Does your band gig with an acoustic piano ?

**MAJOR METAL** · #1 07-17-2007, 02:54 PM

AdlerAugen · #2 07-17-2007, 03:25 PM

Well for any that do, that rocks. Acoustic beats electronic any day of the week.

jady · #3 07-17-2007, 03:31 PM

If one is there the pianist in my Jazz trio will. Who hauls their own piano, Elton John, Ben Folds, what kind of van do you need for that?!?!?!?!

Dan1099 · #4 07-17-2007, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jady

If one is there the pianist in my Jazz trio will. Who hauls their own piano, Elton John, Ben Folds, what kind of van do you need for that?!?!?!?!

I don't know about Elton John, but Ben Folds does not haul a piano. It is on his tour rider that a specific piano be supplied for him. One of my friends booked him for a show, and told me they had to rent it. He's REALLY rough on rented pianos, too! HELL of a piano player, though. If you ever get the chance to see him live, make sure you do it!

Dan1099 · #5 07-17-2007, 04:17 PM

Also, I gigged in a big band for a while that had a piano player/singer. She would use an acoustic whenever it was provided, which was fairly often.

jady · #6 07-17-2007, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan1099

I don't know about Elton John, but Ben Folds does not haul a piano. It is on his tour rider that a specific piano be supplied for him. One of my friends booked him for a show, and told me they had to rent it. He's REALLY rough on rented pianos, too! HELL of a piano player, though. If you ever get the chance to see him live, make sure you do it!

Huh, I thought he used to but that was years ago...........I believe ya though. I wouldnt want to haul one around if one would be provided.

**SoComSurfing** · #7 07-17-2007, 05:02 PM

I've seen a few that hauled them with them. Usually upright studio pianos. Those make for one hell of a road case! The Grand at the studio I used to work for was usually moved down the street for larger bands that came through town.

Deacon_Blues · #8 07-17-2007, 05:09 PM

Acoustic pianos always sound the best, but when I was gigging with my old band, we never used the acoustic pianos available (except for background music on piano only) because:

- It's not always tuned,
- and even if it is, it's probably not in 440 Hz like all other instruments
- You need to mic the piano and make sure it's heard in the monitors too without getting feedback problems (common with acoustic pianos)
- The quality of the pianos varies quite much
- The sound is not the same as on rehearsals
- The feel of the piano is not like the keyboardist is used to
- Only one piano sound is a limiting factor when playing many different styles of music like we did.

tplyons · #9 07-17-2007, 07:29 PM

I much prefer playing on an acoustic, as do all the pianists I've worked with, but they're simply not worth hauling around.

BetterBottomEnd · #10 07-17-2007, 07:51 PM

Chick Corea brings his piano around with him. Also has it tuned before and after sound check and on the break. I guess when you've played as much as him you deserve that.

AdlerAugen · #11 07-17-2007, 08:02 PM

Man if I was able to bring my own piano to gigs I'd want to make sure I was able to tune it myself first...

Tbirdbassist · #12 07-17-2007, 11:38 PM

Carrying around an acoustic piano isn't a good idea cause just moving it can knock it out of tune. I've only heard this with old piano's though, but i would assume it would happen to new one's as well.

I have a 1948 Wurlitzer Upright which was my great grandma's and is now mine since I am the only living musician in the family. We moved it to my house when she passed. It hadn't moved in some 40 years and had been in tune, but once we got it here, middle C was about a step and a half flat!

Tuning a piano is a very tedious and time consuming thing. It's gotta be real quiet and it takes about an hour I believe.

**MAJOR METAL** · #13 07-24-2007, 09:34 AM

I have been seeing and hearing some bigger gigs on tv and the acoustic piano rocks big venues with the proper mics !

DbNBassist · #14 07-24-2007, 09:40 AM

I would have prefered an acoutic piano for my bands gigs, and i could probably get hold of one, but it also meant that i would have to get a pipe organ from somewhere, and i didn't want the hassle

.

AdlerAugen · #15 07-24-2007, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DbNBassist

I would have prefered an acoutic piano for my bands gigs, and i could probably get hold of one, but it also meant that i would have to get a pipe organ from somewhere, and i didn't want the hassle

.

Pipe organs aren't worth it for band gigs, only in churches, and even then not all the time.

Nino Valenti · #16 08-04-2007, 06:13 PM

Chunk-O-Funk · #17 08-04-2007, 08:16 PM

No, but I have known a keyboardist to lug around a Hammond B3, complete with the Leslie speakers. No easy feat.

I guess just like an acoustic piano, there ain't nothing like the real thing.

!Rob! · #18 08-04-2007, 08:25 PM

In the 80's I hauled 11 keyboards and a Baby Grand, the road crew hated me, and one had to tune it everytime it moved.....one time the soundman slept in my roadcase, it wasn't till the 90's (for me) that a decent 88 key "real feel" keyboard came out.....now I have a Korg KB200, totally awesome, feels more like a grand than an upright, and sounds great!

iplaybassguitar · #19 08-04-2007, 08:59 PM

nope.

Bard2dbone · #20 08-04-2007, 11:26 PM

I've told this story a few times, but I'll tell it again.

My first paying gig was with a gospel group back in the '80's

I figured out eventually that they didn't hire me for my awesome bass skillz. (What fo you want? I was 17.) They hired me for my strong back. The keyboard player had what was then thought of as a complete rig: a Hammond B3 with Leslie, a Rhodes Stage 88, and a Yamaha CP70 Electric Grand Piano.http://www.hollowsun.com/vintage/cp70/index.html

Just picture it all. *shudders*