Portable Dance Music Setup

JackAstro · Post by **JackAstro** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 6:17 pm

What would put in a portable dance music setup? Something to take to parties or Burning Man or whatever. Let's say it all has to fit in a suitcase. It can be for acid, trance, hip-hop; anything that gets people moving.

aba81102 · Post by **aba81102** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 6:30 pm

Laptop Running Reaktor/Pro Tools

Evolver Desktop

Nord Modular Rack

Nord Micro Modular

TR-606

And a good old TB-303

michael stein · Post by **michael stein** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 6:35 pm

If you just want something to put on a show with and be able to tweak everything live. Are the specifics like "it has to be analog". First ill say a laptop with some softsynths, sequencing software and midi controller. If thats not what you are looking for then maybe, two electribes (drums/sampler, synth) and like a kaos pad for effects and added interaction. I'm pretty sure all that could be had on the bay for pretty cheap. You should include more specifics of what you want to do and a p rice range if you really want people to reply.

JUGEL · Post by **JUGEL** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 8:14 pm

MPC1000 and a MonoMachine would be the best possible small setup IMO.

Personally I'd say in the end you just need the MPC1000

ronP · Post by **ronP** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 8:43 pm

JackAstro wrote:What would put in a portable dance music setup? Something to take to parties or Burning Man or whatever. Let's say it all has to fit in a suitcase. It can be for acid, trance, hip-hop; anything that gets people moving.

.

A set up like my own gear list:

drum machine -- with pads
groove box -- with pads
MIDI synth -- with keys
A mic

Set the drum machine and groove box off and running and use the pads for breaks and fills, throw some lead lines and effects into the mix with the MIDI keysynth, add some human element on the mic, and you got a party.

Visuals -- lights, props, so forth -- are essential, too, but The Space usually handles that end, unless it's a threadbare house party.

.

JSRockit · Post by **JSRockit** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 9:53 pm

Wouldn't you need battery powered gear for burning man?

If so...

Akai MPC500
Korg Microkorg

or

Roland MC-202 / TR-606 / TB-303

If not:

Elektron Machinedrum, Korg EA-1, Acid Baseline, Access Virus B

StepLogik · Post by **StepLogik** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 1:49 am

... or just carry 4 or 5 deep cycle marine batteries and heavy-duty power inverter

portland · Post by **portland** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 1:52 am

All I've ever needed is my Portable RaveStation Powerbook G4

JSRockit · Post by **JSRockit** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 2:58 am

portland wrote:All I've ever needed is my Portable RaveStation Powerbook G4

Yeah, for a battery powered power...nothing beats a laptop.

crystalmsc · Post by **crystalmsc** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 3:51 am

the MC-909 used to go cheap ($400-500), but it will give you a groove box, some sampling, d-beam and nice user interface. that plus a small 2 oct controller would be an effective portable set up. while you can effectively go with just that, but if you add the supreme dance expansion board plus a laptop running the editor and to transfer samples and stuff through the USB it would be even nicer. plus you can use the laptop as an additional softsynth source, controlled by the USB controller. other nice portable desktop is the Yamaha RS-7000 which sounds better to me, but less features than the MC-909.

sacredcow · Post by **sacredcow** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 5:31 am

(Gear list minus computer, K4, DK-70, ht700)

megawatt · Post by **megawatt** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 5:55 am

JackAstro wrote:What would put in a portable dance music setup? Something to take to parties or Burning Man or whatever. Let's say it all has to fit in a suitcase. It can be for acid, trance, hip-hop; anything that gets people moving.

those genres sounds like an Roland ad for a Groovebox.
They are very easy to use and learn on. The MC 909 is great but too large to bring out to the desert for dusty grooves. The MC 808's sliders would get messed quick in a chaotic evironment. The MC 505 is probably your best bet as it's cheap, sounds good and can take some beatings.

however as stated by Rocket - do you need battery power? Is there power where you're playing and how are you amplifying yourself? That changes the criteria and the answer.

You can busk with a nintendo gameboy with LSDJ and nanoloop. The kids love it at the parties these days.

For a person who is just getting started hows about a MPC 500 loaded with loops from a commercial compilation?

If you want the advanced version go for the Elektron gear for a compact setup

Post by **Stab Frenzy** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 8:30 am

My band's live setup is designed to fit in a taxi so nobody has to be designated driver, if we took out a couple of things and added a couple more we'd have a really portable one:

Macbook running Live
Motu Traveler as interface and mixer, don't forget you'll need a mixer in a portable setup
MPD24 for drum pads
Micron for keys
x0xb0x
Evolver desktop

If I really needed to run on batteries I'd just use the lappy, but if the PA isn't running off mains or a generator it's too small.

Portable Dance Music Setup

Portable Dance Music Setup

Re: Portable Dance Music Setup

Re: Portable Dance Music Setup