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burningbusch

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Posts posted by burningbusch

    KingKorg opinions ?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

     

    On paper, the KingKorg seems a lot more flexible, but somehow i find the A1 sound more "real", present,

    organic. (OK, this is the subjective part, i'll spend some quality time next week end with both keyboards,

    i hope).

     

    Do a direct compare of the Korg and Nord with effects off on both. I don't know how much the effects are used in the Nord presets, but with Korg they tend to sound more production-ready rather than raw. I suspect you're not going to find a great deal of difference in the organic/realness between the two with effects off. Real analogs don't have effects (for the most part) and that raw sound we expect from an analog is related to that fact.

     

    Busch.

    KingKorg opinions ?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I plan on picking up one of the new Korg Electribes when they come available to see how it functions as a synth module. It basically contains the KK synth engine inside and can be used as a module driven by a MIDI keyboard.

     

    As it relates to using it specifically with the Kronos, I want to see if:

     

    a) a single USB cable can be used to send MIDI to the Electric with audio coming back into the Kronos. One cable would be slick.

    b) it functions properly as a module allowing synth sounds to be edited, saved and then recalled via MIDI program change. Will it act transparently when triggered by the Kronos.

    c) the pads can be used to trigger the Kronos pads.

     

    I don't have a strong need for additional analog sounds as the Kronos is already strong in that regard, but the synth-specific filters is certainly appealing. If it does work well as a module, I could see it being a nice inexpensive ($399) add-on for those looking to add better VA to their setup.

     

    http://static.bhphoto.com/images/images500x500/1082765.jpg

     

    Busch.

    Roland FA-06 and FA-08

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    EXP-02 Keys Collection SRX sounds up on the axial site...

     

    Interesting in that it matches the SRX-07 Ultimate Keys for the most part but does not include the Marcus Miller, John Patitucci and Abe Laboriel basses taken from the Spectrasonics Bass Legends.

     

    Busch.

    Roland FA-06 and FA-08

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I imagine that you can assign the knobs to do that- at least that is my hope!
    I imagine that you can assign the knobs to do that- at least that is my hope!

     

    Yes, I was hoping that too. I am now seeing that the assignable knobs can be set to cc-07 which I think is level on this instrument so I suppose you could control 6 parts this way. I'll have to try this before my 30 day return period runs out!!

     

    Thanks!

     

    See it that works out. As all the parts are on the same MIDI channel, I'm not sure how it's going to determine which is which. If you used the KEYPADS to select the part and then used the Sound Modify VOLUME it seems that it would work, but I assume that's more steps than you wanted.

     

    Busch.

    Roland FA-06 and FA-08

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    In the strings dept. I think Yamaha still has that "sound" that really makes it.

     

    That's funny because I have the Integra-7 and think the ensemble strings are excellent. You can hear the bow in the attack, reminds me of the VSL strings. There is good separation of the strings sections. In contrast, the Yamaha strings have, IMO, poor attack and you can't discern the sections. It strikes me much more as a pad than a recreation of a string ensemble. The SN strings respond nicely to dynamics, changing attack characteristics. Note this from the manual: "the attack and release will be adjusted appropriately for the speed at which you play the phrase. For example, notes will sound more crisply for rapidly played passages."

     

    Also notice when you play very softly this is really no vibrato. As you increase intensity, so does the vibrato. You might want to set velocity curve type to 1 in order to exaggerate this a bit. Favorites for me are StringSection2, SlowStrings and the Marcato.

     

    Busch.

    Roland FA-06 and FA-08

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    There is nothing under 2 grand new that compares to this product. I've looked. I can't find anything.

     

    That is why the action and build worry me.

     

    Isn't the MOXF under $2k? And you don't think it compares, really?

     

    The sampler, trigger pads and 16 track sequencer.

     

    The MOXF doesn't do what I need. The FA-06 is going to augment my S90XS. It doesn't do these thing either.

     

     

    Add to that an excellent VA, fully compatible with the Integra-7. Everything on the MOXF is sample-based. The Roland has a VA, modeled B3 and SN for some of the other sounds. Sample-based synths and organs should be a last resort.

     

    And, an excellent color screen.

     

    Busch.

    Korg announces all new ARP Odyssey

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Wasn't the minimoog reissue the old school?

     

    Mainly in spirit, as the full name of that product was the Minimoog Voyager Old School. But Moog Music wasn't trying to be faithful to the old Minimoog design - they always billed it as a descendant of the old Minimoog, so it was not marketed as a reissue of anything. I just watched Part One of the documentary "I Dream Of Wires", which covered the two godfathers of modular analog synths (Buchla and Moog) and their impact on music. Bob Moog was portrayed as marketing his synths towards pro musicians (Buchla disregarded them) and Moog Music seems to be following that aesthetic by putting MIDI in everything. That is why it is unlikely we'll see a purely analog synth (no MIDI) from Moog ever again.

     

    I guess some people can hold out hope for a limited edition 100th Anniversary Reissue model.

     

    As someone who owns a Voyager, I would buy a point-to-point recreation of the Minimoog (from Moog) without hesitation. I think Moog Music is sitting on a potential goldmine.

     

    It was only recently that I became aware of the clipped filter envelope on the Mini. This is different than overdriving the filter, this is the envelope that is "clipped" or rather flatlined. It was most likely a design flaw that became part of the signature Minimoog sound.

     

    http://www.synthesizers.com/egpunch.html

     

    Do the current Moogs employ this same envelope? I don't know.

     

    Busch.

    Korg announces all new ARP Odyssey

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I wish Korg would spend more time on their acoustic piano sampling.

