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Your Latest Purchase (music related)


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My new Zoom Livetrak L12 mixer/ interface/ recorder. Between that and my fretless bass it"s going to be a fun year.

 

[video:youtube]

 

Jake

1967 B-3 w/(2) 122's, Nord C1w/Leslie 2101 top, Nord PedalKeys 27, Nord Electro 4D, IK B3X, QSC K12.2, Yamaha reface YC+CS+CP

 

"It needs a Hammond"

 

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Got a Hero 7 Silver earlier this month (the Hero 8s came out, so there was some degree of discount on the previous model). As a music director for theater, one of the resume pieces some folks are looking for are short "reels" of your conducting, playing, both simultaneously, etc.

 

So, I got the Hero to be a small discrete camera that I can mount over or behind my music stand to get some shots of me. Just wrapped a production of JC superstar with me conducting from the piano, and the camera worked perfectly! Good video and good-enough audio. :) Now I've just got to get a few other shows over the next year and put together my MD reel.

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Yesterday, I did "the tour", I hit most of our local thrift stores. I don't spend a lot of time, looking for stuffs I can use or sell.

 

At Value Village I found a Roland Cube 40gx in near mint condition - works perfectly. I also found a quality folding wooden guitar stand. Paid $40 and tax for the amp and $3.50 for the stand.

 

At Goodwill I found an import Strat clone neck and in among the tools an Audio Technica MB4000c microphone, covered in sticky tape goo. I paid $2.50 for the neck and $3 for the microphone.

 

The mic works fine, some Krud Kutter took all the goo off easily. It has nice smooth highs, I am going to try it in combination with my ribbon mic so I can dial in a bit more treble without using EQ.

 

The Cube uses the same footswitch as my Katana, I have that. Gonna give it a shakedown cruise at a gig tonight, it sounds great at home.

 

One of those "WIN" days!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Congrats on the Zoom L12 LiveTrak! I picked one up in the summer of 2018 right after they first came out. I was in the market for a new mixer with 8 xlr inputs, a couple of stereo channels, and onboard effects, and the L12 fit the bill at a reasonable price The L12's multi-track simultaneous recording capability for capturing live band gigs is a bonus as is it's audio interface capability. It's 5 separate headphone / monitor sub-mixes are also great as well. I've since unloaded an ancient Akai DPS 16 hard disk recorder and as well as a Tascam US600 interface and haven't looked back.

Gigs: Nord 5D 73, Kurz PC4-7 & SP4-7, Hammond SK1, Yamaha MX88 & P121, Numa Compact 2x, Casio CGP700, QSC K12, Yamaha DBR10, JBL515xt(2). Alto TS310(2)

 

 

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God help me. Another one. Looks like a 2nd generation, hopefully between this and the one from last week, I can build a solid stand and flip the other one.

 

Holy bleep, that's the one I have as well. That's the only $#@! stand I've ever owned that didn't bounce when I dug into the keys. When traveling, I always carried the assembly hardware next to my HEART. Its not all that quick to set up or break down, but the stability is worth every bit of juggling and hauling. Beauty! :thu:

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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Arturia's recent wavetable synth Pigments. I'm still in the first phase, reviewing the library and poking at the controls sans manual. Its a good sign to have that go smoothly. A bit more capable than I had thought, despite everything sounding a bit clean because its based on wavetables. There IS some analog meat on the bones; its just a more orderly version. The bell/EP aspects are gorgeous, shouldering a lot of the tonal work load you might otherwise assign to an additive or FM synth. There's no lack of richness, overall. Merry Winter Solsticemas to me!

420.png.7ed3ece80caeced29bf4416657c3771b.png

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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Arturia's recent wavetable synth Pigments. I'm still in the first phase, reviewing the library and poking at the controls sans manual. Its a good sign to have that go smoothly. A bit more capable than I had thought, despite everything sounding a bit clean because its based on wavetables. There IS some analog meat on the bones; its just a more orderly version. The bell/EP aspects are gorgeous, shouldering a lot of the tonal work load you might otherwise assign to an additive or FM synth. There's no lack of richness, overall. Merry Winter Solsticemas to me!

 

Hi David, could you share your view on the learning curve on Pigments? Your EP comment peeks my interest, but from what I've seen from this synth is pretty overwhelming. There are so much control functions ai'm afraid I'd be swamped by them. Thanks in advance.

 

Mark

Trumpet player by trade, but fell in love with keys too.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks to a few holiday plugin sales this month...

 

Waves Tune (full version)

Waves IR360 Convolution Reverb with surround support

Waves X-Click - should be great for removing those annoying crackles I get once in a while that ruin a near-perfect take!

