“When I started with Michael, twenty-six years ago…” Jimbo, does that even sound feasible? I can hardly believe it has been so long! (Of course, until I happen to look in a mirror, and I immediately am reminded I’m OLD!!!) Love your channel and seeing what you’re up to. Bendiciones Abrumadoras de Dios!!
Good stuff! Thanks for sharing. The attention to detail amazes me. From experience, it really takes a lot of time to "clean up" the look by tying down the cables, securing pedals and all those details.
Such a great video........I have a friend i used to roadie for who still to this day......loves his Korg T3. He was a huge MWS and Billy Joel fan back in the day.
Thank you for sharing! So many amazing ideas. I will be looking for that cable mesh and a cutting board for my pedals very soon LOL. The simpler the better. Been running a nord electro and iPad for synths for the longest time but just bought an m1 MacBook. Excited for all the possibilities that just opened up.
Wow, very cool. Thanks for sharing. That got me laughing about how massive your rig setup was in the mid 90s...man that must have been some heavy lifting, bahaha! That mid 90s rig setup actually sounds cool too, and I'd love to see it!
Got to say, seeing your super capable rig without a rack in sight, the audio interface just sitting there on the floor, and a chopping board pedalboard does make me question the Studio Flyer approach I have taken, and instead the relative merits of having it more broken down. My key challenge is I need to be set up in 15 mins and I’m not sure I could do that reliably with everything so broken up. Food for thought though!
Yeah, this was definitely not the norm for me over three decades on that gig - it was usually just the opposite! Racks, looms, etc. - especially when we were doing international fly dates!
@@k852live Well, I always ran everything (MainStage & Logic) on the same machine, so it was always just those same basic components: laptop, interface, controller, and pedal board. I did have a rack quite often since most interfaces I used were always rack units. However, I also built a custom pedal board for a few years that had the interface mounted on the underside - that was really slick because all the looms were pre-wired and ready to go, so I could get on and off stage really fast if necessary ;-)
Wow...Been a long time since I have seen a Yamaha KX 88 from the 80s during the DX7 era. Its quite refreshing to not see a Nord keyboard on a live keys rig tour..almost every rig tour I've watched are usually the same keyboards wether they use tthe sounds or they just use it as a controller which not quite sure why you need a Nord for a straight controller...also the Yamaha YC is a keyboard I hardly see keyboardist use ..Love your rig Jim!....like you say..."simple but quite reliable" & thats what really matters.
Cool and interesting video Jim! Agree with Kent... always feels odd playing organ on a hammer keybed, but the convenience is worth it. Been a fan of MWS since the Unguarded days and it must be fun using those ‘80s sounds again! Love what you’ve done with Vanessa and looking forward to more. Happy Christmas!
Thanks much! Yeah, definitely much more fun playing B3 parts on a waterfall, but I’m not doing a whole lot of complicated B3 stuff on this tour, so the weighted action is OK. And the sleek all-in-one aspect makes it worth it ;-)
Thanks for this, Jim... great rundown! When you got to your pedalboard, I expected to see a couple expression pedals. Wasn't it you that mentioned a trick for adding tremolo strings to regular strings patches by using a second pedal to add that sound? I'll never looks at the cutting boards at Target the same way again! 😂
Ha - yes! I was actually just thinking about that the other night… I’d like to add a second pedal, but to do it right, it would have to be a good foot away so I could use it with my other foot!
Thank you so much for doing this rig rundown. So awesome to see your setup - really amazing! How does your computer handle running both Logic & MainStage at the same time? Are you doing anything specifically to optimize your machine to handle that?
Sure thing, glad to do it! As I mentioned in the video, the computer handles it no problem whatsoever. Much of it is just common sense… not running a bunch of CPU heavy instruments like Omnisphere or big Kontakt libraries, etc. This is partly why I developed my own series of virtual instruments that are very CPU efficient (the BackStage Pass stuff). I wrote a detailed guide in the BackStage Pass manual that covers optimizing a live computer rig, but a lot of it really does come down to common sense stuff 😁👍🏻
What an awesome rig, Jim! Never even heard of the Yamaha KX until now! Seems really cool. Question: Have you ever used Ableton live for the live stems? I heard you mentioning things change often during sets, and its a breeze to make changes to different song sections! Love these videos and looking forward to more. God bless you!
@@mauricewalkes1101 thanks friend! This was several years ago, but the fundamentals were pretty constant over those last several years. The KX88 is ancient - it came out in the mid 80s, but it's an absolute legendary controller, and still quite a workhorse. I've used Ableton just a little bit here and there, but I've never been a fan of it honestly; I've always been a Logic guy. I've used Logic for over 30 years now.
Hello. Thank you for the demonstration. Curious is the Backstage Pass your only sound source or are you running virtual instruments if so what do you like ?
I still have my KX88 lol. If anyone is interested, hit me up. My RD-2000 is my main live keyboard now, with an awesome key-bed, not to mention an amazing array of sounds.
