RABid

Vintage, for me an easy answer, Rhodes Chroma. The keyboard that taught me to slow down and play the note. That is never going to happen because getting good service for vintage analogs in my area is almost impossible, and very expensive to send it off to someone good. If I am paying for it, probably the Take 5. Looks like a great deal in analog and new enough to get serviced.

For heavy items you don't want to ship, Facebook marketplace can focus on the local area. I sold quite a bit on Ebay but the Ebay+Paypal fees can eat up a good percentage of your sale. Also, I sold a mink Kronos 61 and two months later the buyer filed a claim saying it was a warn out piece of junk that a local repairman said could not be repaired. Pretty sure he was scamming and trying to return a different unit. Ebay sided with me because he waited a couple days too long to file the claim. Made me wonder what they would have done if he had filed a few months earlier. Lately I have been selling on GearExchange. It is for music gear only. No computers or other stuff you might have, even if they are music related. It can take a while, but it works for me because if you choose to get paid in Sweetwater cards there is no percentage taken out of your price. That works for me. There is always something I want from Sweetwater. I do specify no returns and have been told that a lot of people like to try out and return guitar related items like pedals, amps and guitars.

I just updated to VCV Rack 2 Pro and am very happy with it. Was using the Cherry Audio Voltage Modular but it has been giving me issues as of late on the Mac M series processors. The free version of VCV Rack is worth trying and comes with a nice collection of Mutable Instruments modules. Everything came together for me when I bought the ALM Pam Pro module for VCV. After that I decided to upgrade to the pro version, which moves from for stand alone only to being able to use it as VST2, VST3, Audio Unit, CLAP or stand alone. It is up to version 2.4.1 now and has quite a collection of free modules available. So, is anyone else playing around with VCV Rack? VCV Rack Website

I have one of those little VOX keyboard amps. Nice for sitting on the porch and paying at low levels. I always recommend the EV's in these "what keyboard amp" threads. There are other brands that are just as nice, but the EV's are a good value.

The Virus C was my first purchase from Sweetwater oh so many years ago. Since then I have owned the TI and later had a pair of TI2's. Eventually I gave up on ever seeing an update and moved to the smoother sounding Jupiter X.

I have a friend who has played in the same band (singer/bassist) with the same drummer for about 50 years. My longest run is 3 years. I was riding a wave that went from my small town in the hills and eventually landed in a city. I never quit on a band, but when they fell apart I did not stick around. There was always someone bigger and more popular that needed a keyboardist. After a few years of trying to start a band and make it a success I found that being a keyboardist with a nice rig let me step into situations where the band was already rolling.

If you need to step back a bit and simplify, start off with Garage Band and use it for a few months. It is much simpler and you will learn the basics. Actually, it is designed as a starting point. Then, when you are ready, start transferring your projects to Logic.

LOL. I retired 3 years earlier than I planned and thinning down my collection of instruments got me through those pre-Social Security years. (And people thought I was wasting my money buying those instruments.)

One mistake I made that you should avoid: I bought one of those MacMini shaped hubs that sits beneath the computer that includes a slot for a M2 SSD. Put one in and WOW did that thing create a lot of heat that floated right up into my Mini. Had to remove it and go to external SSD's.

I don't see the Boss Limited-edition 50th-anniversary trio.

People with that much money to spare did not accrue that much spare change by being stupid.

I use both, and use them on guitar, bass, keys and my modular synths. The following opinion is from someone who was a professional on keys, and only plays guitar for fun and enjoyment. Guitar and bass: Just give me a good multi-effect with an integrated foot pedal and let me program it ahead of time. Keys: Years ago built in keyboard effects were very mediocre. I used a lot of guitar effects to boost the sound. Built in effects have come a long way and now the only thing I use on keys is my Vent 2 Leslie sim. Modular Synthesizer: Love guitar effects on modular. This is when dedicated effects pedals, knobs to twist, and the search for sweet spots really pays off. I realize the same can be said by a good guitarist with a great ear who is also looking for those sweet spots that only pedals can give, but I am not that guitarist. My ear developed for synths.

