Organizing Midi cables and stuff for quick gigs

[ebladinieres]

Hi
I'm in the process of making my gig rig more lightweight,for quick gigs, and events where one does not have the time to set up two keyboards with accesories, play an hour and then pick everything up and get out to another gig.
So, this is my set up:
Nord Stage 2 SW73
Ocean Beach Drawbars (it makes things more enjoyable)
Ventilator with Half Moon Switched attached with velcro to the Nord
Moog Slim phatty sometimes with a Moogerfooger Analog Delay
Tc Helicon Voice Live touch 2 controlled by Midi with my NS
Nord Triple Pedal
Expression Pedal for Organ Swell
This also means i got to take with me one of those cheap yamaha mixers, cause they don't have enough DI boxes for me, if i need a third one for the moog, and since Nord Pianos sounds substantially better in stereo.
As you can tell there's a lot of cables there, and i make a mess everytime i connect them.

I thought this was a great solution, and easier than taking with me an extra keyboard, but yesterday, i did one of those gigs, and setting up in the dark was a pain!! Also Midi and plug cables were everywhere (im very sloppy with cables). It took me a while to do it with the bandmates and DJ/sound guy looking at me with anxious, long faces.

My question is: Is there a way to bring to the gig most of the rig already connected? Kind of the way guitar players bring their pedaltrains with all of their effect pedals already hooked up. I am sorry if this sounds silly, but i got no one else to ask for advice. Maybe some kind of Midi Box that i don't know of?

thank you
Eduardo

[ebladinieres]

Have you thought of using a snake rather than running separate instrument cables for all those lines?

[ebladinieres]

Thanks Darren, they don't sell those around here in Mexico, but i guess i can make a trip to the US and get one.
That is a great solution. I googled it and found these one:
http://www.fullcompass.com/product_imag ... geid=43389

[RedLeo]

A snake isn't going to help you very much here, you have too many pieces of gear and different connections going on. The only thing that's going to make a real difference is whether you're prepared to compromise on your comfort level. Half of the gear you listed for a "quick gig" will make no difference to the sound or to the audience. Here's what I would do:

Ditch the drawbars
Ditch the Vent and half moon switch
Ditch the Moogerfooger
Replace the triple pedal with a simple sustain pedal (doesn't change setup or cable connection, but reduces carrying size and weight).
Ditch the Yamaha mixer
Go mono and use the PA guy's DI boxes (they should normally be able to provide at least two)
If you can, ditch the Moog and use the Stage's synth section. (I understand this might not be possible depending on what and how you're playing).

If you're not willing to make these compromises (and that's a decision only you can make), then you are going to be stuck with a very time-consuming wiring job every time.

[Hambone]

If you're not willing to go mono and/or give up the second synth, there are DI's like this one http://www.radialeng.com/r2011/jdiduplex.php
that enable you to merge two stereo sources into one balanced stereo pair. That you can run to the sound board, if there's room for both channels.

[Mr_-G-]

In addition to the good advice already given, if you do not want to drop any of the gear, get a piece of paper and make a diagram of what goes where in you current setup. Then with some cable labelling and the diagram you can probably get to the configuration you want quicker.
But I agree that you are carrying too much stuff!

[FunKey]

Just a couple of ideas (from someone who hasn't actually played that many gigs yet, so take everything with a grain of salt):

• Personally, the first thing I would try in that situation is to organize everything so I could set up a basic rig as quickly as possible, and then optionally add stuff during/after the sound check. I guess that would be the Nord Stage, the Vent, and the mixer at first, with all required cables. Then the pedals, and finally all of the other gear. The most important part of this is not having to search for the necessary cables. For example, you could put all of the "basic rig" cables in an extra bag that you unpack first.
• If you have several cables running in parallel, just tie them together permanently. (I did that with the cables connecting my pedals, but in contrast to the triple pedal, they have plugs on both sides.)
• Make sure that your cables are not significantly longer than they need to be.
• You could possibly attach some cables to your keyboard stand. (No idea how well that usually works.)
• At your own risk: Build a single power cord with the right sockets at the right places. (But make sure it won't fall apart even if someone trips over it!)
• Some will disagree, but I think it's at least worth a try: Instead of a mixer, you could use the monitor input of the Stage 2. This means you would have to use the headphone output, but I still don't believe this would be a real problem. You would need a few adapter cables, though. And you might not be able to use the routing capabilities of the Stage any more if you do that now.

[tapatalk1]

Assuming that the Moog is essential (for some reason), I'd Slim all into this:

• Nord Stage 2 SW73
• Moog Slim phatty
• TC Helicon Voice Live touch 2 controlled by MIDI (get the shortest cable possible)
• Expression Pedal for Organ Swell
• Yamaha FC5
• Hosa Snake
• 2x Radial JDI Duplex (one for stereo NS2, another for Moog+TC Helicon Voice)
• Easy to transport and setup stand (possibly a K&M Spider Pro )

I would avoid bringing the Moogerfooger delay or get something more compact, such as a EHX Memory Toy or a Carbon Copy.

Also, ask yourself: Can you replace the Moog with NS2 Synth section? It will never sound exactly the same, but maybe you can get close enough. Another worthy question to enlighten us: is the TC Helicon Voice really needed? Also, why midi it?

The snake I linked there is quite useful because it also has color coding, which helps speed up things while keeping it clean.

If DI boxes are never at hand, getting some yourself may be worth of considering, maybe they have the XLR Cables in hand, but somehow they can't seem to find the DI boxes (happened to me once). If the problem is also XLR Cable Lack, then of course a simple 4 channel mixer is more than enough; though I would recommend you to switch to a Mackie 402 or even an 802 , they are sturdier than yamaha mixers.

The other reasons for change were already stated by other users, but I'll write them anyway:
Ventilator and Drawbars take more time and effort setting up (connecting) than the true benefits they bring, same goes for Triple Pedal (too big).

Also keep in mind some of the great advice given before!

[mhorspool]

Get yourself some Velcro cable ties and make sure you tie your cables up nicely after the gig. Put them in an order if you can, but not to worry if you can't - they're tied up, so they won't tangle. Saved me a tonne of time!

[ebladinieres]

Thank you all for your kind responses. I guess you are right. Im carrying a lot of things.
My slim phatty does sounds better to my ears especially synth basses and leads, plus it solves the pitch stick range limit. All the polyphonic stuff is done with the NS synth. The drawbars are just about comfort i guess so i can do without them. I really really love my ventilator, it really makes me smile. And the tc helicon is for making vocal harmonies via midi.
Sometimes a quick gig is with my band where i sing and play keyboards and do our own songs. We have recorded three albums and we are always looking for an opportunity. It's hard as you may know. And every quick gig we got, well i have to give it my best shot and bring a lot of weapons to have peace of mind knowing i did all the effort i could. Sometimes also, i play quick gigs with cover bands, and i guess i can lose some weight in those. It really is a struggle to connect all the gear. Thank you all for your kind advice, i will search all the options you recommend, for my band, and lose some weight for my cover bands!!
Regards
Eduardo