Nice rig rundown video Jim! I was wondering what the Catch button is for? Also, how do you play different song parts in Logic without any glitches or sync issues, in case you need to repeat a chorus or something? In Ableton it is easy as you can use global quantize so it will change or repeat in the correct beat, but in Logic I never found a way to do that. As soon as you go to a locator it will instantly go there so you need to be very precise. Some other video suggestions I would like to make/see are MWS rig rundown and song breakdowns in Logic. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Thanks my friend! The Catch button is hard to explain - it’s to do with whether the screen follows the song position line (so it stays centered or not). As for jumping around to different sections in Logic, we just don’t do that on the fly - we decide on arrangements ahead of time. If it’s a song that needs to be flexible, we would typically just use click for that so that it wouldn’t matter. Ableton would have the edge here for bands that need to jump around like that, but I’m just not an Ableton fan - I’ve used Logic for 30 years so I’m lightning fast on it and it works perfectly for our needs. MWS uses it too so it makes it easy to collaborate. 😁
Do you think you’ll miss the waterfall keyboard on the YC61? I always have to have a second keyboard atop my 88-key controller because I can’t seem to play B3 effectively on a hammer-action keybed.
I certainly prefer a waterfall action for B3 stuff, but the trade-off in having just a single-board sleek rig is nice for a change! Especially for fly dates when I just need to grab one - the YC88 is perfect for that!
Hi there Jim. Fantastic video. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise and experience. I absolutely love your minimalistic, but powerful Keyboard rig. Your rig is very inspiring. Do you ever have problems with the iPad being in the way while performing? Having the Motu on the ground, is it prone to damage or collecting dust? Thanks again!
Hi Joehen, thanks for the kind words! Nope, the iPad hasn’t ever been a problem there - it’s the perfect spot for it. Same with the MOTU - it’s under the laptop stand which protects it. It also gets packed up every night so it travels with me in my laptop bag ;-)
Jim, thank you for the keyboard rig tour. It looks amazing! Do you use an external SSD drive for the stems or sample-based VSTs? By the way, I’m also a KX88 fan. I’ve owned a couple of them over the years.
Thanks for the kind words! No, it's been probably 15 years since I ever used external drives for anything, because the internal solid-state drive in any Apple laptop is much faster.
Hey Jim thanks for doing this! How many sends of both tracks and your sounds are you sending to FoH? Do you split yours pad sounds, piano sounds, organ, etc or is it all just one stereo send? Also totally feel you on the Motu gear :/ Have you look at the Play Audio 12 from iConnectivity? I've been using it at our church for keys/tracks. It's been great.
Hey Nick, I mix all my keyboard parts into one stereo pair, and I ride the expression pedal for layered sounds (like a pad behind a piano, for example). All the stems are submixed into two other stereo pairs.
think you answered a question in back of my mind with mention of being able to control both Mainstage and Logic from the same TouchOSC controller. Was wondering if that was possible.
Well, the advantage of running my sounds in MainStage is that it’s totally separate from Logic - so I can be holding a pad during a transition while changing songs in Logic. Super easy.
At the 16:58 mark you say "I do not recommend USB for pro use". Are you saying don't use USB for the audio interface? Or for the MIDI connectivity? (or either?) Thx.
Both, ideally. It can work depending on the drivers, but because of the way USB works, it's hard to avoid issues like computer ground loop noise, MIDI disconnects, etc.
Is there any magic involved in getting MainStage and Logic to co-operate in a live keys/tracks rig? Do you have separate outputs assigned to mainstage keys rig outputs and the tracks outputs for the FOH to mix separately? Do you need appleScript or any other scripting to make mainstage and logic work well enough for you to control both from TouchOSC?
No magic whatsoever- they are designed to work together and share the same audio & MIDI interface. And no Applescriipt needed - TouchOSC connects to both directly. That's what it's designed to do. It's really not that complicated ;-) Oh, and yes, I typically have 8 outputs total, for my keys (from MainStage), 2 stereo pairs for stems, click, and SMPTE.
Jim another great video! Friends is always my favorite to hear on the KX88. But I've always wondered about secret ambition the Hammond b3 sounds amazing but what made you want to switch on that song? God bless!
@@JimDaneker When you guys do secret ambition now you always use a really cool Hammond b3 sound like what kinda inspired you to come up with that? I just find it super awesome to hear live!
@@angelchacon5557 ah, I see what you mean now… why a B3 instead of the original synth parts? Well, I played the original parts into the computer so I can play B3 live - it just feels more rock & roll in a live setting ;-)
I do carry a second laptop but in all my years of doing this, I’ve never had any kind of catastrophic issue that warranted it. I just take a lot of care to set the rig up properly and really test it thoroughly before trusting it on the road. If you optimize a Mac system properly, it will be essentially bulletproof.
On the MOTU: your laptop doesn't have FW, does it? Why do you not recommend USB? Are you using the MOTU software drivers to control the click to the right source?
