obxa
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Posts posted by obxa
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1 hour ago, Bill H. said:
What I don't listen to is classic rock and oldies. It's some of the best popular music written in my lifetime, but I'm just so sick of hearing it.
Seems the consensus is NPR is the safe haven for most of us.
So agree on Classic rock- great stuff, but on any given day you can hear the same exact tired daily playlist across the nation's stations. Have been known to walk out of a store until "Hotel California" finishes playing. Still work in the oldies business, having to transcribe & learn so much of it, good on that too. I swear this isn't a joke: Last MRI I had, tech said all they had were CD's. Choices were: Motown, 90's, Country, and Kenny G. Chose Motown. Talk about negative reinforcement. Hopefully won't be a next time, but I'll bring a Mahler CD.
3 hours ago, Stokely said:When I first got out of college and was starting work in a small studio, the problem was that I couldn't listen to music without analyzing the mix. It probably drove non-engineer friends crazy. "Listen to that groove!" "Hmm, kick drum is a bit loud for my taste, and I wonder which reverb unit they used on the vocals?" etc.
Exactly!! That's the other part of my brain I can't shut off. Like many here, I wear a bunch of hats. Worked as an engineer for many years and do the VO, music, and production for a local comedian's cable show. I'm feeling the recurring theme is probably just taking a break.
2 hours ago, Dave Bryce said:…and, somewhere around 4 o’clock most days, I switch the turntable on and spin records up to and through dinner, basically DJing for my wife (and myself, of course). She calls it “The Golden Hour”
I give Dave high props. Got a turntable for Christmas, not yet set up. Hope dusting off the old CTI, Blue Note, and Vox records - and the ritual of placing the needle, can rejuvenate some of my early enthusiasm.
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I've been warming up to different spirits (the distilled kind). Sample the little bottles and still searching for a fav. Got two Pugs who think I'm the absolute best melodica player.
It's reassuring some others have experienced this. I'm thinking out loud it's more about finding a way to turn off the analytical side. Or at very least, taking a vacay once in a while. Was recently in UK & Spain on honeymoon where I had two weeks off from all things music and gig stuff. Duh! (smacks forehead....) Now that I think about it, that was an incredible refresh. Hadn't taken a vacation since 2021, so there 's likely something to that...
1 hour ago, El Lobo said:And lately I put on classical music streams at home. I find that a lot of classical music can be either in the background or foreground and I can mentally let it be in either place. Sometimes if it's a favorite or really well-performed piece it automatically jumps to the foreground.
I often lean towards jazz before I start picking things apart too much. Have found myself going back to classical and film music because it's long form and at least more to chew on. That's a great point that it lends itself better to equally being background or foreground.
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Is it just me??
My wife always finds it amusing that I'm usually seeking talk or news on the radio during long travel. She jokes that I'm a musician who hates music. LOL. Of course that's not the case. Old habit as the last thing I wanted to hear after a gig was any more music. But truth is, I do find it hard to just "listen" without a critical ear anymore.
Maybe because of having to learn so much material on a weekly basis, and sometimes being burned out- I find it almost impossible to just listen for enjoyment.
I may get in a minute or two, but then I'm analyzing, listening for chord changes, solos, drawbar or piano voicing, harmony, production, etc. etc. Going to concerts or live shows, easily do the same thing, or I simply get bored after a few songs.
As a lifelong insomniac who also has tinnitus, if I'd ever try to listen to those ocean or forest sound things to relax, I'd immediately spot the loop points in the audio and then I'm focusing on those instead. Static white or brown noise is the only thing I can successfully use for sleeping.
Besides music, I also do Voice-Overs. So it also affects listening to books on tape, or guided mediations. Because it's spoken word, I can focus more on content. But my mind will easily trigger after hearing a bad edit point, or some other anomaly. Then I'm focusing on vocal delivery, inflections and cadence, accent, or other production elements.
So I wonder- has anyone else experienced this? I'm not ruling out professional help, but curious if others have found ways to deal with it.
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Sometimes I get the creepy feeling this forum is watching me. I literally just pulled out Kenny's book yesterday for something to ( re) read for plane travel this week. Like most books of self help and philosophy, you can take nuggets and form your own pastiche belief system. I found a huge amount of worthwhile info in the book. Years have passed since I last read it, and wanted to see if I'd pick up some new insight. Particularly because of some changes I'm making in my career.
