From satturnsc2@yahoo.com Sat Apr 14 09:44:41 2012
Subject:Re: FOH engineer

Ditto on the deaf sound guys!
Simon,
I use a similar set up with a keyboard amp as well for small venues and go out to the board from the amps output with a DI box for bigger ones. My question is where do you place the amp in the small venues relative to where you are playing? Sometimes to keep up with the rest of the band I need to really crank it but when it is right behind me it is too loud and it distracts me when I feel like my ears are getting blown out!

Bob

________________________________
From: Simon Beck
To: CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 11:16 AM
Subject: Re: [CWSG] FOH engineer


 
Here's what I do:

I have an 80-watt, 4-channel keyboard combo amp. Each channel has a gain control and a "presence" (high-mid) control. The four channels are used for:

1: Nord Electro 3 73 with sustain pedal but no volume pedal; mono output for Wurly and Clavinet sounds.
2. Roland VK-7 with expression pedal; mono output for Hammond/Leslie sounds
3. Stylophone S1 for occasional wacky solos and the harmony line in one song.
4. Microphone for percussion (shaker and vibraslap); mounted on a gooseneck on my keyboard stand.

For small venues or rehearsals, that's it. 80 watts of clean power is plenty for the smaller gigs.

For larger venues I use the same rig as a personal monitor sytem and mixer. I take a line out from my amp to a mono DI box which then goes to a single PA mixer channel. That way I have overall control of the keyboard balance, while leaving the balance of my sound within the band to the sound engineer. The rest of the band don't want keyboards (or anything else other than guitar and vocals) in their monitors. Most sound engineers like this setup - the few who have said that they would prefer a separate DI for each keyboard were control freaks.

The reason for the percussion mic is simply that I was fed up with either turning up to gigs and not being given a mic or being told there were not enough channels. Now I have a completely self-contained rig. Oh, and I always tell the sound engineer that I will be using a volume pedal on the organ - it's amazing how many of them try to turn you up when you drop the volume!

Simon Beck
London, UK

----- Original Message -----
From: dave