Sound modules - small form factor

[Moonglow]

I don"t think this is an issue with the Botique D-05, but I have the JU-06 and while the sound is incredibly authentic (love that chorus) I quickly run out of voices when using a string patch, and sustained notes abruptly cut out.

 

Edited to add: I see the JU-06 has been upgraded to the JU-06A. Not sure if this resolves the above issue.

[AnotherScott]

Just dreaming here for a second. I wish Gemini Desktop included drawbars.

Check http://www.myrigshop.com/ - I believe you can sit either the D9U or the D9X on top of the Gemini. Or if you only needed the organ sounds and not the rest, you could get the Mojo Desktop which is just the organ section of it, but in a single unit that includes the drawbars. So you can get the organ module with full organ controls; or you can get the gemini (organ plus everything else) module with your choice of no organ controls, drawbar controls, or full organ controls.

[kenheeter]

I have a Gemini Desktop and D9X that I might consider selling. PM me if interested.

[Lou_NC]

I 2nd the motion for finding a used Alesis NanoSynth (or NanoPiano). I really like these units.....decent enough sounds for me, super convenient to use. "They just work". The NanoPiano has a lot of piano sounds as the name implies, but also has some string sounds (that's what some of us used to call "pad" sounds, back in the day). I have one of each, and won't be selling either one soon. I use them with a Hammond organ when I'm playing mainly organ sounds, and an inexpensive Casio piano (with weighted action) when I'm playing mostly piano sounds.

 

I wonder why nobody has ever come up with an affordable follow-on product to the Alesis Nano series............probably not nearly as profitable for them as coming out with new keyboards over and over..........

 

Lou

[GovernorSilver]

Roland MC-101 is small. It's set up by default to receive on MIDI channels 1-4 for multitimbral operation ( each timbre is referred to as a Track ). 128 voice polyphony. 3000 presets covering a wide range from rompler tones to classic Roland synths like Juno-106, Jupiter 8, etc.

[RABid]

Roland MC-101 is small. It's set up by default to receive on MIDI channels 1-4 for multitimbral operation ( each timbre is referred to as a Track ). 128 voice polyphony. 3000 presets covering a wide range from rompler tones to classic Roland synths like Juno-106, Jupiter 8, etc.

 

Plus, it is a lot of fun, and if you buy it new you get a year of Roland Cloud Pro.

[stoken6]

Roland MC-101

Good suggestion - I would have never thought of suggesting a groovebox, but this has the advantage of being a current unit from a big name, at a relatively reasonable price.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[MoodyBluesKeys]

I've been using an iPad Mini2 at church for several years now. Drive it from the Kurzweil PC3, which has USB MIDI out. More recently, I took my old iPhone 6 (replaced by an 8+), no SIM card in it, but it still has analog phone jack. USB cable from the Kurzweil to the USB3 Apple "Camera Adapter", which has the Lightning connector and another so it can be charging while in use.

Took a small piece of Velcro, one side on the upper right of the K, other side on back of the iPhone. Stick it in place for use, use the user bank of Korg Module most of the time, I have most of the expansion packs, bought at times they were on sale for half price. Have Module set for MIDI channel 2. Kurzweil on channel 1 - get Kurzweil sounds. Switch to MIDI 2, get iPhone sounds.

I started doing this because I didn't really ever warm up to the Leslie in KB-3. Also have Galileo, which has virtual drawbars, but I have a BUNCH of Hammond/Lesllie presets on Module, and can get close enough. Also lots of evolving pads and synth sounds.

 

Sometimes, I use the IOS device for outdoor or at another church. Use an IK Keys37Pro as midi controller. VERY portable. Also have a Samson 61 key Carbon keyboard with 5-pin midi and a Korg Plug-key.

 

I've never really had a failure using the rig. I have a bunch of other apps for sounds, do use iFretless Bass sometimes and some of the others, but mostly use the Module.

 

I don't know how easy the Hammond XK-5 is to change MIDI channels on the fly (or whether or not it has USB output, my SK1 doesn't).

[Noah DC]

The difference in price is just so stark, too.

 

This June iOS app costs $13.

This used Korg Plugkey costs $75, shipped.

 

None of the hardware modules mentioned cost less than several hundred dollars.

[AnotherScott]

The difference in price is just so stark, too.

 

This June iOS app costs $13.

This used Korg Plugkey costs $75, shipped.

 

None of the hardware modules mentioned cost less than several hundred dollars.

Of course, you have to have the iPad, which, typically, is several hundred dollars. ;-)

[ElmerJFudd]

The difference in price is just so stark, too.

 

This June iOS app costs $13.

This used Korg Plugkey costs $75, shipped.

 

None of the hardware modules mentioned cost less than several hundred dollars.

Of course, you have to have the iPad, which, typically, is several hundred dollars. ;-)

 

Indeed, $429 for 128gb - which you are going to want for sample libraries. These music apps take up a lot of space with the sample content.

[Noah DC]

Haha yes, I suppose that"s true. IF you don"t already have an iPhone and/or don"t want to use the apps that have a phone version AND you don"t already have an iPad made within the last four or five years, then yes, the choice would be to spend a few hundred to buy a sound module that does one single thing (very well!) or buy an iPad or iPhone that can do almost anything a regular computer can. But I do understand how people are inclined to go with modules given how recently it was that the phone or iPad route was unreliable.

[David Emm]

Off topic but why were the D-05's discontinued? Did they not sell well enough?

 

You probably nailed it. The Boutiques have mostly been vintage revisits with sliders and an obvious signal path. The D-50 remains a towering bitch to program without the PG-1000 and not exactly cozy, even if you have it, which I do. The sound competes well when it emulates analogs, but friendly it ain't. The D-05 is therefore a preset item for most people, whereas you can fondle a JU-06 happily. Its a matter of the instant-gratification factor.