zephonic

Although I could see myself buying an 88, I think it's a bit perplexing that Korg ditched the aftertouch but kept the high weight for Nautilus. And I dislike the C-C on the 73, not sure why they think that's better. As for MODX+, my local GC says they have four of them in stock, but he couldn't tell me when they would be released. He'll let me know tomorrow.

idk, that seems to be the trend, but it wasn't that long ago that the MO8 had the BH action. Same as in the Motif 8. I feel the GHS is acceptable for the MX88, but the MODX8 should really have something better at its price point. Especially since the S90 is discontinued.

As a current MODX user I really hope Yamaha addresses the most basic usability issue: can we just do system updates over the USB connection, instead of transferring to thumb drive etc. We really shouldn't have to do that in 2022.

You have the original Dimension D or the Boss pedal? How does the Klark Teknik compare?

I have the Eris 5” and 8” sub for our home theater, fun! I don’t use them for critical listening but it makes for a very satisfying listening experience, both music and movies. I have Genelecs in my home studio, though. I will add the sub at some point, but they’re pricy. You miss a lot without a sub, I resisted for years, but now I’m convinced.

I am looking for the exact same thing for my Rhodes, mono in/stereo out chorus pedal. I'll wait for this to hit the streets: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SCFGoldSE--tc-electronic-scf-gold-stereo-chorus-flanger-45th-anniversary-special-edition#

No kidding. He says it sounds like a Behringer. Nir's own preamp sounds really good, btw, but he only made 50 and sold all. For now I'll just run mine mono thru my Daking Mic Pre. It's gonna be interesting, I'm all ITB, and having an electro-mechanical instrument here with stomp boxes etc. is a new experience for me. I'm definitely getting a DOD Envelope Filter, I had one in the 90's and it was badass, like a touch sensitive wah. Fun times ahead!

if you have a good flightcase, taking it with is not as expensive as you might think. I traveled with my Fantom from Europe to Africa to America, and the cost was never more than $150, maybe <$200 from Amsterdam to LA. Of course, it eats into your wages, but it may be more cost-effective than spending several hours or days programming everything into Mainstage (or equivalent). Also worth noting that a MODX is 100% compatible with Montage, so if they could source one of those, you could load in an image of your instrument and make do. Alternatively, I've found on flyaways that just about everybody and their momma have a Motif XS/XF. I remember you had one of those? If you still do, you could take an image of your instrument and load that into the rental. Good luck.

Let me qualify that. I played it at NAMM, but with cans and it didn't blow me away. It sounds and plays like a Rhodes. The main difference is that it feels new, whereas any original Rhodes will have 250K+ miles on it.

I haven't booked gigs myself here, but as a sideman I usually get $250-300 for a private party, typically two or three 45-minute sets. Agency stuff pays better, $400+, if the bandleader doesn't pocket the difference.

Wall wart on a Rhodes? Could that introduce ground loops? Otherwise RetroFlyer sounds like just the ticket, wish they'd sell an outboard version. I like that it can do mono in/stereo out, but I'd prefer an analog signal chain. The search continues...

What's a good stereo tremolo/chorus unit to run the Rhodes thru?

That's an excellent point. The idea was to have the Rhodes be the weighted controller for AP sounds etc. with the Fantom taking care of everything else. But indeed, other than a Mk7 I never played a Rhodes that felt particularly great, and I can think of any number of weighted controllers that would be better suited for the task. Yeah, my room is small so for a moment it seemed like an effective way to consolidate a weighted controller and Rhodes into one, but Brad's point stands.

Has anybody here MIDI-fied their Rhodes? I've been told it would cost $2K which doesn't seem worth it, but if it means I don't have to get another weighted controller, it might be something to consider.

Parts. Always the parts. Learn the horn parts. Learn the string parts. Learn all the keyboard parts and play them simultaneously. I'm ok with that, but then the guitarist gets a pass to play whatever he feels like and totally clashes with all the parts I've painstakingly learned. I feel like that defeats the purpose, but hey, if the bandleader is cool with that, shrug and move on. I guess I'm effective at the parts thing, but it's not something I can see myself doing for another five years. For me it requires a mindset that I can't break out of when I get called on to tear it up, and it messes with me.

Thanks, I appreciate that, D. I mean, I feel like being a musician is somewhat akin to being an athlete. You need to not only practice regularly but also do matches/races/gigs to keep that rhythm going. Once you're out of that routine, it takes a while to get back into it. I was out for most of the first half of this year, and still feel a lack of "game readiness" when I'm gigging. I know it's a lousy analogy, but I'm sure you get my point. Lol, I'm gonna use that!

Thanks, Brad. I guess I’ll take the leap.

Same here. Am scaling down my cover/tribute band activity, but I do feel I need to gig at least twice a week to keep my game up. Otherwise I start to lose the routine of an active gigging musician.

Definitely not gigging with it! Home studio use only. Glad to be joining the club, D! I can’t wait.

Anybody have experience with the straddlers for the Mk1 stage? Nir says he does not endorse or recommend them because of bad experience with them, but Ken Rich sells them on his website for a bill: https://www.kenrichsounds.com/collections/straddler-series/products/rhodes-mk1-straddler-stacking-stand I would like to put my old Fantom on top of the Rhodes.

Hydrasynth Deluxe

I dropped my 1977 Stage Mk1 of at Nir’s today, should be ready next Tuesday. He tried to upsell me on the Miracle Mod, but it adds to the cost considerably. Would it be worth it? He said to let him know before end of day. I’m leaning towards holding off for now, not critical, but the increased dynamic range would be nice.

What ever happened to Eddie Reynolds? Do any of the current techs do a similar mod? And also, I remember there being MIDI retrofits back in the day, is that still a thing or did it die?

A friend is moving to Boston and wants to give me his Rhodes. It needs the legs/pedal for sure, and maybe tuning or whatever else needs to be done on a fifty year old electro-mechanical instrument. I’m sure there are techs that do this here in the LA area, can anybody point me in the right direction? Thanks!

Yes, there’s something about the P-515 (and its predecessors) that just works. A direct comparo with the CP88 at NAMM left me surprised at how much better the P felt and sounded.