For starters ....... anyone who plays CD's, MD's or tapes on breaks can benefit from a laptop.
In a more "functional" use -- the laptop can serve as your hard disk storage for midi files, lyric sheets, booking schedule, address book etc. .....

IN my typical setup - I use the PC to store and play midi files (using the internal sounds of the psr2k), and to play WMA & MP3 files, both as MY backing trax (with tons of Backing vocals) and as DJ trax on my breaks.
As I stated in an earlier post - When I play parties for teens, I really NEED to include a mix of their favorite tunes, so rather than "butcher" them, as only an OLD MAN can -I mix the audio trax in with my live stuff so that everyone hears the music they like. No one cares about the ratio between live vs. PRErecorded. As a matter of fact -- most people think we're all just DJ's anyway. I'm tired of explaining the difference. My job is to SUPPLY the right music, at the right time, and keep the flow going in a positive direction. I sing what I do best, and I "cue" what needs to be played for the rest of the night.

e.g.:
Songs I no longer play live:

1)Electric Slide (except for seniors)
2)Who Let the dogs out
3) Paradise by the dashboard lights....
Get the idea?

I've matured as a performer, and in that process - I've learned where my strengths are ..... and where they ARE NOT. I prefer to avoid looking (and sounding) like a dork.
How many weddings have you been to, where a singer was "murdering" a popular song? I won't do that anymore - If I can't do it justice .... I won't perform it, that's all. I won't make the crowd suffer through a bad rendition, just because I am a musician. It's not about ego, or age, or even talent. It's about SELLING the tune. Period. If it sounds good -- great, then it IS good.
Some tunes sound just fine in a simple, energetic, live version -- others loose all the "magic" that made it a hit.

The professional approach is to determine how to "KEEP" the magic. That's my job. I decide HOW and WHEN the smoke appears. Entertainment is a world of illusion and fantasy -- get into character .... master the tools ..... and "ON with the show !"

My laptop has become a great tool, and really helps with the more modern tunes. Not to mention ..... the 20GB hard drive! I can store soooooooooo much stuff, it boggles the mind. Twenty Gigs in a briefcase is a lot of storage space.

Dave ,
I understand that keeping things organized on a laptop for your shows is very handy .


Are the vocal tracks your generating syncipated wav. files attached to your midi sequences ? just curios .......

I think that the wav. syncipation is a big thing in the future for Ketron products .
New styles being developed are all sample base drum loops syncipated with an arrangement .
Suppose you could purchase HOTEL California and have all the backing vocals via wav. sync ? Pretty cool .......

As I get back into this world of entertaining, I think a laptop is a great idea. My partner had not sung or played out professionally for a while either, and he was somewhat blown away by what can be done with today's arrangers and keyboards and how these tools onterface with computers. As he begins to understand what we can actually do, we both realize the potential of having a laptop on board for our shows. I don't have a hard drive installed for the PA80 and the floppy disc function isn't the best in it. It would be nice even for a backup to the discs for the 2000 as well, as we both know that floppy discs can just suddenly stop working for no apparent reason.

Korg AJ

Dan,
The vocals are done (by me)in my studio with my harmonizer, and then recorded to CD (previously MD)for transfer to WMA (or MP3) on the computer. I've found that WMA's sound just as good as most MP3's and take up less drive space. I can't remember who pointed that out to me, but THANX ! (it WAS someone from this forum ! )
Forget the Eagles - how about an "All Dave" doo wap group on "In the still of the night" !! It's a big rush .... I'm EVERY where ! (and yes - the voices are panned 4 ways in stereo L - LC-RC - R ) That puts me "SMACK dab in the middle" of a 5 part vocal group !

UD.......
UD ,
I understand that it's you singing in harmony . That's cool .
I would do the same thing . However , sampling my voice and syncipating that sample(.wav) is or can be done on the SD1 . No laptop.
The example I gave about the Hotel C is just for everyone on the forum to get an idea of what wav. sync can and will do in the future . dano

I'm also using a laptop in my number, specialy during long parties. I use it in Uncle Dave's "functional" sense, mainly to store and play MP3 or WMA. I have several playlists of songs ready for several ocasions, and use them when I'm resting, or when I'm in a mood to dance along with the crowd! :-)

Uncle Dave, I suppose you make use of the PSR2k internal sounds by utilizing the MIDI IN device of your laptop connected to MIDI OUT of the keyboard. Am I right?

José Matias.

Can the laptop be triggered (started) by the keyboard (KN6500), so the two are in sync? If so, what is the hookup?

