Studiologic Numa Compact 2x

[To B3]

What about user samples? How is it done? What is allowed?

[hatricklov]

Assuming it's the same in this respect as the NC2 (which I would expect), you would need to scroll with the knob. As far as I've seen, hitting category buttons (or selecting sounds from within those categories) does not send any MIDI which you would be able to intercept and remap.

Thanks Scott. You saved me a purchase and return. Less than 20 lbs., 88-keys, pitch and mod sticks, 9-faders, and USB audio were pulling me in, but I need to select MainStage patches by pressing buttons on the keyboard. So, I'll just keep using my Electro 4D as a midi controller for now.

Al, just curious how your patches are set up in MainStage? Are you able to currently select any given patch with a dedicated button on a controller? What or how much can you map on the Electro 4D?

 

My experience with MainStage is limited to church, where the songs are set and it goes in order so the patches can be put in order. All I use are a couple buttons on a Korg nanoKontrol2 for patch up/down.

 

Thus why I'm curious to hear from Scott or Star Guy how many of the buttons/knobs on the NC2 able to send midi cc messages in MainStage.

 

 

 

 

[Al Quinn]

Yes, I can select MS patches by pressing the patch buttons on the NE4.

 

In MS my patches are setup so that theyre selected by PC midi commands that are sent by the NE4 when a patch button is pressed. Although I dont use the NE4 internal sounds I make sure the internal sound is organ for the patch button that selects the organ in MS so that the NE4 keyboard triggers high (I think this also enables the buttons for rotary, C/V, and percussion). An internal piano sound is programmed for the NE4 button that selects a piano in MS so the keyboard triggers low and with variable velocity. I have the drawbar faders and many NE4 buttons mapped to MS and it all works quite well. The NE4 implements Hammond percussion with three buttons rather than four so that presents the biggest compromise but I can live with it. I have the octave up/down buttons mapped which is important to me since its a 61-key keyboard.

 

Hope this helps.

[AnotherScott]

What about user samples? How is it done? What is allowed?

No such capability.

[PianoManChuck]

Here's a video that captured the built-in factory demo samples of the Numa Compact 2X:

 

 

Check the description - you can jump to whatever sample in the video you wish.

 

Enjoy!

[To B3]

Here's a video that captured the built-in factory demo samples of the Numa Compact 2X:

 

 

Check the description - you can jump to whatever sample in the video you wish.

 

Enjoy!

 

Thanks for the video! How do you like it? I saw your review of the C2, I'd like to know what did you think about the organ engine, overdrive, leslie sim and such...

[JeebsFat]

Someone posted that this was up, but didn't post the link. Here:

 

[Radagast]

What about user samples? How is it done? What is allowed?

 

On the video it says that there is 1gb of factory samples and 1gb that can be used to load in additional samples. But it wasnt explained how to do that.

[Radagast]

Here's a video that captured the built-in factory demo samples of the Numa Compact 2X:

 

 

Check the description - you can jump to whatever sample in the video you wish.

 

Enjoy!

 

Thanks PMC!

[AnotherScott]

What about user samples? How is it done? What is allowed?

 

On the video it says that there is 1gb of factory samples and 1gb that can be used to load in additional samples. But it wasnt explained how to do that.

I don't know about the video, but from everything I've seen, there's 1 GB sample memory total, and it is updateable for the possibility of new factory sounds in the future.

[Radagast]

Maybe the reason its so late, is the addition of 1gb of user sample memory and the associated software changes. What about the people who have these already? Speak up. What does the owners manual say?

[AnotherScott]

You can download the user's manual. There's nothing about user sample memory. I've seen no reason to believe there is any intent to allow it to load user samples.

[The_Star_Guy]

Maybe the reason its so late, is the addition of 1gb of user sample memory and the associated software changes. What about the people who have these already? Speak up. What does the owners manual say?

 

All of the documentation that I have says that there is 1 Gb of Flash memory total, and that was planned since Day One. The manual that I received with my unit on CD is the same version as what is currently posted on Studiologic's website, with the same origination date stamp. I was assured at NAMM 2018 that the Flash RAM would be able to accept updated sample voices from Studiologic at sometime in the future & that they would be user-upgradeable once they were available, but that they would also be in a proprietary format directly available only from Studiologic. They would NOT be user samples. Also my system firmware version is v1.00 , so as far as I know I have one of the earliest original production units.

