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Studiologic Numa Compact 2x


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USB - perhaps my question was misunderstood. I don't intend to power the Numa from an iOS device through USB. That wouldn't really make sense to me (for MODX out of the question of course). What I wanted to know is if the MIDI/AUDIO I/O streaming works out of the box and without hickups when you connect an iOS device to the Numa. With acceptable latency and audio quality that is...

 

Power will be taken care of one way or the other...Thanks !

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Assuming the NC2X is the same as the NC2 USB-Audio wise then it works pretty well with IOS devices I haven't noticed any particular latency issues with either an IPad or an IPhone and the audio fidelity is fine for live work. Level matching is a total pain tho - I'm loving the USB audio level knob on the MODX!

Kurzweil PC4-7, NE-6, Roland FA06, MODX-7, Numa Compact 2x

 

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USB - perhaps my question was misunderstood. I don't intend to power the Numa from an iOS device through USB. That wouldn't really make sense to me (for MODX out of the question of course). What I wanted to know is if the MIDI/AUDIO I/O streaming works out of the box and without hickups when you connect an iOS device to the Numa. With acceptable latency and audio quality that is...

 

Power will be taken care of one way or the other...Thanks !

 

I used to own the predecessor, the Compact 2. I got rid of it when I heard about the 2X. When I connected my iPad to the Compact 2 everything worked immediately without any adjustments on either end. The Compact 2 played the iPad instruments and the sound came back through the Compact 2 speakers. I would hope it would be exactly the same for the 2X.

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So I had one of these on back order from Sweetwater. I just happened to log-in today to see if they had updated the Availability Date. Lo and behold, an Open Box one was available. Put in another order and cancelled the previous one. Should be arriving Monday! Score!!
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Does anyone who has a C2x also own a Spacestation? Im wondering how the piano sounds through it.

The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers

 

People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Anyone hear the rumor that Studiologic is going to introduce the Numa Compact 3 at NAMM in January 2019?

Only from you. ;-)

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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The rumor you just started?

 

Seriously, I think Studiologic will pre-announce something. I'm hoping for an organ (TP/8O-based) controller. Studiologic discontinued all the ones they used to make and you'd think they'll bring one back when they can update the core architecture.

 

I think Fatar/Studiologic's quality has gotten better in the last few years (e.g. the 3-sensor TP/100s vs. the 2-sensor ones), and they're involved with the next generation MIDI initiative and new live performance software through their partnership on Camelot Pro with Audio Modeling.

 

Personally, I've decided no more hardware purchases until next gen MIDI is out and boards are at least marketed as firmware updatable.

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Rumors aside, I thought that I would give a quick status update now that I have had my NC2x for a month now. I have been to several rehearsals and even played a gig with it and for me & my needs this is a definite keeper! I am loving the weight, the form factor, the MIDI & IOS controller capabilities and especially the adaptability and playability of the Fatar TP9/ Piano action. The piano action & playability is more than good enough for a cover band piano but it is still light enough and fast enough for playing organ, synth and other voice parts. I can play any of the onboard voice parts reasonably well from this single action, which is probably one of its greatest strengths. I decided to use this live instead of my CP 33 for my last gig and it worked out great! Programming voices is straight-forward & I had decent piano, Rhodes, clav and expressive ballad-type organ voices onstage. The onboard effects also sound good live as well, except for the Drive effect, which definitely needs to be either updated or replaced with a softer tube overdrive of some type. I can also recommend the StudioLogic NC2 case as well, as it is versatile & fairly well padded. However, until StudioLogic adds more features via firmware updates I think that the SLP3-D pedal is overkill, as any available damper pedal will work just fine. Also I have used several different expression pedals as well and they also work fine. And it is now my defacto rehearsal board.