The book has helped at times when I really needed it. I'm reading again because I've still never totally conquered that question of why you can have an awesome night where it all falls into place, and another where you're just trying too hard to recreate and chase that same experience and feel like a rank amateur.
I have to admit, I could never do his meditations. With the utmost apologies to Kenny that It's for the shallowest of reasons: My suspension of mindfulness couldn't get past his accent. I'm originally from Brooklyn, it felt too much like I was listening to someone from the neighborhood. Again shallow and stupid, and my own problem- and shouldn't take away from the wonderful great stuff he's presenting.
I will give it another shot.
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4 hours ago, dsteinschneider said:I decided to take some drum lessons to find out why that problem was common in weekend warrior bands. My instructor was fantastic, and I stayed with the lessons for several years. I learned that keeping the tempo and dynamics in check wasn't difficult which has been helpful when playing with such drummers
One of the best things I've ever done was take a year of drum lessons. Not to play drums, so much as getting a better understanding of hand/foot independence, how drummers think, and most importantly: reading and playing rhythm without it being connected to melody. That last one made a huge impact about groove and the rhythm section for me.
Have forgotten more than I remember of orchestration classes, but the idea was you had to have a basic idea of how instruments work if you're going to write or arrange for them. Same idea as functional piano for non-pianists. I think being exposed to other instruments is great, though playing keys is hard enough. So yes, it's about how many hours in a day you have. But having a working understanding of other things is always helpful and fun.
Besides broadening musicianship, I've mainly approached other instruments more as a survivalist full timer.
What 's on my business card (besides Piano & Organ) is some subset of the keyboard family and harp. Accordion, Melodica, Harmonium. Anything to help make yourself more marketable. All those subsets are instruments of their own, take some effort to really translate. Or play for pay. I was always primarily a pianist, and selling myself as a "legit" organ player and being able to do nothing but on a gig, continues to be an ongoing learning experience. "Legit" being the key word.
Done a ton of Accordion recording sessions, but far from a legit player. The times been asked to do a short restaurant or ceremony gig, had to really consider if my 8 song repertoire was enough before I'd refer a friend. For some hilarious perspective, read Harpo Marx's biography- he used to do country club gigs on piano, and knew only 2 songs!
23 hours ago, Anderton said:One of my favorite instruments is blues harp. Decades ago I got a Marine Band harmonica for the hell of it, and took an immediate liking to it. I now consider myself almost as good on blues harp as on guitar.
Been playing harp forever, and have always loved it too. Definitely no John Papa, but have gotten gigs based on being able to do harp or fiddle parts on harp along with keys. That led to investing in better harps and harp rig. It's a fun diversion and flavor, same as accordion or melodica on the gig. Never done an entire gig just on harp, and wouldn't want to. I also love harp because you can practice in the car.
Played a bunch of other instruments, but hedged my bets long ago thinking there were plenty of guitar players and not enough keyboardists. Bass in HS Jazz Band because no one else was available. Improved my bass clef reading. Continued on & off during college. Did tons of coffee house gigs on acoustic guitar. Those periods in the biz where keyboards weren't cool, so I'd pick up those gigs. Fast forward to now, I play bass (and harp) with a bluegrass band once or twice a month. Got that gig because again, no one else was available. Money is not great, but love the light load-in and just doing something different. It puts my brain in that different headspace and it's fun happy easy music I'm learning more about. Because of that gig I've been offered other bass gigs. Could probably shed a setlist and pull those off. But even on a bar gig, I'd feel ill-equipped and amateur if they went off the set list So fun, but not legit. Or in the words of Brother Where Art Thou: not "Bonafide".
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Akai LpK25. Super compact. Great for Finale, tweaking Mainstage, but not really fun to play on. Easily fits in laptop bag. Cheap.
Alternative: Korg MicroKey 37. Has Mod wheel/sustain input. Nicely playable- but not as compact. Keep mine in a Uke case, and have stuffed it inside checked bags as well as carry on.
Whether gig or pleasure travel, almost always bring a Yamaha 25 key Melodica in soft case. Fun just to have. Dressing room/bus run-throughs, and sitting in when out and about.
