obxa
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Posts posted by obxa
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11 hours ago, AnotherScott said:
B-3X seems to be an example of an IK app that is quickly abandoned in terms of any further development. One of its initial selling points was that it was pre-mapped to a variety of Hammond clonewheels, which was useful to owners of Hammond boards since those boards have some quirky MIDI implementations (i.e. not using normal MIDI CCs for controlling percussion/CV, IIRC). But they have never updated the mapping for subsequent models (SK Pro and up)
That's an interesting point, and maybe why it's being discounted? The previous updates provided: Jordan Rudess "Purple presets", and a few housekeeping things weren't anything many of us have been requesting. Myself (and others on their user page) have been hounding them since V 1.0 to offer user mapping presets (and the ability to share them to the community) for those who regularly use or encounter different controllers besides Hammond. Even the lowly Logic organ does that, but I get B3x is a Hammond centric product. Also find it annoying they can't offer a simple drive knob on the front main interface page for ease of tweaking during live use like every other organ app does.
All in all, I still like it. I have found IK to be very good with customer service and eventually listening to feedback when it's loud enough- be it group buy, web issues, or bugs.
1 hour ago, Baldwin Funster said:failed to buy b3x on that day and somehow could prove it.
Had a similar issue with Plugin Boutique a while back, so I took a screen shot to prove it. -Something I recommend always doing. They honored the sale price after the expire date.
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1 hour ago, EscapeRocks said:
He does some really good work with Mainstage/Logic sounds
I've got no direct connection to him, I think he was the main Hammond rep before our friend Jim Alfredson got involved? But have always tried to talk it up- he's currently selling it for $15.00. I've used his settings as starting point to tweak,. Though he suggests Soundtoys Decap , any Saturation freebie (Slate Heat, Hornet etc.) will work nicely.. One thing the Logic organ does is allow saving several controller mappings, and comes with many already made such as Nord, Roland etc.- so really easy to get working.
Glad to hear IK's site is back online.
Happy New year everyone!
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2 hours ago, Stokely said:
Also, I'm pretty happy with the Logic organ
For the times needed for live use, I've had much better luck using the Logic organ with Christian Matthew Cullen's preset pack as basis for presets.. https://soundsfamous.gumroad.com/l/VORC. Less CPU overhead and actually sounds great. Have used it at home when just needing scratch organ track.
There are some other Logic vintage organ floating packs floating around too. Also like the thing the Logic organ does with Modwheel doing drawbar shapes.
But still think the IK sounds best. Have never tried the Ipad version. I wish they'd let you save your controller mappings as presets-they only allow one, and it was a little less of a memory hog. Regardless, for this price it's a no-brainer if you don't have a B3 plug for your DAW.
32 minutes ago, davinwv said:UA Waterfall
Been meaning to demo this, UA is having the last of their big sale too. I'm curious if it uses less resources than the IK?
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13 minutes ago, Stokely said:
I've always read it's good practice to have a limiter right before your ears
I bought the Rolls unit because of your previous comments about it, thank you. It saved me having to do a more complicated set up, and ditch my mixer. Have also used the cheap little Behringer P2 which my guy at Sweetwater confirmed has a limiter, and is very easy to insert when using a direct headphone output. Which I think is better than nothing. Worth noting, is some of the better packs (Shure etc.) have built in limiters- my old wired 200 series does, but it's a PITA to wire in with adaptors
Been on IEMs for 17 years . Have only had one mishap with Volunteer at a church while on Aviom system. (which as much as it costs, should have limiting....) ,
For my mix I do keys in stereo pre to me, then take a send from the house (minus keys) and mix both with Rolls unit. Call ahead on theater & bigger venue shows to see if house can do stereo and what app I'll need to control my mix. Finding more that can do stereo. So able to bypass the Rolls, but still use the P2 for limiting. If no send is available, I'll do an ambient stage microphone into the Rolls.
Something simple worth mentioning. Anytime i'm MD, the one thing I do now is insist on common sense safety practices with band and all FOH people. It's not hard, but too easy to forget. The rule is: anytime someone is going to pull/insert a cable, change gains, switch pads on DI's, mess with routing etc. - they need to warn band to "pull your ears'.
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2 hours ago, MartinLeo said:
Question for Nord users: is the IK B3 better than the Nord’s B3 emulation?
I think so too, but that's only if you feel comfortable using it live. I only use it in the studio. Control it with retired Electro 2 or Voce V5 with everything mapped.
For gigs - even though IK sounds a bit better, I prefer hardware. (Crumar Classic, Nord Electro 6/Stage2ex, or YC ).
