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The Keyboard Corner
Synths, pianos, software, analog, digital, modeling, virtual instruments, programming tips - this is the place on the web for discussions, debates, opinions and assistance...and the occasional sports thread.
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Trending posts on MPN
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By Dr Mike Metlay · Posted
FWIW the head tech on Grimes' crew posted a long letter to X in which he explained the precise list of mistakes that led to her set blowing up, including errors that should have been caught had certain corners not been cut at critical moments during the runup to getting her on stage. He and his crew have asked people currently castigating Grimes to hate on him instead, as the blame fell squarely on him and his people, not her. mike -
By Dr Mike Metlay · Posted
Also: before you go buying a plane ticket to Switzerland, be aware that SMEM is closed to the public except for an audition room where a small number of keyboards are rotated in and out for people to play with. Those nifty YouTube videos are showing you something you are likely to never get to see in person. Also also: SMEM's remit is to save synthesizers from loss and destruction, period. They don't care what condition the stuff is in, and a considerable proportion of the keyboards on those shelves are broken, up to and including precious single examples of very rare synths that are saved even though they're smashed to bits. By contrast, Synthorama in Switzerland, the Eboardmuseum in Austria, and EMEAPP in the USA have nearly all working machines, many of them in pristine condition... and while getting into EMEAPP is damn near impossible these days, anyone can go to the other two and actually play these instruments. Hell, if you ever wanted to play the very first Minimoog Model D, Serial # 1001, complete with handwritten notes by Jim Scott stuck to the inside, you could go to the Eboardmuseum and ask the owner if he could turn it on for you. Kim Bjørn got to do that while prepping the new Minimoog Book. mike -
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By Dr Mike Metlay · Posted
Very few people here have mentioned that a huge part of a hardware synth's appeal – really the biggest part for me – is the user interface. It's simply fun to design sounds on a well-made synth, and to play them in expressive ways. I have gradually been shrinking my keyboard collection over the years; if my latest buy/sell works out decently well, I will be down to only four of them, one of which is on permanent loan to a friend and two of which are in a closet. Nevertheless, I would be bereft if, despite all the great plug-ins and iOS apps I have and all the fun controllers I play them with, I didn't have that one keyboard to just sit and play and create with. YMMV. mike -
Liberace was a classical pianist, so I guess his chops were superior to Elton's. I would say his chops were equal to piano virtouosos of his era. Then it's a question of the music itself-there, Elton John wins hands down...
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In MPN’s GEARLAB
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By charliepersol · Posted
I just bought one used two days ago. I had in the past (a very past) the original ARP Odissey and an Avatar (the guitar version of the Odissey). They sounded quite differenti, and now I understand why: two different version of the filter. A friend of mine still have the all black one with coloured sliders, which Is again different, maybe two poles filter? Anyway the Behringer sounds good but a bit differenti too. My ARP had a ring modulator I used to build fabolous bell like sounds: metallic, full of harmonics. The kind of sound you can hear on Japan Tin Drum or Oil on Canvas albums. Until now I couldn't recreate this sound. Neither the Avatar did. Just my ARP Odissey I sold for little Money :( -
In V.A.S.T., be it the original V.A.S.T. or the newer vaster V.A.S.T. with Cascade and Dynamic, there are several ways you can use internal DSP sources with Samples: 1. Samples only 2. Internal DSP Oscillators only without any Sample 3. Samples mixed with internal DSP Oscillators In the new V.A.S.T., you can certainly use a multi-sampled Keymap, alongside an internal anti-aliased DSP Osc, e.g. a 2-block SINE+ for a single Layer, or even an aliased one like the old SAW+. For larger AA DSP Oscs, e.g. the 4-block SAW, you'd need to use Cascade Mode, a passthrough signal and a Mixer ALG. So these aren't mutually exclusive. Instead, what the manual seems to indicate is that if you want to do a traditional analogue subtractive synth, then you'd rather not use a Keymap, which makes sense since analogue subtractive synths don't use them at all. You can still use a Keymap's sample Envelope if it is set to Natural, even if the Sample itself isn't sounding via the Layer, say, if you have simply a 4-block AA DSP SAW. That SAW block effectively cuts off any of the Sample signal. However, as the AMPENV mode is set to Natural, it is the factory AMPENV for that multi-Sampled Keymap that is applied to the Layer. The Natural envelopes have more details than can be produced with a User AMPENV. The thing that happens with setting the Keymap to Silence is that it sets each key's amplitude to the same maximum amplitude. Maybe that's what you need in a certain program, but sometimes, if you are doing an emulative program, you could be better off actually referencing the emulation's Keymaps Sample although the latter isn't heard, with the corresponding Natural Envelope, or of course, you could just go into User Mode and make your own envelope. Hope this helps. -
Sweetwater might accept to deliver to Canada, but you will be charged transport accordingly and as anything going USA to Canada your item will go through customs and it is always possible to end up with extra fees - sometimes very expensive. I personally had a very bad experience about 10 years ago and promised myself to never import again from the USA unless the seller confirms on paper he pays for all possible customs and duties extra fees. Buying Kurzweil products in Canada has always been complicated. In the 1990s a few stores in the province kept a couple of them, but if you wanted something they didn't have you had to order sight unseen and wait months to get your purchase. That is how I bought my MIDIboard, K1200 and finally, around 2000, a PC2X. I hated the Fatar action on the PC2X from day one and swore to never buy a keyboard sight unseen ever again.
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