Does your live setup = studio setup (or how to be happy with a minimal studio setup)?

[subduct]

Interested to know if anyone’s live setup the same as their studio setup? Small enough to transport and keep track of in your head, but full featured enough to keep a lid on the GAS?

I decided if I was going to play live I would use OT & Rytm only, having sampled all my sounds from the other gear, then only bring anything else that absolutely demands to be tweaked and played with rather than just sequenced - so the 303 was added. I would be playing techno/electro so a small modular case to put selected modules in ticks the modular techno box, and can literally be any synth I want.

I have all this gear (and more of course) and a decent collection of modules to put in the palette case but I can’t bring myself to be content with such a small studio setup! I wish I could be…

The graphic is to scale, would fit in a 750mm x 500mm case with power and cabling. No mixer needed.

[chaocrator]

the bottom line: yes.

sometimes my studio setups are a bit bigger (using more processing, or using older/cumbersome gear that is PITA to bring to gigs).

but the logic beyond each setup is always the same — using no more than 3 boxes at once (external effects, if any, and mixer not counted).

[MichaalHell]

I would say that it is yes…

[ghostbuddy]

My home setup could be my live setup, it’s small enough and I try to use only a single stereo output (basically AH) for my whole setup when recording to a DAW. Makes me more familiar with what I can do in the stereo image, and I don’t really like working in a DAW so I mix everything while I’m working. I also like the idea of having a compact setup with all the right tools to do what I want. If I have had a synth stay unused for a few months before, I’ve sold it for something that I use more. Less is more and the more you use what you have, the better you know what it’s capable of.

[igtheflig]

I haven’t played live yet, working up to it. I don’t have a studio really, just a corner in my room.

ALL my kit is: A4, AR, AH, RNC, Mackie mixer. I was hoping for live I’d be fine with just A4, AR (+maybe mixer). I get GAS often and wan’t more stuff, but then I remind myself that I need to get better with what I have first.

So, to answer your question: YES! and the parenthetical (unless you need more stuff, you probably really only want more stuff cos you need more time.)

[subduct]

@igtheflig

you probably really only want more stuff cos you need more time

Me
And because I rushed ahead and bought a bunch of stuff without learning what I had first. I so think I’d be happy with less if I hadn’t done that. But then when I see the size of some of the setups on here I think mine’s actually quite small. And so it goes on!

The graphic I posted is definitely the maximum I would take out to a gig though. Maybe switch the palette or 303 for there Evolver depending on what was happening. Or take neither and just use OT & AR. I think you’d be fine with A4, AR.

[mr_bernard]

Phew… not even close.

Live: OT, Faderfox UC4, sax and pedals.

Studio: Modular and semi-modular toys. MOAR pedals. A few guitars. Digitakt, Digitone, a few niche sequencers. Ableton is the main hub with a Push 1

Edit…
Live (recently updated)

Studio

Digitakt and a few other things are on a shelf somewhere, not pictured. I try to keep the desk minimal with what I’m currently dealing with.

[astricii]

Our live rig is an octatrack and 2-3 mono synths plus our guitar rigs. Anything else we use goes into the octatrack.

[reeloy]

…i never could recreate all on the fly again, the way it was intended in first place, nor it was finally ment to be…

and once live shows reach some sort of frequent level it will drive u nuts…

so yes…keep it small and simple for stage…
go big in studio…

and get a routine going, how u preset ur material for stage…

that’s the biggest plus an ot can offer…bounce ur tracks in a small amount of essential subgroups and decide for each track what u really like to go mad with and express in realtime, once u really perform ur material…

there’s only stress if u wanna reinvent ur basic stuff again and again…overall realtime arrangements can be done easily anyway…and have always only one or two explicit/lead elements u really keep on tweaking, while ur basic ballpark keeps rolling as u originally already planned it…
that gives u the fun…without any realtime stress…
if u can’t enjoy ur stagetime, the audience will feel it and can’t relate to it…
so keep the balance between nice and easy and still enough free space on top of it all to surprise urself again and again…

[mr_bernard]

@reeloy

that gives u the fun…without any realtime stress…

Yep!! If it’s not fun to tweak or play, it becomes a loop/stem/subgroup(rendered). Took me awhile to learn that with electronic music, and I was NOT having fun at first.

[Fin25]

I’m not playing live yet but my studio setup pretty much is my live setup, except for my Quadraverb and mixer, who are both house cats.

Setup is:

OT
Lyra 8
Modular case.

[Microtribe]

There’s no way I’m carting all my studio gear around for a gig. So no. Studio stuff stays at the studio. For gigs I use ocatrack and whatever other small bits Im willing to carry. (Wee synths, drum machine etc)

I havent played live for a few years so it’s not exactly a pressing issue for me.

[AdamJay]

The things I use live are arranged the same for both situations.

This way the muscle memory is retained.

And the things I don’t use live (Pro 2, Hydrasynth KB, SFC-5 MK2 w/ Repro) are arranged at the wings, and get sampled into the two Octatracks for using that material live.

[subduct]

@mr_bernard

If it’s not fun to tweak or play, it becomes a loop/stem/subgroup(rendered).

Exactly how I decided on the configuration in OP. Makes complete sense for me.

@Fin25

Modular case.

Definitely think modular is a win for live. Even if it’s super simple like just a quantised S&H/sine wave etc. Definitely fun to tweak & play.

@Microtribe @AdamJay @reeloy glad to see others with live core plus studio additions, this is where I’m at

[MaxB]

I only have one Setup, so yeah.
M:C -> OT -> Oto Boum
More than enough for techno.
Could do a techno set with just the OT i guess, well maybe even with just the M:C if you prepare good patterns.

[mprinsen]

Same here! (But different gear)

[subduct]

@MaxB

Could do a techno set with just the OT

There’s no doubt! I’ve tried really hard to be happy just using an OT & Rytm but I can’t! and hence:

[reeloy]

…always keep in mind…anything beyond three elektron devices at once can get out of hand pretty fast and easily…in a stage situation…
while hell yeah, hail to ALL the muscle memory, of course…but puh…i’m too old for that…

[MaxB]

Nice Setup, but if it’s to much for you, maybe choose 4 boxes and put the other stuff in storage. If you don’t see all of that stuff you wont get distracted as fast. if you get gear Lust, just swap one device.

[sheathe]

I would say breaking down pieces of a setup and hefting it to a stage sucks.

My best live set was a tempest, a mixer, and 4 effect pedals. I practiced with that setup for a long time, and was able to patch it into the rest of my setup if I wanted to add stuff, but man that was a productive setup.

I’ve gotten a few pieces since then, but don’t have much time to play.

I just finished taking everything off my desk and am deciding what to put back. The goal is to have something immediate and varied. Tempest is great because it can do anything, but is also quite limited.