AnthonyM

Thank You! Why Mainstage or Logic ~ to be honest they are just popular choices. But more importantly, they have tons of 3rd party support from sound developers. For example - Keyboardist who specialize in music for Worship services and are using Mainstage can find a lot of options. Patches that were developed with specific songs in mind (Hillsongs etc). Also in mainstream popular music, there are people who sell sound patches for classic hit songs of the 80's and 90's and for the current day. Of course you can also get these for various hardware keyboards as well. But, you may have to utilize more than one keyboard to absolutely nail all the sounds perfectly. Thanks also for mentioning USAP as I was unaware of this! Also thank you to the members regarding USB3 and hitting the speed limit threshold with that protocol. ~ Anthony

Thanks - I think Studio One is what I mean rather than FL Studio. I did do a little more research on the laptop side of things and found that I could configure an ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS S GX502GV-PB74 with 64GB of RAM and a 2 TB Samsung M.2 NVME internal drive. So, weighing the options. It's 15" and within a couple of hundred dollars of a Max Mini with a 1 TB drive - after purchasing 64 GB of RAM from 3rd party vendors. So the only question on that front is do I absolutely need to use Logic and / or Mainstage rather than another DAW w/ Gig Performer? But still need to know if Thunderbolt External is necessary for loading external samples due to the increased transfer speed over USB 3.1 If anyone has a preference or is currently using either type of drive in their setup, I'd like to know your experiences. Thanks Again, Anthony

Hi Everyone, As a follow up to one of my last post regarding the possible purchase of a new Mac Mini or Windows based laptop, I had a follow-up question. When it comes to storing samples on an external drive, do most of you use a Thunderbolt drive rather than a USB 3.1 drive to take advantage of the increased transfer speed? Most Thunderbolt drives I've seen are 2x's the cost, although I saw a nice Thunderbolt Lacey drive that's highly recommended online. Or, is USB 3.1 fast enough for streaming. Would also be using the same PC / MAC for playback of audio backing tracks should this be necessary. But would keep these files on the internal drive, unless this should not be done. Please feel free to let me know. As mentioned, I want to now get my feet wet on the DAW side of things which would involve using either Cuebase , FL Studio or Logic and also possibly Ableton Live. But really need to figure out what platform to utilize etc. What draws me to the Mac Mini is the storage capacity which is 64 GB. Even with Windows gaming systems (which charge for extra GPU capability) the memory limit is 16 - 32 GB. That is the only real reason though. I've seen ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS S laptops for $1599 which have a 32 GB RAM Capacity and an NVME SSD, so while still choosing the platform would need to know what type of external drive to use.

Hello David What exactly do you have in your rack? I saw the Sonnet Technologies RackMac mini 1U Rack Mount Enclosure for Mac mini which I wasn't aware of before. You also mentioned that you have a 2 TB storage drive but that you Mainstage files / sounds do not reside on it? As you probably read, I haven't bought a Mac Mini yet. Although it would be more cost effective to get a premium gaming Windows based laptop like the Rouge or Razor machines, I don't think that they have the capacity for 64 GB of RAM. I need to figure out the real world performance difference between 32 and 64 GB when playing live using backing tracks and VST's simultaneously on 1 laptop. BTW - are you using a Thunderbolt 3 drive or USB 3.1 for your external drive containing your samples? I am also going to post that as a general question in the forum to see what other members are doing? Are you still using the Montage or ModX in your setup? I believe you said you were using this, unless I have you confused with another forum member. Thanks Again, Anthony

Hammond B3 Mk 2-Organ with Leslie Speaker and Bench New This is a store demo model once played by Booker T. Is this how expensive these full blown digital recreations are? I thought the other forum members would find this interesting! An authorized Hammond organ dealer has listed this instrument on Reberb. hammond B3 Mk-2-Organ with Leslie Speaker and Bench New

