Dialing in the CPS SpaceStation V3

I’ve written about this amp a few times before. 

It continues to impress me in that it sounds great in so many situations. 

It also makes me despair as I see so many other musicians struggling to make it sound great.

Here’s the deal: learn how to use it properly, and it will reward you with great-sounding stereo magic. 

Fail to master its character, and you’ll end sounding less-than-good, getting frustrated, selling it off, etc.

I’ll do my best to help you out here.

The Basics

The amp design is like nothing else on the market.  That’s the strength — and its weakness. 

Because it is totally unlike other familiar amplification gear, nothing really prepares you for how different it is.

There are a total of three (OK, four) speakers.  An 8” coax with a HF insert.  A 1” compression driver.  And a 6” side-firing speaker.  A total of 280 watts are available via a tri-amped design.  Thank you, Aspen Pittman.

In a world where marketing specs are stated at 800w, 1000w, 1500w and more you might think it’s a wuss.

It is definitely not a wuss. 

More than enough volume for any but the noisiest gigs.  Bring ear protection if you’re playing that loud.  It is quite sturdy, and it actually looks OK onstage.  The other musicians routinely ask, what the hell is that thing? 

I smile …

Here’s how the secret sauce works: summed stereo signals (X+Y) are sent out the front.  Difference signals (X-Y) are sent out the side, in phase.  They meet in space, and create this very pleasant stereo dimensionality.  Nothing else like it on the market. 

The next step up in sound amplification is a pair of self-powered PA speakers which of course cost more, take more work to set up and are highly directional.  I have them, I use them on occasion.

The SSv3 is not directional.  Everyone hears you everywhere.  Spooky stereo volume at a distance.

Controls are straightforward.  There’s a level control for the whole amp.  There’s a “width” control that drives the side speaker.  There’s a control for mid (1” compression driver) and high (tweeter in the coax).  That’s it.

And this is where the fun starts.

The Side-Firing Speaker

Learning how to tame this beast turned out to be harder than it looked. 

After all, the side speaker is what delivers all those juicy stereo effects.  Just to refresh, the front speakers do summed stereo (X+Y).  The side speaker does the differences between the signals (X-Y)

My first few months using it, I would position the amp vertically, which could create problems.  For example, if there’s nothing for the side-firing speaker to bounce off of, you won’t get the stereo effect.  Ooops.

If that side-firing speaker is pointing at a bandmate, not good, as it’s a harsh sound (stereo differences, X-Y) that radiates.  Trust me, you don’t want to be listening to the side speaker all night.  Ooops again.

The trick that works for me is simple: use a cheap amp stand, and lay the damn thing sideways, with the side-firing speaker facing downwards where it can bounce off the floor.  

All at once, you’ve got the killer stereo stage amp that you can bring almost anywhere and sound GOOD.

Default width is 12 noon.  If you’re playing in a room with reflective surfaces, or is small, less width.  If you’re playing in a larger room, or outdoors, more width.  Too much width can sound, well, strange.

Stereo Content

The SSv3 is a stereo amp.  Feed it mono content, and it sounds kind of weak and flat.  Sort of what you’d expect for an 8” coax and a 1” driver.  Being able to fire up that side speaker brings it to life.

So, here’s the problem.  Not everything you play through it has rich stereo content by default.

What works?  Hammond B3 voices through a stereo Leslie sim.  Wonderful.  A Rhodes or Wurlitzer voice through a stereo chorus.  Wonderful.  A synth voice with serious stereo content.  Wonderful.

An ordinary acoustic piano sample?  Not a lot of stereo content, so they end up sounding flat and lifeless.  Unless you take precautions, that is.

So, how do you get enough stereo content for a great acoustic piano sound?

First way, add a stereo effect to your acoustic pianos, like chorus or reverb.  OK, not appropriate for a lot of music, but it energizes the sound.

Second way, layer in a bit of “sweetener” and through some serious stereo chorus or reverb on that.  On my Nords, that’s the DX7 tines sample that I mix over my favorite acoustic pianos.  Or strings, or organ, or vox, or whatever. 

Third way, get a native stereo sound on your acoustic piano.  A few months back, Nord released their Royal Grand 3D sample, which was recorded using a dummy head with a microphone placed on the left ear and the right ear (binaural). 

Gobs of real, authentic stereo content.  Freaking amazing for what I do.

Level Setting

With traditional amplification gear, you’ve got this model in your head.  Here’s how loud it sounds to me, so therefore here is what the other musicians are hearing, and what the audience is hearing.

Not the case with the SSv3.  It projects spooky sound levels at a distance.  When I first started using it, my most frequent request was “turn down” as I was blasting it out without realizing it.  More modest levels tend to carry well throughout the venue, and even outside.

Weird.  But once you learn, it’s a better way to go.

EQ and Compression

The SSv3 is not flat.  It’s honky in a few midrange frequencies, so steps must be taken.

I use a sweepable parametric EQ on my Nord at around 400 Hz.  Take the mud out.  I also use a bit of high boost, and bass boost.  The SSv3 rolls off sharply below 100 Hz.  Not a problem with a bit of boost down there.

I find for loud music, a smudge of compression really helps.  For those heartfelt piano pieces, turn the compression off, and let your keyboard breathe.