    Korg's pianos are not driving their sales. But there's no reason to believe they won't continue to refine their piano sampling.

     

    Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 10+ years it's obvious that digital hardware (workstations, synths, stage pianos, clonewheels, etc.) have been replaced with software for many people. I'm not so much talking about gigging musicians (who are decidedly in the minority) but rather the non-gigging majority.

     

    The question has been, "how will the hardware manufacturers respond?" For most it has been business as usual, repackaging, regurgitating and mild tweaks of the same digital hardware year after year ostensibly driven by the the idea that they can outlast the "trend."

     

    Korg has taken a different approach by being the only one of the large manufacturers to offer: 1) VST/AU versions of their synths, 2) iOS versions and 3) analog synthesizers. This is apparently working for them. Korg has sold over 300,000 version of their MS20. Also, check out Facebook and you'll see Korg with 191,000 likes. Compare that to Roland, Nord, Yamaha and Kurzweil and you'll find none of them close. This isn't to say they're the sales leader but rather they are touching a broader mix of people.

     

    Real analogs play into this strategy quite nicely as they can't be duplicated in software, only emulated.

     

    I know this rant is a real tangent from the above posts, it was just triggered by them.

     

    Busch.

    Roland FA-06 and FA-08

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Does anyone know if you can load banks of programs? As dumb as that sounds it seems to me the Jupiter 80 has some limitation that way, .i.e. a third party can't create a bank of sounds. My quick run through the manual (briefly) didn't reveal much.

     

    Busch.

    Roland FA-06 and FA-08

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    This may have been mentioned but in case it wasn't. I just verified with roland that the srx downloads, available next month, will be free

     

     

    Seeing as you have someone at Roland responding to your questions it would be great to find out exactly what can be loaded into those two slots. Will you be able to load new SN instruments? That's still an open question I believe.

     

    Busch.

    Roland FA-06 and FA-08

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I thought I'd bring this over from the NAMM thread as it's more relevant here at least until the documentation becomes available.

     

    These are the SN instruments I could find on the instrument:

    APs, EPs, clavs, B3, FM EPs, one 60s organ and one theater organ.

    Acoustic and electric basses

    Acoustic guitars (no electrics, distorted, plucked, ethnic)

    A small selection of bells and a few mallets

    Ensemble strings

    Drums

    A wide selection of synth tones (basses, leads, pads, box, etc.)

     

    Missing SN sounds include:

    Solo strings, brass, woodwinds. Ensemble brass and woodwinds. Electric guitars (all varieties)

    Accordions, harps, harmonicas, choirs, saxes, flutes

    Ethnic sounds

    Percussion, e.g. tympani

     

    Yes there are PCM equivalents to most all of these, but I was disappointed to find many excellent SN acoustic tones to be missing. But the synth tones are very strong and I do think it's a very competitive board in this price range.

     

    Also, it still is unclear as to what exactly can be loaded in the two WAVE EXPANSION SLOTS. Roland describes the two slots as: "The wave expansion slots are rewritable internal waveform memory. You can download data from the Axial sound library site and write it via a USB flash drive into the FA's internal wave memory (slot)." On the Integra they are referred to as EXPANSION VIRTUAL SLOTS and can load SN and SRX sounds.

     

    Busch.

    Yamaha CP4

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    The sliders on the front are multi-purpose. To their right are buttons to select Chorus and Reverb. I imagine you can assign other effects to these per patch and then control the amount with the slider.

     

    Could very well be. Need the manual.

     

    Busch.

    Yamaha CP4

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Also note that the large assignable knobs (6 on the CP-1, 3 on the CP-5) have been eliminated. These were assignable at the performance level and gave you real-time control over things like stereo vibrato intensity, vibrato speed, mod intensity, etc.. These were fully assignable to parameters throughout the instrument.

     

    That's somewhat of an unfortunate deletion. Don't know how much real-time control is available on the CP-4.

     

    Busch.

    Yamaha CP4

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Yes, an English owner's manual would be appreciated so I might edit this when I get a chance to look through it.

     

    Seems that the voicing structure is quite a bit different than the CP-1/5 where you had:

    VOICE==>PRE-AMP==>MOD/FX==>POWER AMP==>REVERB==>MASTERCOMP==>MASTER EQ.

     

    Now it looks like it's

     

    VOICE==>INSERT FX (A/B)==>CHORUS/REVERB==>MASTERCOMP==>MASTER EQ.

     

    The "modeling" parameters from the CP-1/5 don't appear to be available. Previously you had access to things like key-off noise level, hammer stiffness, strike position (EPs only), decay and release times. There also appears to be no equivalent to the POWER AMP section.

     

    Seems that the modeling parameters are locked into the model variations provided. You take one of the models and then assign insert FXs to your liking. A much simpler approach, but not as versatile.

     

    One thing I felt was missing from the CP-1/5 is an full range EQ that can be assigned at the voice level and saved with the performance. The Master EQ is a room EQ only. With the CP-4 you can have two insert FXs so one can be EQ and the other modulation, for example. You can, BTW, assign a PreAmp model to one of the insert FXs so that aspect hasn't been lost.

     

    Long winded way of saying things are a bit different under the hood. Probably won't affect 99% of the users.

     

    Busch.

    Yamaha CP4

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Actually, the Graded NW action is now the same design as used on our hi end Clavinova's so it's not new, but has been implemented in the overall design so it's roadworthy. The CP5 was a Balanced NW action.

     

    The reduction in weight came from other areas including the overall size of the design itself.

     

    Awesome.

     

    Busch.

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