 

Chris mentioned in his video that there is a 2nd Gb of memory, which is news to me, and also not supported in any documentation that I have seen either. I am only aware of the 1 GB of Flash RAM, and we will all have to wait (myself included) to hear from Studiologic on further details regarding how to update that, since it is proprietary. Hopefully more details will be available by NAMM 2019.

 

 

Also please remember that the NC2x was available elsewhere in the world in limited quantities since the end of July. Why it was not available in the USA until the middle of October could be due to any number of other factors, and someone else directly involved in the supply chain would need to answer that.

[Radagast]

Well it wouldnt be the first time owners manuals have had incorrect information in them. But its also true it wouldnt be the first time demo videos have had mistakes in them. All I know, at this point, is Chris Martirano has said it has 2 gb of memory in two videos released recently. He works for AMS, which is the U.S. distributor for Studiologic. He should have the correct information. If he doesnt, his employer needs to straighten him out very soon.

 

At about 3:00 in the following video, Chris says it has 2 gb of sound memory. 1 gb for factory samples and 1gb for user uploadable samples.

 

 

At about 1:00 in the following video, he says almost the same thing. I wonder where he got that idea?

 

 

[The_Star_Guy]

Just watched the Chris Martirano video again. Since he is with AMS who is the US distributer for Studiologic, it should be assumed that he would have more current information than me, since I have not spoken to anyone from Studiologic since NAMM 2018. Maybe he was told that Studiologic was working on an app that would allow importing of user samples and then converting them to NC2x format??

 

Since he is the one making this claim then someone should consider following up with him directly?

 

I am getting very curious as well. There is nothing available directly in my unit which allows me to see how much memory that I actually have installed. Perhaps the 2nd GB of memory that he is referring to is some sort of a 1 GB factory voice ROM image?

[Radagast]

I just downloaded the English version of the user manual. Its a mess. In the index it says the specifications are on page 164. There is no page 164. The Italian part starts on page 39. The entire thing only goes to page 87. I have sent emails periodically about the 2X to AMS. Im going to look that up and fire off another one about the sample memory issue.

[Dr. Jedd]

Hello,

 

I've been reading this thread anonymously for a while now, as well as watching the few available videos to gather up information, which is still sparse.

 

I now own the NC2X since a week now and I did a pretty in-depth review of it, in (very raw) video format.

(A heads up: not much USB and midi stuff, just because I lack the time and I have developed cable overload anxiety over the years )

 

 

I'll try to answer any follow-up questions but I don't have a lot of free time so no guarantees.

 

Take care,

 

jedd

[Synthaholic]

 

At about 1:00 in the following video, he says almost the same thing. I wonder where he got that idea?

 

 

He also says it at 23:14, with no vagueness at all.

[Dr88s]

I now own the NC2X since a week now and I did a pretty in-depth review of it, in (very raw) video format.

 

 

Take care,

 

jedd

 

Hi Jedd, and welcome!

 

I didn't have enough time to watch the entire review, but I watched a few minutes at a time skipping around.

 

First of all, THANKS for taking the time to do this.

 

Second, and this is not a criticism, it seems like you spent most of the time talking about the negatives. While it sours me on my pre-order purchase a little, it's absolutely necessary to talk about the negatives as the distributors and retailers won't - they want to sell the product, hiccups and all. You language is entertainingly colorful at times

 

This keyboard kind of reminds me of Roland's VR-09 in that it's being compared to keyboards $2000-$3000 more expensive. Obviously it won't have the same functionality and bells and whistles. (If it did, companies like Clavia would have a lot of 'splaining to do...)

 

I appreciate the time you took to demonstrate the unit. Hope you stick around here.

[hatricklov]

Thanks for the review, Jedd... I watched all of it!

 

I appreciate the first part you covered talking about the build quality, especially the plate housing connections. I'm not expecting to buy for hard core road use, but definitely worth noting to take care in this area. I also like the comments and comparisons you made in talking about the keyboard action.

 

For the price, everything looks like it checks enough boxes for me. A service-able piano, organ, and midi controller for when I want sounds above and beyond what it offers internally.

 

One thing I disagree with in your review is the upright piano sound. It does sound authentic with respect to being a bar/saloon/honky-tonk piano, and would be ideal for ragtime or older standards. Piano Man Chuck's youtube link earlier in this thread (at the 5:52 mark) is a good representation of the genre and style it's suited for. I could say the same thing about the EP, clav and synth sounds on the NC2X... they're not something I would see myself using/needing for the kind of music I typically perform, but I know enough about them generally speaking that they sound accurate. I would likely use this patch more than I would EPs or organs! My 2 cents.

