ITGITC

Trust your gut. If you have a situation where none of your creative/musical ideas are taken seriously and incorporated into the act BUT you are getting paid well, then it can be justified. However, I don't think this is your scenario. An alternative is to become the band leader / music director and make it your own. Sure, it's a tall order. Only a few have what it takes to make this happen. Nevertheless, if you're unhappy, it's only a matter of time before you consider an alternative. Been there. Done that. Got the balance sheet with all that red ink.

Who wants a beer? ITGITC?

I've got a Mackie 1402. It uses fully balanced inputs on channels 7-8. 9-10, 11-12, 13-14. Here's their manual: https://mackie.com/img/file_resources/1402VLZ4_OM.pdf

I've owned many pianos and keyboards. They all have their compromises. It's just a fact of life. As a piano player, I have an easier time adjusting to any hammer-action keybed than one that's weighted, semi-weighted or non-weighted. It affects my timing and muscle memory. As far as I'm concerned, my life is too short to play piano parts on a non-hammer action board. I've come to the conclusion that optimally I would have three boards: an 88-key with hammer action, one with a waterfall keybed and real drawbars for playing Hammond organ parts, and one with an action best suited for synth parts that includes mod/pitch wheels, aftertouch, and lots of knobs! Currently, I'm using a lighter, smaller hammer-action board. After the days of hauling everything and the kitchen sink to my gigs, this is the best I've found to keep on going. Old keyboard players don't stop playing because they lose interest... they quit because of all the sh&t they have to carry around. I'm still playing.

Wait. I've honestly never met a soundperson who wasn't. ITGITC?

What was that drum that Mick Fleetwood was playing? He pulled the ropes/strings on the side to raise the pitch, I believe.

Agreed. I said that I suspect a pre-amp that incorporates tubes could be fun to use just to hear how it can warm up Rhodes or organ sounds coming from my boards. However, like you, I don't think it would sound the same as an amp that uses tubes throughout the pre-amp and power amp stages. We've certainly come a long way with lightweight, high-powered amplifiers. For gigging today, I can't imagine using a tube designed power amplifier for keyboards.

The even-order harmonic distortion that tubes (valves) offer is great for electric guitar amps. And the tube amps in the older Leslie tone cabinets helped to add the overdrive that was represented in lots of early R&R. An overdriven B3 connected to a Leslie with a tube amp... What a wonderful sound! In the seventies, I played my Fender Rhodes through a Fender Bandmaster amp connected to a RMI cabinet loaded with two JBL woofers and a couple of tweeters that Allen Organ (parent of RMI) incorporated in their organ cabinets. It sounded AWESOME! Over the years I have found that, in order to realize the dynamics of a solo acoustic piano, for example, a high-powered solid state amp is required, along with a pair of FRFR (Full Frequency, Flat Response) speakers. I suspect a pre-amp that incorporates tubes could be fun to use just to hear how it can warm up Rhodes or organ sounds coming from my boards. I would want to compare this to current tube emulation effects. A Ventilator is good, but for listening to an organ in a ballroom, for example, it's hard to beat the sound of a genuine tube-powered Leslie throwing sound against the walls! Since one of the most difficult sounds to reproduce in a PA speaker is acoustic piano, I think it's best to keep the signal chain free and clear of anything that, by design, colors the sound. If distortion and warmth is desired, this can be included as an option. ITGITC?

What struck me most about the Grammy Awards show was the diversity of music. Here on the east coast, I didn't watch it past 11:30 PM. I went to bed. So I'm sure I missed many of the categories I would like to have seen. But we all have our favorite music. I did not grow up listening to hip-hop artists and naturally, I don't gravitate to it when I listen to the radio. But it was great to see how many people so enjoy it! Last night they celebrated 50 years of hip-hop: "A who’s who of hip-hop royalty took the stage for an epic, rousing 15 minute tribute to the genre’s 50th anniversary. The performance included Grandmaster Flash doing part of his seminal hit “The Message,” Run DMC, Chuck D and Flavor Flav along with Ice-T, Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes and Nelly all taking the stage." Music is what we do. Music and musicians should be celebrated. My congratulations to all the musicians represented last night! ITGITC?

Stevie Wonder - Vintage Vibe provided the clavinet he was playing, but their name was covered up with tape. What was the instrument he was playing at the end of his performance?

What about something like this: SanDisk 128GB iXpand Flash Drive Luxe for iPhone and USB Type-C Devices. https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-iXpand-iPhone-Type-C-Devices/dp/B08JCX96NC/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2UWECJ250KOXD&keywords=iphone%2Busb%2Bflash%2Bdrive&qid=1675292737&sprefix=iphone%2Busb%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-6&th=1

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Thanks Scott. It was late last night. I was tired. I didn't get this far in the PC4 documentation. Tom

CEB, I updated my response. I am pretty sure it can use a standard sustain pedal. However, if you want to use a half-damper pedal, I am uncertain if pedals other than the Kurzweil KP-1H are compatible. They should be, but I don't know for sure. Yamaha offers a FC3A Half-Damper pedal. Perhaps someone here can verify that it works on the PC4. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FC3A--yamaha-fc3a-piano-style-sustain-pedal-with-half-damper-control