I’ll step up and defend the person who created the thread and then deleted it when it went haywire. I deleted a thread I posted reviewing the Roland Aira Compact series. It was a short review of each of the 4 units, how they interconnect, and how the audio, MIDI and power interface is much improved over the Boutique series. I was shocked to see that the first and only reply at the time was someone that seemed really mad that I had purchased them and wrote about them. I don’t know if he was mad that I was flaunting my financial ability to buy $200 hardware synths, or just a Roland hater. Either way, I decided to just delete the thread before anyone else posted.

In the 1980's I went full time and carried a $12,000 rig: Rhodes Chroma, MemoryMoog, Source, DrumTrax, Ashley mixer, EV cabinet, Crown amp, etc... Now if I play it is a Yamaha MODX6+ and a Korg Kronos 2 61. MODX has all the sounds I need, but the keyboard on the Kronos is way better. The big, new Fantom 7Ex will forever stay at home, along with the Jupiter X, RD2000 and Hammond dual manual XK3c. Those are too heavy and a bit expensive to take anywhere. I'm not as young and daring as I used to be.

Yamaha Seqtrak arrives tomorrow purchased with money from Gearexchange sales. Had a Teenage Engineering OP1 years ago and sold it. Though it seems to be the darling of the YouTube pushers I could not get past the 80's Casio sound. Hopefully the Yamaha is a good replacement. It sure seems to sound better.

Had a GRP Allstars CD that I loved. Bought a few more and did not like any of them. The pure jazz was great. The fusion was not so great.

I’m waiting for companies like BandCamp and Distrokid to start releasing charts based on their revenue collections.

The controller assignment is easy. Just follow the directions given by felis in the previous post. Your goal is to find the VST instrument that gives you the sound you are looking for.

The tools being available to anyone who searches and learns.

Moving past YouTube, 2023 was definitely the year of AI in music. On a positive side, more companies were trying to develop the monthly license system that has gotten so much negative press and turn it into something people want. Many of the expensive VST's can now be acquired though rent to own. For me it has become the year to narrow my focus, and even abandon some softwares that I have used for 20 years.

That was a nice walk down memory lane. I would like to know more about the differences between the original and the Synclavier II. I know the price difference is huge. One thing I know, the original was the price of a yacht, the II was the price of a car.

Just watched 2001: A Space Odyssey. Had all three books in the series and really liked them. Saw the movie when it came out back in 1968 as a 9 year old. It was a big deal then. Wow, this movie has not held up well at all. It relied so much on futuristic settings and special effects that today seem very common. Without the wonder of the futuristic setting to keep you enthralled you notice how bad much of the early acting is. It felt like opening night of a small town play where the cast is focused on getting through their lines and no one is really into their rolls. I had forgotten how choppy the movie is. Something fueled by lots of small sets with no opportunity of transition between locations. Strangely I am glad that I watched it again. It affirmed that not everything from the past needs to stay on a pedestal.

Is there an alternative to YouTube. I was pointed towards Vimeo but there does not seem to be any content there that I normally find you YouTube. Example: searching Moog returns nothing.

What transition did you notice in 2023? For me it seems to have been the year that so many YouTube creators realized that content creator is not the fulfilling, decent paying job they thought it was. They've started calling each other out with more frequency, posting videos about their health, their state of mind, their need to make more money, inability to deal with negative comments, throwing tantrums and then deleting all of their videos. This is not just in music. I've seen it in RC car channels, drone and photography. I'm sure it does not help that YouTube keeps playing with the formula and reducing the amount of pay. The divide between the well managed channels and the interesting amateurs that are just starting it getting bigger. It makes me worry about the future of the product.

I grabbed it for this price. Too bad they don't accept Jam Points for this deal. Edit - Install was quick and easy. I already had an account but had not installed their new manager software. It went on easy. I had to register the purchase as it does not automatically recognize purchases. After that install was quick and easy.