For the curious gear nerds, here’s what I’m currently running live.
Yamaha P90 This keyboard is no longer in production, but has a marvelous touch and velocity sensitivity. Yamaha keyboards have long been known for these characteristics, and I mostly use it for playing piano and electric piano sounds. It is used as a midi controller, taking data only from the keys. It’s midi connected to the novation. Also of note, this keyboard is unusually sturdy. I bought it in 2002, and it has since gigged its way across the country twice in its original soft case with no repairs.
Samson Carbon 49 This is a very affordable keyboard with semi-weighted keys. It is used as a midi controller, primarily for organ and synth sounds. It also has pitch bend and mod wheel which can be programmed to control the sounds on either keyboard. It is connected to my Macbook with a USB printer-type cable.
Novation Zero SL MKII I attach this to the top left of the Yamaha P90 with velcro. It takes the midi data from the Yamaha P90 and connects to my computer by USB printer-type cable. I use this device to control organ tone with 8 faders. My biggest criticism is I wish it had 9 (the number of drawbars on a Hammond organ). To get around this limitation, I have the far left drawbars (16′ and 5 1/3′) routed to the far left fader. I usually play these two faders close to the same position anyway. I can also use the Novation to select what instruments are sounding from either keyboard. Essentially, the Mainstage software is always processing all of the sounds I ever play, and the light-up toggle buttons on the Novation toggle mutes on and off.
Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (2nd Gen) This is a powerful audio interface with many applications. I use it to have a very clean 2 channel output with very low latency. It connects to my Macbook by USB. I sometimes use the two channels to have stereo effects in the house, and sometimes pan my individual keyboards to either side so that the sound tech can control the individual levels more easily.
MacBook Pro 13-inch, Mid 2012 + HGST Travelstar 7K1000 + Silicon Power 240GB Solid State Drive + Timetec Hynix IC 16GB RAM In order to process all of the sound I’m creating without encountering latency I have made significant upgrades to my computer’s hardware. I encourage anyone with an older Macbook to look into these upgrades. Doubling my RAM and replacing my optical (CD) drive with an additional hard drive, and adding an SSD have made this thing a beast. I use it to run Mainstage, and sometimes Arturia to create my sounds. And the sounds are nearly limitless. Instead of buying a Fender Rhodes, B3, Moog, Modular Synth etc I can download a patch and play it through an upgraded computer (about a $300 project). It’s an elaborate setup, but has been reliable and has infinite sound potential.
Sabrent 4-Port USB 3.0 Powered Hub If you’re keeping track, I have three USB devices connected to my computer, and a Macbook has 2 USB ports. Also, using your computer to power USB devices while it is also getting high in its CPU processing can lead to overheating your computer, and/or causing it to crash. This device powers the USB devices and delivers the data to the computer. This product is not great quality and I don’t recommend it. It’s prone to data interruptions that its pricier competitors are immune to. Because of this, the Novation and Samson power from the hub and the Focusrite draws from the computer. Momentary interruptions on the Novation or Samson do not throw the computer off, but on the Focusrite they crash the computer. This will be my next gear upgrade.
Mike Patton 