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

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An Audio Technica MB 4000C, covered with tape goo.

In the tool bins at Goodwill. $4.

 

Krud Kutter easily removed all the goo, the mic is in great condition otherwise.

Works perfectly, has sweet, even highs.

 

Nice as the brighness enhancer for my ribbon mic.

Pretty sure it will be a good acoustic guitar mic as well.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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A Rhodes Straddler from Ken Rich, so I don"t have to gaff tape my XK1C to my Rhodes anymore.

 

And a couple mics for the studio, a Telefunken M80 Dynamic, and a Warm Audio WA47 tube mic. The WA47 is pretty amazing, a U47 clone for under a grand. A studio that I freelance at a couple times a year has a late 50s U47 that is an absolutely wonderful mic, that they paid in the neighborhood of $20k for. Their house engineer mentioned the WA47 as comparing favorably with their U47, and I have to agree.

 

Also picked up one of the Tama Iron Works boom mic stands, which are, imho, the best stands on the market shy of the Latch Lakes and their ilk. If I could afford to replace all the cheap booms I"ve accumulated over the years with the Tamas, I would.

Turn up the speaker

Hop, flop, squawk

It's a keeper

-Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow

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Arturia's recent wavetable synth Pigments. I'm still in the first phase, reviewing the library and poking at the controls sans manual. Its a good sign to have that go smoothly.... The bell/EP aspects are gorgeous, shouldering a lot of the tonal work load you might otherwise assign to an additive or FM synth. There's no lack of richness, overall. Merry Winter Solsticemas to me!

 

Hi David, could you share your view on the learning curve on Pigments? Your EP comment peeks my interest, but from what I've seen from this synth is pretty overwhelming. There are so much control functions ai'm afraid I'd be swamped by them. Thanks in advance.

Mark

 

The learning curve seems less steep once you take in the colorful modulation strip and see how clicking any part of it opens the associated controls underneath. Its pretty much a snap. Like any other synth, it has a top layer you see first and then subsequent layers that open it up more. If you've played more than just monosynths, the layout will be pretty much self-evident.

 

The analog path is traditionally MiniMoog-like. The wavetables have the simpler basics, but also some richer offerings such as the waves that allow for a few decent pianos. I'm new to granular in practice, but what I knew is making more sense, as its easy to feel your way through the process by reverse-engineering a bit. You probably won't get a fully convincing Rhodes out of it, but it has plenty to offer in the general area. It has a couple of near-modular behaviors going on at times, but it shows you almost everything as you go.

 

I'd say its not at all a bad starter synth for someone who can already manage the virtual analog side, because the other engines still follow the same system behaviors. Even old hands still have to RTFM, but Pigments comes with two of them built in. So no, you won't be swamped for long. Its a three-engine synth, too, so its something of a bargain. I have Logic, AAS, Korg, E-mu and a couple of wacky fringe instruments. I'm satisfied that Pigments adds a fresh voice I can enjoy mooshing into shape.

 

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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...covered with tape goo...Krud Kutter easily removed all the goo...

 

I use charcoal lighter fluid. It's basically naptha. Cheap. Effective. Works on all sorts of nasties.

 

Grey

I'm not interested in someone's ability to program. I'm interested in their ability to compose and play.

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...Bought a Arturia KeyLab mkII 61 in black as a new controller and switched to Cubase.

 

Please let us know how you like it. I'm looking at one of those for college use.

 

 

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

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...Bought a Arturia KeyLab mkII 61 in black as a new controller and switched to Cubase.

 

Please let us know how you like it. I'm looking at one of those for college use.

 

 

I own both the Keylab 61 Black Edition (late run, with keybed fix), and the new Keylab 61 MKii Black Edition.

 

Both are great. Metal chassis. Solid. They are about my favorite synth action boards, especially with how they did after touch. It's really smooth, and according to Snoize Midi Monitor I can really get nuanced with all values between 0 and 127 on Channel Pressure.

 

They are, of course, a natural fit with my Arturia V collection, and work seamlessly with other since every knob and button is assignable.

 

The MKii adds more assignable pedal inputs, and CV in/out jacks as well.

 

David

Gig Rig:Casio Privia PX-5S | Yamaha MODX+ 6 | MacBook Pro 14" M1| Mainstage

 

 

 

 

 

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...Bought a Arturia KeyLab mkII 61 in black as a new controller and switched to Cubase.

 

Please let us know how you like it. I'm looking at one of those for college use.

