my NS2 live rig made of lego

BjørnFelleBjørnFelle
in General chat

This is what happens when you can't afford to buy proper live gear but have shit loads of lego lying around :tongue: It means I can play NS2 much more comfortably live. It'll be having its first outing tomorrow night.

Comments

  • dendydendy
    edited October 2019

    that.is.SO.MUCH.COOL!!!!

    I guess people will love it.., true retrocore :+1::+1:

    Now. I need to check closest toys store with lot s of Lego :))

  • Trigger_the_MonkeyTrigger_the_Monkey

    Nice! Powered as well :)
    Next step is to build in flashing lights!

  • BjørnFelleBjørnFelle

    Thanks guys! Oooh I didn't think of flashing lights. I'm intending to take different lego stuff and put it on at each gig so it will look different every time. Some flashing lights could be cool. It's got 5v into the back of it which will also power the iPad once I get a connector to wire on to the power input, so I could easily power some flashing LED circuitry B) I'll post a video of the gig later which will include a new song!

  • StiksiStiksi
    edited October 2019

    Haha, aren’t you afraid your setup’s going to become a bigger star than you? I can see this attracting a lot of admirers 😀

    Also, I second the flashing lights!

  • Trigger_the_MonkeyTrigger_the_Monkey

    Never worry about the setup being the bigger star @Stiksi .... it worked for Deadmau5 :grin:

  • dendydendy

    @Trigger_the_Monkey said:
    Never worry about the setup being the bigger star @Stiksi .... it worked for Deadmau5 :grin:

    :)))))

  • BjørnFelleBjørnFelle

    @Stiksi said:
    Haha, aren’t you afraid your setup’s going to become a bigger star than you? I can see this attracting a lot of admirers 😀

    Also, I second the flashing lights!

    Heh it did get a lot of attention last night. People were quite fascinated by it. Sadly the performance wasn't the best. It was open mic and I didn't get any time to set up (usually they give me 10 minutes to check all my gear but last night they didn't) so there were technical issues. I got through it but I wasn't happy with the sound, so I'm going to wait and put up a video of the Lego beast when I use it next.

  • Trigger_the_MonkeyTrigger_the_Monkey

    Shame, but that happens. I feel for you. I played bass on a gig once where I really couldn't hear what I was playing, and it was not fun.

  • BjørnFelleBjørnFelle

    @Trigger_the_Monkey said:
    Shame, but that happens. I feel for you. I played bass on a gig once where I really couldn't hear what I was playing, and it was not fun.

    Thanks man. We all have rough gigs, and bad sound isn't the worst that can happen. I actually went to a different open mic last night and had an amazing experience. And the lego rig got a lot of attention :)

  • Trigger_the_MonkeyTrigger_the_Monkey

    Glad to hear it! Has the rig been reliable?

  • BjørnFelleBjørnFelle

    @Trigger_the_Monkey said:
    Glad to hear it! Has the rig been reliable?

    Yeah last night it was amazing! Physically very robust, and it all worked perfectly when I was given the time to actually set up properly. NS2 is rock solid, and it played my backing tracks and solo lines (played on the Alesis) perfectly. I was really happy with it. And it was amazing in terms of crowd engagement. Before I was on the rig was just off the stage area so the crowd were really near to it. I kept hearing people whispering "is that Lego???" So I ended up taking it round and showing it to the crowd B)

  • Trigger_the_MonkeyTrigger_the_Monkey

    Very cool indeed. I ask because I bought a Focusrite dock, and like it but sometimes the ipad seems to disconnect from it, and I wonder whether the ipad moves slightly and breaks the connection.

    Anyway, I haven't had the courage to try to use it even at a practice just because I'd be too worried about that....
    and so I was wondering whether you approach might be better because the ipad is clamped into your lego frame, but within that all components (ipad, keyboard, power/sound connector) are connected with cable which can flex with movement.

    Anyway, after you've done another few dozen gigs with it, I'd love to know whether you've had any disconnections like I have.

    Cheers!