Safe travels!
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1 hour ago, EricBarker said:
But control system for doing program changes? Not sure what direction to go with that!
On some of my church gigs where I'm 2nd keys ( Hammond Xk2 or Mojo Organ) where I need to also do some orch or pad stuff, I use a Behringer X-touch mini. It can send multiple program, and control changes It's not as easy to program as the more common Korg Nano-control, because you need a PC to edit. But works great and can send just about anything. In church world a lot of folks also use the Akai things with the drum pads configured to send program changes. I did that for a while, but the Akai stuff is really not road worthy. BTW- Korg can't do program changes without using some mapping software.
The times I've used Ipad, I did USB to Midi convertor and a IK IO midi interface. It's a topic for another thread- but I wouldn't personally use an Ipad again for anything more than secondary pads & string type stuff. Others here have had better success than me. I found it dicey if for anything mission critical, and having an Macbook air isn't that much bigger than an ipad and less dongles.
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As an interim, since you like everything else about the Mojo (and it's action..) have you considered using it with Mainstage dedicated to just piano? With your studio stuff, you're probably already familiar with Pianoteq, or some of the better Kontakt libraries: Noir, Gentlemen etc. Some like Pianoteq or Ivory can run stand-alone, and you can bypass the whole Mainstage eco-system. Many folks here love the Ravenscroft.
My intent in buying a Compact was I could always hook up a weighted controller underneath. That of course defeats the single keyboard option. I've done organ-centric gigs wtih Mojo Classic and using the Compact to cover Wurli. Also the Mainstage thing mentioned above. That worked out fine and sounded good, but have a really hard time playing AP on any unweighted action for anything more than a couple of songs. I was about to grab a Studio logic controller or Yamaha P121, then went for the NumaX- which I'm very happy with.
Nords are far from perfect: I still hate the split thing, and wish they had an editor app. INMHO they are bullet proof and can cover anything. They'll hold value. That's if you can live with the action. If you end up hating it, won't have a hard time selling it.
I'm with Stokely, bring what you need to be happy.
34 minutes ago, Stokely said:Since I just got an SK Pro--and have come to the realization that setting up two keyboards isn't much more hassle than one--I'm kind of leaning toward a Fantom but not the weighted one, that thing is too huge and heavy.
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16 hours ago, Conos25 said:
bought a Numa X 73. It seems ok. I was expecting deeper modulation parameters but it is a budget instrument. The problem is that when I connect it with usb has Jitter noises and has a buzz all the time. So if you want to connect a laptop through usb for midi or audio you hear a buzz and jitter clicks all the time. That is a HUGE thing. In general the USB interface is very noisy and problematic.
That's a USB ground loop problem. I have the same issue trying to use any Behringer's synths via USB on my studio rig. Need to make sure the Numa is on same circuit as the computer. As mentioned by others try a different cable too. I hook my Numa up all the time to my Macbook to do patch saving, and haven't had any of those issues. So it's possible you have a faulty one. They do make isolators and things like Hum eliminators that may help too.
RE Modulation. I'm not being a Fanboy- but the Numa isn't really a synth per-se. More of an all-rounder piano that does synth sounds. The basics are there, but anything deeper, I'd go with a real Synth, or Nord Stage 3 that has the Nord lead engine.
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Apologies to Ol 7 for hijacking this thread. I'm glad others are doing some loops & Tracks. I see Tony Monaco doing drum loops when he's solo a ton and he makes it work.
The soft drummer app is understated and has enough randomness that it doesn't scream "drum machine".
In the old days I used to use the Kurzweil or Yamaha Upright bass sound with layered ride cymbal- so not that far off.
With so many acoustic guitar guys doing the looper thing- Math's comment about it being a competitive advantage and more prevalent is strong food for thought.
58 minutes ago, Mighty Motif Max said:Otherwise, I bring a lab electronic kick drum pedal with a drum module and use that for some tunes as well - once you get the timing down, it can add a lot.
Max : that's impressive. I'm ok kicking/ playing bass, grabbing my drink, and occasionally trying to have a conversation with clients/guests/servers while playing- but I'd be scared trying to do that!
