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eric

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About eric

  • Birthday 11/30/1999

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    Virginia

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  1. Fun topic! My first synth was the Roland JX-8P I bought new in 1985 and I learned about pitch and mod using this instrument (similar to brenner and the JX-10 above).. My JX-8P still has a nice functioning paddle and I still find that left/right is more intuitive to my brain than up/down...however, I used Yamaha keyboards for a good bit and they had the Moog style wheels...which work great after some practice. I definitely prefer that type of wheel for modulation, where it can be pushed up and left in place, vs. the Roland paddle where it's kind of an on/off situation. I've been playing Nords long enough that I've acclimated to the little wooden pitch stick, which is a bit more like my muscle memory of left/right for bending pitch, yet I still long for something a little easier to grab instead of that quirky wooden stick...it works ok. I like the Nord pumice mod wheel, though I wish it had a bit more resistance.
  2. Yeah, I kinda glossed over that in my zest to recommend Radial as a great option...I tend to view this as an investment that is helpful for most anyone to have in their arsenal for the long term. It doesn't have to be the quasi-boutique Radial option. I think DI boxes make things simpler in general and I guess it really depends on the quantity and variety of venues you're playing, to decide if you want to have your own DI, whether it be a $40 DI or a $250 DI.
  3. I generally agree with this! I was recently approached by my friend who plays bass in a Steely Dan tribute, plus they also do a bunch of Doobie Brothers and other things near to the genre. He told me "we need a keyboard sub for 1-2 gigs" and one of them is kind of a lowly brewery gig while the other is a larger venue. I asked him to send me the set list and rehearsal schedule. I've played a number of Steely Dan songs in prior bands, though they were the bigger hits such as Peg, Josie, My Old School, etc...and while I really love SD and would totally have a blast playing their entire catalogue...this dude ain't quite got the time to learn ALL those songs for 1-2 sub gigs...I realize that sub gigs can lead to being a full time player, though I'm not really in the market to add another band at this juncture. I was noncommittal until seeing how much work it would be to learn the songs, make notes on the chords, program the sounds, etc. and then I told him to count me out for now. There's another local band that occasionally asks me to sit in and they pull from a song list of 400+ very randomly...they gave me a smaller list of "here are the really important keyboard songs" so I made notes on those and programmed a few special sounds...it's a bit unnerving to be on a gig when they spontaneously move from '60s to '90s to current, to random songs I've never heard before, etc. All of that to say that my appetite for one-off gigs has diminished.
  4. I am very old school and use a little 3x5 spiral flip book, in which I jot down the main aspects of songs I haven't played and need a "cheat sheet" for pick up gigs. I put the song title and key of song at the top, then I put the main chords for Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge and anything else that is helpful. I play in a Clash tribute band that only does about 3-4 shows a year and I honestly forget some of the songs when playing less frequently...so I keep my little flip book handy. I even use it when learning new songs with my main bands. If I get through a few rehearsals with the flip book, I can often put it away for gigs, though I have a little spot of velcro on the left side of my keyboard that holds it pretty unobtrusively. In general, I highly prefer to memorize songs and not use charts...my flip book is the only thing remotely close to using charts in my arsenal.
  5. This is a GREAT DI box. I used one for many years in my live rig and still have it. The only reason I am not currently using it is because I have a Radial Key Largo in my rehearsal rack and Radial KL-8 in my gig rack...which both cover the DI aspect built into the mixer. I've always been a fan of DI boxes and have had them as part of my rig going back 35 years...there are times when having the ground lift can be a lifesaver, and I've found that sound engineers smile when they don't have to supply the keyboard player with DI boxes. They rarely smile otherwise. LOL. I'm halfway kidding.
  6. This was a great video - thank you for sharing! The visit to where they build the instruments was fascinating. I'm still sad remembering a multitude of NAMM shows where I had a chance to chat a bit with Dave Smith. He was such a cool dude. RIP.