Peter

Matias,
You got it BACKWARDS. The pc goes midi OUT ... into the Yamaha midi IN.
(Or maybe I misread it.)
I have no need to pump anything INTO the laptop - it's all there already.
I'm not suncing anything either. The laptop serves as another set of musicians on stage . I follow THEM, when the time is appropriate.
DonO - I remember that WAVsync feature. It sounded pretty good, but it's not for me. If I am going to be THAT tied to a structure, I want it to be a complete, stand alone arrangement - then I have the ability to add guitar, keys or walk away from the rig.

For Dave and others who play live with midi files----Do you spend time tweaking the files before using them in a show? My experience is that a great variability exists between files, i.e., the bass or drum parts may be too loud or too soft given the tune, style, etc. How do you mix your files so that the volume among the various instruments is consistent from song to song?

I've been planning to add a laptop to my rig but I'm kind of lost in all the features and price points. I'm leaning toward a Sager that sells for around $1300.00. Any suggestions?
Deaton

Interesting topic. So, if my kbd has a hard drive and the backed ram installed as well, could I bypass the laptop and just record waves or download other audio files by conecting my kbd to my home pc and saving them to the hard drive inside my kbd?

Thanks in advance!

Most audio files are at least 3-4 MB, even in a compressed form. The WMA's seem to be the smallest, with the best sound quality, but an MP3 recorded at 320kb is almost CD quality.
Midi files are a personal thing. Most people just download them and try to play along with them. I've made many of my own audio trax, but very few midi files. I usually take out the melody, the piano and whatever other junk I don't like and rely on the basic rhythm section to accompany me.
I use big production sounds when it's called for ... Disco, some Big Bands, Novelty songs. I love introducing "Dualing Banjo's" as the "Love Theme" from ..... (pause 4 effect ...........) Deliverence !
Then I play the guitar part while the pc plays the banjo. It keeps me amused, and breaks up the night.
I go through phases with smf's - Sometimes I use them all night, and other times ... I NEVER use one ! It's all about a mood. The room "tells" me what it needs each night. I just follow directions !

I heard from Ryan today - He got all the gear we shipped from Philly & California .... now we're just waitin' on the Yamaha guys to show up with the Keyboard and survival kit !
C' mom guys .... the poor kid's about to burst with anticip..................................

I have a midi cable that connects to the game port of my desktop pc. What kind of cable would I need to achieve midi connection to/from a laptop (the laptop I have in mind has serial, parallel, usb, and firewire ports).
Thanks,
Deaton

So far, Fran Carango has the only laptop I've seen that can use that joystick cable. Most of the rest need a dedicated midi interface of some sort, or a pc "to host" cable. This is only good if your slave source has the same pc connector.
You can get a "cigarette box" type adapter, or a pcmcia type. I have the EXP Midi Traveler, a pcmcia card that gives me a joystick end, and two midi ends.

my middle machine has a joystick/midi port (one of the reasons I chose it) but this is difficult to find now, and not really necessary any more.

cheapest option for midi is a host cable to the serial port, if your keyboard has the required socket.
then a midiman interface or similar to usb (easiest) or parallel port (edirol have nice cable/controllers for usb, though you might find cheaper).
then a pcmcia card just for midi like UD. You can spend more and get a hardware wavetable in the card too for more polyphony or better voices.

I use my laptop too as a phrase sampler and midifile player. I had a problem of connecting my keyboard to it because it doesn't have a pc-to-host connector. I thought of getting pcmcia midi connector but its a little pricey. I remember that I have a little sound module about the same size as my laptop gathering dust in my garage. This module solved my problem because it has pc-to-host connection to hook up with my laptop's serial port. Then from there I can route the midi out (5-pin DIN) of the module and connect my keyboard's midi in. This module (Korg AG10) sounds better than my laptop's sound chip when playing midifiles. I don't know if you can still find this module but I bought it cheap when it first came out.

I can't remember who pointed that out to me, but THANX ! (it WAS someone from this forum ! )
--------------------------

You are welcome U.D. and amm glad you found WMA files good.

I posted about their advantages since all being mentioned in the forum at that time was MP3's.

I found about WMA files when trying to find alternatives to the MP3 encoder which I had downloaded (It was one of the best recommended at that time). However, at that time that MP3 encoder had a bug which actually did shift the Key in which I had played the song when converting a WAV file to MP3! I couldn't beleive it and after being sure of it sent them an email about it.

WMA files are not only shorter that MP3 but have higher resolution too. The windows media player nicely can take a CD and automatically creates WMA files with so little space that I now just store the CD away.