Äl Jawala – On tour with Blackpanthersystem

To say it right away: Despite its high weight and size, we quickly took the Black Panther into our hearts.

That was not a matter of course. Because when I brought the Cedro S to the tour rehearsal for the first time at the end of February, there was predominantly doubt: “Looks great the part, but quite large for the tour!” was the first comment. The At first glance, Panther did not seem to be suitable for a tour bus.

But first things first: I have my live setup at the beginning of the year around a third synth: A Novation Bass Station. So I went in search of a stand with more space and a certain stability for unrestrained playing fun. And so a few centimeters more synthesizer, triggered an extensive upgrade in terms of keyboard handling.

The Discovery

When I first discovered the Blackpanthersystem on the net, I was immediately interested. A keyboard stand, so new thought, so well finished with all its expansion possibilities and practical ideas.

Actually, it is surprising that no one came up with these ideas earlier. The power strip and the 19″ elements I find at first go for me interesting. And I am glad that more extensions, like microphone arm and smartphone holder are planned. (Smartphone holder to use an app that controls the monitors).

Arrival

Compact, safe and practically packed, the Panther arrives at my door. If you take the first part in your hand, you’ll notice that the immediately the great surface on. And the good weight -immediately feels like high quality processing on! The sometimes somewhat scarce buildup Instructions are readily forgiven, in view of the perfectly fitting parts, during the first assembly.

A small highlight: The smooth-running wing screws, which can be used without additional tool can tighten properly without fear of overloading a thread. These are perfect cut: once with the finger When they are nudged, they continue to rotate effortlessly until they reach the stop. Another little bit turn and they sit really tight. Just makes fun!

Everything seems well thought-out, precise, high-quality! I set up, place the keyboards, and start playing. No wobbling, no jerking. Feels great!

Tour rehearsal

When building and playing 100% convincing! But the first doubts arise! Is the thing too big for the tour bus? Because the construction of the 1st and 2nd level is not intended for frequent disassembly for transport. Technically it would be possible, but I don’t have the time to do it before a concert.

19″ unit for submixer and D.I. box

Our sound technician comes to the tour rehearsal with the idea that I should make a submixer that would allow me to mix my monitor sound myself.

Thanks to a new setup in his mixing console, it is possible for me to mix the individual synthesizers on 3 channels and the band sound individually on the fourth channel -independent of the front sound.

How good that Blackpanther offers the appropriate extensions for this project: I can use the Sapucaia dois frame with 2 U to create two 19″ elements with one height unit each, directly under the second keyboard level. I am even more convinced that it is worth taking the Black Panther System on tour. But how best to transport it?

The transport solution

My goal is to only have to screw three parts together on tour:

1. The legs
2. The two level holders with the 19″ unit and the power strip
3. The tabletop (2nd level)

So I can leave all the cables and connectors connected in the 2nd element. The element is then quite large and heavy, but with 2 wing screws I have the complete, relatively complex system ready mounted.

I was going to have a transport case made, but I got lucky and actually found a used case with the exact measurements of my Structure.

Cable

I was able to hide the cabling well behind a small design panel. The assembly is super fast, because everything is already wired in the case.All I have to do is plug the three power plugs and the three jack connections to the D.I. Box into the keyboards and I’m done! With Velcro and tension fixers I have the cables neatly tucked away and brought to the right length.

The setup is super fast, since everything is already wired in the case. All I have to do is plug the three power plugs and the three jack connections to the D.I. Box into the keyboards and I’m done! With Velcro and tension fixers I have the cables neatly tucked away and brought to the right length. I was able to hide the wiring well behind a small panel in Jawala design.

Tour impressions

Setup at the Freiburg Concert Hall. Benefit for the emergency aid LVIV Ukraine

Benefit concert with 3 bands and a big orchestra on stage. That means setup on stage and soundcheck in 15 minutes. With the Black Panther pre-wired, the setup was done quickly.

At the Youngstage Circus Festival in Basel, Switzerland

6 shows where I played a stage piano, instead of the King Korg synth on the first tripod level.

The heavy Kawai ES8 has replaced my former tripod, at the last Young Stage Festival 2021, noticeably pushed to its limits. For the Black Panther it was no problem at all. Here you can really put everything on it, without to have to worry about. Stability g a l o r e !

Another great strength that came into play here was the flexibility of the system. I was able to move the second level up two steps in a few simple steps, along with the submixer and the DI unit.

First conclusion

The Blackpanther has proven both in the club and on festival stages that it can also play to its strengths on tour.

If you’re willing to put some energy into transporting and preparing the cabling, you’ll be rewarded with a great keyboard system that’s super time-saving, ready to play in just a few easy steps, and at the same timestill remains flexibly adjustable.

Stability and workmanship are beyond reproach anyway!

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

You can adjust the height of the tripod’s legs with a click system. A marking of the different positions would be practical to quickly find your own height. A color system or numbering would be appropriate.

The thumbscrews used to fasten the Freijo storage plate are just as precisely machined as all the screws in the system.

But since I have mounted the Sapucaia suspension frame, the Plastic wings minimally on the side walls of the frame when turning. It would need minimally smaller plastic wings or more distance to the Frame.

In practice, the desire for a microphone stand (backing vocals) and a smartphone holder (personal monitor app) came up. But these Components are already being planned.

If parts of the system could be folded instead of screwed, it would be even more transportable.