Good questions! No, the laptop has Thunderbolt, so I built an adapter into the cable loom for that. USB is just notoriously flaky and can cause ground loop issues/noises. And no, I don’t use the MOTU software - I just assign everything directly in Logic.
Jim, I have never played with racks and modules , but every time I see them I get so nostalgic (I only got into keyboards from Motif XF era, I landed on Earth around the release of Roland's JV-2080), do you miss them (probably not, lol)? I'm quite impressed that you run Logic (running tracks) and Mainstage (running your instruments), it just gets discouraging when the internet says, "What happens when it crashes/Keyboard hardware is always better etc", but I think I am starting to see the benefit of having your own laptop having all the sounds you love.
Hey Tony, I do NOT miss those big racks full of hardware, other than for the nostalgia factor… It sure looked cool, but that’s about it! Everything was vastly more complicated with many points of failure, it was hideously expensive in every possible way, and so on. These days it’s staggering the amount of power and sonic capability you have in a laptop rig!
@@JimDaneker Your strong faith in your MacBook, is pushing me close to the point of conversion, lol. You should do a sampling tutorial for Mainstage, my head always spins with different sample points and velocity layers and loop points, considering I want to have the Yamaha pianos for myself.
@@tonylancer7367 that’s a deep subject! It’s far easier to just get my sounds like BackStage Pass or DX Dreams - the hard work has already been done and the results are stunning 😁😁😁
Hey Jim! I have a MOTU Ultralite Mk4 and I’m trying to figure out how to make my rig more friendly for fly dates. Because it has TRS outs, if I ran my keyboards through this as a mixer and summed it with my soft synths, could I completely get rid of any DI’s the way you are doing it here? Thanks so much!
Jim, is your audio interface connected thru FW on your MacBook? Or you use thunderbolt 3? Just checking because my Macbook only has Thunderbolt 3 ports (looks same as USB-C). However, since MOTU Ultralite 3 has FW just wondering then if it can be used also on Thunderbolt 3 ports? Can not find a suitable adapter. Perhaps you have an idea. Cheers!
Hi Martijn, I’m using a FW800 cable, connected to the FW800 port on the MOTU - and the other end connects to a Thunderbolt port on the laptop via an Apple Thunderbolt to FW800 dongle.
@@JimDaneker thank you so much for your clear answer! I am so not into Apple. Just bought a new Macbook pro two years ago especially for music application and haven't used it as much. Windows keeps so more easy to me. Have to work on that! Thnx again!
Not to hi-jack this super cool tour of your rig but I just saw the Christmas Concert and am wondering what everybody is using on their iPads for the sheet music/chord charts/whatever they are using..... Also, is each person controlling their own and changing between pages/songs by themselves or is someone controlling all of them at once?
Most of them use an app called Four Score if I’m not mistaken - it’s pretty brilliant and allows you to mark up your own charts using an Apple Pencil. I’m probably the only one on stage that doesn’t use one… It’s far easier for me to just memorize everything.
Yes, as I mentioned in the video, I created an entirely software based rig called BackStage Pass, which is what I’ve used for several years now. That’s what I was showing in the video. More info at www.backstagepass.store
Well, The one in the video is seven years old and still does everything I need it to do. We just replaced it with a brand new 14” MacBook Pro M1 Max with 64 GB RAM and upgraded video card, just for future proofing. It is so ridiculously fast, it doesn’t even break a sweat… I have yet to ever hear the fan come on even when testing it extensively!
@@JimDaneker okay, great. so I don't see any problems with the new M2 chip just for stems/sound programming in the future either. After many years on the bass, my last technical stand on keyboards was around 1997 (around the time of MWS life in Sindelfingen/Germany). Thank you for the super quick reply and all the best, Jim!
@@Glexmusic sure thing! I wouldn’t jump on the M2 immediately unreleased though… Let some more adventurous people beta test that before you depend on it 😁😁😁
Since around 2007. Before that I used a few rack modules for a few sounds here and there, but I’ve been using Logic for most of my patches for probably 20 years on the road, and MainStage since 2018.
Yes, if you check out the iPad section, that highlights that stuff. And of course I use the controls on whatever keyboard I'm using as well - pitch & mod wheels, expression pedal, etc.
@@JimDaneker what if I start layering two or there sound creating a new patch? Let's say with a piano, a Pad, strings and a rhodes? Is it possible to assign patches (and volumes) to sliders on a master keyboard? And if yes, what about the CPU? How many sounds can be layered in your opinion? (sure it depends from the computer, but using that old 2014 macbook pro you had for many years, for example?)
@@giacomocagnetti2529 yes, all of that is possible, but it depends on the keyboard you're using. That's why I like TouchOSC on an iPad - limitless options. As for CPU, many of the big patches I created in DX Dreams use 8 layers, all of which use very deep-sampled sounds - and that runs fine even on that old 2014 machine. The only thing you'd have to be careful of is something like Omnisphere when it uses huge layers.