 

 

It just arrived this morning from Sweetwater. Totally agree with EscapeRocks! So, I will start of by saying the build quality is excellent. Nice and solid. Good sliders, wheels, knobs, and nice feeling/triggering pads. The synth action feel of the keys is great, similar to my old Novation X-Satation 61 and Access Virus KC. You do need to apply a bit of pressure to trigger the aftertouch, but I will see if I can adjust that when I dig in some more. I love when something works right out of the box without umpteen hours spent on adjusting computer settings. It is literally plug and play. The included software (Analog Lab and Piano V) is nice and Analog Lab has tons of useful bread and butter sounds. I like that it has 9 faders for controlling Hammond-type patches (if you use them). Includes templates for the most popular DAWs (which actually work) and tons of connectivity (MIDI, USB, and CV/gate). I had been in the market for a good controller for awhile, and my old controller was out of date for integration with a DAW (plus the menu diving was getting to be a pain, although I do miss the extra keys, but the Arturia does come in an 88-key version if you prefer). Overall, I am really glad I bought it and would definitely recommend it.

 

https://imgur.com/a/hVuoUcS

 

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......... although I do miss the extra keys, but the Arturia does come in an 88-key version if you prefer). Overall, I am really glad I bought it and would definitely recommend it.

 

https://imgur.com/a/hVuoUcS

 

Since they just release the 88 in MKII form, I am hoping they follow the pattern and release the Black Edition of that soon.

David

Gig Rig:Casio Privia PX-5S | Yamaha MODX+ 6 | MacBook Pro 14" M1| Mainstage

 

 

 

 

 

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......... although I do miss the extra keys, but the Arturia does come in an 88-key version if you prefer). Overall, I am really glad I bought it and would definitely recommend it.

 

https://imgur.com/a/hVuoUcS

 

Since they just release the 88 in MKII form, I am hoping they follow the pattern and release the Black Edition of that soon.

 

I thought I wouldn"t like the 88 MKii"s painted pony look, but after owning it for awhile the look has really grown on me â as opposed to the action, which is killin" me. I"m presently looking to sell or cross-trade it for a 61 and not sure if I"d like the black better, but I have no qualms about Arturia quality.

____________________________________
Rod

Here for the gear.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just did some horse trading and brought home a brand new Yamaha MODX7 and a Gator Semi-Rigid 76 Key Case and will be rehearsing with it for the first time tonight.

Traded my MOXF6 and could not be happier. Love the longer keybed and its feel. Love the weight and so does my back. The gator case I got weighs more than the board.

The sounds of the Montage and the MOXF plus a built in DX7 as well. I already had the half-damper pedal and the FC7 expression pedal. They plugged right in and the FC7

controls the Super Knob for me. I plugged a dynamic mic into the L/Mono input and the vocoder performances work great. Having a ball with it. Got to integrate the MODX7 into my

live rig (adding my Arturia KeyLab 61 up top running MainStage). May try to use the MODX as an audio interface so i can leave my UR22 at the house. Should work in theory!

Oh and I picked up IK Multimedia's B3-X and am really happy with that. Looking to pick up Skippy's Unify in the next few days. So if you don't hear from me for a while this is why.

Hardware:
Yamaha
: MODX7 | Korg: Kronos 88, Wavestate | ASM: Hydrasynth Deluxe | Roland: Jupiter-Xm, Cloud Pro, TD-9K V-Drums | Alesis: StrikePad Pro|
Behringer: Crave, Poly D, XR-18, RX1602 | CPS: SpaceStation SSv2 | 
Controllers: ROLI RISE 49 | Arturia KeyLab Essentials 88, KeyLab 61, MiniLab | M-Audio KeyStation 88 & 49 | Akai EWI USB |
Novation LaunchPad Mini, |
Guitars & Such: Line 6 Variax, Helix LT, POD X3 Live, Martin Acoustic, DG Strat Copy, LP Sunburst Copy, Natural Tele Copy|
Squier Precision 5-String Bass | Mandolin | Banjo | Ukulele

Software:
Recording
: MacBook Pro | Mac Mini | Logic Pro X | Mainstage | Cubase Pro 12 | Ableton Live 11 | Monitors: M-Audio BX8 | Presonus Eris 3.5BT Monitors | Slate Digital VSX Headphones & ML-1 Mic | Behringer XR-18 & RX1602 Mixers | Beyerdynamics DT-770 & DT-240
Arturia: V-Collection 9 | Native Instruments: Komplete 1 Standard | Spectrasonics: Omnisphere 2, Keyscape, Trilian | Korg: Legacy Collection 4 | Roland: Cloud Pro | GForce: Most all of their plugins | u-he: Diva, Hive 2, Repro, Zebra Legacy | AAS: Most of their VSTs |
IK Multimedia: SampleTank 4 Max, Sonik Synth, MODO Drums & Bass | Cherry Audio: Most of their VSTs |

 

 

 

 

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