Before...


After...

Playing for the Chipmunks, Gar?
Or is that just your BRANCH office !
haa haaa haaa ... I kill me.

"Let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees, and the flowers and the trees . . "
Lookin' good Gary!
Don

The lucky bastard got a gig in a marijuana field! I guess that's worth being forced to wear a guitar-freak shirt for...

WOW! Looks great! Are those the powered speakers you mentioned in a prior post? The barbettas?

I may need to look into those!

Jill

Lookin' Good Gary!!!

Gary:

Your Setup's looking good. I just hope you leaning againest one speaker isn't a hint that your back might be aching. With one of the speakers seemingly situated up above your head, I hope you remembered to first mount the Barbetta's onto the stand's poles with the tripod stand lying 'on its side' (on the ground), and then walk the stand into an upright position, instead of attempting to lift the speaker up onto a fully upright positioned speaker stand.

Scott

Thanks guys and gals. Yep, the rig's lighter, set-up times are down to five minutes and yes Scott, I took UD's advice on setting up the speakers, which works great.

Dave, this is the view from my patio. Keep in mind that I live in the middle of nowhere, which is neat because the only sounds I hear are from the wildlife. No sirens, trucks, none of the city noises.

Jill, there are the Barbetta Sona 32-Cs, which I really love. They only weigh 36.5 pounds and punch out 450 watts of crisp, clear, music and vocals.

Pro, you must be smoking something different than the other folks--they're japonica, rhododendron and hostas growing behind me. Neat plants, but rolled into a joint--nah!

Just another fun day in paradise,

Gary

Gary...
Much cleaner looking...less complicated...and love that sign.

I see you have memorized all your lyrics. No more music stand?
Oh, wait! I see the laptop. Nevermind.

Oh...and a new chair...with a back, yet.

The whole rig looks very professional. Congrats.
Eddie
ps -- the 740 in the closet now?

Gary,

on the first picture I can see a peavey powered mixer (I think).

Can you give some feedback from your experience with this powermix?

Thank you

STAM

Gary,

Great setup! Sleek and clean! I agree with Eddie I also like the sign. Very professional looking!

Tom

hi gary,your setup looks great,i,m curious why did you have the separate mixer when you had the peavey with built in eq,i have the same peavey as you, but i only got it so when i do charity shows ,but i,m still not good enough yet so iv,e not used it so far.mike

Eddie, The 740s (2) will probably go on E-Bay within the next week or two at most, along with the Peavey stuff as well. Thanks

Stam, The Peavey mixer was awesome, but it weighs almost the same as one of my Barbettas. It offered lots of advantages when I was playing with a group, but I do not need all those channels now.

Tom, The sign was done using Print Shop 12.0 and was fairly easy to put together using some plexiglass sheeting. Thanks for the complements.

Mike, The device sitting on top of the Peavey is not a mixer, it's my Digitech Vocolist VR, which is now rack mounted and secreted beneath the laptop and behind the sign. This way I have easy access to make any changes that may be necessary.

Thanks again everyone,

Gary

[This message has been edited by travlin'easy (edited 09-29-2003).]

Look's great Gary, however I am very insulted you are wearing a Guitar shirt!!!!

You should be wearing keys, man!!

Al
Keep Giggin'

Al,

I was gonna' wear my Hawaiian shirt that has lots of leaves and flowers, but with the background no one would have seen me. Donny has some other photos of me wearing a tux, which is what I normally wear when playing. The shirt was purchased by my spouse of 41 years for playing poolside parties and outdoor gigs during the height of summer.

Cheers,

Gary

no gary, i meant to the right of your stool ,top pic,mike

Way Cool Gary!

I'm just GREEN....................

and I agree.........Simpler is better! I've never seen such a clean uncluttered setup. I'll bet your back is thanking you! How many trips back and forth did you have to make before?

Mike,

That PA/mixer ran a pair of Peavey SP5-G speakers. They were not powered. The PA/mixer is a Peavey XR-600F, which everything ran through. The keyboards, vocalizer, and spare mic all ran through that same amp head. Now, the only mixer I use is the one built into the Barbettas.

