Jaspla

AnotherScott, thank you for the clarifications, relating to CK sample memory. I do enjoy this Yamaha board's keybed/EP/Acoustic interaction, but need to think about that. I currently use a couple of Kurzweil boards that don't have that limitation (PC4/SP6)

Question 1) For the CK88/61, Yamaha’s “social sound-sharing community,” called Soundmondo reportedly allows users to post or download additional sounds that have been posted there. https://soundmondo.yamahasynth.com/ I am considering getting a CK88 and am wondering if anyone has been in that site and checked out any new sound/sample postings for CK series. ---> in particular, has anyone posted any additional Basses (Acoustic, Fretless variations), EPs ?? Question 2) I thought I saw in one of the youtube reviews that the CK on-board sounds could be further edited (i.e.modify a sound envelope - ADSR) ?

Hot glue could be a thought, but I think we need something that is strong and flexible, that will allow the connector to be kept from moving, but is also easily removed or cut if connector needs to come off again for service

Placement and Jar Management. Of course you need to 'entertain them'. Evening off yesterday, went to see a jazz Duo in a nice restaurant that seated some 40+ people....very skilled players. They cooked, played 2 hours...I was sitting very close to them. They might have made $17 - Problem; they're tip jar was very high, on top of a railing near them, where nobody walks by. On the front of the jar a sign' Tip Jar'. You couldn't see the money.....You just saw a sign. Contrast, did a duo with a guitarist Saturday, place only sat around 25. We got little over $200 in 2 hours. Tip jar was right in front of group, right next to the exit- there was a dollar bill taped to the front...for visibility...management.... We joked around....a little jazz, some Xmas stuff, some pop. Hamming it up, entertaining. Couple of weeks ago I did a Thanksgiving Cocktail piano gig Solo. Tip jar on the piano, pretty tall...you can see the money.... Management...as the jar started filling I would occasionally remove a few bills so it didn't look too full...cocktail music, some jazzy, little country, pop, blues, smile to the patrons as they dropped the eagles into the nest. Made over $100 - solo.

I'm a little giddy...picked up a really nice board (name is withheld to protect the 'innocent') - from a reputable shop. LCD screen lit up...nothing else worked...knobs, push buttons, no audio nothing form keys. Since it went thru a boot cycle and did nothing after that...suspected...connector. Shop didn't want to go thru the effort to repair...so they 'cut me a deal'. Cracked it open, most of the connectors seemed properly seated (could also be a bad solder joint). Most had some sort of goop to keep the connectors in place. There were a couple that looked like power leads, with 'wiggly' connectors. Wiggled em, put the hood back down...still no action. Opened it again, pushed on all the connector, moved the wiggly ones again. This time board lites up. Even though, it could still be a bad solder joint or one of the 'gooped' connectors that wasn't seated.....' I now want to apply some removable goop to the 2 connectors that do not have this stuff ....what to techs usually use? RTV.. something better?

They did it !! - Moved the VARIATION button to below the Master Volume slider. I don't know how many times I've inadvertently changed the master volume on a gig with my PC4, while trying to punch in a Variation change....including last Friday's gig. On one gig I accidentally slid the master volume almost completely off when doing this.....thought the board was dying ...by the way, the SP6 already has it's VARIATION button under the master volume (knob)

(1) yes (2) yes... I'd even say better than "all right," it's one of the better piano actions I've played, as non-hammer actions go. Though the resistance does increaese toward the reat of the keys. I would agree with AnotherScott on both items 1) and 2) - well said. I have both the PC4 and PC4-7. I need two boards that can have the same programs. (My last 'pair' were a couple of PX-5s's). I acquired the PC4 first, and found the key action faster, and more to my liking than the PX-5s. The PC4-7 action with semi-weighted keys is even faster, and for use with Acoustic Piano, appears to be best with Heavy(ier) Global velocity and Pressure settings. Being originally an Acoustic/Rhodes player, I'm pretty sure I can work into using the PC4-7 comfortably for most 'compact' gigs - solo cafe, restaurant, jams, etc.

As a predominately 'acoustic/EP' player, I finally found the best Velocity map (Hard2) and Pressure map (Harder) for the PC4-7. The default settings when shipped were not going to cut it. With these settings, I've started to get comfortable playing acoustic/EP sounds where you expect that weighted action. It's certainly not as weighted as a PC4, but is now becoming 'comfortable'. The semi-weighted action is of course lighter and faster, but the large combination of Velocity/pressure settings helps to provide the experience of a more weighted keybed. Below is a fairly lengthy video of a player exploring an SP6-7. It's in italian with subtitles, but quite informative as you can see this gifted player pretty easily trying a wide variety of piano, EP, organ, synth sounds and approaches on the board. The sp6-7 action and sound engine is largely the same with the exception that the PC4-7 also has a varied touch/pressure map settings. They both use the same Medeli keybed.

When you get your PC4 or SP6 (incl pc4-7 or sp6-7) - - first thing: go to Kurzweil.com and download the 'Musician's Guide' PDF for your board - it doesn't ship with the unit and is absolutely needed (it's how you'll find instructions for Global settings noted below) - second thing. As you 'plunk around' on the keys trying to feel out the action. Don't spend much time until you go into the board's Global settings and try the different 'Velocity Map' settings, and on the PC4 also the 'Pressure Map' settings. For the PC4 there are 10 velocity settings and 7 pressure map settings...so using 'Fuzzy math' - somewhere in the area of 70 combinations of key velocity and pressure are available to optimize your 'touch' If you're an 'acoustic' or EP (weighted keys) player, on the pc4-7, you might like one of the 'Hard' Velocity map settings along with a 'Harder' pressure map setting. ...checking these settings is quite important if your trying a board at some shop or studio - you have no idea how the last player left the settings. As far as learning VAST, tutorials, etc. There are some in various areas including youtube, Facebook groups, and the 'Community' links on the Kurzweil web site, etc. Note that for PC4, a percentage of the Forte video tutorials can be useful.

