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NoLights

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Everything posted by NoLights

  1. Probably right - I’ll keep searching. Thanks.
  2. The first answer that comes to mind is "e-waste". I bought this handy little PA a few years ago and used it on a weekly jazz gig I had at the time. When that ended, the Nano went on a shelf. Fast forward a couple of years, and I've got a similar gig that this would be perfect for. So I dragged out, plugged it in -- and the LED glowed red, meaning a major fault. RIP Lucas Nano. So, rather than consign it to e-waste - I've been trying to find someone who repairs these boutique PAs. I've found a few in Europe and the Middle East -- but nothing remotely nearby. So - tapping in to the vast collective knowledge here -- I wonder if anyone has had any experience with this amp, or its siblings -- and more importantly -- is there anyone in the USA that fixes them? Thanks folks!
  3. The current Consumer Reports has an article about hearing aids - prescription vs. OTC. I finally caved last year and went the prescription route. It’s nice to reconnect with the world (and have better communication with my wife) - and hear a band leader call a tune (instead of joining 8 bars in). Music sounds OK, except with mine (Oticon), a sustained sound has a tiny bit of tremolo. Though I’ll miss the humor that happens when I mis-hear things. Shades of Emily Latella (now there’s a 40+ year old reference).
  4. Just took delivery of a Yamaha P-515. It's lovely. Now I have to sell my CP4 (psst - it's on Reverb).
  5. I"m guilty of swapping out boards with regularity. I got my CP4 when they first came out, and I still play it, gig with it and love it.
  6. Cast Your Fate to the Wind -- at least the first 16 bars. And maybe Happy Birthday.
  7. If you absolutely positively have to compress a file, I've had good luck with SoundCloud Pro. I'm running it on a Mac -- don't know if there's a windows version: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/soundconverter-pro/id1544495533
  8. We used to play a venue at Old Orchard Beach -- Maine's honky tonk summer hotspot. The club is at the end of a quarter-mile long pier, and you started your load in from a spot that just to the left of the low-rise buildings. It was an afternnon/early evening gig and it was almost always hot. The pier was generally chock-a-block full of tourists who would block your path and be totally oblivious. And I had to make two trips. At the end, the gig was a balcony, accessible by a narrow staircase. And then, during the gig, you faced west directly into the sun and melted. Below, there were a few tables for pub customers, but mostly, you were playing for people who really weren't aware that you were there. Then you got to do it all in reverse at the end.
  9. Reverb sells keyboard boxes in different sizes: https://reverb.com/item/92938-3-pack-boxes-reverb-guitar-and-keyboard-box-fits-most-sizes
  10. We"ve spent some time in New Orleans, and always made a point to catch his weekly gig at Snug Harbor. It was two shows, and after each, he"d take a seat just outside the door to the performance space, and offer a big warm handshake while sharing some kind words to all who passed by. He was also a mentor, passing the knowledge and magic of jazz to the next generations. Quite a painful loss.
  11. Such sad news out of New Orleans Tonight https://www.wwoz.org/blog/639776?fbclid=IwAR0wnG2zA_du9hY7_ZbmYrm4hyYGvr4FiErZU-f4uYP5scraUOc9LXsaPOM
  12. Maybe not the most opportune time to start a new band, but that's what we're doing. Hope springs eternal that there will be gigs again someday. With band members in lockdown, we're thinking about trying one of the on-line, "real-time" virtual rehearsal apps of the free variety. We started with JamKazam -- but we failed to get anywhere -- and it looks like their website is in zombie mode and the company may have gone away. Our current focus is on a similar app, Jammr, which looks more promising. Another idea is Jamulus, but the technology is above my pay grade. And there's jamlink, which requires everyone to have a proprietary router. One complicating factor is that one band member only has an iOS device and nothing that runs Windows or OSX. Ideally, a solution would address that as well. Pie-in-the-sky, and lots of questions. With all the issues, and the question of latency, I'm beginning to wonder if a solution exists. Anybody have any experience with this?