Thanks Theo, your input is always appreciated. ~ Anthony

Hi Jeff, Thanks for the warm welcome! I appreciate the info. I am a novice Mac user, having an iMAC 27" that was originally intended to be the centerpiece of a Studio and Live Rig. But having never seen one personally, I underestimated the size. So, I am now looking at a Mac Mini with a small external screen for live, and want to investigate if it would make sense to use the iMAC i5 for the Studio PC. Unfortunately, it only has the standard 1 TB HDD, so I would have to upgrade that to internal SSD, or boot from an external drive. Also, I would have to purchase a seperate SSD for samples - as Mainstage and Logic cannot share out the sound library. What I didn't know before though, was that you can export a Concert file to be used with other MAC's. I don't know how to do this exactly, but will leap into the application and tech head first. I also hear that a LOT of people use Ableton Live when performing which has functionality that Logic does not. So, I need to look into this as well. Fortunately, I've found some really great online sources via YouTube, which point to very detailed courses for Logic etc. Thanks Again, Anthony

Thank you so much! You Sir, have just made my evening! I really appreciate your response. This really now gives me something to think about! Having just purchased a very slightly used Mojo 61, I was entertaining also obtaining the lower manual and extra set of drawbars to use it alone or as a dual manual organ. However, after seeing the alternative and the great layout of the Classic, I may go that route instead. ~ Anthony M

Hey There! I actually still have most of those transcriptions. I did'nt keep the magazines unfortunately. I dust detached the pages I wanted and copied them into a binder with a lot of other Keyboard Magazine articles on playing and technique! Modern Keyboard (as it was later known) was a GREAT magazine! For those of us that owned DX7's at the time, they even provided patch settings to get you relatively close to the keyboard sound being used on the recordings. Although trying to emulate a B3 organ with distortion on a DX7 was most likely not easy! Keyboard World was around for quite a while prior to it going mainstream covering synths and going mainstream. If what I see on Ebay is correct, the magazine covered people who played console organs and piano at one point. ~ Anthony

Hi Everyone, Just wanted to revise this thread to ask another question regarding Crumar. I did go on Thomanns music and found exceptional prices on the Crumar Classic, the lower manual for the Mojo 61 and even the accessories. I found that the price difference after purchasing the lower board, the case for the lower board and the extra drawbars really added to the cost..... roughly $800.00 to simulate a dual manual experience. But even in that case, the layout would not be as good as their true dual manual Classic model. I know some people have both, but did want to confirm with you all before even considering it. If purchasing the Classic, does it automatically detect and switch from European to US voltage? I had emailed Thomans whose sales rep advised as follows: "We sell our articles prepared to run with European standard current of 230 V (and 50 Hz). So you would need to use a suitable voltage transformer to run this device in your country." I was asking about a couple of different items, so maybe this just referred to the other item? If I do go with a future purchase of the dual manual rather than just the lower board and drawbars, I wanted to confirm that I could use it without need of a convertor. I have attempted to PM Guido as well, but unfortunately he is not accepting PM's at this time. Thanks, Anthony

Hey Tim, thank you. Your input as well as the other post from Elmer and the other forum members continues to be invaluable. It seems I am always in the planning stages of putting a studio and live rig together and never finilize it. So, as technology marches on, I need to make changes. But, after the laptop purchase (or maybe before if I decide to utilize the iMAC as a studio PC) I'm really going to be jumping into the technology aspects of it. It's funny, becuase I am an IT Support Technician by profession, but have stayed away from tech for music all this time. I mean, even with hardware, the learning curve can be quite a bit. I have a Kronos 2 here that I have yet to wrap my head around. Of course I can do the basic navigation. But when it came down to loading new sound libraries without losing what was already on the keyboard, I was at a loss. That's why I installed PCG Tools on my Windows laptop and will be delving into that as well. ~ Anthony

Congratulations on your new Jupiter-X guy's. I actually received mine today also! I was on the fence about it to be honest since I've had the Jupiter 80 for a few years already and thought that the synth sounds on that board would be good enough, especially since that board also has Supernatural sounds. But, after watching a demo from Andertons and listening to the default sounds, I was sold! You all were mentioning integrating the Jupiter-X with Mainstage and also using Bluetooth. Since I also want to get into software live and in studio, can you point me in the right direction where I can learn more about this option? Any info would be really appreciated, since I'm more of a hardware guy than anything else...... at least at the moment. Thanks, Anthony

