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Crumar Mojo 61 Review - (LONG)


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Hmmm...when I use the lower manual to control the Korg module on my iphone, the swell pedal doesn't have an effect.

 

I can confirm though, that the Mojo61 does transmit the swell pedal data. CC#11, data 0~127. So I think it is a matter of whether the receiving module does anything with the info or not.

 

You can view this with a midi monitor program on your computer. I've noticed it as I'm working on my drawbar expander - at times the swell pedal info was overwhelming my little micro-controller (I have that fixed now).

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This was, btw, a good opportunity to compare rhodes, wurly, and clav sounds between the Mojo and the Vox played from the same keyboard. I think the Vox does an excellent job on all of these. Until I'd played the Mojo, I thought the Vox was the best electromechanical emulation I've heard, possibly even better than the Kronos (though I never did a side by side between those two). But the Mojo is better IMO. More responsive, more character.

Interesting. And do you have a feeling of how they compare (on Rhodes/Wurly/Clav) when Mojo and Vox are each played from its own action? Also, have you ever played the SV1 for comparison?

 

The Vox keyboard is, not surprisingly, a little better calibrated for its own internal sounds than the Mojo keyboard. So playing them from the Vox keyboard is somewhat more satisfying and expressive, but in terms of comparing the Vox to the Mojo it doesn't change the outcome in my opinion. The Mojo is still more responsive and characterful.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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I haven't read this entire thread, so I don't know if there's already been a discussion of the Mojo 61 as midi controller. Here's what I found through a brief experiment. Please understand that I am barely more than a midiot.

 

I connected the lower manual of the Mojo 61, then ran midi from the Mojo out to the in of my Korg Vox Continental. I changed the Vox receiving channel to "2". With this setting, the Vox received note and velocity data from the Mojo from both the lower part (in split mode) and from the lower manual (in either split mode or Ext mode -- it didn't seem to make a difference which was used).

 

So I could play the Mojo organ sound on the upper manual and a Vox ep on the lower manual. The Vox EP responded fairly well to velocity data -- not quite as responsive feeling as from its own keyboard, but certainly well enough that I wouldn't mind playing it that way on a gig.

 

The Vox was also receiving volume data from the Mojo swell pedal. There is no way I can see on the Vox to filter that, nor can I see a way on the Mojo not to send it. So that's kind of a problem if the receiving unit cannot filter. Also, the Vox was not receiving sustain data.

 

This is all for the purpose of deciding whether there's a sound module that could work with the Mojo. I looked briefly at the manual for the Dexibell S7. Assuming the SX7 is the same (it probably is), you can filter volume or expression data, and the SX7 specifications say it has an input for both sustain and expression.

 

Would I pay $1300 to be able to play the SX7 sounds from the Mojo? I dunno, that's a steep price, especially considering that, outside of its APs, the Dexi is not spectacular.

 

Thanks for doing this! Having the lower manual do double-duty as a controller for other sounds, modular or i-device, without disrupting the upper manual, would be fantastic. I have no idea whether some future firmware could make this a reality, but it would truly turn the lower board into a must-have (at least for me).

 

I got into the WiFi Editor to research control changes and found myself tweaking the Tines & Reeds, which I haven't edited in at least a year. Last week I went back to Guido's default VB3 Hammond as my best foundation, and of course when I set the EPs back to Guildo's Default and re-set everything to 64, discovered to no surprise I didn't have to do too much more.

 

 

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Rod

Here for the gear.

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It would seem to make sense that the Mojo's expression pedal would control three consecutive channels (1,2 and 3) in order to control upper, lower and pedals. Can you filter expression (CC#11) on the Korg Vox Continental so that it is not received?

57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn

Delaware Dave

Exit93band

 

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I did try single, split, and external. Swell pedal transmitted through all of them.

 

I don't plan on using the Vox midi'd to the Mojo, it just happened to be the keyboard I had at hand. Now I know that the Mojo can work as a controller with the lower manual, and I also know that any such setup needs to filter CC #11.

 

So, for today, mission accomplished (queue sound of beer cracking open).

