iluvchiclets

Thanks everyone! A few items to look into, just the kind of info I needed.👍

Wow, ok thanks folks! I'll check it out...

Hi everyone, I've enjoyed my PC3 for many years, but I never take it out to play because it's so darn heavy and large! And I usually get by using a Nord Electro 5, so I figure it's time to sell it. It's just taking up a lot of space and not getting used enough by me. But I seem to end up playing it fondly (wonderful Rhodes and pianos, amazing orchestral instruments, love the VAST synth) and I wondered if there was something made by Kurzweil I could replace it with that would fit in my room better? Something lighter and more portable? I can't seem to get a grasp on their modules (k2000, K2600 etc...) Is there something portable that will give me the Kurzweil sounds from the PC3?

I never get tired of watching this over and over, and watching her perform ELP in general. Such joy watching her skill, and the music....gosh!?

This was really nice to watch. Such a humble guy, his words makes me appreciate my (analog) instruments so much more when I hear him talk about the inexplicable "spiritual" connection between the player and an instrument...

I use a home stereo when playing my PC3 in my music room. All my synths go into a mixer (a Behringer, that has reverb) and the outputs into a Yamaha Stereo amplifier, and then into non-descript three way speakers that are probably from the 70's. Everything sounds amazing. The PC3 is always glorious sounding. When it comes to playing live, I use a small mixer and run everything into powered speakers that are up on poles. I use 2 Traynor NX25P's.

I found the Minilogue to be kind of pale and anemic sounding. There isn't much "fullness" to the sound, depending on what kind of sounds you are after. It did really excel at retro, lo-fi, almost BBC Radiophonic Workshop kinds of experimental patches. Lots of fun using the lo-fi delay that was built in! I actually owned two of the original Minilogues and one of the XD. They would pop up used on my local classifieds, and I couldn't resist the price! But ultimately, I found them a disappointing experience. I do own a Prologue 16 though, and that is one beautiful sounding synth! Hmmm...things at that price range are hard to compare to. - Bass Station II is a great sounding synth, if you don't mind monophonic. - The Prologue 8 I would consider a much better synth, assuming it sounds the same as the 16? (minus the bass compressor) - next up (if you just "have" to have real-analog) might be the Sequential Take 5?

I was pretty invested in the DSI and Sequential instruments the past couple of years. I had the Mopho x4, the Mopho Keys, the Prophet 6, a PRO2 and a PRO3, and two REV2's. Why two Prophet REV2's? Well, I couldn't help but be influenced by reading forums for keyboard advice (my wife won't listen to me about these kind of things!) and the REV2 often is cited as an excellent Analog synth for the money. A lot of history behind it as well (Prophet 8, Mopho, then REV2, etc...) But, no matter how much I tried and no matter how many soundbanks I bought, it always ended up feeling cold to my ears. Hard to explain, but almost a bit stiff sounding to my ears if that makes any sense. Tweaking it was not as joyful as other synths I have owned. I eventually took a chance at the PRO3 (hmmm...analog VCOs vs analog DCOs I wondered?) I was immediately rewarded with a much more rounded, warm, chewy, and organic listening experience. When I saw the Take 5 announcement, I sold my REV2. This is my sonic impression of the Take 5 as well. For me, it was immediate to my ears this was in a similar class to the Prophet 6 I owned and the limited experience I have had with the OB6. Yes, there are differences between them all, but I feel Sequential has done a remarkable job at releasing an affordable synth that sound-wise is the best thing out there currently for the money. Everyone's ears might gravitate towards different things (Peak, Hydrasynth) but this is a very notable release.

Well, you owned the Electro 6. Did you like the Hammond organ modeling, or perhaps not? The Stage 3 is practically the same Hammond model (assuming you've done all the firmware updates) I think the Hammond organ on the Nords are world class. And their pianos, sample library, and the A1 synth engine are all magnificent. It's an excellent instrument, but overpriced. (I also love the Kurzweil organs and all their onboard instruments, although they feel a bit dates sometimes.) I would go between those two. The Nautilus is excellent too, if you're using the SK for Hammond modeling...Korg's Hammond model needs a desperate Chrous/Vibrato update right away!

Seems your problem is different from mine. What´s your VST host ? I repeat myself ... 1.) I only have it w/ GUI open in Studio One Pro 4 (latest build) on my Windows 7 Pro DAW while I don´t recognize much CPU usage in taskmanager or host´s CPU display at all. 2.) It doesn´t happen when using the "plugins" in standalone mode where GUI is open always 3.) It doesn´t appear in all my other hosts at all, GUI open or not. 4.) It appears also and only in Studio One Pro 4 w/ Sonic Projects OP-X Pro II, GUI open and when the virtual keyboard and levers of the plugins are animated/ in motion. So, I doubt it´s a Cherry Audio issue. A.C. I have tried their plug-ins using "VSTHost" as well as Komplete Kontrol.

I wanted to add the same thing - I bought Cherry Audio's POLYMODE (and the "aftermarket" NKS files for it) but on certain patches I get all sorts of pops and clicks. I don't have this problem with 95% of my plug ins, so what gives with Cherry Audio? When I try the demo of "Eight Voice", again I get pops and clicks. I wrote Cherry Audio, but they weren't able to offer any settings or advice, other than checking my latency settings in my VST host. When I use Diva, Sylenth, Native Instruments, Imposcar, OP-X and other obvious high-quality plug ins I don't have these problems. It strikes me as odd...

Like a lot of us writing here who play music, his whole vocabulary is interwoven into my playing. How could you not be influenced by him? I am soooo thankful for his endless energy and almost child-like fascination with music. Romantic Warrior, Friends, and The Leprechaun!? Gosh, all so vital to my growth as a musician. Thank you, and so much love to you, Chick.

Wow! Just to see new footage I've never seen before. It brings such joy to my heart! Can't wait to see this...

Does it "have" to be analog? I no longer see the reason why...there are many great VA synths out there. I love the Mopho and Mopho x 4 (I have both) but I want to get another Ultranova if I see one at a good price again. Both it and the Mininova always sounded so good to me... Great value for what they offer.

ha ha! Well... It's funny, I have lots of friends who don't play any musical instruments and more than once I have heard them refer to this clip. (They often say how great the performance was) I put that down to the fact they just saw his exaggerated facial stuff and the gyrations. Other friends I have (who do play music) will say it was a good performance. I put that down to the face they might not have known he played guitar...? Me? gee...it's a pretty forgettable performance. I mean, the other guitarist who starts the soloing at the beginning of the song sounds way more tasteful and appropriate. And Prince's gyrations and technical skills are comedic compared to Eric Clapton's original Beatles recording. As a guitarist, It's very hard to play anything wrong using that Am - Am/G - Am/F# - Fmaj7 progression. It's about as "safe" a chord progression to solo over is possible! But Prince manages to make it clumsy, whereas a tasteful guitarist (like Clapton) manages to make it memorable and even interesting. I still find Clapton's solo interesting to listen to after all these years. Anyhow - I saw the topic title and was wondering which camp this topic was going to be in! It's not my style to knock another player regularly (Prince can play the guitar better than I can ) but this clip often comes up when talking to people about Prince. They say, "Oh have you seen him play that live George Harrison Tribute concert...?" and I groan...