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Gig: Yamaha MODX7, NumaX 73 Piano  Studio: Kawai ES-920; Hammond SK Pro 73; Yamaha Motif ES7 w/DX,VL,VH; Yamaha YC 73; Kawai MP-6; Numa Compact 2x

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Assuming the NC2X is the same as the NC2 USB-Audio wise then it works pretty well with IOS devices I haven't noticed any particular latency issues with either an IPad or an IPhone and the audio fidelity is fine for live work. Level matching is a total pain tho - I'm loving the USB audio level knob on the MODX!

 

Hi, I am noticing your collection of keyboards in your sig and I am seriously interested in your opinions of the various actions of your boards. Given how well the NC2x is working out for me, I am seriously considering picking up a MODX7 and doing most of my one-nighter type gigs with just these 2 lightweight boards?

----------------------------------------------------------

 

Gig: Yamaha MODX7, NumaX 73 Piano  Studio: Kawai ES-920; Hammond SK Pro 73; Yamaha Motif ES7 w/DX,VL,VH; Yamaha YC 73; Kawai MP-6; Numa Compact 2x

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I am noticing your collection of keyboards in your sig and I am seriously interested in your opinions of the various actions of your boards.

I'm not JKS, but he lists "Kronos, NE-4, Artis 7, Roland VR730, Roland FA06, MODX-7, Numa Compact 2" and I've played most of those as well. For piano playing action, I would take the Numa Compact 2 over the Kronos 61, Nord Electro 3 and Nord Stage 2, Roland FA06, and probably the MODX7 (I need to do a bit more comparison there). The newer Nords (Electro 5, Stage 3) handle piano better than the older so I'm not sure there. Artis 7--at least with the rarely available syntaur springs--feels better than the Numa.

 

I am seriously considering picking up a MODX7 and doing most of my one-nighter type gigs with just these 2 lightweight boards?

It's certainly a light way to add 88 keys and aftertouch to the MODX7. I've been thinking about good lightweight pairings for the MODX7 as well. If 73 keys will do. Nord Stage 3 Compact clearly outclasses the Numa in terms of what it adds to a Yamaha (esp. in terms of organ and synth), albeit at a price. Also, at 22 lbs, it's heavier than the Numa, and it's deeper which puts your two sets of keys farther from each other. If you can also give up on the aftertouch, at much lower cost than the Nord, the Artis 7 still gives you nice organ and VA synth to complement the Yamaha. Again, it's on the deep side. And at about 28 lbs, at that point you could also look at some actual hammer action boards, if piano is the priority.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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  • 4 weeks later...
Just ordered one. Coming Tuesday

 

 

Congrats! I suspect that Sweetwater has been filling back-orders until now. Looking forward to hearing your impressions!

----------------------------------------------------------

 

Gig: Yamaha MODX7, NumaX 73 Piano  Studio: Kawai ES-920; Hammond SK Pro 73; Yamaha Motif ES7 w/DX,VL,VH; Yamaha YC 73; Kawai MP-6; Numa Compact 2x

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I've had mine about a month now. Nice form factory and I really like the keybed. Internal sounds suck and the effects are nigh unusable. I'm only using it as a controller for VB3, Lounge Lizard and Arturia so I'm happy with it.

 

I'm going to be using it as a controller/lower manual for an electro 5d. I heard the b3 emulation was pretty good on this board though, no??

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I've had mine about a month now. Nice form factory and I really like the keybed. Internal sounds suck and the effects are nigh unusable. I'm only using it as a controller for VB3, Lounge Lizard and Arturia so I'm happy with it.

It's my understanding that patches on the laptop can't be selected from buttons on the NC2X. Do I have it right?

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I've had mine about a month now. Nice form factor and I really like the keybed. Internal sounds suck and the effects are nigh unusable. I'm only using it as a controller for VB3, Lounge Lizard and Arturia so I'm happy with it.

It's my understanding that patches on the laptop can't be selected from buttons on the NC2X. Do I have it right?