Thanks guy's! I appreciate the input. No, I don't own a Mac Mini yet. I was going to use the iMac live as well until I actually saw how large and bulky it was. At the time I purchased it a couple of years ago the Mac Mini's that were out were not upgradable as far as RAM went, since everything was soldered in. Now, even with the Covid 19 situation, I do want to delve into using Softsynths and DAW's to use live and at home. I already had purchased software from as far back as 10 years ago, intending to use it with my Receptor, but that didn't work out and have since traded it in and upgraded to a Trio. Then Muse Research went out of business. I have that Receptor currently with a version of Komplete on it. It kept restarting though, so had some work done on the software side. I was told that it was "looking" for Komplete updates. So, had that option turned off. I still have yet to test it out! I'm going to keep it as a backup only. But will have to program everything twice if I do this! But, with technology being what it is, I would like to really jump into Logic / Mainstage or Cuebase / Gig Performer rather than spend too much time with older technology. Again, when I purchased the Receptor Trio, PC's and MACS were not as capable as they are now! I myself am more comfortable with the Windows platform, but I do see a lot of performers (including Escape Rocks from this forum) going MAC. So, did want to ask. Especially see he advised that the sounds he was getting through software were better than what he had in hardware previously. I believe that now he is using a Montage in his setup. My preference is still hardware, and I have a few keyboards, BUT I believe better quality of sounds are going to be produced in software. Also, for composing the ease of use of programs like EZ Drummer / EZ Bass and the sheer quality of Orchestral and Synth sounds can't be touched in hardware. I heard a Big Band software the other week that was completely astonishing! It was called Glory Day's and is produced in Germany. Also I was impressed with the audio demo's of Spitfire Audio's BBC Orchestra. As far as the fan noise goes: I had watched a video from Andertons on YouTube where their keyboard guy Jack mentioned that it was very loud. He was testing out some software in the video vs. the sounds available in the Nord Stage. So a software to hardware comparison. I know I've asked about laptop rigs before so please excuse my redundency. It's just that I may be pulling the trigger soon, and didn't want to make any purchase mistakes. Thanks for the responses - I am still on the fence though about whether to go Windows or MAC. Are there ANY advantages to going MAC at this point or does it just come down to preference? Thanks Again, Anthony

Hey Guy's, I know some of you have picked up a Mac mini within the last year and was wondering what your experience was using it live as opposed to a MAC or Windows laptop. I know that you can get better specs for the money as compared to a Macbook Pro, which is why I'm looking at it. That, and because you can upgrade the memory yourself at a much reduced cost. I've heard however that there is a great degree of fan noise coming from this unit. Is it really distracting in a closed room studio situation? I'm assuming that you really wouldn't be able to hear this live, but please correct me if I'm wrong. Also, since Apple is moving away from using Intel processors in future products ~ which understandably may cause compatiblity issues with 3rd party software down the line ~ is it better to just go with a Windows based laptop running Gig Performer 3 at this point? I've heard that this producy is really good. I also wouldn't mind running Cuebase as oposed to Logic and would probably be dipping into the Ableton Live waters as well. The windows based laptops used for music production seem very expensive as well, since some do double-duty as gaming laptops with an included GPU. This adds to the cost significantly. The Mac Mini does not have this. But after buying the memory, a small external monitor , keyboard, external Thunderbolt SSD drive for samples and perhapes an external optical drive, things can add up fast! PS ~ I have an i5 iMAC 27" from 2015 that I can also upgrade the O/S on and run from an external boot drive. This would save me from upgrading the intenal Hard Drive to SSD. I could then use this as my Studio PC. I've already purchase 32 GB of memory for it which I am installing soon. But I have also learned that you cannot share the Logic or Mainstage 3 sound library between two different MAC's. If I were to run two different installs of Logic and MainStage 3 on two different MAC's for example , I would have to install the sample files either on the internal drive or to two different external SSD drives. So, there is no sound library sharing capability. Thanks, Anthony

Hi Everyone, I saw that The Rone Zone on YouTube had posted another keyboard related video recently..... it's pretty funny. I hope that you all enjoy it and of course hope that you and your families are all doing well healthwise. ~ Anthony

Thanks again, I didn't think of asking Guido directly. I appreciate the confimation of what I suspected and feel a little foolish for asking a dumb question. In all honesty, I should have investigated a little further but was uncertain about what I had read online. ~ Anthony

Hello Dave, Concerning the Mojo 61 specifically, that doesn't have an external power supply does it? According to the online specs: Standard IEC AC cable is used, is this hard wired? Also, regardless of this, I should be able to use both manuals regardless of point of purchase since they run dual voltages. Thanks, Anthony

Sorry, also thought of a follow-up question. Will other Crumar products purchased from a UK online retailer work in the US?