 

I would instead say that StudioLogic missed the mark by naming the patch Upright Piano, and should've instead maybe called it Saloon Piano. I'd expect the the contained, warmth of a regular upright/console piano from a patch named as such instead of getting that honky-tonk sound.

[To B3]

Thanks for the review, Jedd... Missed a little bit of the good points, as the guys said...

[Dr. Jedd]

Hey guys,

 

Glad I could help. And yes please, do make your own opinion of the thing! Each of us has different expectations and it will most definitely suit many users! I hope we can all agree there

 

My main concern, which I failed to articulate clearly, is that this instrument lacks its own character and does not feel very inspiring to me. I didn't play much beyond the exploration phase and some practice I had to get done. I just didn't feel like it on this board. This is something to do with the sounds of course but also how they relate to the feel of the keyboard and how playful (or not) the controls can be.

 

If I were to chose a metaphor, this would be a first-generation chinese mobile phone with incredible specs but a not-so-polished interface, as opposed to established brands that do only one or two things but do it very well. If your budget is tight or if you don't mind the rough edges, then it's your best pick!

 

I'm still debating whether to send the unit back or not but it's getting a bit better as I keep tweaking the sounds to fit my liking (again, not looking for cold realism but something that is fun to play). I really hope we get that 1gig of memory and we can import some commercial samples into it because then I'll probably use all of it for a single great-sounding piano and it will completely change my viewpoint. For now, if I keep it, it will serve as a rhodes/organ only or for very small gigs.

 

Additional findings since the video release:

 

- USB Power on the macbook pro works okay until you feed in audio over USB and then it literally disconnects due to lack of power. My guess is that this process uses more power which the computer can't feed the keyboard. Probably not an issue on more recent laptops (and I didn't have this issue on a desktop computer).

 

- Reverb is indeed global but you have a Rev. send for each instrument lane. I should add that this reverb sounds quite muddy to me.

 

- The Concert Grand piano has an additional effect applied to it that you can't tweak or disable (cf. manual)

 

- The plastic underneath the middle of the keybed tends to bend a little bit but it does not look like it is part of the bulk of the structure so it's not really a concern

 

- Browsing through the user presets is easy if you have 10-15 of them, however if you have 100 there's no quick access features like have different banks etc.

[Dr. Jedd]

One thing I disagree with in your review is the upright piano sound. It does sound authentic with respect to being a bar/saloon/honky-tonk piano, and would be ideal for ragtime or older standards. Piano Man Chuck's youtube link earlier in this thread (at the 5:52 mark) is a good representation of the genre and style it's suited for. I could say the same thing about the EP, clav and synth sounds on the NC2X... they're not something I would see myself using/needing for the kind of music I typically perform, but I know enough about them generally speaking that they sound accurate. I would likely use this patch more than I would EPs or organs! My 2 cents.

 

I would instead say that StudioLogic missed the mark by naming the patch Upright Piano, and should've instead maybe called it Saloon Piano. I'd expect the the contained, warmth of a regular upright/console piano from a patch named as such instead of getting that honky-tonk sound.

 

This is indeed meant to be a saloon piano (I stated that in my video) and it does a decent job in the mid-range but the lows are so metallic you can literally hear the sampling algorythm putting it back together after pitching down a higher note (timestretch). For me this means I have to stay away from anything below C2 so I don't want to bother.

 

I'm not the only one who's put off by it:

[Radagast]

I emailed AMS. I got an email back this morning. My contact is named Tiffany. She asked someone named Matt to answer my question and copied me with that message. That was this morning. I havent received a response yet.

[Radagast]

Heres what I received from AMS:

 

Thank you for your patience, for this question we had to ask the Italian developers directly and there is some delay due to the time zone change.

 

The user sample memory feature is not officially released yet, and is something which is "under development". There is no ETA for the related software tool as of yet. But this is something which Studiologic is working on.

 

Best regards,

 

Matthew Wood

Technical Support

 

American Music & Sound

support@americanmusicandsound.com

800.431.2609

 

That still leaves questions. Is the extra 1gb already in the machine, but the tools arent available to use them yet, OR, is it going to allow the factory samples to be replaced.