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3 hours ago, MathOfInsects said:
One other item people haven't mentioned: it's pretty unlikely that the same people will be there at the end of hour 3, as were there at the beginning of hour 1. if it comes to it, for a first time out of the gate I wouldn't rule out having your first five or so songs, also be your last five.
I still affectionally call solo gigs "Musical Wallpaper". They notice when you start, they notice when you stop.
When I had a steady Hotel gig in NY I used to sneak in crazy songs ( Zeppelin etc.) and inside joke songs when friends would visit- and pretty certain no one else noticed.
As Math said, most crowds are fluid and in transition. I did lots of Norstrom mall, and still do Airport gigs. In the course of a 5-6 hour shift, I absolutely repeat stuff- but play it in a different style for my own amusement and to fight the boredom. Especially with Holiday tunes. Worse case, the bartender or hostess may notice, but not often.
The beauty of using an Ipad loaded with a bucket of Real books and charts, is you can cover just about anything- and also try new stuff out if solo. In the old days, all I had was my memory and what I brought on paper.
I try to play to the room, but know I'll never be able to make any tweens or under 20's happy - and will sound goofy trying. I try not to pander, but if someone comes up and lets me know they're visiting from a particular country, (e.g. Brazil, Italy, Germany) I'll lean on some regional stuff.
I play mostly the American Songbook, 60' -80's tunes and a ton of Jazz & Latin. Often do min-sets of 3 or 4 songs (e.g. Sinatra, Beatles).
This topic is right on time: my last long 4 hour gig, I realized I needed some more current stuff.
I recently went searching and was amazed how little there is out there with most of the new stuff like Billie Eiish not really lending itself. But songs by Adele, Ed Sheeran, and other traditional style singer-songwriters work well. Also been re-working non usual suspects like Toto or Prince.
I'm curious how others feel about this: I've been experimenting with adding some tasteful drum loops (something I haven't done since the 80's...) using SoftDrummer app. I'm just still not sure if it brings it into "Cheesy Midi Guy Territory"- but does make it more fun.
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I can also confirm. Bluetooth connectivity and dropbox integration on my ipad pro was not working prior to Forscore's update. All working great now, and happy to report this is the first time I've done a show where Bluetooth stayed connected- even when ipad was inactive during intermission.
Not sure if they've always been there, but also just discovered ability to create shortcut taps to access settings and adding midi buttons. (Which are also now resizable...) Also having the Mp3 player controls up without taking over bottom page. If they just add a way to edit midi preset names, and have user font presets, I'll truly be happy.
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4 hours ago, o0Ampy0o said:
He Scotch taped that plate on there so people in the audience would think he was playing a Yamaha instead of a patched up Ronald.Always loved Sparks- Netflix has this: https://www.netflix.com/title/81436982#:~:text=Unavailable on Basic with ads,American pop-rock duo Sparks.&text=Watch all you want.
The fake logo made me laugh: As a poor freshman in HS I bought a horrific no-name Italian organ....from our neighborhood postman....who was in a band. i put Vox decals on it. See pics of my first garage band, we couldn't afford mic stands either...those are spray painted broom sticks and the keyboard stand I made. LOL. Much later on, that same postman sold me his Clav D6 for $100.00 so he'll always be in my heart.
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8 hours ago, Tripp323 said:
Nothing beats playing keyboards yourself (if you have local stores/access)
It sucks most stores have limited availability of the stuff most of us here would be interested in. Fortunately we have great stores like Sweetwater, and I'm also a fan of ZZounds/American Musical. They have liberal 30 day return policies., and great selection. ZZounds/American Musical also have flex pay. Sweetwater is starting to implement something similar. That's if you're in a location that has decent parcel service.
Much like it's better trying clothes on at home, I think it's really hard to try keyboards in the any of the usual places like GC. Those are the absolute worst environments to evaluate anything anymore. That's if they even have things like the Numa in stock, as it's usually workstation or synth heavy.
I finally decided if it's a major purchase, it's worth the return shipping fee, or even a re-stock fee over the aggravation of trying to find a local store. I bought the Numa partly based on the good reviews here, and what I could gather from the web demos. I was fully prepared to return it if I didn't like it, or sell it privately.
