And of those standard AC cables I've plenty my bag, for me and, if any, for my band.

I really hate non standard connectors and wallwart adapter, that are really difficult to find once you are in trouble, far from any electrical store and ... of course with only 15 minutes of time before the show really starts :-)

Best regards.

A couple of years ago I was playing a Tyros and arrived at a Nursing Home 75 miles from home. Sure enough, couldn't find the power card. I made a quick trip to a Radio Shack and got one.
Afterwards I DID find the original, in the case excactly where it was supposed to be. Don't know how I overlooked it but, I always kept an extra in the car after that.
Just last year, I went to play a NH about 40 miles away and found I had forgotten the AC adaptor for the S900. I DIDN'T have a spare for it, but guess what-I do now.
We did the entire show from the laptop, using midi files. It worked great, but I STILL don't like to use midi files. They are there only for such an emergency!
DonM

Booby....I feel the same way.....they all should have the Standard AC power cords....makes life much easier. Plus the Yamaha 3k/S900 PA100 adapter is about $100.00 also......that could be another reason they use them to make more money.

Not really...overall, the instrument is actually less expensive to manufacture, so the savings are passed on to the consumer.

BTW, the PSR-S900 and 3k use a PA-300 or PA-300B...included with the keyboard here in Canada.

A spare is essential if you gig...$100 is not much if it means saving a booking.

I only wish there was a strain relief thingy for the adaptor input.

Ian

Ian I understand your point. I still would rather see a standard AC power cord like many units use in musical gear. It's less expensive, convenient, and very available.

Yeah, you're right, John...the AC power cord is certainly the more convenient and less expensive solution.

Seems external adaptors are used mainly on mid-range arrangers like the E-60, PA-500 and S900.

Oh well, it's never been a big issue with me ever since I started carrying a spare.

Ian

One of the statements I've made many times during the past too many decades is "You can't have too many spares." And, Fran is right about backups. If the keyboard fails, the laptop will bail you out. If the laptop fails, the keyboard, which was your primary source of music, will get you through the night.

I've always been very organized (my wife hates this aspect) and every piece of equipment has a specific location in the van. I used to carry an equipment check-list and double checked everything before leaving the house, or leaving the job. Now, the way I have things set up this is no longer necessary.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

That's the funny thing. I made an equipment check list before I left my house, and a mental one while I was on the road. But who would think to count "keyboard power cable"? It's supposed to be in the keyboard box!

Whew, thank G-d it worked out.

Chony,

If you ever wander down south to the People's Republic Of Maryland I'll show you how to make a console unit that holds everything. And, you can make one for under $50, which by today's standards is less than a tank of gas.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Not sure how to take some of this... you say if your keyboard fails, you still do the gig on your laptop? What do you play? Or do you just do a karaoke show, and hope no-one notices? Or mime the keyboard playing?

Me, I think if I didn't have a backup keyboard with me, I think I would offer the club owner the opportunity to cancel and play his Muzak setup, rather than come in and cheese it playing a laptop all night (or even worse, fake playing)!

Club owners expect me to PLAY... If they wanted karaoke, they would already be doing it! (And I don't want to prove to the few that DON'T that their audience would be happy with just that )

You do not have that choice. You were hired to make music because your client needs music. The last thing he wants to hear is that you're letting him cancel. What the client wants to know is how you're going to make it work, not how you're offering his money back. Imagine offering the bride and groom, "hey, we can reschedule you know for your first anniversary!"

The truth is that I wouldn't even tell the client what had happened until the job was finished. Why worry them? I know I can do a great job with a backup.

GARY, (Travelin' Easy), what do you mean a "console which holds everything"?

I, too, have learned the hard way to carry backups and check the gear carefully. I drove 165 miles to a nearby state only to learn I'd left the PA head! Fortunately, the keyboard player had a big Mackie stereo setup and we ran the mics through his mixer to "help me make it through the night". On solo gigs on guitar, I use tracks on a laptop, carry two iPods loaded with tracks, and have tracks on CDs with a portable player stuffed in a travel bag. Must be prepared for the unexpected.

I see your point Gary, and it's well taken.

For clients that HAVE no other form of entertainment, of course I would offer to do anything they want. Primarily, though, I work in clubs and restaurants, who do have secondary music systems.

But, as I said, they hire me primarily to PLAY, not to sing karaoke. so I feel, if that is the only thing I can do, I am obliged to inform the client at least, rather than get discovered doing it and asked why I am not playing!

So you WOULD fake playing the dead keyboard?

I also have a problem, using my tracks, because basically they are usually just bass and drums, sometimes just drums, only a few are any more complete than that. I prefer to play as much as possible myself. Are you saying you have tracks that are complete? I guess I could put on our live CD, and fake EVERYTHING (including the singing), but I am very uncomfortable with that thought.

Breakdowns and accidents happen. You try to make the best of the situation, but unless a booking has no other alternative, I personally would feel obliged to offer them the alternative (as they would NOT be getting what they booked), and to inform them that I would NOT be playing.

For me to do any less would be to deceive the client, and, if discovered, would be to invite speculation this was being done to line MY pockets, not to spare them the worry. At least, at that point, the client can make the decision for themselves. But that's just MY approach...

You ask a good question: Would I fake playing?

Thank G-d this problem hasn't happened to me so I don't know. I think each situation is its own. If there was no possibility of me finding someone else to do the job, I would probably reassure the client that everything was going to be amazing and possibly tell him that I was going to fake it, or possibly not - depends on the situation. The thing is that if people think I'm performing instead of playing everything off a laptop, they will dance better. And that's what it comes down to.

Chony

Chony,

The console I designed several years ago holds the power supplies for my laptop, Digitech Vocalist VR and keyboard. Additionally, it contains the surge-protector, sign light for front, keyboard light, Phantom Power pack and it's power supply, and it's also my laptop platform. It weighs about 12-pounds, constructed from 1/8-inch thick aluminum plate, and fits on the top tier of a QuickLock two-tier, X-stand. The mic cable, power cable for the keyboard, and all other connecting cables for the above systems remain plugged in at all times to the associated components. The cables that run between the keyboard's output and the Bose L1 are all in a single harness.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Can you post a pic?