While we’re at it?  Use a small personal mixer.  I use the Yamaha MG06.  It lets me set some hot levels to the SSv3, which it appreciates.  There’s always more great volume on tap, unless the levels are getting stupid loud. 

In which case I’ll bring other gear.  If we’re going to do the stage volume thing, I can bring 10,000 watts if needed.  Yes, I have had to do that on occasion.  I was just proving a point to a certain guitar player, BTW.

Turbocharging Your SSv3

There are two techniques to get more out of the unit with extra gear.  I have tried both, but don’t regularly use them.  Simple is good for me.

The first is about bass.  More than a few SSv3 player don’t like the bass response from a single 8” speaker, so they bring a sub.  Some use bass amps, some use filtering subs.  The idea behind a filtering sub (Behringer B1200D-Pro comes to mind) is that the signal goes first to the sub, and only higher frequencies get sent to the SSv3.  Worth a few dB, plus a more authoritative sound.

But mine stays home more often than not.  I'm not hammering the killer bass parts these days.

The second method is for those of us that adore pristine piano sounds. 

The idea here is to use the SSv3 side-firing speaker, but nothing else.  The SSv3 is placed face-down on the floor, where its primary speakers are right on the floor and make no sound.  A high-end self-powered PA unit is placed on top of it, which covers all of the AP sweetness.

If you’ve got something like a RCF TT08-a or similar, it rocks.  I have a pair of Fulcrum Acoustics FA12acs, which are in the high-end club, so I have tried this with one of them.  It was pretty amazing.

The side speaker adds just a hint of dimensionality to the sound.  Again, not my thing for what I do, but my jazz-playing buddies love this setup.

With both approaches, you’re now dealing with two pieces of amplification gear.  And, everything being said, a pair of self-powered PAs covers this nicely. 

The Bottom Line

The CPS SSv3 is the single best bang-for-buck keyboard amplification solution out there if you love stereo.  Seriously, nothing else even comes close. 

Well, Aspen has announced that he's going to build a Spacestation XL.  More watts, bigger speakers.  When it gets here in May, we'll figure out how it fits with other approaches.  Probably not my thing.

I love the simplicity, and — now that I’ve learned to live with it — I love the sound.  A single amp, laid sideways, pointing at me — and I’m good all night long.  And glorious STEREO.

When it gets loud, I’m ready.  The spooky part?  It sounds great everywhere on stage, and in the room.  Even outdoors.

Yes, occasionally I’ll use other gear.  But I keep coming back to this solid unit.  I’ll probably be playing through it  ten years from now.

May you dial in yours like I’ve dialed in mine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Lloyd Poole]

Wow that was a great explanation of the SSV3 works. I normally lay mine sideways but last night I stood it up and liked the sound but wow did I get complaints from the guitarist. I didn't think I was playing loud but he was copping the side speaker all night! I've learned my lesson.
Thank you
Lloyd Poole

[Gary Jaskowiak]

Wonderful article, thanks! When using the SSv3 with front speakers facing downward and a separate powered speaker, what is the connection scheme? MG06 to SSv3 and SSv3 Sub out to the powered speaker? Thanks again for your expertise!! Love my SSv3!!

[Chuck Hollis]

Gary, yep, that would be how I would do it. The sub out is actually full-range mono (X+Y) so it's perfect to send to the powered speaker. You'll have to adjust the level separately on the powered speaker, but they all have a gain knob.

[Aspen Pittman]

Awesome collection of tricks and tips...moving the bar on Center Point Stereo. Can't thank you enough Chuck. I'd like to send you CPS shirt, email me with your address and size!

[Jeff B.]

Chuck,
First thank you for all the great tips and advice you dispense through this blog.

Additionally, I agree with your assessment of the SS3. Every time I use the amp, I get positive comments. The size makes it look out of place, but I have NEVER BEEN HAPPIER!

I try to promote the amp every time we play. But most importantly, it makes my keyboards sound great. I also have powered speakers, but rarely need those. I have also paired it with a sub woofer on occasion, but I'm not sure if that is 100% needed.

Finally, I'm waiting for the XL version to come out.
Do I need it? IDK.
Will I order it? Without a doubt.

[Tim Penn]

I hadn't thought of this -- and it sounds the obvious solution :) :

The trick that works for me is simple: use a cheap amp stand, and lay the damn thing sideways, with the side-firing speaker facing downwards where it can bounce off the floor.

I use mine primarily with acoustic piano sounds (Yamaha CP4) -- and I do dial the width down a tad -- it's still gives the clearest sound I've ever had, so I'm happy. If I want to send the piano to PA in a small venue, then I just use the sub out - which is full frequency. I generally find that pianos work best if you don't try and drive a single source amp too loud on stage and let the PA do a "bit" of work. OK you loose the stereo through the PA, but it doesn't matter on acoustic piano sounds.

[Rich]

Thanks for the tips. Mine sounded awesome a couple of weeks ago on a gig with it on a stand side speaker firing down. Last week it sounded weird and added freaky overtones. It was a weird gig with no soundcheck and this time the amp was off stage on the same stand with the side speaker firing down but off stage. So, basically I wasn’t hearing the side firing speaker and the eq was not set. The cps must be set correctly, placed correctly or it doesn’t sound right. I’ll get it set right tonight at the next gig. I’m playing a Casio Px5s and Yamaha MX 61 through mine.