Hi Everyone, I sincerly hope that you and your families are all safe and well in light of what's going on across our country right now. We are living through a terrible time in our countries history due to more than one reason and I'd like you to know that my thoughts are with the other members (and their familes) who meet up and share of themselves here. I have a very quick question regarding the Crumar Mojo's lower manual. I was lucky enough to aquire a used but Mint condition Crumar Mojo 61 the other day via Reverb which is on it's way to me. The seller advised that he's only had it 3 weeks and confirmed that there were no scratches or dings on the unit, so am psyched about getting this. I don't know why he just didn't return it to the retailer, since he is the original owner. He said that he was not using it due to loss of gig's during our current health crisis. However, following purchase I noticed that only 1 online retailer has the LOWER manual for sale new or used at what I consider an inflated price at $699.00 and $645.00 respectively. I checked with an extremely well know UK retailer who is selling one new for $495.00 Obviosly, I'd like to save some money but need to know if that board would work with a Crumar Mojo 61 using US voltage. I read in the manual that the Mojo 61 is a dual voltage board and that the lower manual receives it's power via a modified midi connection. I would like to confirm that I can use a lower board (purchased from the UK) with a Crumar Mojo 61 running on US voltage before making any purchases. I would also like to purchase the EXP2 long throw pedal from them, and don't think that power source would be a consideration. Am I correct in assuming this? If one of the members who are familar with Crumar products can reply, I would really appreciate it Oddly enough, the first board I owned at age 15 was a Crumar T1 organ! Unfortunately, that was a transister organ with a built in case that sounded more like a Farfisa than anything else. The two legs of the stand screwed into the case! It was very compact. I used to simulate the Don't Get Fooled Again sound by playing the part while running the vibrato at a much slower speed than usual. Unfortunately, I did not have a Phaser at the time to complete the sound. Thanks Again, Anthony

Hi Dan, I am sorry to hear about this. I myself was let go after about 14 years on the job as a computer consultant back in 12-2018. The past year has been rough financially in comparison. About being prepared for an impending layoff: Don't blame yourself ! You are a specialist in your field and you are no doubt a really intelligent guy with transferrable skills. You can take this time to take a good look at all you have to offer potential employers and re-invest in yourself if necessary. No one could have predicted the extent that our country has been affected and this current health crisis has eliminated a lot of positions, both temparily and permanently. As I heard on an interview a couple of weeks ago on Bloomberg news, some employers are using this as an opportunity to cut dead wood from their organizations. So, Barbara Corcoran was advising that we should re-access our and invest in ourselves if necessary. This would be to better compete for available positions once they are made available. Personally speaking, I think you are an extremely smart and capable guy who should have NO PROBLEM getting hired once positions become available. Ms. Corcoran was mostly referring to slackers or those people who weren't keeping current or making any active contributions to their companies. Again, in that regard ~ from your past post discussing your profession ~ you've seemingly made a great contribution to your company and was a valued employee. So, your layoff no doubt was brought about due to the current pandemic. Take into account, that there is always a posibility that this might be a temporary layoff and you may be asked back. The only thing I can say in reference to all of this Dan, is that maybe looking into a temporary or permanent remote position might be an option. Are you able to perform aspects of your position remotely, perhapes for another company? Also, please take into consideration that you have a completely different set of musical realated skills also that you may be able to monitize. Both in the creation of music / sound design and promotional aspects of live entertainment. Once our current situation is over, you may be able to turn these skills into profit as well. The bottom line Dan is that I know from your post that your an intelligent man and a devoted father. Many people would aspire to all that you have achieved in your life so far. This current health crisis has caught all of us very much off-guard with far reaching personal and financial implications. Right now, it is a bad situation all around. But other types of professional opportunities may start to appear for you, as companies cannot afford to stay "closed" or have a reduced work force for the long term. As a computer consultant, I'm now looking into remote work at the moment (having been let go from a short term temp contract right before the pandemic hit the US). I'm really sorry for your situation Dan.... sincerly. And if there is anything I may do to assist, I'd like to offer. Please know that your not alone, and that the keyboard community and yours personal friends and family are with you! ~ Anthony