 

 

Not from the buttons, as of yet. But I have been in touch with Gianni at StudioLogic about suggestions for future firmware updates, and that was one of the suggestions mentioned, so stay tuned.

----------------------------------------------------------

 

Gig: Yamaha MODX7, NumaX 73 Piano  Studio: Kawai ES-920; Hammond SK Pro 73; Yamaha Motif ES7 w/DX,VL,VH; Yamaha YC 73; Kawai MP-6; Numa Compact 2x

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LOL, hundreds of posts, then crickets. Out of sight, out of mind.

There's always speculation before a new board ships, and we had an unusually long speculation period between when this one was announced and when it shipped, so lots of time to post messages. ;-)

 

I think the Numa Compacts have always been cool boards, with their biggest limitation being relying on a scroll wheel for patch selection (i.e. not being able to have the other buttons double as Favorites or numeric entry or single-button recall within the current bank). Also, in the 2X, the inability to pan sounds or otherwise use its stereo outs as a pair of assignable mono outs for adding a Vent or similar (a feature also useful for LH bass splits). Those things would have added some nice additional usability, at probably no increase in manufacturing cost. Icing on the cake would have been an iPad/computer based editor, particularly to open up some more synth parameter editing. With these things, I'd find it to be a real killer board. I think it still gives you a lot for the money, though. I think people who were expecting most of a Numa Organ and a Studiologic Sledge to be built in for the $200 premium over the non-X were being unrealistic.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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It's my understanding that patches on the laptop can't be selected from buttons on the NC2X. Do I have it right?

Not from the buttons, as of yet. But I have been in touch with Gianni at StudioLogic about suggestions for future firmware updates, and that was one of the suggestions mentioned, so stay tuned.

It's not just MIDI patches (i.e. "on the laptop") that can't be selected from buttons, it's the same with your internal patches. The only way to bring them up is via the scroll knob.

 

I wouldn't be so optimistic about "staying tuned" because they've been doing it this way since 2012 (I think that's when the first Numa Compact came out) and haven't changed it yet. (Okay, the original used inc/dec buttons instead of a scroll knob, but same idea... the only way to recall your presets was to scroll through them, no direct button entry).

 

The MIDI controller aspect of all the Compacts have been similar. The 2 added the 2-way split and aftertouch, and the 2X adds the 9 sliders. But they basically all work the same way.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Mine came last night so not a lot of time to mess around but APs are fine with me. I like them. The organ is OK, but not as good as VB3 or Nord. The Leslie sim is dreadful imo.

 

All that being said, I like it for a practice baord and it's absolutely perfect for a lower manual.

 

The action is exactly what I was hoping for an more. A great lower manual and surprisingly good for piano.

 

It's so light too!

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Mine came in yesterday also. My question, for those who already have the board, is this: Is there a way to dial back the chorus & percussion volume in the organ section? Those were the biggest noticeable flaws on my cursory playthrough. I sent a question to Studiologic about that & haven't heard back. In all fairness though that was only last night so they haven't had proper time to respond.
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Mine came in yesterday also. My question, for those who already have the board, is this: Is there a way to dial back the chorus & percussion volume in the organ section?

 

Percussion volume is separately adjustable for both fast and slow decay (parameters 14 & 15) in the "Global Edit" mode in firmware version 1.00. Just press and hold the Edit button for more than 2 seconds to get into this mode and then use the scroll wheel to get to those parameters.

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------

 

Gig: Yamaha MODX7, NumaX 73 Piano  Studio: Kawai ES-920; Hammond SK Pro 73; Yamaha Motif ES7 w/DX,VL,VH; Yamaha YC 73; Kawai MP-6; Numa Compact 2x

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Thanks for the reply, Star Guy!! The percussion is now much more livable. Now to figure out how to dial down that overbearing chorus..... I agree with kywn on the Leslie sim, but we kind of expected it wouldn't be up to the standards of the standout clones. Thanks again.
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