@@JimDaneker thank you so much... Another question: in a master keyboard with sliders would it be possible to assign each layer to sliders to control independent volumes? I am very interested in your backstage pass... I have to buy also a new 88-key Master keyboard and I am very undecided because there are dozens of possibilities. There are very expensive master keyboards that have many controls and many libraries included and there are other master keyboards that are much simpler and less expensive... To make the best use of your backstage pass which master keyboards would you recommend?
@@giacomocagnetti2529 yes, absolutely - you can assign the controls from any keyboard that transmits MIDI CCs. This is really a core feature of MainStage, which BackStage Pass happens to take advantage of. It's hard to give any specific recommendations because there are so many out there and it depends on your needs. Unfortunately there aren't many though with assignable sliders, so that narrows the choices a bit. If you aren't opposed to using an iPad for controls, that really gives you total freedom...
Jim if you ever need another keyboard tier added to your main stand please reach out to me I've been making custom aluminum 2020 extrusion tier additions for the last couple of years and have used similar type motorized stands for customers.
@@JimDaneker I was in Seattle for 12 years did work with Robert Lang Studios just moved back to my hometown Wichita KS where I grew up. John and Martina are friends of mine. I'd love to send you some pics of stuff that I've done. Love your home studio by the way.
You’ve given me so many great ideas. Thank you! How is your iPad mounted? Is it sitting on your keyboard stand, or do you have a separate holder mounted somehow?
Awesome- so glad! You can see in the video that the iPad is sitting on the keyboard stand - it has two extensions facing toward me that are the exact perfect size to hold the iPad in front of the keyboard.
Ha - no thanks. Never been a Nord fan, never will be. Sure, Yamaha took some design cues from "Bord", but the YC88 actually FEELS like a piano... probably because they've made real pianos for over a century. It's a stunningly good master keyboard.
@@JimDaneker probably true on the keyboard feel itself but I've a/b 'd both tone wise and Nord's samples just sound better in general. I guess if your just using it as a controller though it makes sense to go cheaper. I would say calling it "design cues" is a bit understated, try complete copy of layout and control design. Ive own Roland, Yamaha, and Nord and for me Nord has the best recoil action and crossover for Piano and Organ players. But to each his own
How so? Haven’t heard any complaints from anyone else? Or do you mean the background noise? Most of this was shot on stage while there was a lot going on, but the dialogue should be clear…
![[taking the streamline]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YPEo9MMjYXM/mqdefault.jpg)
Perfect way to close a day here. Tks Jim!
“When I started with Michael, twenty-six years ago…” Jimbo, does that even sound feasible? I can hardly believe it has been so long! (Of course, until I happen to look in a mirror, and I immediately am reminded I’m OLD!!!) Love your channel and seeing what you’re up to. Bendiciones Abrumadoras de Dios!!
Brother, time’s fun when you’re having flies 😂😂😂
Good stuff! Thanks for sharing. The attention to detail amazes me. From experience, it really takes a lot of time to "clean up" the look by tying down the cables, securing pedals and all those details.
Thanks for sharing all of us loom forward to gear videos Jim
Such a great video........I have a friend i used to roadie for who still to this day......loves his Korg T3. He was a huge MWS and Billy Joel fan back in the day.
Nice 👍 video Jim!
Thanks Kevin!
A ton of great useful information. Very creative, nice, and neat! Love it! Thank you very much!
So glad it was helpful!
Thank you for sharing! So many amazing ideas. I will be looking for that cable mesh and a cutting board for my pedals very soon LOL. The simpler the better. Been running a nord electro and iPad for synths for the longest time but just bought an m1 MacBook. Excited for all the possibilities that just opened up.
Wow, very cool. Thanks for sharing. That got me laughing about how massive your rig setup was in the mid 90s...man that must have been some heavy lifting, bahaha! That mid 90s rig setup actually sounds cool too, and I'd love to see it!
Got to say, seeing your super capable rig without a rack in sight, the audio interface just sitting there on the floor, and a chopping board pedalboard does make me question the Studio Flyer approach I have taken, and instead the relative merits of having it more broken down. My key challenge is I need to be set up in 15 mins and I’m not sure I could do that reliably with everything so broken up. Food for thought though!
Yeah, this was definitely not the norm for me over three decades on that gig - it was usually just the opposite! Racks, looms, etc. - especially when we were doing international fly dates!
@@JimDaneker sure but I’m talking still just a pure MS rig. Have you ever had a rack based MS rig or always taken this slimmed down approach?
@@k852live Well, I always ran everything (MainStage & Logic) on the same machine, so it was always just those same basic components: laptop, interface, controller, and pedal board. I did have a rack quite often since most interfaces I used were always rack units. However, I also built a custom pedal board for a few years that had the interface mounted on the underside - that was really slick because all the looms were pre-wired and ready to go, so I could get on and off stage really fast if necessary ;-)
very cool thanks Jim
@@adrianajwilson5926 sure thing!