Gary

Charlie,
I used to average about 8 trips to the van just to unload the gear. Of course it took the same number of trips to load up again. Then the process was repeated when I got home, however, it was only two trips at home because I use a tractor with a 10-cubic foot wagon.

Gary

Gary,
the setup looks great
your patio looks great
YOU look great!!!
Cheers
Andrea

Hi Gary, Your set up looks great, enough to do a great job. Got a few question, please.
1-What is holding up the Computer? (I think that's what it is)
2-Can I put lyrics in the computer with and without a sequence?
3-If that's possible, is there a program that I can use to call up the lyrics, very much like Van Basco, you press an "L" and it brings you to the "Ls" in the list?

Thanks, John C.

Bruno,
We use Microsoft Word for the Lyrics.
Just Put all you lyrics into WORD files and keep that folder on your tool bar..if you need lyrics, chords, settings, etc...just click and there they are. Works like a charm!

That box in front of Garys KB is what holds all the Hookups, A/c adapters, power strip, etc..Al together so you just have to plug in "ONE" A/C plug, pedal, line inputs and your good to go..save a ton of time upon setup!



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 09-30-2003).]

Hi Gary.

Great look. You, the setup (cleaner)and the place.

Armando

Gary...

Congrats... wayda go! What do you do with all that extra time now!?!

Gary - Is that a foldup stool with a backrest you have there? Is it adjustable height as well?

Who makes those please?

Ta - Keith

Keith,
The stool is a QuicLok model D-749 and yes, it is fully adjustable for height and the position of the backrest and footrest are also fully adjustable. It's very study, a bit heavy, folds flat a fairly comfortable. The list price was $149, but I was able to find it for just over $100 plus tax. You can get a good look at it at http://www.quiklok.com/

Cheers,

Gary

John,
The box that Donny described is a lexan utility stand that was made for a second keyboard by a company called Clear-Stand, P.O. Box 777, Carteret, NJ 07008. The one I modified measures about 24 inches wide and slips over the top tier of my keyboard stand, almost like a three-sided box with no ends. Inside is a small rack mount that holds the Digitech Vocalist VR, surge protector, all the wall warts for the equipment, Samson wireless mic receiver and a USB to Midi adapter that goes between the keybaord and the computer. All the cables are harnessed within the box and the entire box fits into a medium size duffle bag. When I arrive on the job, the box just slips over the keyboard stand post and all the cables are cut to the exact length needed. Setups are so easy now that it only takes one trip to the van with a flatbed cart, you never break into a sweat and I always have lots of time to talk with the customers in the lounge before going on stage. Donny and I both use Microsoft Word for lyrics, and at the top of each of my lyrics page, I also put the keyboard settings in large, bold print so they can easily be seen. Most of the lyrics are in my head, but there are times when the first few words of the second or third verse may be a bit fuzzy.

Cheers,

Gary

Gary,
The setup looks really cool. Very nice indeed. Mind you I liked the 'before' shot as well! Probably becuase I love to have all my toys around me! Seeing as I don't play profesionally and hence don't have to lug it all around, take it down and set it up again I suppose I can afford the luxury.
Very best to you
Tony W

------------------
http://www.tonywmusic.co.uk

Gary, you have very clean, nice looking rig.
I bet you like it better every time you have
to setup & take down.
Denny

Gary and Donny, I love the set up, and I love the so quick response I recieved. Thank you.

I have been think of adding a PC to my set up, it seems to be very popular.

I know I can use the PC to control the Van Bosco program to play midi sequences.

Now I see that I can use the PC for info, sheet music, lyrics, and chords---I like that. I play live 95% of the time, so this could help a great deal.

When I use the Van Bosco Program, I press a letter, let's say "L", then all the songs beginning with "L" show on the screen. This makes for an easy search.

Question; Is there a word program that will work the same way? I am familiar with the Micosoft Word program, but I can't find a way to do what I have just explained above.

