i have rarely been questioned whether I'm playing live or "it's recorded"; even when I'm playing arranger. I think I've figured out why.


First, I always have a classical guitar, which I use to play unaccompanied ballads and other types of solos.

Then, even on the one hour jobs (thankfully, I don't do many of these), I use a smaller 2nd keyboard over the arranger. People see me playing solos and intros with my right hand and making the switch between the two instruments.


For the 2nd board, I choose a light board with multiple sounds, always including a manual bass. Sometimes, a simple keyboard bass "walk up", coordinated with the auto feature "1" is reached is the ideal intro.

Other times, changing the lead voice and making a big deal of the lead line, when played, makes it obvious that at least a serious part of what is being heard is being played live.

This sort of speaks to the "entertainer" question here.

A 2nd keyboard is a little more work, but the adders, in terms of showmanship and versatility are well worth the effort.

That is, IF you have an empty PA channel!


R.

I did the foot pedal bass (with B-3 and Yamaha organs and also digital and Rhodes pianos) and also played left hand bass for quite a few years, both solo and in groups, but laziness (mainly) and the huge improvement in arranger accompaniment (especially bass lines) soon had me putting both former methods to rest and I've never looked back.

Jim Ailing said something on another topic that I can identify with, in that I play all instrumentals and do not sing, so it's important to set the arranger up in a way that my hands are visible to some extent to my listeners...they can at least see I'm actually playing the keys, as well as pressing buttons and footswitches.

Keyboard players have always had this problem, as we are anchored to one spot, and even though playing while standing is a bit more showy, it's also hard on the legs (using pedals especially) and wrists, and you're still essentially in one spot.

Unless we get a Keytar and go prancing around the stage with it slung around our necks, we may as well accept the fact that we aren't ever going to be that mobile or showy as those guitarists or bassists.

At least the drummer can sympathize with us. Ha ha!

Ian

I have thought about installing a webcam and use my new Microsoft Surface Pro 2 as a monitor to show my hands... or if there is a real piano in the room, change over to it from time to time... Recently a priest said everytime he sees somebody play a keyboard, he automatically assumes it's all pre-programmed. Very unfair to those who play live.

I'm old enough to have gone through the "mirror overhead" (UGH)
phase.

I had a C, with a two manual lap steel at the top. the whole thing was finished in a shiny white.....ATROCIOUS!

Then, there was the tux, complete with sparkles.


Damn, I looked stupid!

At least, with the lights and mirror, people could see I was playing.


Russ

I miss those days when we had keyboards all around us...this is me in one of my old bands back in the early 80's I believe.

Polymoog, Roland EP-10 on top of it and to my right a Wurlitzer EP-200 and a Roland SH-2000 mono synth on top. I still had the Rhodes and the B-3 and two Leslies but not needed for the kind of music we were playing.

I ran the keyboards through two modified Fender Twins (I initially used them for the Rhodes).

I played piano long before I started doing vocals and using arrangers. As a guy who mainly plays assisted living/nh/senior facilities if there's a nice piano being it a nice grand or an out of tune upright I usually break after about 15 minutes playing the arranger and go to the piano and play a couple of tunes to ensure I'm really playing. Scott Joplin's ," The Entertainer" is always very well received. Having the T5 with 76 keys makes it lot easier to play a ragtime number on an arranger in piano mode when the piano in the facility is horrible. You know the type keys that don't work and makes your playing sound like music from the Orient.

I wouldn't change my setup or add any additional equipment to my current setup to appease 1 or 2 skeptics in the audience.

99+% of the audience is impressed and comment about the sounds coming out of the Tyros. As long as they can dance and enjoy the music, (no matter how it is created), and have a good time they are happy.

If they skeptics want to hear a real 100% unenhanced live player, they can go to the local restaurant and dance to the piano lounge performer.

Regards,

JerryGHR

Two Fender Twins would make a great keyboard setup with 4 x 12 speakers and 2 x 100 watt tube amplifiers. How were they modified?

There were actually three of these amps made, and I had two of them. A friend of mine, Gerard, who was the technician at the music store where I worked, did the custom work. He's one of those naturally gifted and talented people who just knows how to get the most out of gear. He's also a wicked Country guitar player...the best in my area for sure.

He swapped out the stock speakers (Jensen if I remember correctly) and put in two Celestion full range (12's). He then added two very small horn like tweeters in between the two main speakers, one at the top and one at the bottom.

He then made up a custom crossover so that the signals were split up, lows to the 12's and highs to the tweeters, kept the spring reverb and added a balanced line out (to go to PA). I don't know if he changed any tubes around.

They were quite loud and clean, but it was the warmth as well as the nice detail that made them so unique. They would sound awesome on electric/acoustic guitar, and they sounded incredible on the Rhodes in Stereo. The setup I used in the photo also sounded pretty nice as well.

For a while, I used them on a DX7IIFD digital FM synth and they warmed it right up, but still kept the edge. The DX had an incredible electric guitar patch that was programmed by one of the Yamaha clinicians at the time, and it really sounded splendid through those Twins as did the B-3 and electric piano patches.

He built the three (we nicknamed them "Tweeter Twins") and made no more afterwards, at least based on Fender amps. He also refused to give away any exact details about how he modded them. I believe they are all still working and being used to this day ( I sold mine to a guy that uses them with an old Roland E-70), unlike Gerard and I who are both now retired from the retail end of the business, anyway.


Ian

PS...Jeez, Nigel, they were HEAVY (and awkward). I wouldn't want to have to gig with them today.

Tube amps have wonderful detail and great dynamic expression.
Though those Twins probably aren't as heavy as this Traynor K4 I am using now. http://traynoramps.com/keyboard/product/k4/
But I like it as it has a 12" 2x4.5" and 2x2.5" speakers and 3 amplifiers so has a great sound range and you can switch it between tube and solid state preamp modes ... very cool. I always select the tube preamp as it adds a nice edge. But it does weigh 57 lbs ......

I am sure Ian you probably know Traynor as they are a long standing Canadian amplifier manufacturer. The K4 is a great keyboard amp though and is very suitable for a live rock band as it can cut through the mix which is what I need.