Wow...Been a long time since I have seen a Yamaha KX 88 from the 80s during the DX7 era. Its quite refreshing to not see a Nord keyboard on a live keys rig tour..almost every rig tour I've watched are usually the same keyboards wether they use tthe sounds or they just use it as a controller which not quite sure why you need a Nord for a straight controller...also the Yamaha YC is a keyboard I hardly see keyboardist use ..Love your rig Jim!....like you say..."simple but quite reliable" & thats what really matters.
Thanks for the kind words my friend!
Love the background music for this video!! 😉
Thanks! Beginning and end is one of MWS’ tracks - the rest is from my AD ALTA record.
Rig is seamless. You sir gained a subscriber.
Mighty kind words, friend - thank you!
Cool and interesting video Jim! Agree with Kent... always feels odd playing organ on a hammer keybed, but the convenience is worth it. Been a fan of MWS since the Unguarded days and it must be fun using those ‘80s sounds again! Love what you’ve done with Vanessa and looking forward to more. Happy Christmas!
Thanks much! Yeah, definitely much more fun playing B3 parts on a waterfall, but I’m not doing a whole lot of complicated B3 stuff on this tour, so the weighted action is OK. And the sleek all-in-one aspect makes it worth it ;-)
Thanks for the tour! Merry Christmas!
Thank you for watching!
Great editing! Great information! Great video!
Thanks Pete!
Aaaaaand Merry Christmas to you as well Jimbo. Thanks for the info. What a clean setup. You should be a pro....oh...wait...
Great video Jim! Thank you!
Sure thing!
Great video! Thanks for this!
Sure thing!
Great video! Long Live the KX :-)
Man i would love to be on that tour with you!!!!!!
Thanks for this, Jim... great rundown! When you got to your pedalboard, I expected to see a couple expression pedals. Wasn't it you that mentioned a trick for adding tremolo strings to regular strings patches by using a second pedal to add that sound? I'll never looks at the cutting boards at Target the same way again! 😂
Ha - yes! I was actually just thinking about that the other night… I’d like to add a second pedal, but to do it right, it would have to be a good foot away so I could use it with my other foot!
Thank you so much for doing this rig rundown. So awesome to see your setup - really amazing! How does your computer handle running both Logic & MainStage at the same time? Are you doing anything specifically to optimize your machine to handle that?
Sure thing, glad to do it! As I mentioned in the video, the computer handles it no problem whatsoever. Much of it is just common sense… not running a bunch of CPU heavy instruments like Omnisphere or big Kontakt libraries, etc. This is partly why I developed my own series of virtual instruments that are very CPU efficient (the BackStage Pass stuff). I wrote a detailed guide in the BackStage Pass manual that covers optimizing a live computer rig, but a lot of it really does come down to common sense stuff 😁👍🏻
12:57 pedestal para laptop hermoso 💚
What an awesome rig, Jim! Never even heard of the Yamaha KX until now! Seems really cool.
Question: Have you ever used Ableton live for the live stems? I heard you mentioning things change often during sets, and its a breeze to make changes to different song sections!
Love these videos and looking forward to more. God bless you!
@@mauricewalkes1101 thanks friend! This was several years ago, but the fundamentals were pretty constant over those last several years. The KX88 is ancient - it came out in the mid 80s, but it's an absolute legendary controller, and still quite a workhorse.
I've used Ableton just a little bit here and there, but I've never been a fan of it honestly; I've always been a Logic guy. I've used Logic for over 30 years now.
My MOTU box has 11, so yeah, there you have it! 😁
You cray 😂
Hello. Thank you for the demonstration. Curious is the Backstage Pass your only sound source or are you running virtual instruments if so what do you like ?
@@DarthAxiom71 all my sounds came from my BackStage Pass collections.
I still have my KX88 lol. If anyone is interested, hit me up. My RD-2000 is my main live keyboard now, with an awesome key-bed, not to mention an amazing array of sounds.
Great video!
Thanks!
Whine Cellar. LOL! Love it.
Nice rig rundown video Jim! I was wondering what the Catch button is for? Also, how do you play different song parts in Logic without any glitches or sync issues, in case you need to repeat a chorus or something? In Ableton it is easy as you can use global quantize so it will change or repeat in the correct beat, but in Logic I never found a way to do that. As soon as you go to a locator it will instantly go there so you need to be very precise.
Some other video suggestions I would like to make/see are MWS rig rundown and song breakdowns in Logic. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Thanks my friend! The Catch button is hard to explain - it’s to do with whether the screen follows the song position line (so it stays centered or not). As for jumping around to different sections in Logic, we just don’t do that on the fly - we decide on arrangements ahead of time. If it’s a song that needs to be flexible, we would typically just use click for that so that it wouldn’t matter. Ableton would have the edge here for bands that need to jump around like that, but I’m just not an Ableton fan - I’ve used Logic for 30 years so I’m lightning fast on it and it works perfectly for our needs. MWS uses it too so it makes it easy to collaborate. 😁
Do you think you’ll miss the waterfall keyboard on the YC61? I always have to have a second keyboard atop my 88-key controller because I can’t seem to play B3 effectively on a hammer-action keybed.