One idea: The bigger names, like Yamaha, Nord and Roland are possibly rentable if you contact your local backline company and see what they have. 2-3 days rental won't be much if you pick it up yourself. Not every backline company has the most latest though. Guitar Center does rent, but each store has different stock.
I just got done with a bunch of shows using Nord and Numa and had a chance to AB Nord Pianos against the Numa, and I'm totally sold on the Numa.
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9 hours ago, Stokely said:
I've had the thought that if Casio changed their name they might have more sales.
I always felt the same way at least in regard to displaying it. I always thought they should have a "Pro" label.... Sort of the way Accura is to Honda as Lexus is to Toyota.
Producers on any TV gig, or the televised church gigs I do usually have stage hands cover all logos with gaffers, including the acoustic pianos and the Hammond. I laugh seeing a Fender Twin or Mesa Boogie like that, as it almost calls more attention to it. Disney used to make us do that when I worked there.
Last year on an outdoor Church broadcast where I was using 2 Nords, they were going to cover my entire rig with black cover. Instead, I changed Nord to "Lord" with a bit of white board tape, and they actually loved it.
Never worry about it on regular gigs. Pit band stuff band is barely visible anyways.
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Finally some shots (and long post sorry.....).
This is my "oldies-pit band" set up. For once, I was actually happy with this rig. Couple of theater shows from this past weekend with the Drifters and Coasters. First time out replacing my Yamaha slab and using the Numa with them, which I (and band) were delighted with. Finally found the sweet spot to tweaking Numa for live use: Turn the string release and duplex to bare minimum. Not seen: Macbook air. Nord does heavy lifting strings/organ. Mainstage does additional layers with 8dio, Spitfire, and Wavestation app . I could probably just do one keyboard, but my brain is wired for weighted piano type stuff on bottom and everything else on top. Had no problem using just 73 keys- and loved the compact size.
Some stand notes: Based on some great advice from others here, I ordered a K&M1880 & 81 tier stand from Thomann. Great price. They shipped it on time, but UPS held it past the delivery day. Arrived too late to mess with before leaving town. But happy ending, and something On-stage FINALLY got right: https://on-stage.com/products/view/13522 I found this used, super cheap on Reverb a couple of weeks ago and took a chance.
This is not the same as that goofy 2 tier thing they had before with tiers spaced too far from each other. I removed the 3rd set. Worked great for my platform stand and was able to get the pretty much where I comfortably needed it. The second tier fit in my old Z stand bag along with throne and ipad stand. Still love the lightweight aspect of the K& M and will use it as well, but I'll need to do some more tweaking.
The pic was before rehearsal, so hadn't dressed my cables yet- 2nd "purple" shot I cleaned everything up.
Only weak link is the old Mackie mixer. It's one of the few compacts that allows stereo sub, aux, and alt mixes essential for the IEM setup. One mix is keys in stereo for FOH My mix is Keys, house monitor mix (with keys removed to avoid phasing), plus an ambient PZM mic. Ipad mini controls their monitor mix. I wish there was simpler way to do it, but most places can only send mono.
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Worth mentioning is you can save just program banks, (without the corresponding samples). That's super painless and fast.
Nord manager gives you that option under program save, then you can select A, B, C, D banks. I just did it tonight to back up my Saturday show. Take just seconds. If I don't use Nord program manger for a while, I always think I have to use the back-up option which does indeed take forever.
In the OP's situation, they'll likely have the same sound sets but probably have piano alternatives. If there aren't matching samples, the manager will do it's best to find substitutes. I have some different samples in my Church Nord versus my compact, and usually it's the pianos and some odd brass things. Those are easy enough to grab. Unless you have a ton of custom samples you swap in and out- it's much faster getting the samples again, than doing a total archive.
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3 hours ago, cphollis said:
can answer this, because I tried it, and the juice was not worth the squeeze, IMHO. Two Bose L1 Model II with bass cabinet as FOH for an electric band. I used them like regular PA systems out front. Nothing wrong with the sound per se, other than completely lacking the punch you'd expect from a traditional design. Maybe if I had 4 or more acoustic players it'd be nice, but otherwise .... I'd stick with something more traditional.
