- The center of the operations is the computer.

Computer is a MacBook Pro

and it's probably the most expensive

piece of gear on this Riser.

And we sort of need it to be as powerful

as we can get it to be

because that's where most of the action happens.

So it needs to be reliable.

It needs to have plenty of CPU headroom.

I'm running Ableton Live

and I'm also running Reason by Propellerhead

and several plugins.

To send the signal into the computer,

we need to establish our MID chain.

So I'm a keyboard player.

This is a keyboard controller that I use

for most of what happens during the show.

This is an Edirol PCR-500.

It's just a controller that doesn't generate any audio,

and a controller to me is good for several things.

One being the keyboard action.

This one has solid usable Synth Action,

and that's really all I need for a show like this

where I'm not playing any piano.

This show is all synthesizer and sampler sounds

and effects and things like that.

So a solid Synth Action is quite comfortable.

Another good thing about a controller is

buttons and faders and knobs.

Those are always fun,

and honestly, just the more the merrier.

The thing about controllers with Ableton

and the thing about Ableton really is that,

in Ableton any controller can do

whatever you tell it to do,

and Ableton makes that exceptionally easy.

So for example, I might use these four

to switch between sounds in the middle of the song.

I might use this one or this one

to navigate to the next song,

I might use this knob to sweep a filter,

so really any button here can do anything I want.

In addition to the keyboard controller

I have a couple of other things happening at my feet.

Sometimes two hands is just not enough

to cover all the parts that need to be covered.

So on this tour, I'm trying an extension,

I'm trying to use more of my limbs.

So this is a 12 Step by Keith McMillen Instruments, KMI.

It's a very simple compact

yet functional MIDI foot controller.

It's great to play some additional parts

that are suitable for your foot.

Moving on, very popular expression pedal by Roland,

a Yamaha sustained pedal

and a very simple USB foot switch.

They sort of extend my capabilities

in terms of knobs and buttons

but it's just something that I can do in addition

at the same time with my feet.

So I can sweep a filter or even make a button

toggle type switch (foot pedal clicking)

with this expression pedal or control volume, obviously.

Really any function.

I use this pedal quite a lot

and it's incredibly helpful.

This can accomplish some of the same things,

maybe switch from one sound to another

or navigate to the next file.

Even again, incredibly flexible,

nothing to it, really.

All these components are readily available.

None of it is somehow

modified or custom made,

so very simple ingredients.

So this is what

feeds MIDI signal into the computer from this Riser.

What then needs to happen is

we process the mid in Ableton

and make it bent to our will

and make it generate audio.

And then that audio has to go out to the house,

so let's explore what goes on down here.

So from these mid controllers,

we arrive at this station here

where we have a USB hub.

It's a powered USB hub which is very important

when you have a lot of things plugged in.

In my case, there's quite a lot of these,

so the keyboard and the USB switch.

This is an interface for the drum triggers,

and this is the KMI 12 Step.

And this is how the MIDI get into our computer system.

To get the audio into the house,

we use these two units.

These are MOTU Ultralite.

I like them because they're a compact

and solidly built and they have 10 outputs,

which is really cool.

Those inside this box are fed into a DI by Radial

and comes out the other side,

goes into a snake and into the house.

(deep base upbeat music)