I certainly prefer a waterfall action for B3 stuff, but the trade-off in having just a single-board sleek rig is nice for a change! Especially for fly dates when I just need to grab one - the YC88 is perfect for that!
Merry Christmas brother
You too Brosef 😁👊🏻
Hi there Jim. Fantastic video. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise and experience. I absolutely love your minimalistic, but powerful Keyboard rig. Your rig is very inspiring. Do you ever have problems with the iPad being in the way while performing? Having the Motu on the ground, is it prone to damage or collecting dust? Thanks again!
Hi Joehen, thanks for the kind words! Nope, the iPad hasn’t ever been a problem there - it’s the perfect spot for it. Same with the MOTU - it’s under the laptop stand which protects it. It also gets packed up every night so it travels with me in my laptop bag ;-)
@@JimDaneker Thanks for that! Cheers.
@@joehenthompson2023 anytime!
Jim, thank you for the keyboard rig tour. It looks amazing! Do you use an external SSD drive for the stems or sample-based VSTs? By the way, I’m also a KX88 fan. I’ve owned a couple of them over the years.
Thanks for the kind words! No, it's been probably 15 years since I ever used external drives for anything, because the internal solid-state drive in any Apple laptop is much faster.
Thanks for sharing 😊
Thanks for watching!
Hey Jim thanks for doing this! How many sends of both tracks and your sounds are you sending to FoH? Do you split yours pad sounds, piano sounds, organ, etc or is it all just one stereo send?
Also totally feel you on the Motu gear :/ Have you look at the Play Audio 12 from iConnectivity? I've been using it at our church for keys/tracks. It's been great.
Hey Nick, I mix all my keyboard parts into one stereo pair, and I ride the expression pedal for layered sounds (like a pad behind a piano, for example). All the stems are submixed into two other stereo pairs.
think you answered a question in back of my mind with mention of being able to control both Mainstage and Logic from the same TouchOSC controller. Was wondering if that was possible.
Yep, it sure is!
Really nice video! How do you make smooth transitions between songs when you need to load new tracks or switch patches?
Well, the advantage of running my sounds in MainStage is that it’s totally separate from Logic - so I can be holding a pad during a transition while changing songs in Logic. Super easy.
Very nice-thanks for doing this. Are you sending MIDI changes over any kind of network? Are you wired or wireless from iPad to Mac?
Hey Todd, all my MIDI control & patch changes come from the iPad running TouchOSC, and it’s hardwired via USB straight to the computer.
At the 16:58 mark you say "I do not recommend USB for pro use". Are you saying don't use USB for the audio interface? Or for the MIDI connectivity? (or either?) Thx.
Both, ideally. It can work depending on the drivers, but because of the way USB works, it's hard to avoid issues like computer ground loop noise, MIDI disconnects, etc.
Is there any magic involved in getting MainStage and Logic to co-operate in a live keys/tracks rig? Do you have separate outputs assigned to mainstage keys rig outputs and the tracks outputs for the FOH to mix separately? Do you need appleScript or any other scripting to make mainstage and logic work well enough for you to control both from TouchOSC?
No magic whatsoever- they are designed to work together and share the same audio & MIDI interface. And no Applescriipt needed - TouchOSC connects to both directly. That's what it's designed to do. It's really not that complicated ;-)
Oh, and yes, I typically have 8 outputs total, for my keys (from MainStage), 2 stereo pairs for stems, click, and SMPTE.
Jim another great video! Friends is always my favorite to hear on the KX88. But I've always wondered about secret ambition the Hammond b3 sounds amazing but what made you want to switch on that song? God bless!
Thanks much. I’m not sure what you’re asking about Secret Ambition though?
@@JimDaneker When you guys do secret ambition now you always use a really cool Hammond b3 sound like what kinda inspired you to come up with that? I just find it super awesome to hear live!
@@angelchacon5557 ah, I see what you mean now… why a B3 instead of the original synth parts? Well, I played the original parts into the computer so I can play B3 live - it just feels more rock & roll in a live setting ;-)
@@JimDaneker That's awesome Jim! It's always a blessing hearing from you happy new year and God bless!
Thanks for posting this! Do you have a backup Mac rig, or do you just rely on one?
I do carry a second laptop but in all my years of doing this, I’ve never had any kind of catastrophic issue that warranted it. I just take a lot of care to set the rig up properly and really test it thoroughly before trusting it on the road. If you optimize a Mac system properly, it will be essentially bulletproof.
On the MOTU: your laptop doesn't have FW, does it? Why do you not recommend USB? Are you using the MOTU software drivers to control the click to the right source?
Good questions! No, the laptop has Thunderbolt, so I built an adapter into the cable loom for that. USB is just notoriously flaky and can cause ground loop issues/noises. And no, I don’t use the MOTU software - I just assign everything directly in Logic.
Jim, I have never played with racks and modules , but every time I see them I get so nostalgic (I only got into keyboards from Motif XF era, I landed on Earth around the release of Roland's JV-2080), do you miss them (probably not, lol)?