Hi Everyone, I thought that the two links below might provide a ittle distraction in light of what's going on in our world currently. I happened to see these two video's on YouTube uploaded by: TheRoneZone The person who uploaded these is a professional musician who usually works as part of a cruise ship band and orchestra. Please stay safe and healthy, ~ Anthony

I just heard that everything is closing down in my area as of later today. All non essential business, and while there is no curfew, the governer did stress that no one should be traveling especially during the evening hours, unless they absolutely have to. It's unbelievable, how drastic the health situation has gotten in a short span of time. I just wanted to wish you and your families all the best until we can all get through this and of course, please try to stay safe and healthy. ~ Anthony

Hello Everybody, I just wanted to reach out to you all for a moment to wish you a very happy holiday season. Although I don't post much, I did want to let you know just how much I appreciate being a member here. You all are a great bunch of people and my only regret is not being able to meet some of you personally to share a drink and say Hello. So, from my family to you and your's, may your day's be jolly and bright. Hmmm ~ what are the chord changes to that again? Lol Anthony

Thanks Joe, I really appreciate it! ~ Anthony

Hello There: This is my first time on this forum. I recently returned to composing / writing after literally not writing anything for quite a while. It started again due to a temporary hand injury requiring surgery, where I couldn't use the pinky finger of my left hand to play correctly. Thankfully, that has now been corrected, but during that time, I started writing again! Then I revisited recordings of my older compositions, and found out that they were actually a LOT better than I gave myself credit for at the time. Anyway, at the time I wrote some pieces that were piano based (instrumental) as well as music intended to be set to lyrics. And I am continuing in the same vein now. For the songwriting aspect, I am joining a fantastic site that I have recently found called SONGTOWN. It's run by a couple of No 1 country songwriters. But, the site deals with other genres of music as well. The instrumental pieces I'm doing now could seriously be mistaken for piano reductions of full fledged Movie Themes rather than just piano based pieces. Think Cinema Paradiso by Ennio Moricone. Pieces that can be reflective in nature, that may you feel certain emotions. However, I do not know the slightest thing about film underscoring and to be frank don't know if I would enjoy it. So, after a three paragraph build-up, here's my question: What do you do when you write very strong melodies / themes that definitely would not be confused with instrumental background music (synch music) , but do not have knowledge of or possibly the desire to become a full fledged film composer. I would love of course for these themes to be be featured in a television or movie production but do not have a clue about underscoring a full movie. And there are other composers that naturally gravitate or have a strong interest in that. In saying that I realize that the most famous movie themes / songs are also woven into the underscoring. But can those responsibilities be worked on by two different composers? I guess you could say that some ballads and songs although originally written for a particular motion picture, also had major success outside of the films there were composed for. All the way from Henry Mancini (Moon River) to Rocky (Love Theme From...) , With You I'm Born Again from Fast Break and of course the mega hit My Heart Will Go On from the late James Horner and Will Jennings. Or a perfect example if The Godfather theme. Not to mention many more songs that were written first and then chosen for inclusion in a film soundtrack. But these were full fledged songs written by songwriters with lyrics and music rather than just an instrumental piece composed by someone other than the films composer. I was just curious about this..... let's say for example that that the composers responsible for instantly recognizable and famous themes such as those for Brian's Song, A Summer Place or Love Story were composers, but not necessarily film composers. Writing music that could be used in film but not necessarily composed for that purpose? So if your a person like that, what avenues would you pursue for your instrumental compositions? This is something I've been thinking about for awhile. Since I would really like to share my compositions with as many people as possible but also naturally would like to make a living as a composer and pianist / keyboardist etc. Thanks for reading my post. Any responses would be very much appreciated. Anthony