Thanks again. John C.

If there is any topic that I can help with on this forum, please tell me. I own a KN7000 and a Tyros. The Tyros arrived a week ago.

Tony, I liked the other setup when it came to playing, but the setup and tear down time was 30 minutes and there were wires everywhere. Life's a lot easier now.

Denny, Thanks for the complements. And, simplicity is the only way to go in this business, especially on the days when you play doubles and the jobs are some distance apart. Did a double shortly after I put this rig together and never broke into a sweat setting up or tearing down--just one trip to the van is all it takes.

Thanks guys,

Gary

Size, weight and setup speed are extremely important. I will be doing 6 one-hour jobs in two days coming up soon. My setup is now very close to DNJ and Gary, and getting closer every day, thanks to their help. Old dogs CAN learn new tricks.
John, we just use the Windows folders to store lyrics, mp3s, etc. It will work just as yours does for VBasco.
Don

Very nice setup Gary!

As to the backdrop, you're in my kind of country my friend. It almost looks like your backyard is adjoining a regular full fledged forest. Looks alot like what Oregon looks like on any given day. Ah, greenery. You must have some of the freshest air in the vincinity Gary. The great outdoors. I love it! Country livin' is the best there is IMO.

Best regards,
Mike

Mike,
The woods behind the house measures about 2,800 acres and mainly consists of hardwoods situated within a steep valley. I only own 5.5 acres of it, but the vast majority of the adjoining property is undevelopable, which means lots of peace and quiet, relatively clean air, and running through the back end of my place is a small stream that holds a few, native, brook trout. Like most places in the nation, we have too many deer, lots of squirels, a few wild turkey, fox, raccoon, ground hogs, beaver and more varieties of birds than most folks can imagine. I've been here for 32 years and despite last year's brutally cold winter, I still like where I'm living. However, as I grow older, south Florida, especially the Florida Keys, is looking better every day. The older you get, the colder you get.

Cheers,

Gary

Gary....
I will alert Jimmy Buffet
Eddie

Gary, south Florida is a fisherman's dream! If I lived there I would probably be taking my boat out every other day. Why settle for trout when you can go for Tarpon, Kingfish, Blackfin Tuna, or Wahoo! And I agree that Maryland gets too cold in the Winter Gary.

I have relatives living on Merritt Island which is near the Kennedy Space Center. In fact they can watch the Shuttle lift off's from the comfort of their own backyard. The Keys would be ideal for fishing though. Just be sure to head inland when one of those whipper-snapper hurricanes comes barreling through.

Best regards,
Mike

The woods behind the house measures about 2,800 acres and mainly consists of hardwoods situated within a steep valley. I only own 5.5 acres of it, but the vast majority of the adjoining property is undevelopable, which means lots of peace and quiet,

Gary, That sounds soooo good--peace and quiet, woods, Hmmmm!!
I live In West Palm beach, Florida--We should trade site once a year.

John C.

John C,
You can put all of your sheet music, lyrics and keyboard settings in a single file folder and list them alphabetically. The lyrics and keyboard settings should be save in MS Word. Then just open the folder, press the first letter of the song's title "T" or whatever the title begins with, and the computer will autimatically find that first song beginning with "T". Then merely press the down cursor key until the song you wish to perform is highlighted and press enter. It will autimatically open MS Word and open the song file.

The neat thing about this is just before you finish playing that song, while you're singing the last few lines, move the mouse pointer down to the folder, tap the pad, the folder will open, then press the next selection. This takes about two seconds at most. Then, while you're finishing up, open the registration memory and select that same song. As soon as the song you're singing ends, select it from the registration memory, and bang, within two seconds, you're into the next song and no one has left the dance floor.

Good Luck,

Gary

I just use the Up & Down Arrows to manuver thru Lyrics, Mp3's, Midi Songs, etc. Then when hghlighted hit he enter key. Then you can also jump between folders by just tapping the touch pad with the curser in that window[s] you need... its so easy.