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Speakers for live piano performance

Does anyone know about speakers for live music?

I'm an amateur jazz pianist, and I want to be able to perform high-quality acoustic jazz using a portable keyboard. For example, I'd like to be able to play at local coffee houses and restaurants, most of which don't own a piano but would love to have live music. The keyboard I'm using is a Kawai MP8, which I think has an excellent "acoustic grand piano" sound (when I listen to it through headphones).

My question is, what speakers should I use for performing?

I've tried the typical keyboard amps that rock bands use (Hartke KM series, Roland KC series), but they don't come close to achieving the warm, realistic piano sound I'm looking for.

I'm sure I could get more accurate sound reproduction using home/studio monitors, but I'm worried that those will be (1) too near-field (not intended to be heard more than ~20 feet away) and (2) too fragile (not intended for being bumped into and tripped over and transported around).

So I think that leaves PA speakers. I just bought a pair of QSC K8 speakers, and they sound excellent above middle C but rather thin and muddled below middle C.

How can I do better?
wolfbear
martykl
3,578 posts
 
I use a Kawai digital piano at home and found that a sub/sat works best. My set-up wouldn't be appropriate for your needs, but a smallish sub and your pair of (I assume) powered monitors might do the trick.

Good Luck

Marty

PS Try to demo Ivory or Virtual Steinway or similar software. As much as you like the acoustic grand sound that you're getting now, you might be surprised at just how good these hypersampled emulation packages sound.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
ATC PA 65's will do the job but you are talking mega-bucks and back breaking work to move them.

I would be cautious about using home hi-fi speakers or studio mini-monitors for this task - if you happened to get aggresive on the keyboard then you might blow them up real easy - anyway they will distort so easily that you are unlikely to impress anyone.

A cheap alternative (with lots of bass power and a nice portable package) might be a Roland PM30 drum monitor - it will certainly get you loads of room filling bass and dynamics - enough for small venues. However the sound is nothing like the quality you can expect from the PA65 which is installed in high end venues often along with a bunch of subwoofers for dance and jazz clubs.

If you want "realistic" grand piano sound then you you'll need 110 db SPL capability and I am not aware of any portable home hi-fi speakers that can do that.
wombat3's avatar
wombat3
21 posts
 
I am a keyboard player in NYC -
Check out the Motion Sound stuff-
It is a cut above- (made here as well).
usblues
1,217 posts
 
Sorry for not reading your post through properly.Forget what I said.There are some good idea's being mentioned by those who know,good luck,Bob
audiokinesis
2,713 posts
 
Conventional home audio speakers do not work well for prosound. One problem is the radiation pattern; in a pro audio setting most of the listeners are in the farfield, where the "power response" (summed omnidirectional response) of the speaker dominates the perceived tonal balance. Relatively few home audio speakers are designed to give high priority to the power response, so they don't sound very good in a sound reinforcement or musical instrument speaker application.

Also, the piano is a percussion instrument and relatively few home audio speakers can really convey that at prosound volume levels. There are exceptions of course, but in general those are home audio speakers that use prosound-type drivers.

Duke
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