 

Both videos said it was going to have 2gb.

[JFP]

- USB Power on the macbook pro works okay until you feed in audio over USB and then it literally disconnects due to lack of power. My guess is that this process uses more power which the computer can't feed the keyboard. Probably not an issue on more recent laptops (and I didn't have this issue on a desktop computer).

 

What happens when you connect an iPad or iPhone ?! I want to use an iPad / phone for additional sounds like KORG Module , Korg iSynths, Synhmaster, Garageband e.o. Can I just connect an iOS device through a camera connection kit and start streaming MIDI and Audio from - and to - the NC2X ?! Dealbreaker for me. If that does not work , I'll go for a MODX8 or similar...Thanks !

[The_Star_Guy]

Radagast,

 

Thank you for following up with this! Plans often change post_NAMM and this feature update appears to be one of them. If the upcoming Studiologic Sample loading app will eventually support the loading of user Samples that would definitely be an unexpected bonus! Since it would also almost certainly require a firmware update we will have to wait to see how this plays out in the future. Hopefully more details directly from Studiologic are forthcoming.

[The_Star_Guy]

- USB Power on the macbook pro works okay until you feed in audio over USB and then it literally disconnects due to lack of power. My guess is that this process uses more power which the computer can't feed the keyboard. Probably not an issue on more recent laptops (and I didn't have this issue on a desktop computer).

 

What happens when you connect an iPad or iPhone ?! I want to use an iPad /phone for additional sounds like KORG Module , Korg iSynths, Synhmaster, Garageband e.o. Can I just connect an iOS device through a camera connection kit and start streaming MIDI and Audio from - and to - the NC2X ?! Deal-breaker for me. If that does not work , I'll go for a MODX8 or similar...Thanks !

 

I wouldn't advise powering the keyboard only from a laptop during any critical operation when you can use a separate dedicated power supply, and the Owner's Manual itself advises as much on both pages 4 and page 10. The possibility of excessive current draw from the port might be capable of damaging the Macbook, and since that costs more than the NC2x, that is a risk I wouldn't personally take. The USB power option seems meant to be more as an alternative power source option, meaning that carrying around a high current USB AC adapter with a USB cable makes a suitable backup power supply.

 

I do plan to test several IOS APPS soon with the NC2x, including Korg Module, Galileo, iMini & FM Essential, among others. I just haven't had the time as of yet. I am especially looking forward to testing the programmable MIDI Zones for the Controller port with these IOS apps. Checking the edit pages of the MIDI Zones on my unit shows an intriguing amount of Master keyboard controller capability, especially for the drawbars/sliders, so if I am able to pre-program multiple setups that would be huge, IMHO.

 

I have tested both pitch bend and modulation of the NC2x using the external controllers from my CP33 via MIDI and I am happy to report that works just fine!

[AnotherScott]

- USB Power on the macbook pro works okay until you feed in audio over USB and then it literally disconnects due to lack of power. My guess is that this process uses more power which the computer can't feed the keyboard. Probably not an issue on more recent laptops (and I didn't have this issue on a desktop computer).

 

What happens when you connect an iPad or iPhone ?! I want to use an iPad / phone for additional sounds like KORG Module , Korg iSynths, Synhmaster, Garageband e.o. Can I just connect an iOS device through a camera connection kit and start streaming MIDI and Audio from - and to - the NC2X ?! Dealbreaker for me. If that does not work , I'll go for a MODX8 or similar...Thanks !

I don't know whether or not the Numa will do everything you want when on USB power from an iPad/iPhone, but I do know that the MODX definitely will not... it doesn't run from USB power, it needs to have its wall wart plugged in.

[Radagast]

- USB Power on the macbook pro works okay until you feed in audio over USB and then it literally disconnects due to lack of power. My guess is that this process uses more power which the computer can't feed the keyboard. Probably not an issue on more recent laptops (and I didn't have this issue on a desktop computer).

 

What happens when you connect an iPad or iPhone ?! I want to use an iPad / phone for additional sounds like KORG Module , Korg iSynths, Synhmaster, Garageband e.o. Can I just connect an iOS device through a camera connection kit and start streaming MIDI and Audio from - and to - the NC2X ?! Dealbreaker for me. If that does not work , I'll go for a MODX8 or similar...Thanks !

 

If I understand your question correctly, when I use the Apple connector, there is another port for charging my iPad. Is that what you mean? I still have to have my keyboard plugged in.