Played three jobs last week with the little Roland monitor and the NP-30 Yamaha.

One was for a board meeting/dinner for a private college. Attendance: 35. There is a 100 year old grand at the school in questionable shape.

The second one was for a reception in the entrance area of a faculty club at the University, which had been recently rennovated. People came and went, but the average cround was probably 40.

The third one was at a dinner before the start of a city council meeting. There were about 50 there. Also used a new Cordoba Gitane guitar, a copy of the early 30's Selmer-Mckafee that Django and others played.

Total cost of the keyboard and amp...about $500.00. Total weight: about 30 lbs.

Ideal? Not for all jobs, but for quiet receptions and meetings for 50-60 people and under, it does the job, especially considering the shape of some house pianos I see (UGH!).

A long-time friend has been asking me to play for his weekly Kiwanis Club, and I've been avoiding it because of the condition of the house piano. I may do it on this little rig.

Booked an annual outdoor event for 3,000 plus people at a large automobile manufacturer for the spring (been doing it for 15 years) . That will involve 4 500 watt Crowns, 4 18" subs, a B-3, two Leslies, vibes, 4 other players and lots of other neat stuff.

Still, the little light rig is adequate for a lot of my smaller jobs.

And the challenge of playing jobs involving vastly different material and equipment is fun and keeps you on your toes.

Russ (still having a ball playing) Lay

New poster, but long-time lurker, here. I bought two CM 30s based on reading here, and I'm very pleased with them. (They work very well with the PSR 2000 I bought from Larry Hawk last year.)

I appreciate all the useful information that's shared here, even enjoy the bickering.

Hi Russ

Good to hear this set up is working out for you. I'm curious about your using only one amp know of the stereo phase issue on some Yamaha models. I'm wondering if you've tried it in stereo and if there is a major difference in sound quality.

I remember trying mono on the PSR2000 and Tyros 1 and it was one ugly sound.

Scott

Hey, Scott. I am using the left (mono) in on this little guy, and it sounds fine to me. I know of all the discussion about the need to use stereo amplification on Yammaha units, but, as far as I'm concerned, the unit through the mono connection sounds as full as the small internal speakers. I notice no drop-off or thinner sound at all.


R.

Am wondering if you are using EQ or if playing with the setting at flat is ok.

Flat works OK most of the time. Need to back off the bass when I play at one club, where theres a lot of hardwood and glass. Not much of an adjustment option the little monitor. None on the piano.

R.

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 11-18-2008).]

Thanx Russ, also always wonder what kind of stand works best with a kb that skinny depth wise.

Scott, I just used an old "brand X" stand lying around, with rubber rings which are adjustable to the depth of the keyboard. And, you're right, this little thing is about 13 inches deep.

I'm going to shop for a new stand this week-end.

By the way, this little combo is nice, but I used my 61 note Nord Electro last night through a 200 watt Yamaha PA and two 15" cabinets, along with my C-1. Electro was on my right hand. Used my small Motion Sound top rotor box for doppler for the C-1. I used the little Roland as a powered monitor. Wish I had the 73 note Electro, but for this application, the 61 is fine.

Love Nords! A much better unit, and should be for the price differential.

Guess this shows that acceptable equipment is a subjective thing. I'd choose the 76 note Yamaha over the 61 note Nord for a straight piano gig.

Damn-this means I may have to look at the Electro 3 Diki is talking about.

Russ (equipment junkie) Lay


[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 11-19-2008).]

The Yamaha P-85 is a nice piano...under 25 lbs and 88 weighted hammer keys...very easy to transport....real MIDI ports too.

Not too expensive either.

http://yamahap85.com/yamaha-p-85.html

I find that, if you have an ultra light keyboard and a light X stand, bounce is quite a problem, but I found a solution...

Use heavy duty Velcro (the type that is plastic on BOTH sides) and velcro the keyboard to the stand. Now it's a LOT harder to make the keyboard move at all, and returns a degree of solidity to playing the piano.