  • BjørnFelleBjørnFelle

    Yeah I've heard that about the Focusrite. I needed something with keys, but I have read similar issues about other docks too. I wouldn't trust them sadly. Yes the cable can flex with movement, but I think this actually helps rather than hinders the connections. As the instrument is moved around the cables can flex if needed which means the plug stays in roughly the same position. And if I did have any problems, I just open the flap on the left and I can see all of the inner workings. I'll keep this thread up to date with how I'm getting on using it but I'm not anticipating any problems. I've used it a lot in the studio too and it works perfectly first time, every time, with no disconnections. Maybe I should start making them for other people ;)

  • Trigger_the_MonkeyTrigger_the_Monkey

    I agree - think the cables flexing is an advantage for stability. Sad, because the dock is otherwise good. My first one - by Alesis, for the original ipad - was really unreliable, but the Focusrite one is good in a "studio" (lol - I mean the corner of a bedroom) where the occasional disconnection won't ruin the day.

    I especially like the quarter inch line inputs and outputs, the line preamp knobs, and the big output volume knob. The preamps actually overdrive quite nicely, as a bonus!

    I might have to build a rig with the ipad connected to it using an extension cable and see whether it's more stable that way....

  • BjørnFelleBjørnFelle

    It is such a shame there isn’t a good iPad dock either with or without keyboard. It would be a killer device for studio and live work. Thankfully there is Lego and superglue :p

  • dendydendy
    edited October 2019

    @Trigger_the_Monkey

    I ask because I bought a Focusrite dock, and like it but sometimes the ipad seems to disconnect from it, and I wonder whether the ipad moves slightly and breaks the connection.

    i had same issue.. i opened it, and found it was just poor soldering of cable on power adapto connector !! Sloppy work...

    in resoldered it properly and since then no disconnection issues !

  • BjørnFelleBjørnFelle

    @dendy said:
    @Trigger_the_Monkey

    I ask because I bought a Focusrite dock, and like it but sometimes the ipad seems to disconnect from it, and I wonder whether the ipad moves slightly and breaks the connection.

    i had same issue.. i opened it, and found it was just poor soldering of cable on power adapto connector !! Sloppy work...

    in resoldered it properly and since then no disconnection issues !

    I wonder how these things pass quality assurance :confused: Such a shame as most people don’t have the skills to resolver connections.

  • StiksiStiksi

    They pass the what? 😃 Mostly my problem has been that the wires are so soft and the connectors so tiny that you can’t resolder them even if you can open them without breaking the whole thing 😕

  • BjørnFelleBjørnFelle

    @Stiksi said:
    They pass the what? 😃 Mostly my problem has been that the wires are so soft and the connectors so tiny that you can’t resolder them even if you can open them without breaking the whole thing 😕

    I suppose as things become more complex they need to be miniaturised to a greater extent, and that brings with it increasing fragility. This is why the resurgence in analogue is a good thing ;)

  • iPadBeatMakingiPadBeatMaking

    This is epic bro! U could make a business of this. I’d buy one or 2 for sure

  • BjørnFelleBjørnFelle

    @iPadBeatMaking said:
    This is epic bro! U could make a business of this. I’d buy one or 2 for sure

    Thanks man! If I was into the whole sales and business thing then I’d consider making them for other people. Maybe one day I’ll sell out and do it :p

  • number37number37

    Now you need to make an iPhone version. B)

  • BjørnFelleBjørnFelle

    @number37 said:
    Now you need to make an iPhone version. B)

    I may adapt it or make another one when the iPhone version of NS2 is out, but I’m bot sure I’d want such a small screen.

  • dendydendy

    @BjørnFelle said:

    @number37 said:
    Now you need to make an iPhone version. B)

    I may adapt it or make another one when the iPhone version of NS2 is out, but I’m bot sure I’d want such a small screen.

    it is already out ;)

  • BjørnFelleBjørnFelle

    @dendy said:

    @BjørnFelle said:

    @number37 said:
    Now you need to make an iPhone version. B)

    I may adapt it or make another one when the iPhone version of NS2 is out, but I’m bot sure I’d want such a small screen.

    it is already out ;)

    Oh weird, when @number37 posted that I went and looked in case that’s what they meant, but I couldn’t find it. Searching for Nanostudio on the App Store, there are a load of other music apps before it in the results. Hopefully it will move up the results soon!

  • dendydendy

    Apple search in appstore is very much absolute crap. It's better to use google for finding apps than Appstore search. It' useless...

  • WillWill

    That is a thing of beauty.

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