I've played keyboards in a band that plays pubs/clubs for a few years now. I'm thinking of trying some solo gigs where I try to recreate as much of the band sound as possible. I definitely want to avoid backing tracks.
I have seen some soloists use an acoustic guitar with a stomp box and maybe a vocal harmoniser to great effect. The percussive sound of the guitar along with stomp box seem to replace a drum kit quite well. I'd like to get a similar vibe from the piano/keyboard, but I feel the keyboard can't match the strumming nature of the guitar.
Here is what I'm considering:
- Keyboard left hand: Bass sound, put through a bass amp
- Keyboard right hand: Slightly overdriven Rhodes sound, through PA with vocals
- Right foot: Bass drum or stomp box
- Left foot: Hi hat w/ tambourine attached
I'm also considering getting a loop pedal to set up live percussion loops at the start of each song. This might be getting into overkill for what is necessary to keep an audience entertained...
I'm looking for guidance on what sort of setup would work well, especially to keep a crowd dancing!
Edit:
I play a Nord Stage, which rules out the onboard looping of percussion sounds. I also want to try for natural sounds as much as possible, which is why I've been experimenting with a Rhodes sound and a fairly dull synth bass sound.
The Nord Stage supports splitting the keyboard and sending different sounds to separate outputs, which lets you send the left hand to a separate bass amp. I'm not sure on the technical reasons, but for some reason it sounds so much better than through a single amp or PA system!