SYNTH AND EVENT SOUND PLAYING AND TRIGGERING?

[sowder]

OK...so like a hundred other guys on these forums I am a bass player & singer in a Rush cover band. We want to stay a trio and don't want to get a keyboardist. So, I went with a Roland GR20 midi synth module and figured I'd play simpler keyboard/event sounds and then use the GR20 to trigger more complex external things.

Here is part of the problem...the GR20 plays great in real-time now that I have the GK3B pickup profesionally installed and calibrated...that's all good. But the GR20 SUCKS at triggering external MIDI sources...the latency is killing me.

Soooooo...I got myself some Roland PK5A pedals like Ged uses. These seem great. (I just saw Rush last week and noticed they have gotten to the point of most backup vocals/song intro sounds/background synth sounds are simply recorded and stored backstage with Geddy and Alex simply tirggering them with pedals.)

My question is basically this...now that we want to play more sound complicated Rush tunes like on Presto/Hold Your Fire etc, I am looking for the best way to go to edit and play these live.

If I go the keyboard route, what keyboard/sound module setup would allow me to edit and store then easily trigger sounds with the pedals and also maybe add more sounds to the GR20? Funny thing is if I can get it working the way I hope I am conveying here, the keyboard would never be touched...I don't want to play keys but thought a keyboard would look better than just a stand with a laptop sitting in front of me hooked up to the pedals (most hardcore Rush fans would probably boo me off stage with that...I'd probably be better off not having anything in front me but on the floor, and the mic, and have the laptop or sound module sit with the PA and sound guy.) I like the sound module idea but again how would I then edit down the songs to just the small pieces I need to trigger.

That brings me to my second question/option...if I don't touch a keyboard, what would I need for just the computer? What software to edit just the song part I need to trigger? What software to use to actually trigger live? What cable/interface is best for no lag playing live to both the pedals and also maybe the GR20? Again to add more sounds to it.

I hope this all makes sense...basically which way to go to play live real-time synth sounds thru a GR20 bass setup, and also edit then trigger other sound events with PK5A pedals with some source (keyboard, keyboard and computer, computer?)

Thanks all!

[bongomania]

Tall order. Part of why I say that is there are literally hundreds of options available. Thousands if you include every aspect- keyboards, computers, software, synth modules.

If it was me I'd get a rackmount sampler. A nice Akai or Emu, something with a relatively big LCD screen. You would use it to record, edit, and play back the clips that you want to play back. For the synth sounds, you can buy discs of samples of synths specifically for the Akai/Emu/whatever libraries. I'd choose the hardware sampler over a software program for a laptop just because I have personally had laptop glitches and freezes on stage too many times.

That said, there is so much amazing software out there, that can do all the synth, sampling, editing, and everything else you'd want, that it's easy to see why people go that route. It's cheaper and does more than buying separate hardware devices. But again, for me, the laptop idea just didn't work out- partly because I underestimated the huge amount of processing power required to do the job.

[RickenBoogie]

Off topic, sorry, but what's the blue thing in the dog's mouth?, Bongo?

[Sorefinger]

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

Off topic, sorry, but what's the blue thing in the dog's mouth?, Bongo?

Whoa! A Portugese Water Dog with a blue LED built in! GAS!!!

[bongomania]

Awesome. Actually it's an Ektelon racquetball, he loves those more than any other kind of ball.

...But we don't spoil him, not at all...

[rustynuts]

Originally Posted by Sorefinger

Whoa! A Portugese Water Dog with a blue LED built in! GAS!!!

I've got to get one of those for my American Eskimo Dog!

[Smurf-o-Deth]

My Boston Terrier already has killer tone.

[SpankyPants]

Originally Posted by bongomania

I'd choose the hardware sampler over a software program for a laptop just because I have personally had laptop glitches and freezes on stage too many times.

While I agree that most hardware, rack-mount units are manufactured for the purposes at hand, I want to remind you about electric razors. You tried one in the 90's and hated it, but you tried a recent, improved model and use that, now. How long ago were you playing noise music? Was The Everywhere Button your last noise project, or have you undertaken other stage-oriented noise endeavors since then?