  13. Wow -- looking at everybody's faves, I know I'm in the right place. A couple great tunes not already mentioned: "Lucky Southern" on the Free album by Airto. Chick Corea played most of the tracks, but this one is Keith Jarrett. Another tune from Herbie Hancock's Fat Albert Rotunda album that has a very nice Rhodes (imo) is "Tell Me a Bedtime Story".
  14. Great. Post a review when you get it.
  15. Hi Coker -- The quest for "the one" do-it-all board. I've had kind of a decades-long chase for that. In recent history, I had a Nord Stage 2 -- but I never really warmed up to its interface and I never really connected with its sounds (huge as their library is). So I traded for a Forte7. Great board, but despite the shorter keyed, it was still pretty heavy. And I used a fairly heavy case (you don't travel around with a $3K board without a good case). Around that time, I started having back problems. All I wanted was a lightweight board that could get me through most gigs. I got an SP-6... 27 pounds. I wasn't sure if I'd like the Medelli keybed... but as I said above, I can adapt and I had some good gigs with it. Then they came out with the PC4, which is, essentially, the SP6 on steroids, and only a pound heavier. The feel, and many of the sounds, are identical to your SP6... so you've already got a good idea of what a PC4 is. I got it from Dave Weiser (Weisersound), who does a lot of value-added service and adds his own sounds, many of which improve on the factory sounds (he used to be a Kurzweil sound designer). I didn't check out the FA8 -- There is a Guitar Center about 90 minutes south in Portland and they only had an RD2000, which felt good and checks a lot of boxes but we're back up in the 35+ pound category, which I was trying to avoid. So, now you should trade in your SP6, get a PC4, and I'll pick up a CA-93.
  16. Hey Rally... It"s a different experience. I really like the CP4 action â it"s solid and just feels right. I started with Yamaha weighted keys with the P80 back in 2000, and have owned a few other Yamahas (Motif 8, S90, S70XS, P-255) over the years so I"m pretty comfortable with their overall feel. I have used the CP4 on gigs when I"m primarily going to play piano or EP. For more involved cover band gigs, I used to bring a second board, a MOXF6, for a much bigger selection of sounds, Its splits/layers, setlist-related features and a more usable organ. I"ve been downsizing. I ditched the MOXF6 and picked up the PC4, with the idea that I could play cover gigs with one board â simpler setup, less weight. The Medelli action on the Kurzweil is a compromise, but I find that I can adapt to it pretty well. It feels 'looser' , less pianistic, but it plays fast and works well with EPs and organ ... and the KB3 organs are much better than either the CP4 or MOXF6. So, the PC4 keybed is fine... excellent, actually, when you consider the board"s weight (I sure like it better than the Fater TP100 , the lightweight action that was in a Nord Electro 3 HP I owned briefly). But what the PC4 lacks in 'feel', it more than makes up for with it"s huge array of sounds, deep editing and workstation features. And its 28 pound weight. I"m just getting started with getting to know what it does. As for the excitement factor, Kurzweil has a reputation for not being too flashy, though this one does have a lighted 'PC4' facing the audience (which you can turn off if that"s too flashy).
  17. Day 2 â holding up great. It"s a pretty beefy machine.
  18. Check out the WWOZ website ... WWOZ.ORG . They"ve got a comprehensive list ... as well,as being an amazing radio (and streaming) station .
  19. I'm someone who occasionally gets "ON", with jokes, puns and non-sequiturs. I'm also someone who has been hassling with bi-polar depression for a few decades. I found that, at those times when I was particularly depressed, I would become the life of the party (well, maybe not everyone's opinion). In my case, thanks to lots of therapy, some drugs and a wife who calls me out when I go off the rails, I'm mostly OK. Your friend could probably use some professional help.
  20. I've used my Spider Pro with a Yamaha S-70XS and Kurzweil Forte 7 -- both 40+ pounds -- and had no problem; I've also used the boards with a MOXF6 on the second tier. There is a little side-to-side movement, but the stand is stable -- I've used mine for 10+ years and now also have a Baby Spider for single keyboard gigs.
  21. A CP4 replacement with the option of 88 or 76 keys.
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