Justin Havu

Yeah, I'm all set with Casio. Haven't seen anything interesting from them since the CZ-1, and I've yet to play an instrument from them that just blows me away. They have their customers, but they're not for me. It's been a couple of weeks with the M8X, and it's not going anywhere! Having owned and gigged a MODX-7 since 2019, I found it very easy to navigete the M8X and set up my favorite/most-used performances, as well as create a couple of custom ones I'll be using for services. I'm not concerned about the weight at all, as I'd rather have a solid instrument that won't slide around on the stand. Like I said, as far as the action, it's lovely! Smooth, light to the touch, and not fatiguing to my hands.

UPDATE... We ended up going with the Montage M8x. This is by far, the best feeling modern weighted/hammer action I've played in a long time. Under my hands, it feels REALLY close to my old RD-1000. Nice texture on the black keys, and halfway between a matte and a polished finish on the natural keys. The return is just a tiny bit slower than I'd like, but I'm extremely comfortable with it, with no need to change the velocity curve. Oh, and the added bonus of poly-AT. ❤️❤️❤️

Best: Most useful: Most enjoyable: My old Motif XS6 ticks all of these boxes. Felt great, sounded great, and was fun to play around with. Only reason I got the MODX-7 to replace it was I needed a single gigging board that had seamless patch changes, without the sound cutting out, which the Motif didn't do. Sadly, the MODX needs some new end panels as there are some cracks in the cheap plastic. If I could find one cheap enough, I'd swap for a Montage 6.

Actually, his 2nd album. His debut was released in 81, with no real support from the label; apparently they didn't want it to interfere with Chicago's upcoming album. Livin' in the Limelight, the only hit off the album, peaked at #6 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

I'd rather gig a heavier board that has a solid feel, and is not going to feel like sliding off the stand at any given time. Plus, it's great motivation to stay in shape! Lol

MODX-7 is my main workhorse, but the rest of my rig will change depending on the band, and which sounds I need, or want, access to, as I don't like to change patches mid-song. For the classic rork project, MODX handles AP, EP, along with some layers; Korg Karma takes care of soft pads and mellotron sounds; iPad running VB3m controlled by a Keylab 61 MkII for organ. For one of the Christian bands where I handle left-hand bass, I'll truck the MODX, plus an SY77 for additional pads and big brass sounds, then a DX7 MIDI'd to a Behri Model D or a 2600 for bass parts. The other Christian band requires my big rig: MODX, SY77, then a Deepmind-12 for anything analog, iPad organ setup, and the Karma for soft pads and Mellotrons. If I want some monosynth action, I'll MIDI the Keylab to my 2600 on a different MIDI channel.

From the most recent live-in-studio video shoot one of my bands did.

Ah, when you said in the back, I thought you were talking about the XR18 on the floor, as in the back of the photo, not the back of the rig. Lol. The whole left side, and the 2600, is pretty much bass land, since I cover bass in addition to main keys. 2600 is MIDI'd to the DX7, which is set to the ever-popular E BASS 1 patch, and the 2600 adds a bit of extra meat to that. Oddy was dialed in with a patch similar to a fretless bass.

Behringer XR18 digital mixer. Using it to sum everything down to a pair of XLR stereo outs, no DI boxes needed.

This...

Here we go. Feeling a bit retro-active lately!

My MODX-7 is set to power up in Live Set mode, User bank 1, where all of my favorite/most-used patches reside.

Coffeehouse/concert event. I love playing a big rig like this. With as many sounds as I use, it's a bit easier for me to have some real estate than to change patches during a song. I've also never been a fan of splitting the keyboard. I'm an improv guy that never really plays the same thing twice, and unless I trigger a couple of one-shot samples from either end of the keyboard, I can never remember where the split point is. I'd rather focus on playing during a song than doing a bunch of patch changes in the middle of one. Plus, hauling this kind of setup around helps keep me in shape. Lol The two Behringers and DX7 are merely for playing bass, as we don't currently have a bass player. 2600 is MIDI'd to the DX7, with which I use a couple of different patches, one being the obligatory E. BASS 1 patch. Then, I just have a different bass patch dialed into the Oddy.

Another little something I threw together, using everyone's favorite board...

My rig from last night