Brad Kaenel

Worked today on a Nord Piano 5...

Alesis Quadrasynth S4 1U module Had one of these in my gigging rack 30 years ago. Didn't get it for the keyboards (though they are excellent), but for the stellar (IMO) orchestral patches (clarinet, flute, trombone, bassoon; wow!); well, and a little nostalgia. Now in my home studio for musical theater projects. Tip o' the hat, Alesis -- you've made some great gear for us. Arturia MiniLab MkIII My new auxilary board for one-handed organ-playing with VB3m/iPad (runs off the iPad's battery, over USB.)

Now there's a real "Tiny Desk" concert! How 'bout this one: Arturia MiniLab3 and iPad 6 Mini ("Look ma, no power cord!")

Jupiter-Xm! Can't get more JOAT than that in a small footprint, if you don't mind mini-keys. But if that's way overkill for your needs, I second an iPad and a small controller, or one of the 3-octave Korg synths like the Wavestate. Assume you're talking about just one-handed playing?

I wanted to follow-up on the usage of External MIDI zones, specifically in reference to a Global Setting that is present, but undocumented in the user manual: MERGE IN: [OFF] [TO DIN] [TO USB] This setting, when set TO USB, was the crucial missing link to enabling me to control an external MODULE with an external KEYBOARD, through the Numa X. Many others have already reported how simple it is to add a modern iPad, as a sound source, to the Numa X. You simply connect the USB-B port on the NX to the USB-C port on the iPad, and then configure an EXTERNAL MIDI zone's "MIDI Port" setting as [MIDI USB]. Voile; MIDI flows to the iPad, audio flows back to the NX, over the same cable. You select and play the EXTERNAL MIDI zone exactly like a zone that plays one of the NX's internal voices. This is a great feature, as long as you want to play the external zone using the NX's keyboard -- but I wanted to play it from an external keyboard controller, and still have the NX be the only "main out" for all of my audio. I had already accomplished this in another way, by MIDI-connecting the external keyboard directly to the iPad and connecting the iPad's headphone output to the NX's built-in mixer. But that required "yet-another-cable", an iPad dongle to get at its audio (since modern ones don't have a headphone jack), and just required more moving parts than I'd prefer for live setup and performance. What I wanted was to be able to play the iPad, from the external keyboard, through an EXTERNAL MIDI zone. And here's where the MERGE IN and COMMON CHANNEL global settings come into play. Select a preset on the NX where all 4 zones are assigned to an internal voice. Set MERGE IN to [OFF]. Set COMMON CHANNEL to [OFF]. This assigns MIDI channel values of 1-4 to the NX zones 1-4, respectively. You can still play all of the (unmuted) zones from the NX's keyboard, in the usual way. Connect an external keyboard controller to the NX, using a standard 5-pin MIDI DIN cable. Set the controller's MIDI channel value to 4; you can now play the zone 4 internal voice from the external controller. Set the controller's MIDI channel value to 3 (or 2, or 1); you can now play that zone's internal voice from the controller. Connect the iPad and the NX using a USB-B-C cable, as described above. Configure the software instrument on your iPad to use MIDI channel 6 (for example). Likewise, set the controller's MIDI channel value to 6 (to match the iPad); play the controller -- you will hear no audio. Set MERGE IN to [TO USB]. Now play the controller -- you will hear the audio from the iPad! Set zone 4 on the NX back to internal voice; now you have access to 5 voices -- the 4 internal zones, plus the external connection to the iPad. So you see, you can have it both ways. Connect to the iPad through a zone, and you have access to the real-time knobs to control whatever CC values you want to manipulate while playing. Or, bypass the zones by connecting on a MIDI channel higher than 4, and you can still control the iPad instrument from anything available on the external keyboard AND still have the 4 internal zones available for playing from the NX's keyboard.

Two thumbs way, way up again for the Numa X's external zone and MIDI implementation. Playing a Motown show this weekend, and adding VB3 was just dead simple -- one MIDI cable. Done. Another nice benefit of those blank areas on either side of the NX's controls -- my magnetic iPad folio really grabs on. It ain't goin' nowhere...