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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On the home page of the Mojo Editor, set:

 

CC Send: None

CC Presets: Don't Send

Sustain Pedal: Send CC64

 

Voila! At least for the Korg PlugKey > Module / Ravenscroft; works in single and split modes.

 

Edit: BUT... there is only one MIDI out from the Mojo61 and it goes to the lower keyboard, which in turn may not work properly without the swell pedal. Plugkey doesn't work with USB MIDI so it's impossible for me to test further. And I don't have the lower keyboard...

 

oh well.

 

(red wine is my beer)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Rod

Here for the gear.

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Edit: BUT... there is only one MIDI out from the Mojo61 and it goes to the lower keyboard, which in turn may not work properly without the swell pedal. Plugkey doesn't work with USB MIDI so it's impossible for me to test further. And I don't have the lower keyboard...

 

oh well.

 

(red wine is my beer)

 

 

Youre in luck, because the lower keyboard connects to MIDI IN and there are two of those (one for pedals and one for lower manual). The Korg PlugKey connects to MIDI OUT. I know this setup works because Ive done this exact thing. :)

Endorsing Artist/Ambassador for MAG Organs and Motion Sound Amplifiers, Organ player for SRT - www.srtgroove.com

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Oh, right, the Mojo has an editor!

 

So now I've got the same setup as before, Korg Vox connected by midi and set to receive on channel 2. On the Mojo,

 

CC Send = None

Sustain Pedal = Sustain Low

 

Now it's working closer to how I want. In Hammond mode, the swell pedal control upper manual expression but does not affect Vox sounds triggered from the lower manual. The sustain pedal sustains vox sounds triggered from the lower manual but not the organ. Same is true if I just use the left side of a split to play Vox sounds.

 

Switching to piano mode on the Mojo and with the same settings in the editor, the swell pedal affects neither the Mojo nor Vox pianos. The sustain pedal sustains the Mojo piano sounds, but does not sustain the Vox sounds triggered from the lower manual. So that last bit is not ideal, but I'm not sure how often I'd want to do that anyway.

 

One thing the Mojo will not do via midi is shift notes. So when I'm triggering Vox sounds from the left side of a split, I can't shift octaves up from the Mojo. I can't do it on the Vox either, but again, I'm only using the Vox for this experiment because it's at hand. Any module would probably let you shift octaves.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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This Korg Module/Plugkey thing is opening up a whole new world for me. I can just use my phone to make the Mojo a do-it-all rig?

 

Obviously I've been living under a rock the last 5 years. More precisely, a pile of diapers.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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Thats right, Adan... The Korg Module pretty much makes the Mojo a complete performance machine.

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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On the home page of the Mojo Editor, set:

 

CC Send: None

CC Presets: Don't Send

Sustain Pedal: Send CC64

 

Voila! At least for the Korg PlugKey > Module / Ravenscroft; works in single and split modes.

 

Edit: BUT... there is only one MIDI out from the Mojo61 and it goes to the lower keyboard, which in turn may not work properly without the swell pedal. Plugkey doesn't work with USB MIDI so it's impossible for me to test further. And I don't have the lower keyboard...

 

oh well.

 

(red wine is my beer)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drawback, please clarify your arrangement. How is Korg plug module interfacing with Ravenscroft? Are you referring to the Ravenscroft virtual piano? I didn't think it ran on ipad, only mac and pc.
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Korg PlugKey > Module / Ravenscroft

Drawback, please clarify your arrangement. How is Korg plug module interfacing with Ravenscroft? Are you referring to the Ravenscroft virtual piano? I didn't think it ran on ipad, only mac and pc.

 

Korg PlugKey ">" (to) Module "/" (or) Ravenscroft.

 

The Korg Plugkey is the interface to access either the Korg Module app or the Ravenscroft iOS app. Both of those are available on the Apple AppStore. If you aren't aware of Ravenscroft for iOS, [url:https://www.vilabsaudio.com/ravenscroft275ios] here you go. [/url]

 

Sorry for any confusion :smile:

 

 

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Rod

Here for the gear.

