Leveling keyboard patches for live shows...

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MIDI Life Crisis
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Re: Leveling keyboard patches for live shows...

Post by MIDI Life Crisis »

Well being in any band in Hawaii is a great gig. I'm on the tarmac at Kauai this very moment waiting to return to LA after a great week in Kapa'a. Love this state!
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Re: Leveling keyboard patches for live shows...

Post by James Steele »

Where are you playing? I grew up in Honolulu. :)
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Re: Leveling keyboard patches for live shows...

Post by magicd »

Five years ago I switched to my laptop for both guitar processing and keyboard sounds. Getting the levels right between guitar and keys was the hardest.

I have volume sliders on my USB keyboard and I use a Morley volume pedal for expression. The volume pedal is critical for keyboard sounds. I follow the band in terms of dynamics. The Morley is set so that heel down brings the level down by maybe 10 dB (not all the way off), so toe down is for solos.

Monitors are key.

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Re: Leveling keyboard patches for live shows...

Post by David Polich »

Prime Mover wrote:
David Polich wrote:Ok, house bar band, 15 years in the same
bar, no soundman. That spells non-pro to
me. No wonder you've had such trouble.
These guys think they know what they're
doing, but having no soundman proves
they dont.
Of course it's not "pro", considering whether you think a local bar-band is pro or not. We're looking to make money first, it's work we're after not the Nth degree of perfection. The band makes $1000 on a good night, and we're probably the best paid house band in Honolulu. Work is tight these days and we're doing the best we can. Throwing an extra person in the mix is going to severely lower our cut with little financial gain. It's not about what they "think" they know or not, it's just not a good financial investment. Sure, it would be great to have a FOH mixer, it also be great to have a dedicated monitor mixer, a light tech, roadies and a bowl of green M&Ms, but it's just not in the cards. I find it kind of presumptuous to pooh-pooh a band for being able to afford something that doesn't make any economic sense.

We're a BAR BAND. We play covers of old classic rock songs. No aspirations for this band to make it big and play arenas, but within the confines of our budget, we're hoping to do the best we can. I've got another band that I'm writing and recording originals that I hope to tour the world with one-day, but that's my long-term investment band. Right now, the bar band makes the money while my recording band builds its base. Both are viable projects.

An update on the issue. This week was a lot better. I think the new board that was installed last week was on the fritz and going up and down. There was a particular song that was really loud last week, this week it was really low because I had turned down only a notch. SO I think that the board somehow jacked me up during that section of the gig, and now it's evened out. I believe our main tech for the band came on and worked out some things, so it's better. Obviously, this isn't going to be perfect, but we're just aiming to make drunk people dance, have some fun, and walk away with a moderate pay check.

You can't be too picky being a musician these days, you have to be prepared to sell out a bit, play some Neal Diamond and Journey if you expect to have a roof over your head.
You're in Honolulu. Ok, that does limit your options, I admit. I'm in L.A., there's only about 10,000 bands to choose from within a 400 mile radius. However, making enough money in a bar band to "put a roof over your head" here is not an option either. It's a way to make some beer and gas money but you need to have a regular day gig as well.
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Re: Leveling keyboard patches for live shows...

Post by Prime Mover »

James Steele wrote:Where are you playing? I grew up in Honolulu. :)
Place called the "Irish Rose", corner of McCully and Kalakaua, probably wasn't there when you were growing up.

As for putting a roof over my head, no, it doesn't for me, yet. A few of my band mates play in other bands like 4-5 nights a week and make their living doing that. I just got a gig teaching piano at a local studio. Between that, my freelance video work, and bar gigging I should be able to make things work. Not doing the 9-5 anymore, though.
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