Why RMS Keyboards?
Many musicals from the last 30 years or so have unique, signature sounds that are integral to the performance. The synthesizer sounds at the start of Les Misérables and Cats are a few examples. The problem is that these sounds are often very difficult to find. And even if there are ample resources to purchase or rent the correct equipment, that equipment may no longer be manufactured.
RMS Keyboards solves this problem! This unique resource is designed specifically to meet the needs of productions that want convenient, cost-effective access to these hard to find sounds. We have carefully assembled all sounds required for a given show. Everything is laid out in correct sequential order, so you can easily progress through each song in each keyboard book with professional, authentic, show-specific sounds.
The Right Sounds For Your Show.
Keyboard books can often be complicated. In the course of a given song, you might:
- Start with a brass sound.
- 16 bars later, switch to a pre-recorded vocals track.
- Then, switch to an instrument consisting of cello in the low end, electronic piano in the middle that automatically doubles the octave, a violin layered with flute higher up, and a dog bark on one particular note.
- And that's just one keyboard (out of three in the show) playing the first quarter of one song!
What's more, these sounds can be very ambiguously labeled in the books. Names like "Shimmer Synth" or "Patch 102" are not uncommon. What do those mean?
With RMS Keyboards, we've taken care of the guesswork and the complicated programming. Everything is carefully researched and meticulously constructed. All you have to do is connect any standard keyboard (or multiple keyboards) to your laptop and you’ll be ready to perform. And we’ll help you every step of the way.
Someone Does This For Me On Mainstage.
We love Mainstage. We use it too. However, Mainstage will not solve the problem of getting the unique, show-specific sounds. Someone still needs to find or create the many things not found in Mainstage's off-the-shelf libraries. This can be difficult, labor-intensive, and expensive. Most people don't bother and instead make compromises.
But with RMS Keyboards, you don't have to compromise! You can combine RMS Keyboards *with* Mainstage (or other sources). All of our sounds are top-tier, professional quality. But sounds are subjective - and if, for example, you prefer Mainstage's piano, go ahead and use it. Lean on RMS Keyboards for the more individualized sounds - the mixolydian glissandi, the crumhorns, the tuned cricket noises that inevitably come up.
Furthermore, when you route RMS Keyboards' signal to Mainstage, you still maintain all the sophisticated mapping and triggering. If a particular range of notes is supposed to trigger chords or play two octaves from where it is written, you'll get that same effect from the sound of your choice.