I had the same results using two Bose (Boses, Bosi?) with jazz trio with added vocalist and sax in a small restaurant reception. Was great for dinner set, but once we got a little more ambitious with some RnB, the Bose started straining and hard to keep up..
INMHO Bose, (or similar stick-line array system) are best suited for low impact things where you know you're not going to get out of second gear. Event planners love them because they don't look loud, and there are no speaker poles. For solo small stuff, great option for hit and run gigs with crappy load -ins. Not something I want to hear all night though. I'm planning on trying a sound-bar on the floor facing up at me on my next extended solo gig as a low-rent stereo monitor purely for self-indulgence.
I've run the house grand piano with a Barcus Berry through the L1 compact on some nursing home gigs along with Clarinet. RE: acoustic players. Exactly. Occasionally moonlight on Uke and an Ibanez Acoustic guitar style bass (with an amp) in a Bluegrass band. They've got one of the newer big Bose with bigger subs. For what they run into it (Mando, Banjo, Fiddle, Vocals, and my Harp amp mic'd... ) it sounds perfect.
4 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:Perhaps it’s self indulgent to prefer acoustic pianos and want to replicate that small club, chamber music feeling. Other than church gigs, the acoustic pianos have all but dried up
It's a shame. Down here- I find many assisted living places ironically have some nice and well maintained pianos. But many hotels, event places, and country clubs the pianos are neglected and pitiful.
Al, as always that's some mighty fine playing!!
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For years I've always defaulted to some variation of a Yamaha slab piano (P-series with built in speakers) as my bottom board, and used by itself for solo/cocktail/ceremony gigs.
Besides hearing in stereo, the Yamaha's system gave a sense of vibration that gave you somewhat of a connection to the instrument. With solo & small format gigs, I normally used it with a Bose L1, and was hearing more from the internals than the Bose. I rarely used just the Yamaha speakers, unless it was a simple rehearsal- or church ceremony/funeral with marble floors. Interestingly, I did have many instances where sound people would ask me to turn off the Yamaha's speakers on band gigs. I was never totally delighted with the sound, but mostly satisfied with that set up for low volume stuff.
I've recently switched over to mainly using a Numa X piano. I've struggled to get a mono sound I'm happy with, at least tweaking on the gig. Finally realized those speakers in my old Yamaha for better or worse, really did help create a sense of air and depth that made for a better playing experience. Before I gave up on it, I spent an afternoon tweaking Numa presets specifically for use with the Bose, and also better suited for mono use. That helped immensely. I've considered adding a TV sound-bar for the sole purpose of low volume stereo just for my pleasure, or adding another Bose.
Most of my other regular (louder) gigs, I use in-ears 95% of the time. Occasionally a Behringer keyboard amp which I consider "blunt force trauma" more than fidelity. I do a lot of shows and church stuff where IEM mixes are provided (and encouraged....). But still do several where they want to give me wedges, which I despise most times. I'll just tell them to strike them, and use my IEM rig even if I have to patch into nothing but a band mix. For gigs that don't even have that option, I use a stereo ambient mic that feeds the IEMs as a stage mix. The mic is also helpful for communicating.
I LOVE keys in stereo, but have painfully realized I'll never attain the fidelity I want on anything that's at combat volume with speakers. Used to do 2 Barbettas or Mackie 450s on band gigs. I've considered the EV's which are good bang for the buck and sound great. But for the average bar or wedding band gig- that can be a real estate challenge. Not to mention the danger and fatigue to your ears. I've read with great interest about the Motion Sound stereo amp. I've also looked getting a Leslie studio 12. Awesome and enjoyable for organ-centric gigs, but then back to the problem of piano.
I really do think band gigs and solo-small format are two distinct environments, and have to be treated as such as far as monitoring is concerned.
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One of my all time faves. So creative with the little he had and really inventive.
I still totally love that dissonant string riff on "Touch and Go" .
I think worth mentioning a big part of the magic icing on Greg's sound was the Roland space echo on the Korg, and whatever chorus was on that CP30. I think later on he used a Jupiter 4? My first synth was a Mini Korg back in the day - was always a treat to be able to replicate his sound from the early stuff.
