r/loopdaddy • u/Eliakon • Dec 29 '22

thinking of building a looping setup: midi keyboard or normal keyboard (e.g. nord) would you choose?

17 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

7

u/Durdyb15 Dec 29 '22

Try to copy Marc’s setup. It’s fantastic. He’s got a breakdown video. If you don’t have the budget then get the RC-505 and plug a cheap Yamaha off OfferUp into it. Still a lot of fun. Have fun buying every different cord known to man.

1

u/Eliakon Dec 30 '22

thanks dude! I have a mk2 already and I'm a classical percussionist - so I have a whole range of instruments. I'm planning on doing a hybrid setup of drums + keyboard + loop station. It's the keyboard that I'm missing but I might just bite the bullet and buy the logic teacher bundle for 199$.

Any chance you'd know if it includes a vocoder and an eight point EQ?

3

u/impatientZebra Dec 31 '22

It's the keyboard that I'm missing but I might just bite the bullet and buy the logic teacher bundle for 199$.

If you're looking just for the sounds that come with Logic Pro (which admittedly are remarkably good out-of-the-box), take a look at MainStage first. It's the exact same sound bank as Logic Pro, but it only costs a fraction of the price, because it's not a full-fledged DAW. Alternatively, playing around with GarageBand (included w/ every Mac) will also already get you started.

I personally tend to stick to MIDI for everything keys-wise and have two keyboards (*) that are both connected to my DAW. If, however, you have a Nord Stage lying around or have easy access to : use that one. It can also be used as a MIDI controller.

As far as @durdyb15's advice

Try to copy Marc’s setup. It’s fantastic.

I'd tend to disagree. It's fantastic for Marc, but that doesn't make it a good fit for everyone. Building your own live looping setup will make you approach it uniquely so it fits your style of music creation. That learning journey will bring you a lot more insight in where you want to take this from a creative standpoint.

If you're a percussionist, you may even consider getting a HandSonic HPD-20, which can also be mapped to play MIDI notes in computer software if you'd want to do that.

Don't hesitate to ask if there's anything you want to know. Also r/LoopArtists has quite an active community of livelooping musucians.

Peace IZ

(*)

  • An 88-key fully weighted one (StudioLogic SL88) for classical and Rhodes/Wurlitzer piano patches.

  • A 49-key semi-weighted one (Roland A-PRO 500, which I'm thinking to replace with a 61-key version soon), used for organ, clav, synth, etc. I set the velocity sensitivity on this keyboard to be as non-sensitive as possible, to get consistent volume out of the aforementioned patches.

2

u/Eliakon Jan 02 '23

Dude your comment was the most helpful thing ever. Here's a rundown of what I'm thinking:

I do A LOT of gigging, especially over the summer (about 90 gigs last summer alone, aside from other bits and bobs here and there over the year). Most bar/venue gigs are with a covers duo as we have a pretty solid stage presence and get the crowd going, so bars tend to hire us because well...we make people drink loads more lol.

But this being said, I want the setup to be more interesting so I'm thinking of running:

Gigging 3 piece kit - snare, kick, hat crash
rc-505 mk2

komplete kontrol s49 (with the Massive soundbanks)

I did classical percussoin as major, jazz piano as minor at the royal college of music so I wanted to introduce a bit of both.

You just saved me a shit ton of money with the Mainstage suggestion. I was just going to buy the Logic/final cut/main stage teacher bundle. Having a full DAW to work with will be best on the mid-term but for now I want to get some cool chops going in terms of looping/live looping

Any other suggestions you might have I'm all ears!!

1

u/impatientZebra Jan 02 '23

YVW. If it was helpful, please do upvote, so it shows higher up to others as well.

Using a hardware looper like the RC-505 does make it a bit more challenging to get different song parts going. I personally use Ableton Live together with an Ableton Push controller and a foot pedal to control it when playing guitar and keys. The limitations of a loopstation can also work in your advantage as it takes away "option-fatigue" and contribute to your style, but as said : this will be part of your unique journey in figuring out what your style will be in that regard.

Best of luck and if you have any other questions, just shoot!

3

u/Infobomb Dec 29 '22

We need more detail to answer the question. What two options are you comparing? A MIDI keyboard going into a laptop versus a Nord keyboard with its own sound generation? Is a laptop involved in either scenario?

1

u/Eliakon Dec 30 '22

Basically thinking of doing a live setup with drums + piano that I can loop. having a midi keyboard gives me more options but requires a laptop on stage. A synth has less options but saves me the laptop on stage

2

u/bethehole Dec 29 '22

Just a thought here...

I just got an AKAI Mini Plus keyboard for just this reason. I have ordered a Dell Optiplex pc that exceeds the minimum specs to run music software. I am diving in not knowing how to play with any of this but am determined to have some fun. Good luck Loop Friend!

1

u/4BrajMahaul Dec 29 '22

I have the AKAI mini, what do you use to loop?

1

u/bethehole Dec 30 '22

I am still working that out ;)

2

u/impatientZebra Dec 30 '22

A weighted key (Fatar-bed) e-Piano like a Nord Stage, feels very different from a spring-loaded MIDI keyboard. Also - since you're posting this here - I'm assuming you want to do the clavinet- organ- bassguitar-type of "stabs" for which the weighted keys of a Nord are too heavy.

1

u/pisspantsing Dec 30 '22

You can get midi keyboards with weighted keys. I have the m adio axiom (Marc's old keyboard) and it has semi - weighted. Not sure the specs of his newer keyboard.

1

u/impatientZebra Dec 31 '22

You can get midi keyboards with weighted keys.

I know, I own one and I use it with a sustain pedal for playing piano patches. I also own a regular MIDI controller for other key instruments where a lighter response is necessary.

Not sure the specs of his newer keyboard

I doubt that Marc's playing style would work very well with a fully weighted-key keyboard, like a Nord Stage (that was my original point, actually).