zephonic

Everybody is different. I used AT extensively on my old XP80 and FantomX7. It was second nature.

Are there any Korg reps lurking here? I would like to know if a Nautilus 73 AT is planned for later, or will aftertouch be restricted to the 61 and 88? I really hope for the 73AT, it would be a perfect single-board solution for me.

Bottom line: the market has spoken. Weight trumps feel. (no puns please)

looks like a new GUI

Sure, spend 3x the $$$ and get something better. (incidentally, which Hammerfall system are you talking about? RME? that's a PCI card right?) But IME, the difference in quality is not much of an issue when you are running it on a large stage with 8 mics on the drums, another 4 on percussion, 3 or more vocal mics, a mic on the guitar amp, and 7 wedges, you catch my drift. Honestly, I leave the RME at home now, and just go from the 3.5mm jack on away gigs. Having an audio interface built into the controller, though, would be a strong selling point for me. On gigs where they have a Montage/MODX 7 or new Fantom on the top tier, I use those as audio interface, with local off.

Yeah, I looked at the NanoKontrol as well. How do you like it? I'm gonna give TouchOSC a try first. I need patch switching for each song, main volume control, and a few sliders for adjusting individual levels in split keyboard patches. I don't understand this thinking, why assume an on-board interface would be worse? NI makes average but competent audio interfaces, they could deploy the exact same tech in their controller keyboards. Why would that be inferior? So far it looks like I might be in the minority here, but stick a Komplete Audio 2 in these controller keyboards, add $100 to the price, and it makes a pretty compelling all-in-one solution. If that $100 is an issue, make it a cost option and see how the market responds. I've been thinking about this for a long time, and if they add laptop charging over USB-C, you'd have a true one cable solution for your laptop live rig. Watch for the Zephonic XE controller, coming to you soon! (hey, a man can dream ya?)

I really dug the MR! I hated my SQ2 though. It's kind of necessary, because it helps with the algorithm. If your video has 100,000 views but only 20 comments, it'll end up lower in the search rankings than a video with 20K views and 700 comments. I'm grabbing these numbers out of thin air, but you get the principle. Same thing for likes and subscribes. They are all metrics that determine where you end up in the search rankings and recommendations.

Zephonic XE, believe it!

Yes, that works great if you always have the same keyboard with you. On the last five gigs I had five different keyboards, so my setup is completely device-agnostic by necessity. I just got TouchOSC for my iPad to function as a controller for GP, but it's a bit of learning there. Also, half the time I need my iPad for charts as well, so I may need to get another one. A simpler/cheaper solution could be the Contour ShuttleExpress. Figuring this out.

Actually, revisiting this: one of the things I do not like about using the headphone jack on the MBP is volume control with the f keys. I really prefer a fader or knob for master volume control when I'm playing. To that end, if I have a Motif or Fantom on top, I run the audio out from the laptop into the audio in of the keyboard so as to tactile level control (although the extra stage of ADA is not great for sound quality). It's another reason I'd wanna have audio IO on a controller keyboard

Yeah, I suppose it could be a more of a mental thing than anything else. Maybe I should just buy that Volt 1 or M2 and try it out on the gig this weekend. See if it makes a difference in terms of sound quality. If not, I could probably return it. edit: Looking into this, Apple's support page states Does anybody idea what constitutes line level according to Apple? -10dBU? Voltage? Impedance? Thanks!

I do the same thing, USB MIDI cable to whatever keyboard backline provides, and 3.5mm>dual 1/4” cable from laptop’s headphone jack to whatever they want that plugged in to. But I have this nagging feeling that the sound quality is not really up there. I mean, it works, and k.i.s.s. but I feel like it sounds better when running thru the Juno or an audio interface.

Why do you say that makes more sense for keyboards with built-in sounds? Would you not want that capability in your controller keyboard? I believe you travel with the A800, right? Would it not be convenient if that had the audio IO built in as well?

Yeah, that's what I have been doing. Going straight from the headphone out into a DI or whatever the sound company has set up. Initially I brought my RME interface, but I hated unplugging and replugging every time, so I got lazy and just bought a good quality 3.5mm>dual 1/4" cable. I'm thinking of buying a MOTU M2 or UA Volt1 just for the away gigs and keep that in my backpack. Still, I feel like it's not a big ask to include audio IO, especially if the manufacturer makes interfaces as well (like NI). It seems like such a simple and logical addition.

At this point, I'm gonna pass on any controller that doesn't double as an audio interface. I don't really understand why only actual synths like Juno DS do that? If those boards can do it at competitive prices, why can't the dedicated controllers? In fact, the only reason I've kept the Juno DS76 around is it occasionally functions as a controller/interface for my laptop.

https://sonicstate.com/news/2023/09/12/new-native-instruments-midi-controller-keyboards/

But Montage never had GHS though, it was the Balanced Hammer action, and FSX.

Yes, I've had similar gripes with the Fantom X and every keyboard since. That said, Setlist works reasonably well for me, but I agree that in the middle of a performance it's too easy to hit the wrong one or having to tap more than once. It is doable, but dedicated buttons worked way better. However, I haven't had those since the XP80, so... I do think that a proper capacitive touch display like an iPad's would probably improve that, though. Crappy resistive screens are no good for this type of use. Adding capacitive touch to the Montage would make the display much more usable.

As a rule of thumb, I take SW site as a reliable indicator of what’s EOL’d. All models mentioned are still up for sale there.

I always felt Yamaha synths were unintuitive, but the Montage/MODX UI is actually easy to get around on for me. I have only had to look at the manual twice. Then again, I don't really use Super Knob, nor the transpose function.

Based on the recs in this thread I purchased the KZ-ZS10 Pro X as well and just received it. Compared to the SE215, it feels more comfortable. The Shure causes soreness and after 30-45 minutes I can't wait to take them out. Gonna take it to the gig tomorrow and see how it goes.

Do you have other piano libraries? How does it compare?

Anybody using this? How heavy is it on resources?

lol I thought this was about a medley/mashup of these two songs:

Thanks for sharing!