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7 hours ago, PianoMan51 said:
Now there are lots of exceptions, but during gigs that are piano heavy, I’m working the EQ first.
Very true. Did 4 band/orch services Christmas Eve: Starting on a Nord 2EX, then real acoustic grand, then my Nord again. Then finished with an 11 p.m service at different campus on their Nord Stage 76. For that intimate Chapel service, we don't use in-ears, and just have a couple of wedges for singer and violinist. Ran Nord in Mono, and brought my little Alto monitor (out of the headphone jack) so I could hear a little better. Didn't have time to load my patches, but was able to make myself satisfied by leaning on Nord EQ.
Much as I love many things about the Numa piano, the YC's eq is much easier to access in combat and tweak, and that's why I'm heading to YC exclusively. After a couple of weeks of solo/band gigs with YC , realized how much I missed having dedicated EQ knobs, and how essential it really is. .
Slightly off topic. Wanted to share an experiment I did on one of my last solo holiday corporate gigs with the YC: Talked before about how I miss having onboard speakers to create some stereo depth and vibration. This was a long gig. So brought a TV- sound bar as a monitor, placed by my feet and also tried it behind me,. Wanted to see if that would create the same vibe as the small speakers on pro-sumer pianos. Running Bose L1 as main speaker. They also had me set up under an eve.
Though plenty loud for home rehearsal, the sound bar failed miserably once folks got in the room. Since I was fairly visibly away from the crowd, just for grins then tried plugging in my in-ears. As expected: sounded great, though was worried about not being to keep check on my volume in the room.
If I can do it discreetly enough, may do ears more often-really made it enjoyable. I've resigned myself to bring my old 88 P255 with built ins for longer gigs; only if load- in is easy. I could also add another Bose (or Alto) , but this was a cheap thrill....
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Studio/remote session: Pianoteq:( Grotian, Upright U4, Petroff, SteinGraber,) Kontakt: Noir
Pitband-Oldies: NumaX73 (Vintage preset modified) but leaning towards YC73. Kurzweil Pc1SE (legacy shows w/ prior heavy programming)
Roots Rock/Funk/Smooth Jazz/Bar & Wedding band, Artist gigs: YC 73. (CFX, S700, Rhodes, Nashville, Hamburg).
Organ only gigs (w/other pianist, but needing occasional piano sounds Midi'd to Clonewheel lower manual)
Mainstage w/Pianoteq and/or Orange Tree Rhodes. Kurzweil ME1 Module (Rhodes/Clav/Vibes- still holds up!). Nord Electro 6 (if on real B3)
Ministry/Church: Nord Stage2ex88/Grand Yamaha Bright (aka "studio") Mellow Upright, Felt, White Grand. Real thing: Baldwin Grand w/earthworks
Solo- Jazz Quartet/trio, cocktail: YC73 (CFX, S700, Rhodes) Long solo gigs needing 88 keys: Yamaha P-255 (Cfx)
Backline: 1st choice: Nord Stage/Grand/Electro HP (any, & load my presets.) 2nd choice: Yamaha CP/YC (any) 3rd choice: Any weighted piano/synth Mainstage (Pianoteq or Noir).
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16 hours ago, DJkeys said:
Piano offerings (Soft, Felt, Toy, etc.) that are useless for gigging in my opinion
For those of us who also work in Worship, where Nords are insanely prevalent (and Nord knows it..._) becomes a lot more useful. I too don't find much use for uprights or felt in any of my regular gigs except when one of the bands I work with calls NRBQ's super-fun "Magnet".. or "Lady Madonna"... fun to use upright on. But the Felts, and mellow uprights are essential in Church settings for offerings etc. Used to have to roll my own by shaving all the top end off the regular pianos. Tend to use the bright Yamahas for most uptempo stuff, but been using Nord's felt a lot lately, and will tomorrow evening for a lot of our quieter concert carol stuff.
Totally agree they need a better Wurli.
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Removing foot from mouth.....
Downloaded demos for this and the Cherry Audio Soloist. Fully expecting to love the Soloist, and the Axxee was waste of time if you had Oddity. Was also trying to stay on my "no more plug-ins for a while diet", but was very curious since Gforce has a knack for great sounding synths.
Loved it. Not only brought back warm memories of using mine- but also the muscle memory (and fun) of tweaking came immediately back to me. After using the collapsed view, I was zipping around just like the early days and had made a bunch of presets before I knew it. It sounds excellent with a definite character. The Sub-Osc is great, and easier than tuning a 2nd ocs.