Years ago, was in a small band that had a 3 day/week gig at a decent restaurant. December, wintry. Who wants to lug stuff..... I would leave my amp, mic stand, music stand and a wicker swivel chair there. Drummer, others would take their stuff. One Saturday morning, first news of the day was that the 'Red Feather' had burnt down. Got there within an hour. The place was gone, almost completely. In the remains proudly stood my mic stand. The steel bottom of the wicker chair was there, as well as a partially twisted music stand. In the middle of the pile of rubble and soot were a couple of 12 inch speaker cones, and remnants of an amp chassis. Now for the bad news and the good news. Bad news - restaurant was not insured. Good news - I was over insured...got more gear. Cause. Owner had some holiday lights dangling from the eaves outside. FD figured a short was the cause.

A/Scott, seeing you have both the PC4 and PC4-7, how would you compare those when playing acoustic piano. I know the PC4-7 response would be faster for synth, organ, etc. but an interest in this more compact board, is to how its semi-weighted response works with acoustic (or EP). As you might have had other weighted keys (Privias, PX-S1000/300, KOrg SV-1, Roland RD-2000)...how might the PC4-7 action compare with any of these

RandyFF, thanks for identifying the unit you tried and your experiences "It's a Picowe" - and thanks all - for your thoughts.... At this point I believe I will 'wait out' developments on these portable power stations, and plan to utilize my 600W sine wave inverter, and maybe find a more lightweight and compact motorcycle battery.

I again appreciate the stream of ideas and suggestions. Responding to some of them - My Kurz keyboard needs 15v, my PX-5s can run off 12V, one of my amps the Roland KC-110 needs 13V...so trying to come up with a DC solution would not easily work. The watts required by either of the keys is around 15W or so. Lets say I use the KC-110 Amp which is 30Watts, unless I red-line it with constant bass notes, it's likely cruising at some 20W. With this one keyboard/amp combo (15W+20W total), I would anticipate you could get 3 hours play time off a 250W rated unit, assuming some loss of efficiency and power degradation over the 3hr period. I do have a 600W sine wave inverter and marine battery...which I no longer want to drag around. Thats why the consideration of a lithium ion based Power station (these lithium based units are compact; usually weight less than 10lbs) Specifically commenting on RandyFF's reply...with the 250W lithium unit you used, was it noted to have sine wave AC? Noted your mention of running the QSC off the unit, but was not sure if you were also doing keys. Other than the cut-outs due to power demand (and your observation that you should go for a higher power rating)...was the unit satisfactory? Brand? ..also I could very see if you're punching up a bunch of bass notes, unit running time would likely drop.

Appreciate the comments so far. Am most interested in knowing if anyone has actually used any particular brand of 250W or less power stations successfully (with no smoke) that ARE NOT providing sine wave power. As I had noted, the amp and keyboard I would be using use power packs that convert AC to 12-16V or so DC. So the brunt of the 'damage' from a non sine wave source would likely be to the external power pack, or some resulting line noise. I am inclined to think pure sine wave is the best choice, and would not risk plugging in keys or amp with internal power supply if the power source was not sine wave. However there are a gazillion 'power stations' available at lower prices on the big name (starts with A) on-line eCommerce company site. ...if you type in your favorite search engine or eCommerce search box "portable power station pure sine wave" you see a ton of products, however, as an example I saw a unit listed for just under $100 that stated 'pure sine wave', however 1) no PDF was listed 2) when I located the 'manufacturer's' web site, I saw what appeared to the the similar product, no mention of sine wave, no PDF manual, and as I looked at their other product lines I saw trampolines, weight lifting equipment...NOPE. ..as you can see, credibility is an issue, and with such a large collection of suppliers (that you've never heard of), its hard to determine which companies are providing the trusted products. ....search engine sites, that provide a link to 'Best Portable Power Stations for 2021', usually show you a list of units, all noting that your refer to 'A's" site to check the latest price, where you know someone is making a 'nickel' off all the forwarded links....no credibility there. YouTube...lots of reviews, lots of products are 'liked'...and you are provided a link...usually to 'A's' site to check the latest price.... Seems like it doesn't matter if you're inclined to spend $300 or $125, you still have to deal with such a large collection of vendor brands, and very little understanding of which ones might be most reliable, and accurately described. ..if most of us saw vendor names like Roland, Yamaha, Casio, Kurzweil, Sony, Honda etc. We might have some level of confidence...

There are a pile of low power, lithium battery based, portable power stations out there. Looking for a lower priced unit that can supply about 200-250W for outdoor, busking performance of keyboard and a low power amp (60W or so) I know a 250W unit should give 3-4 hrs of performance, but am trying to figure out if a pure sine wave power station is actually needed, or if modified sine wave (or other), which typically cost less, are OK Considerations would be possible damage to amp or keyboard, and any 'line noise', buzzing that might be created with a power bank that does not provide a pure sine wave ..might also be doing some vocals thru the amp, so 'power station noise' would be of concern. Both the keyboard and the amp being use use external power modules to convert AC to DC for the respective board or amp ..your experiences using these, suggestions....