I'm quite impressed that you run Logic (running tracks) and Mainstage (running your instruments), it just gets discouraging when the internet says, "What happens when it crashes/Keyboard hardware is always better etc", but I think I am starting to see the benefit of having your own laptop having all the sounds you love.
Hey Tony, I do NOT miss those big racks full of hardware, other than for the nostalgia factor… It sure looked cool, but that’s about it! Everything was vastly more complicated with many points of failure, it was hideously expensive in every possible way, and so on. These days it’s staggering the amount of power and sonic capability you have in a laptop rig!
@@JimDaneker Your strong faith in your MacBook, is pushing me close to the point of conversion, lol.
You should do a sampling tutorial for Mainstage, my head always spins with different sample points and velocity layers and loop points, considering I want to have the Yamaha pianos for myself.
@@tonylancer7367 that’s a deep subject! It’s far easier to just get my sounds like BackStage Pass or DX Dreams - the hard work has already been done and the results are stunning 😁😁😁
@@JimDaneker Well played Jim! Considering I'm looking at Blair's grand, I might be almost there! 😅
@@tonylancer7367 let me know if I can ever answer any questions 😁
Hey Jim! I have a MOTU Ultralite Mk4 and I’m trying to figure out how to make my rig more friendly for fly dates. Because it has TRS outs, if I ran my keyboards through this as a mixer and summed it with my soft synths, could I completely get rid of any DI’s the way you are doing it here? Thanks so much!
Yep, you could certainly do that!
Jim, is your audio interface connected thru FW on your MacBook? Or you use thunderbolt 3? Just checking because my Macbook only has Thunderbolt 3 ports (looks same as USB-C). However, since MOTU Ultralite 3 has FW just wondering then if it can be used also on Thunderbolt 3 ports? Can not find a suitable adapter. Perhaps you have an idea. Cheers!
Hi Martijn, I’m using a FW800 cable, connected to the FW800 port on the MOTU - and the other end connects to a Thunderbolt port on the laptop via an Apple Thunderbolt to FW800 dongle.
@@JimDaneker thank you so much for your clear answer! I am so not into Apple. Just bought a new Macbook pro two years ago especially for music application and haven't used it as much. Windows keeps so more easy to me. Have to work on that! Thnx again!
Not to hi-jack this super cool tour of your rig but I just saw the Christmas Concert and am wondering what everybody is using on their iPads for the sheet music/chord charts/whatever they are using..... Also, is each person controlling their own and changing between pages/songs by themselves or is someone controlling all of them at once?
Most of them use an app called Four Score if I’m not mistaken - it’s pretty brilliant and allows you to mark up your own charts using an Apple Pencil. I’m probably the only one on stage that doesn’t use one… It’s far easier for me to just memorize everything.
You are talking about, getting around using heavily plugins like string libraries. Can you tell a little more about that?
Yes, as I mentioned in the video, I created an entirely software based rig called BackStage Pass, which is what I’ve used for several years now. That’s what I was showing in the video. More info at www.backstagepass.store
Awesome video Jim - thanks! But... 20:56 - cut that ziptie flush before someone bleeds to death! :-)
HA! I gotta keep some edges to punish anyone who dares to touch my rig 😂
Hi, about the Mac could you please share the configuration of RAM / CPU / SSD of your configuration? Thanks in advance.
Well, at the time of this video it was a 2014 quad core i7 with just 16 GB RAM and a 1 TB SSD!
Nice rig 👍🏾
Thanks much! I only intended to use it for a few shows, but I ended up using it for three months, and I’m thinking of taking it out again this year!
@@JimDaneker touring at this level has to be nice. Happy for you.
@@jgooch99 thanks for the kind words. It has definitely been an adventure that I don’t take for granted. Sadly it’s not always like this though 😁
@@JimDaneker I understand I did a summer tour for drum & bugle corps years ago. Waking up not knowing what city were in was regular so I understand.
13:50 características del soporte del piano 🎹 TEX19
What do you want to know about it?
What Kind of MacBook Pro? Would you work with a 13“ screen, or it is to small for live Stage handling?
Well, The one in the video is seven years old and still does everything I need it to do. We just replaced it with a brand new 14” MacBook Pro M1 Max with 64 GB RAM and upgraded video card, just for future proofing. It is so ridiculously fast, it doesn’t even break a sweat… I have yet to ever hear the fan come on even when testing it extensively!
@@JimDaneker okay, great. so I don't see any problems with the new M2 chip just for stems/sound programming in the future either. After many years on the bass, my last technical stand on keyboards was around 1997 (around the time of MWS life in Sindelfingen/Germany). Thank you for the super quick reply and all the best, Jim!
@@Glexmusic sure thing! I wouldn’t jump on the M2 immediately unreleased though… Let some more adventurous people beta test that before you depend on it 😁😁😁
I see the stems, but do you ever used a combination of stems and MIDI tracks?
No, I never have need for MIDI tracks - everything is rendered as audio.
