Keyboard Rig
I started playing keyboard when I was 17 years old with the long term goal of joining a rock band. I started practicing and trying out different equipment. At age 20, when I joined my first band, I used a cheap Casio keyboard and solid-state Peavy guitar amp. I knew there was better equipment available but I couldn’t afford it at the time.
Soon after that I acquired a Fender Rhodes Mark I electric piano, a bulky electromechanical instrument with heavy key action. The Casio went on top of that with a rolled up shirt propping up its rear. Very professional!
After a couple years of gigging around upstate NY, I started hunting online for a cut-down Hammond B3. To me, there is nothing like the sound of a real B3/Leslie combo - no synthesis can capture the full range of the real deal. I ended up driving down to Orlando, FL to pickup a unique single cut from Keyboard Exchange International. It came with a modified Leslie 45 cabinet. I’ve further modified both the B3 and the Leslie over the years with various niceties.
In addition to the B3 I also picked up a Hohner D6 Clavinet and replaced my Mark I Rhodes with a Mark II, which has lighter action. All of this stuff I carried to gigs for a few years around the upstate NY Rochester/Buffalo area. Many bandmates were recruited in the precarious lugging of heavy gear up and down dark bar stairwells, often while intoxicated.
Around 2010 I traded in my heavy Rhodes and Clavinet and picked up a Nord Electro. Nord makes great keyboard instruments and it was a big upgrade because it allowed me to produce those authentic electromechanical sounds in a much more compact setup. It also broadened my soundscape to include Wurlitzer sounds instead of just Rhodes, as well as a few authentic sounding synthesizer patches. The Electro was replaced with a Stage 3 in 2017, a nice upgrade to an excellent keyboard.
Overhead view of my keyboard rig in 2024
Unsatisfied with the sound of the digital synthesizer section on the Nord Stage 3, I began looking at analog synths. I ended with an Oberheim OB-6 and a Prophet-6 module, two similar but also distinct sounding synths. The Prophet module is great as a third tier to my existing rig when attached to KeyStep MIDI controller. Throw a couple analog effects pedals to the chain for verb, delay, and tremolo and it adds an authentic retro synth sound that can grab attention in specific sections.
In 2023 I began experimenting with audio samples on the Stage 3. The Nord Sample Editor makes it easy to assemble sound bites and assign them to keys. Although I don’t use samples often in the bands I play in, they can be handy during drone style jams or for spicing up covers (such as the Ghostbusters siren).
Building and using my keyboard rig is one of my greatest sources of joy. I am very appreciative to all the people who have helped and influenced me along the way and I look forward to further evolving my setup.
Takeaways:
- The Hammond B3/Leslie combo produces a unique and irreplaceable sound
- Nord makes excellent keyboard instruments
- Lighter and simpler is often better for the gigging musician
- Mobility, repeatability, reliability