Need Advice on Getting Proper Live Sound From ----- SV-1

[cjaymes]

The goal is that you hear the same sound when you practice... when you rehearse and when you play... otherwise, what's the point?

Theoretically, it should be possible to achieve the same sound you hear through headphones when amplified properly, at least in a perfect world.

The SV-1 holds up well for most sounds when amplified, however reproducing the piano sounds seems to be next to impossible.

The worst experience so far has been adding FX and AMP settings to the piano, as there is barely any resemblance of the sound I'm hearing at home to the sound during a live show.

I started with extremely low end amps, such as the ROLAND KC-550 which in my opinion has no right to call itself a keyboard amp, unless maybe you are absolutely unconcerned with the sound. It can barely hold the sound intact at extremely low volumes and as you turn it up sounds ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LIKE THE KEYBOARD YOU ARE PLAYING.

I went through a few other typical practice amps and even a bass amp which all had similar issues.

I just tried a QSC K12 which held the mid tones intact, but at higher volumes the highs became piercing and tinny (for lack of better words) and the lows created a very nonspecific wall of sound that muffled and flattened everything in an ugly way.

The band I play in is not super-stacked and loud, it's like Bon Iver, Coldplay, Ray LaMontange... which is why the piano quality needs to hold it's texture, especially when playing octaves or fifths in the bass.

Our tour begins in four weeks and our intensive rehearsals begin in two weeks and I need a solution to this ASAP no matter what price range... assuming it's under $3000.

Ideally, I'd have the same speaker(s) during rehearsal as on stage working as my monitoring system.

ANY SOLUTIONS?? hahah

thanks for your help :)

[Rodney]

Have you thought about in-ear monitors? Small and quiet amps tend to be more accurate than loud things on the stage.

[lincland]

cjaymes, you and I have a similar post from different angles. (Thoughts on amplification). I'm trying to figure out how to faithfully reproduce the grand piano sounds on stage in my immediate area.

I assume that's all you want as well. Beyond your immediate area, it's beyond your control. If the venues your band is playing in have a large PA, then you'll have to go through that, and the other players will have their own monitors and mix. So that's not really your concern either.

It would be nice to have a couple of powerful reference studio monitors, and a sub woofer on stage near you, but that's not practical. The closest thing I've seen is the Roland CM-220, but I have no idea how it sounds. I've never used one. And it doesn't look road worthy.

I'll be watching this thread too.

[throwfirewoodatme]

I'm going to be facing the same problem and am considering buying an in ear monitor rig just to protect my stereo image for myself.

[i_am_binky]

I just tried a QSC K12 which held the mid tones intact, but at higher volumes the highs became piercing and tinny (for lack of better words) and the lows created a very nonspecific wall of sound that muffled and flattened everything in an ugly way.

interesting. i use a QSC K10 and found it great for keyboard (rhodes, piano, strings) monitoring... ClaytonE and tonebars888 have also recommended QSC K8-10 series on this forum.

but other suggestions include:

billbaker recommending in-ear monitoring for more accuracy... (half-way down page)
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=72216

other options mentioned include EV ZLX12p (LowPass) and Yamaha DXR10 (oy5t3h)... i had a link for these (same page) but lost it.