  7. The Neutrik looks like a great solution and it wouldn't seem like you'd ever run out of channels/options here! I'd like something like this if it had fewer channels and an option for MIDI patching. I'll have to search and see if there is anything like that. Otherwise, it's DIY with Redco parts. Remarkable value as well!
  8. Yes, that's it! I don't have one quite that decked out, though I have a few different Redco rack plates and still a ton of extra parts to use for experimentation. I love Redco!
  9. Back when I first started playing loud music 15-20 nights a month, well before my blessed era of IEMs, I was using wax swimmer earplugs to protect my hearing for many years. This seemed to have been a great solution, with the tradeoff being not having the world's highest fidelity filtering, LOL. In more recent years, I'm 100% IEMs and cannot think of another better gear investment ever. I have custom molded Ultimate Ears (several different sets) and they make my live shows 1000% better. For hearing protection when I go to shows, I use custom molded Ultimate Ears Microsonic earplugs and they work amazing. They retail at $199 though I recall paying less and also getting two sets with my order (which was a surprise to me). So I have one set in my live rig briefcase to have available for shows with other bands and I keep the other set right next to my wallet and keys on my dresser, as a reminder to bring them to any kind of live music event that I attend. So much better than those wax earplugs!
  10. We have a Sam Ash across town right next door to a Guitar Center. I haven't been to either in years...supporting part of the narrative that brick and mortar music stores are not thriving in most cases, due to ease of access via online ordering. There was an era when I would drop by Sam Ash or Guitar Center when I needed a last minute XLR or patch cable. Nowadays, I can order this from Amazon and it arrives often the same day...soooo convenient. I am an occasional Sweetwater customer for larger items and like a few other people here, I'm within driving range of Chuck Levin's and that's where I've made some memorable purchases in my lifetime. I haven't been in quite a while. I do remember my first interaction with Sam Ash in the early '90s, well before we had one locally. This was the time when you'd see the advertisements in Keyboard Magazine for Sam Ash in NYC and it was like this magical idea of how cool a store it must be. Anyways, I was trying to track down a new Dynacord CLS-222 and Sam Ash had one. I believe I still have the bill of sale, though the Dynacord is long gone. It was a very good investment of $695 at the time, as that Leslie simulator was amazing and served me well for over a decade. I couldn't locate the list of which stores are closing.
  11. That's a great old video! I love seeing things like this. The Roland JP-8 is pretty fancy as well.
  12. GREAT TOPIC!!!! I joined an original ska/reggae/pop band called Fighting Gravity in 1987 as I was wrapping up my high school years. We toured significantly for well over a decade and recorded 10+ original albums. We were "almost famous" and disbanded in the mid '00s. The band was known well enough to attract crowds for big reunion shows 3-4x per years over the last 7-8 years. I am still very close to these guys after 35+ years and consider them my musical brothers. Something magical happens when we get on stage together. Early photo from about 1989 and recent photo from 2023. We have several shows we are prepping for 2024. It's really good for the soul.
  13. I believe there are a few forum members with a K250...I am digging deep in the crevices of my brain to remember. I think maybe The Real MC and @Marzzz might have one or have had one. Those are off the top of my head.
  14. It really only matters if anyone is sending you a 1099. I've been all over the map since my touring days in the '80s and '90s, where my gig income was a pretty decent % of my overall income vs. day job and there was an LLC plus lots of reportable income. Nowadays, music is a very small slice relative to day job, yet still there is a 1099 burden to bear for earnings above a certain threshold. I believe now if you sell gear on Reverb or eBay, they will 1099 anything from $600+ and similar rules apply for income from gigs, completely dependent on the bookkeeping prowess of the venues where you're playing. You didn't hear this from me, but if you're being paid in cash and your 1099 burden is low, then you make your own decision on how you're claiming your income. If you have a lot of 1099 burdens, it is helpful to be very intentional about your write-offs to help defer some of that burden.
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