To hear what they really sound like, I routinely turn off all FX when demoing a synth . With the sub also turned off this really captures the raw Arp vibe. Used to run my Axxe through a Univox tape echo and Mutron Octave divider, and was eerie hearing those kind of tones again. I guess that's why I connected with it. Still love the Oddity, and Behringer Oddy hardware. But this thing's simplicity is actually its strength.
Complaints: really should of been a nicer upgrade path for those with multiple Gforce stuff (including the Oddy) . It's a little hard to read, and they should offer a "Beige face" livery edition. But bought it. I'm at the point where I think plug-ins have gotten exponentially better sounding year after year- where I could see myself going all virtua if I had the computer to handle it. BTW I remember demoing the Wayoutware thing. Even reached out to beta test, since I had a real one- But they folded. TBH it sounded no better than a Synth-Edit thing.
As to the Pro-Soloist. WOW. Great presets, but ouf that interface (like a few other Cherry offerings) is not inviting because it's too authentic.. Finally grasped their less loved and excellent Poly-Mode, Qaudra, and Jupiter 4. But others like the Elka, or Dreamsynth and this soloist, don't make me want to dig deeper than presets. Wish they had simple panel view options: LPF and ADSR. There's only so much time in a day to learn synths and still concentrate on music. Which I guess brings me back to the Axxe...🤔
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On 12/19/2023 at 6:18 PM, David Emm said:
it cried out for ARP's Little Brother expander.
I forgot about those!! I too really wanted one of those back in the day, but ended up getting a Mutron Octave divider. It actually worked pretty well.
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On 12/19/2023 at 2:57 PM, RABid said:
read through their promo page and they never addressed my main question. If you already have Oddity3 is there any reason to get Axxess? They mention that Axxess is a sibling to Oddity3, but make no comparison.
Only if you want a simpler direct workflow. As you know, Arp AXXE was the single osc and reduced little brother to the Oddy. Streamlined workflow and fun to use.. Still have mine from 1977 financed from Long & Mcquade but in sad shape. The Axxe had a kind of Roland SH101 vibe to it- simple but effective in the right context, and easy to get something quick. I think that's the intent here. I will say it was a great way to learn synthesis. I'm a fan G-force but don't see this being a real need.
I think the market has gotten fully saturated at this point. I do wish someone would do a nice version of the Roland JX8 or Jx3p, or MKS 70. I think DCO synths lend well to VI and those haven't been beaten to death. The JD-990 is another I still use most every day and would welcome in software form.
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On 12/8/2023 at 7:20 AM, mobi said:
Sounds kinda similar, at least for me, in this test,
Most of those hit the mark. Agree this is a much better 1:1 demo. I'd consider a tabletop version for grins. But as mentioned before, probably reach for a favorite plug (currently the Gforce) just for recall and sheer laziness. If I were in a Prince tribute band- this would be the ticket all day long.
I have a really weird test. One of my favorite OBXA patches is that wierd sitar sound. I think it was original preset AD 6 or something. On this video he plays it at 12:36. I'm so familiar with that sound (and many variations I've made and used over the years) that it's become my test of how authentic a clone or VI is. Something about the Mod and filter interaction is what always gives it away. Might be they didn't tweak it enough, but it doesn't sound right to me. I also have an Ob1K, while it's DCO it's got most of the Xa presets and it nails it.
There was an 80's band called New Musik. Big hit: "Straight lines". Featuring Tony Mansfield- also produced the remake "Always something there to remind me." All of their later albums were heavy Obxa. Mostly super stock presets, including that aforementioned Sitar sound. Textbook example of using an OBxa for every part on a track.
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9 hours ago, Synthaholic said:On 11/21/2023 at 1:03 AM, obxa said:
Is Wizard Electronics closed down?
They moved. Not sure if it's back to original owner again. But I'd sooner take my keyboard to a Shaman or Witch Doctor before I let them touch anything. 😃
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On 11/26/2023 at 1:28 PM, Docbop said:
All my old Macs end up being great Linux computers and continue on working.
Can you recommend a good distro for Macs?- last time I delved into Linux was with Mint many moons ago on PC. Getting ready to replace office and studio macs and considered loading Google OS Flex on them just for basic Web and email. But love the idea of maybe using them as servers. Thanks in advance.
BTW- I usually stay 1 or 2 OS away. Still running Monterey, but it's also the last OS my mini's can do-. Unless I do some kind of sideload hack, risky for music stability.
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Autotune Access 10 is $24.99. (perpetual) but also includes 1 year of the essentials sub which includes their mic modelling and key finder plugs.