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Thanks for this idea!! I 'm starting to really love the silver Roland/Boss FS-5U squares because they use jacks, plus: polarity switches. are compact, and can be inter-locked. They also feel pretty good for being small, and don't seem to slide as much.
I have a graveyard of Yamaha and Kurzweil pedals I'd love to fix. One of the Yamahas has half-pedaling with a stereo plug. Anyone have thoughts on how this would be wired to stereo jack?
Your post made me want to share: My wife is a high school teacher. At the end of the school year she ends up with a crazy collection of phone charging cables that don't get claimed. Some nice, some trashed. I noticed on one of the iPhone cables, some brilliant student had taken ball point pen springs and repurposed them into stress wraps on the backs of the cable frayed connectors. Have no idea if that was tick-tock hack, but was impressed!!
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14 hours ago, stoken6 said:
If you have a relatively recent Nord, you don't need a MIDI interface. You should be able to use USB MIDI with Apple's CCK and a USB A-B cable (I do this with BandHelper). Or if your iPad has USB-C, a direct USB C-B cable (although you don't get power into your iPad tht way).
Thanks Mike- I'm using a NS 2EX. and my Ipad pro is lighting- but do have a camera kit.- I really like your idea about using a single cable if the Nord is OS compliant. I know there's the final NS2 firmware update I don't have that might help there. Going to try that tonight.
I did use the Mio last night. Surprisingly, my ipad didn't complain about it needing power. I updated Forscore this morning. One of these days I'll figure out why the ipad is doing some kind of time-out thing that stops BT after inactivity. The background app settings don't seem to ever make any difference. It's not a total show-stopper, but this particular gig has a ton of embedded program changes in the charts, and I hate the added stress of BT going offline.
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I'm part of the minority along with Delaware Dave that trusts wires. Ironically, I'm probably less picky about pianos being in tune- but anytime I'm given a wireless pack for in-ears, I always ask for wired because I can hear the latency/delay and dropouts drive me crazy.
It could be the unit I have: I've used Bluetooth (Yamaha BT01) with an iPad or Macbook transmitting from a slab piano or Hammond Xk3. Always have connectivity issues where the BT stops connecting at some point. Used to think it was Ipad related, but did it with the Macbooks too. Plus still can always feel a sense of latency for anything piano or percussive - even if the units are inches away from each other. I've tried to edit my Mojo with its Wifi thing- always have problems. I do love Apples' AirDrop for moving things around, though it's also flaky right when i need it most. Then i'm back to dropbox or sneaker-net.
I guess that makes me a luddite. The more I've dabbled with blue-tooth and/or wifi connections on gigs, the more I realize it's just easier, safer, and less hassle to use a wired connection when practical. Even if it adds some more stuff to plug in. Been rehearsing this week where ForScore is sending tons of program changes to a Nord. Which should be a pretty simple thing. I used to use that Yamaha BT thing so the Nord could receive from the Ipad . When it worked it was a very clean setup. But it would often be time consuming to get connected which is partly both Forscore and Ipad's fault. More so, to maintain that connection. On many shows, I'd often found it would stop working after I came back after intermission. Then I'm in panic mode trying to get things back before downbeat. Tonight I'm trying a little IK USB Midi interface. The downside is that now means also using a big honking ugly white dongle to provide Ipad power & USB connection. Plus likely a USB hub to power the interface.
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+1 on the DoreMidi. Cheap and easy to attain on this side of the pond.
Use mine in some occasional non-computer setups to power and merge Behringer X-touch or Korg Nano; to control and send program change to (old) hardware Midi modules.
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So agree on Classic rock- great stuff, but on any given day you can hear the same exact tired daily playlist across the nation's stations. 
Couple of nice freebies
in The Keyboard Corner
Posted
The Labs stuff has some really nice stuff, and is Kontakt free. Newest piano:
https://labs.spitfireaudio.com/autograph-grand?__s=m3xa728cm1f03ei2ujgi&utm_source=drip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FREE+LABS+Autograph+Grand+🎹&utm_content=LABS+Autograph+Grand+launch+J-L
In case you need another one- IK's take on Neve pre. Have used the smaller one forever. Top end is a wee strident if pushed, but pre-amp and mids are very nice.
https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2023/02/01/ik-multimedia-t-racks-eq-81-is-free-until-february-14th/