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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
cruz123
586 posts
 
Playing Miles Davis"Kind of Blue".Not sure who the PP is but its like he's in the room

Not sure if you said this is jest but, if not, the PP is the great Bill Evans. You should explore his vast library was well as Miles'. Oh yeah, the sax player on Kind of Blue is somewhat famous too :).
usblues
1,217 posts
 
Yes,somewhat famous too!Didnt want to hijack but wanted to respond lightly,what a crew!!Cheers,Bob I guess I could add I've used KRK System speakers to good effect,good luck.
wolfbear OP
1 posts
 
Thanks for the link to gearslutz.com, Timrhu. Asking there is a good idea.

Martykl's suggestion to try the QSC KSub sounds very reasonable, but I'm wondering --- since my K8 speakers start to sound thin and muddled below 440 Hz, and the KSub has a frequency range (-10 dB) of 44-148 Hz, doesn't that mean adding that sub (or any sub) won't improve the 150-440 Hz range by much? If so, then I need to try something else.

Could EQing help improve that low-mid range? Or do I need to return/sell the K8s and explore other options (like the ones suggested above)?
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Following up on Audiokinesis, take a look at Meyersound dot com.
They make excellent spkrs, mostly pro

I second the Meyer idea - a friend of mine has them in his studio - awesome speakers.
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Wolf,

If your issue really extends up into the octave below middle c (when you said below middle c, you didn't specify how far below), then I doubt that the sub is the answer.

In my case, the issues were more centralized in/below the lowest full octave on the keyboard. One idea:

Make sure you've tried your existing set-up in several different environments before concluding that you've nailed the specific characteristics of the problem. In this frequency range, the room is (almost) everything.

Good Luck,

Marty
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