Don't track singing vocals that often, often use it on soprano sax, or monophonic loops that need a couple of notes pulled in. The times needed for singing worked great without any fuss. Does NOT have to sound like T-pain /Cher if set to humanize.
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5 hours ago, Stokely said:
While we are here... Any idea on a similar thing for a MODX6+ and a generic X-stand?. I hate when any band member collides with my music sheet stand and crashes with my immaculate MODX6+ 😡
This is what Stokely is talking about- I also used one of these forever with a small gooseneck extension and same ipad holder and have one on my church rig. It actually fits in the square opening of the K&M too. But too low.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016ZMDEVS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
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1 hour ago, Jim Alfredson said:
A good tech should be able to get the OB-Xa stable for another 40 years.
Unfortunately there aren't any good ones here in Atl. I've been thinking of using the guy out in Ft. Payne. Bought it new in 1983 and it spent a long time on the road & sessions before I retired it Most issues I'm having are voice board based at this point due to age. Hoping it's not going to be too extreme.
Did you get the Fatar keyboard from the guy in Sweden who sells the kit? Had that on my radar, but mostly control the Xa from via mid.
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I think there is a zen proverb and other self-help wisdom that says "all unhappiness is caused by comparison"
Long time Xa owner/user, plus other Oberhiem stuff. Looked at the invitation long time back- couldn't be a beta tester because I'm not an "influencer" nor do I have a you-tube channel. I probably should of pushed harder to get a free one because I'm not sure some of those cats on there are household names.
Been following for a while. Unless doing a gig that needed a heavy poly synth sound, don't feel a lust for this. I concur with Jim, there's something missing. But really need to hear it in person. I think most of their clone stuff is about 70% there. Does it have the magic? If you've never touched a real one, would you know the difference? Does it matter ?
In a blindfold test, confident I could tell the difference. For the same reason I can always guess Wurli shoot outs-only because I've worked with the real thing for so long. But so what? I go by inspiration too, which isn't always practical. Check out Espen Kraft on You-Tube. He went from a room full of gear to Arturia. Or Junkie-XL. If the UBxa is the first time a 20 year old has his/her hands on a poly synth, they'll probably love it and feel inspired. More power to them.
Doing clones of old extinct gear is one thing. But reverse engineering current new gear is another. So I get some of the hate for Behringer, but don't have enough confirmed facts (other than you-tube influencers...) to pass judgment on some of the other accusations. Like many of those same Behri critics, I also have a lot of Apple products, and occasionally shop at Walmart. They do some pretty awful stuff too. Reminds me of when I was a card carrying Lacto-Ovo vegetarian, with fanatics (usually Vegans LOL) preaching while wearing a leather belt.
I have a couple of Behri mono clones relatively happy with. They did a great job with the Pro- 1 and Neutron (which isn't a clone but a 3340 thing...) I'm on the fence about the Odyssey - sometimes feel like G-force oddity captures more of the essence. But taken for what it is, it's "Arp-ish" and do love hands-on with knobs and sliders. I'm also getting plain lazy about reaching for plug-ins over hardware these days- especially when it come to recall.
My XA is getting harder to keep alive. I'm starting to consider it (with my other vintage gear) more as a retirement asset when I'm ready. An OBxa tabletop would be cool, but I'd probably rather support Tom and Marcus if was going buy hardware. I'm still looking at taking my OB (and ailing Mini) to get restored but that's going to be $$$. I turned to software (and the lovey hardware rack Ob1k) to fill the void. Because wife and I are considering moving out of states in next 18 months, I'm starting to seriously look what gear I'd realistically be able to take. An OB wouldn't be first priority.
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For charts, normally carry a mic stand that has an Ipad adaptor on it. Tends to get in the way on tight stages with my full rig, plus always wished it was closer.
Was shopping Etsy for Ipad adaptors that mount to the Yamaha YC. Pricey for 3d printer stuff. Didn't need the full YC music stand either. Prefer to view music to LH side, unless doing L-shaped organ rig- where it goes on the RH. But it's always been too far right (see last live gig shot...)
Went to the mic stand graveyard in my garage - wondering if I could just stick an orphan boom stand arm in one of the open cavities of the K&M. You can. Fits perfectly at right height and stays put. Of course won't work doing double tier. Will consider one of those clamp on things Amazon sells, but already had this stuff at hand. For solo and L shape setup, I'm happy . Would probably work with similar top cavity stands.
We got several of these Manos ipad holders for my church band because they work with any size tablet without taking it out of its case.
