Tagged As: Ultimate Keyboard Stands
Question:
I've been a lurker here for a while now, and I thought it was about time I came out of the woodwork and introduced myself, so here goes: I'm currently in my last few weeks of studying for a degree in Popular Music and Recording at a UK university. At weekends I play keyboards with an Irish/country band, and I also play piano for some services at my local church. I had classical piano lessons between the ages of 10 - 15 and reached grade 7 standard; at college my tuition has been mainly jazz based, and in the Irish band everything is played entirely by ear. So I 'spose I'm a bit of a jack of all trades!!! As far as gear goes, I have a real 'old banger' of a piano at home which I literally cannot touch any more due to complaints from _very_ arseholy neighbours (I think it was the scales that did it.....also, I live on the sixth floor of a high-rise block of flats which doesn't help the noise problem). However, I have access to pianos at college and at church, and my mother has a nice Broadwood upright which I use when I go to visit her. My stage gear consists of Roland U-20 and XP-10 synths. OK, now for the questions: 1) Any recommendations for a good stage piano costing under £1,000 (UK)? From reading recent threads a lot of you seem to like the Yamaha P80; what other similar makes and models are available? I'd like something with as realistic an action as possible, also it would be a bonus if it were reasonably lightweight. 2) What are the merits of dedicated keyboard amps vs. mixers and stereo speakers? At the moment I use a Peavey TNT150 bass amp (as I needed an amp in a hurry at the time and a friend sold it to me at a good price), and it sounds OK. However I would eventually like to replace it. 3) Any thoughts on the 'Ultimate' range of keyboard stands? (The posey ones that look like a diagonal line). I currently have a Quiklock X-stand with extensions, but it's not very stable, to say the least, and the end broke off one of the extensions recently and replacing it was a bit of a nightmare. 4) To those of you who are professional working musicians - approximately how much do you charge in various working situations, such as bars, restaurants, etc. Also, what is the best way to go about obtaining such work; are you registered with agencies? How much does that cost, and what percentage do they take? And do you need to have some sort of 'promotional package' containing pictures, biographies etc.?
Answer:
Everything is a compromise but I use a ( now old ) Roland ep7 76 note as a mother keyboard and midi it to a Yamaha sound module for all the sounds that I would ever need . This set up is cheap , simple and ultra light . A dedicated keyboard amp is needed to handle the huge frequency range that keyboards are capable of from high to low but maybe if your willing to sacrifice some *depth* , then you won't need a heavy 15 speaker in your amp. Hope someone can answer this for you . Again I use the X type because it is light and portable and strong enough for my lightweight keyboard. Yes , That's the best way . Once you get the ball rolling the gigs will become more frequent but everyone that you approach will want to know where have you been playing? If you are VERY lucky you will have somone who is associated with the band who is an *out there , in your face * type who is willing to do the leg work and hard slog of getting the gigs.
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