It's not just the tiers, though; there's also a strut that connects the triangular legs together at the bottom. As far as I know, you can't buy one of those, so the stand is fixed at the width it was designed for the VC. It might be helpful to read these earlier posts in this thread: https://forums.musicplayer.com/topic/167744-new-vox-continental-some-thoughts/page/3/#comment-2675538 https://forums.musicplayer.com/topic/167744-new-vox-continental-some-thoughts/page/6/#comment-2764165 I still use my VC73 stand everyday (though not with that keyboard). The only way you can utilize the standard Sequenz tiers that are available from retailers is to purchase a long one (model STA-L-B), disassemble the end caps (easy), cut the bars to the needed length (also easy, with a hacksaw), then reassemble the end caps. The included VC stand is custom-sized for that keyboard, so you essentially have to custom-size your add-on tiers from the stock ones.

I know that's a josh of endearment , but it's still a good question. There are many responses here of bandmates sticking together after literally decades -- I submit that the absence of financial pressure is a significant factor in a band's longevity. When we started our band, we all agreed from Day 1 that any money we made from gigging would be banked (our drummer was the treasurer!) and used only for recording studio costs, should we ever get the opportunity/desire to make a record (we made two, eventually). And as we introduced replacement players through the years, that was our principal stipulation. I firmly believe we're still playing, and still friends, today because we never had to stress about money, or making a living. (Which is, admittedly, easier when your bandmates come from a polytechnic university, and everybody is an engineer. )

The jazz/fusion septet I helped to form in 1980 still gigs once a month to this day with four of the original members. I gave up the keyboard chair 20 years ago, but they still let me sit in occasionally. We are still great friends. I have one even-longer connection to a talented flutist I first met in high school, in 1976, and was their competition accompanist until I graduated. We still communicate regularly and talk much about music, though we haven’t played together since then.

Yessir, it certainly is. That keyboard, and Logitech thumb-trackballs, saved me from carpal tunnel 20 years ago, and I've never used anything else since. Always felt sorry for techs at work, or anyone in my office, who sat down to use my computer: "What is this weirdo mouse you have? And how do you even type on this, this THING??!" I've had several, and they're unicorns -- especially the white ones. Hope I never have to replace it!

Rather than buy a whole new composer desk setup, I found a local craftsman (David Laake AudioWorks) who built a second tier for me, and a keyboard tray, for my existing corner-desk. After 40 years, I can finally just have everything ready to use, whenever the need strikes!

Ideally, yes. I own a nice Epson printer/copier/scanner that can handle larger documents. And I do the opposite with choir music octavos, which are smaller.

I've never been one of those players that preferred to have a whole multi-page chart laid out in front of me, nor someone who used live "page-turner" helpers at recitals and such (though it was always so gracious for them to offer). From my very first lessons, my teacher required me to turn my own pages -- if that meant taking my hands off the keyboard to do it, so be it. I've always been thankful for being forced to learn to read ahead, "memorize" a few bars on the fly, and play those while I flip pages. Two pages visible has always been enough, and is my preferred way of playing long charts. So, all that said, I always set my music up, double-sided, in sheet protectors in a 3-ring binder. This has always worked for me: big band, broadway musicals, classical recitals. Especially nice outdoors where the extra weight of the sheet protectors mitigates the wind blowing things around. I usually get these: Avery Non-Glare Sheet Protectors, but other thicknesses and sizes are available (and, yes, I get that most published charts are larger than 8 1/2 X 11) This might work for you, depending on the nature and size of the charts you're working with. TIP: In a sheet protector, I can make notes "on the music" using a dry-erase marker pen -- which I can then wipe clean without marking up my originals permanently.

I didn't take pictures, but here's how to open the Forte: https://forums.musicplayer.com/topic/172043-kurzweil-forte-tips-tricks-amp-other-cool-stuff/#comment-2735027

No flooding out here in San Bernardino, but we're 60 miles inland. However, we will probably have to drain a few inches out of the pool today...