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3 hours ago, Stokely said:
Think I just talked myself out of Saturn
Phat and Step are great, also check out Arturia's MS20 or Moog Filter when they give them away. I passed on Saturn. However, If you already own any FabFilter stuff- I heartily recommend Micro-Filter. It's a simple 1 band filter that can be configured as LP/HP/BP plus resonance that sounds awesome. With loyalty I think it was $25.00. I use it constantly on everything- synth channels, audio, etc. Lives on all my synth and Kontakt channels in Logic & Mainstage as easy way to shape sounds when the host synth's tone/timbre is not easy to edit (e.g. Wavestation, Kontakt stuff,, FM stuff).
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10 hours ago, Jose EB5AGV said:
I do have a real Triton Rack and a Wavestation A/D... Just to have those sounds, including all Triton extensions, makes the bundle interesting. And then add 12 more instruments 😃
Me too. I've owned and regretfully sold many synths over the years- a lot of Korg stuff. So for me it's great being able to get sounds back. Still have Triton, Wavestation and M1 hardware. I got the Korg Collection back when it was just 3 synths. - I think it's a great collection.
They've never really given any great loyalty discounts and the prices are never hugely discounted. So grab it while you can. I've gotten better upgrade paths using the coupons they include with some of the M-Audio or Novation stuff, so see if you have any of those. If you want some of the Digi- 90's stuff it's superb. The Arp Odyssey is very good, still has some UI issues on my set up with the FX pages. But great presets. I constantly use Wavestation and Triton live (Mainstage) and in the studio most, and confirm they actually sound better than the real thing. The UI on the Poly-Six is still too small. I've been surprised how much I've ended using the Mono-Poly. The Prophecy is pretty cool, wasn't a synth actually played before. Mini-korg was my very first synth (also stupidly sold...) it's fun, perfect for Greg Hawkes early Cars sounds. MS20 is good too.
As to Full-Bucket- I like most of their synths. They really do much better with some of the early Korg string stuff and drum machines. But he also did a great job with one of Korg's sleeper Fm/Hybrid synths: the DW8000. Used one of those to death in the old days, and always regretted selling it. I got misty hearing some of those sounds again., like an seeing an old friend. Played Deltas and Tridents many times with backline long ago, and he really nailed those too.
He's too kind to offer them free. I've donated to the guy, he's doing wonderful stuff. - and out of left field, he just came out with an Arp Omni - The string synth always lusted for but couldn't afford back in the day. I wore out the Evatone demo soundsheet record that came in Keyboard mag- remember those???
On 11/14/2023 at 10:37 AM, KeyMoe said:Does anyone know if Pianoteq ever goes on sale? Black Friday etc? Looking to pick it up but can wait.
Historically, they've often offer just the add-ons at discount only. That's the only time I've ever bought them, otherwise a little pricey otherwise. . Sweetwater will usually have them for instant download, and sometimes cheaper than on Modartt's site. . Modartt will also do some discounted upgrade paths between the standard- pro etc. Been with them since V1- and upgrades between versions have always been very reasonable.
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21 minutes ago, bill5 said:
Thanks - I don't have either.
It was more of a general dislike of the UI I think, and that the only thing it really bought you over 6 was the scalable thing, which would be nice, but not worth $99 to me.
Make sure you fully log into the NI site - my upgrade from 6 to 7 was only $49.00. Much of the content in the stock library (which I've never really explored...) has been upgraded, and expanded. Wasn't earth-shattering, but actually some nice stuff in there. I was mainly happy to have it not crash Logic so much, and also use less resources in Mainstage.
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Hey Rich- that's me. I'm still looking too.
There's a guy in I think Fort Payne Al. I'll have to find his info-others on the forum have used him to great success. I'm planning on letting him fix both the OB and my Mini. Figured it be worth the drive. There is no one in town I would trust anymore My buddy Eric Frampton (who's a monster player and brilliant repair dude..) moved out of town and is on the road. I have a bass player buddy who was a former Sony Engineer- (Steve Mays) he's excellent, but he'd probably need to spend some time with it.
https://synthpro.wixsite.com/synthrestore. is the AL guy.
I'll send you Steve's info in a PM
I've had similar issues with my OB and have had to just disable some (suspect) cards. Mine is currently being used as 6 voice. As the thing gets older, I've found one card being very skewed enough to throw off the whole autotune procedure.
It was more of a general dislike of the UI I think, and that the only thing it really bought you over 6 was the scalable thing, which would be nice, but not worth $99 to me.
Making a ‘Rhodes’ from a reface…
in The Keyboard Corner
Posted
I applaud the woodworking skills if you enjoy that sort of thing. But after seeing the total cost I'd just go buy a Crumar 17 used and call it a day.