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Wow, I didn't know Ravenscroft worked for ipad. Thanks for the reference. I see there are some restrictions: close mic only, no una corda or half pedalling, none of which matters to me. Otherwise does it sound as good on ipad as PC/mac? I was considering buying it for laptop but the app is much cheaper and likely more convenient.
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Its definitely stripped down, but resource hungry. It pushes my iPhone 6 to the max. I find the Module much more usable (and I havent got room to add Ivory). The thing I like most about the Ravenscroft full version is its versatility and a lot of that is due to excellent mic placements and multiple possibilities for combinations and tweaks. I can make it sound like almost any other piano. These are lacking on the iOS app, so even if I were to upgrade to a new iPad Im not sure I wouldnt be happier with Module plus or minus Ivory.

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Rod

Here for the gear.

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Ivory is certainly good enough for my use.

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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I've now got Korg Module with Plugkey set up with the optional second manual. It works pretty well, definitely a neat way to make the Mojo an all-purpose gig machine. Module sounds quite good, I wouldn't hesitate to use any of the sounds on a gig.

 

The synth sounds on Module sound fine, but implementation is very basic, and of course there's no pitch or mod levers on the Mojo. For pads, comping, and maybe some simple-sounding leads it could be passable, but it's not going to turn the lower manual into a Prophet.

 

The one thing I can't figure out is how to shift octaves on the Module. There's virtual switch for that, but it seems to have no effect when paired with the Mojo. I may still be missing something. I don't think I'd need that with the lower manual, but if you wanted to use Module in split mode on just the upper manual, that would be a big impediment.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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Hey Rocco - thanks for this info. To be clear, will the lower manual trigger the Module in split mode, with the upper manual still working the organ? You could actually have Hammond up top and Module Piano on the bottom, both triggered independently?

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Rod

Here for the gear.

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I have Module by Korg on my iPhone 6 and it sounds good. I was excited when I first got it. But for up tempo rhythmic piano playing, including Ivory and Scarbee , the lag time is too much for me. My iPhone 6 is unthrottled, has ample free memory space, and I set the resolution low. But it is too behind my time.

 Find 660 of my jazz piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Harry was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book."

 

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Hey Rocco - thanks for this info. To be clear, will the lower manual trigger the Module in split mode, with the upper manual still working the organ? You could actually have Hammond up top and Module Piano on the bottom, both triggered independently?

 

Yes, that's how it works. You can have organ up top and Module lower, with swell pedal only affecting organ and sustain only affecting Module.

 

As to latency, I haven't put it under a sonic microscope yet but in my brief time with it I haven't noticed any latency. It could be that at the moment I'm just stoked that its working and my ears aren't picking up on nuances yet, but nothing is leaping out at me as problematic and rhythmic comping is something I'm good at (if nothing else). I'm using an iPhone 8.

 

 

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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Aiden,

 

So could you please be specific how you hooked up your Korg Module to control it as above? Thanks

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D

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Same way it was set up in the post above where I had it controlling the Vox.

 

Module set to receive on channel 2.

 

On Mojo:

 

TX Channel = 1

Alt Channel = 1 (Note: I don't know what this actually does)

CC Send = None

CC Presets = Don't Send

Sustain Pedal = Sustain Lower

 

I still haven't figured out how to shift octaves. The clumsy workaround is to transpose the Module 12 steps.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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Just piling this on here....I saw that Kraft had a bundle with the mojo 61 that included a gator semi-rigid case...I like those cases, I've used them before. Anyway, I got on the chat with a guy there because it listed the gk49....I'm thinking, that has to be a typo, right?

 

He said the mojo dimensions were 36" wide, the case interior is 38". He said "trust me, it fits" and I'm sure they ship it in the bag, so it must.

 

Wow, 36" is really compact (which is awesome)! Does it surprise anyone else that a 49-key case would fit this keyboard?

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Does it surprise anyone else that a 49-key case would fit this keyboard?

 

It's not unusual that a 61-note board with minimal width beyond the keys will fit a case designed for 49-note boards. The Nord Electro is a good example of a board that can be rather easily shoehorned.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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