How long have you been strictly software based?
Since around 2007. Before that I used a few rack modules for a few sounds here and there, but I’ve been using Logic for most of my patches for probably 20 years on the road, and MainStage since 2018.
😍😍😍😍
do you know which stands he use for the keys and the laptop?
I talk about them both in the video, and there are links in the description ;-)
Great setup! Do you use real time controllers for your sounds?
Yes, if you check out the iPad section, that highlights that stuff. And of course I use the controls on whatever keyboard I'm using as well - pitch & mod wheels, expression pedal, etc.
@@JimDaneker what if I start layering two or there sound creating a new patch? Let's say with a piano, a Pad, strings and a rhodes? Is it possible to assign patches (and volumes) to sliders on a master keyboard? And if yes, what about the CPU? How many sounds can be layered in your opinion? (sure it depends from the computer, but using that old 2014 macbook pro you had for many years, for example?)
@@giacomocagnetti2529 yes, all of that is possible, but it depends on the keyboard you're using. That's why I like TouchOSC on an iPad - limitless options.
As for CPU, many of the big patches I created in DX Dreams use 8 layers, all of which use very deep-sampled sounds - and that runs fine even on that old 2014 machine. The only thing you'd have to be careful of is something like Omnisphere when it uses huge layers.
@@JimDaneker thank you so much... Another question: in a master keyboard with sliders would it be possible to assign each layer to sliders to control independent volumes? I am very interested in your backstage pass... I have to buy also a new 88-key Master keyboard and I am very undecided because there are dozens of possibilities. There are very expensive master keyboards that have many controls and many libraries included and there are other master keyboards that are much simpler and less expensive... To make the best use of your backstage pass which master keyboards would you recommend?
@@giacomocagnetti2529 yes, absolutely - you can assign the controls from any keyboard that transmits MIDI CCs. This is really a core feature of MainStage, which BackStage Pass happens to take advantage of. It's hard to give any specific recommendations because there are so many out there and it depends on your needs. Unfortunately there aren't many though with assignable sliders, so that narrows the choices a bit. If you aren't opposed to using an iPad for controls, that really gives you total freedom...
what you think of using ableton for a similar rig?
Jim if you ever need another keyboard tier added to your main stand please reach out to me I've been making custom aluminum 2020 extrusion tier additions for the last couple of years and have used similar type motorized stands for customers.
Awesome Dana, thanks! I really love the sleek look of a single keyboard so I won't be modifying this one... but you never know! Where are you located?
@@JimDaneker I was in Seattle for 12 years did work with Robert Lang Studios just moved back to my hometown Wichita KS where I grew up. John and Martina are friends of mine.
I'd love to send you some pics of stuff that I've done.
Love your home studio by the way.
@@danafiorucci83 awesome - please do! You can reach me via my website: www.jimdaneker.com
Hey @danafiorucci83 - I'd love to chat about this. Let me know how to get in touch!
@@danafiorucci83 Love Robert Lang Studio.. I have recorded there a few times.. Legendary!!
Would love to know your opinions on the YC series vs the Electros
Well, i’m definitely much more of a Yamaha fan because of their pianos and piano sounds - the YC is fantastic! The action is far superior too, IMO.
@@JimDaneker thanks for the prompt reply! Love the rig tour. Thanks
@@jeremymckee9649 anytime!
Waiting for the YAMAHA YC setup bro 🙏
I’m probably sticking with the KX88 at least the rest of this year. We’ll see!
@@JimDaneker will be waiting … ✌️
KX88 looks so much better than anything red !
Ha - I couldn't agree more! 😁😁😁
You’ve given me so many great ideas. Thank you! How is your iPad mounted? Is it sitting on your keyboard stand, or do you have a separate holder mounted somehow?
Awesome- so glad! You can see in the video that the iPad is sitting on the keyboard stand - it has two extensions facing toward me that are the exact perfect size to hold the iPad in front of the keyboard.
but.... but... but.... Red is more holy isn't it?
Oh it’s more… something 😂😂😂
@@JimDaneker cost more...lol
@@antonbriggs5680 😂😂😂
Yc88 is just copying the Nord stage. Just admit it. It’s ok if it’s red when it sound better 😂
Ha - no thanks. Never been a Nord fan, never will be. Sure, Yamaha took some design cues from "Bord", but the YC88 actually FEELS like a piano... probably because they've made real pianos for over a century. It's a stunningly good master keyboard.
@@JimDaneker probably true on the keyboard feel itself but I've a/b 'd both tone wise and Nord's samples just sound better in general. I guess if your just using it as a controller though it makes sense to go cheaper. I would say calling it "design cues" is a bit understated, try complete copy of layout and control design. Ive own Roland, Yamaha, and Nord and for me Nord has the best recoil action and crossover for Piano and Organ players. But to each his own
Sound is crap? What is wrong
How so? Haven’t heard any complaints from anyone else? Or do you mean the background noise? Most of this was shot on stage while there was a lot going on, but the dialogue should be clear…