RichieP_MechE

The aftertouch strip means that the keys bottom out about 1/8" higher than on the Electros. Coming from an Electro 3/4D/5D it felt a little weird to me at first but I quickly adapted. Haven't felt cramped at all. IMO you don't need to load the XL samples for the acoustic pianos, L is more than adequate, especially for live use. I have most of the grands and I think all of the uprights loaded, as well as every electric piano (though I think I have XL samples for the epianos since they aren't that large of a file)

Also, last night's gig went off without a hitch - no knobs came flying off at least I'd chalk this repair up as a success.

Bosch makes great stuff. I've got some of their 12V tools and they're a pleasure to use.

Thanks all. I like making these little how-to posts, so hopefully someone will get some use out of it in the future. I actually got my discount calipers from Amazon Most of these cheap Chinese calipers are more or less the same - as long as you get a decent pair with unbent tips and gapless jaws you've got enough precision for 95% of measuring tasks. Once you have a pair you'll find that they are indispensable, I use mine all the time. One tip is to store them with the battery removed, otherwise you'll go back to use them after a few months and find that battery is dead. I've been on the same battery for more than 2 years using this battery removal tip. I am also a tool nerd and can talk about them for hours. I've got drawers full of expensive German pliers and screwdrivers, but still have plenty of generic stuff from Harbor Freight as well. HFT has actually been making strides in introducing higher quality tools into their lineup over the years and are starting to shed their cheap crappy tool reputation. Their new line of Icon hand tools are really nice - I recently picked up a stubby 3/8" ratchet to try out and it's almost as nice as my Snap-On ratchet. I also bought one of their US General brand 26" toolboxes and it's well constructed and higher quality than any US-made Craftsman toolbox that I've owned.

I've been a proud Nord owner for years but was a little skeptical when they went from metal stem pots to plastic stem starting with the Electro 5 series. My Electro 5D 73 served me well and had no issues. I then upgraded to a Nord Stage 3 Compact and had continued to have good fortune, aside from an encoder knob coming loose and getting lost. Then on Thursday of this week, I open my bag at band practice and find that the program knob is completely busted off. The encoder stem somehow sheared off in transport. I can get by with the page buttons for rehearsal, but the program knob is probably my most-used on the board! http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/rpantale/pics/nord%20encoder%20repair/nord%20enc%2001.jpg The busted knob, with half of the encoder stem stuck in the knob. I used a pair of small needle nose pliers to remove the end of the stem I've got access to professional soldering equipment to replace the encoder, but I've also got a gig on Monday, and probably wouldn't be able to get a replacement in time. Even if I could, I really don't want to be soldering on an important component the day of an important gig (Though I'm sure some of the EEs here have done this!) I noticed that the busted stem had in internal D-shaped profile on both sides. A simple mechanical solution could repair this adequately: I just needed to make a small D-shaped shaft to insert into the two halves to join them together. I went down into the basement and found a coil of 9 gauge galvanized steel wire that I had leftover from another project. It just happened to be the perfect size (3.6 mm (9/64")) diameter, which is the same as the diameter of the inter D on the encoder stem. A few minutes with a file and a hacksaw and I had a 12 mm (1/2") D-profile shaft. I filed it until I had a tight transition fit. I applied a little bit of superglue to one half of the shaft, then inserted it into the broken stem tip. After that, I applied a bit more superglue to the other end of the steel shaft, then inserted it into the encoder on the front panel. I made sure to keep spinning it occasionally so that if any glue leaked out of the joint, it wouldn't bond the encoder in place and prevent it from rotating. The repair worked great! I've now got a steel reinforced encoder stem. I suspect you could also do this repair with the potentiometers on the board as well, though I don't know for sure what the insides of the stem look like. I would also suspect that this repair could be done on any Nord boards from the Electro 5 onwards that are using plastic stem encoders/pots. Here's some pictures with captions detailing the process. You don't even have to take the board apart to make this repair (I took off the front panel to more easily handle on my workbench but this is not actually necessary) Sorry for the low-quality cell phone pics (though I think they get the point across) Happy fixing! http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/rpantale/pics/nord%20encoder%20repair/nord%20enc%2002.jpg Wire that will serve as the shaft. You can find this stuff at your local big box home improvement store. http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/rpantale/pics/nord%20encoder%20repair/nord%20enc%2003.jpg Diameter measurement http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/rpantale/pics/nord%20encoder%20repair/nord%20enc%2004.jpg Cut a 25mm (1") section, clamp in vise, then start working with a mill file. http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/rpantale/pics/nord%20encoder%20repair/nord%20enc%2005.jpg Before/after. Finished shaft is about 12 mm (1/2") long. http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/rpantale/pics/nord%20encoder%20repair/nord%20enc%2006.jpg Starting reassembly. I applied a little bit of superglue to the shaft before inserting into the stem. http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/rpantale/pics/nord%20encoder%20repair/nord%20enc%2007.jpg The stem reassembled. I again applied some superglue before inserting into the encoder. Pressed on it to start the bond, then turned every few seconds to keep any glue that might of leaked out from sticking. http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/rpantale/pics/nord%20encoder%20repair/nord%20enc%2008.jpg After about 15 minutes (glue should be dry by then) the knob was reattached. You could glue the knob in place if you want, but that would make future circuit repair difficult. All of the knobs have to be removed to separate the circuit board from the front panel.

Congrats Prof! Your contributions around here are greatly appreciated. May you continue to be MOM (musically open minded)

Stylophone Gen-X1? Retails for 70 bucks [video:youtube]

Here's the beef [video:youtube]

The Behringer bomb continues to explode [video:youtube]

That's the initial render from when they first announced the synth. They revised the front panel a couple times since then. https://www.gearnews.com/behringer-ds-80-round-3-is-uli-getting-the-hang-of-his-cs-80-clone/

And now, we have an animated Vulfpeck Holiday Special, featuring Vince Guaraldi-like interpretations of Vulfpeck tunes by the Woody Goss Trio [video:youtube]

Sometimes overlooked is that fact that Jack Stratton is a marketing genius. No doubt the great musicianship is a big part of their success, but the way Jack has managed to promote the band is really something. Count me among the cohort that is incredibly happy for the band's success. It was actually a thread from James that introduced this band to me in the first place: What was that band called again?

I'd say we're okay. Just need a road marker. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!! We're past opening weekend. If you're this far into this thread at this point, you're on your own. dB

Awesome, Ken! Just placed my order. Can't wait to see it in person!

I thought you were only using KC on Fridays For a low-volume thing like this, laser cutting would be perfect. Any maker spaces near you? They might be able to help. A local engraving business might be willing to do it as well if they have a laser. A quick svengle also led me to these guys: https://www.ponoko.com/laser-cutting/paper/cardstock They claim cutting card stock "starts at $1" At the very least you can make an account and see what pricing might be like. Most laser cutting software wants a vector file (svg, dxf, dwg, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, etc), though I've used some that take pdf, so exporting your powerpoint as a pdf may be enough. The important thing will be to communicate what the dimensions would approximately be so it's scaled correctly. If all else fails, I could probably do it for you once I have some free time (I have access to a laser cutter, but currently do not have any free time ) Good luck!

Looks great Ken! I'll be curious to hear about your book publishing experiences, I've been interested in doing one myself.

Congrats on the new gear Ken! That's always exciting. The star tracking feature sounds pretty cool! Is it physically moving the sensor, or is it some kind of digital process?

That is pretty cool! Kind of like an advance white balance for underwater photography.

Awesome Ken! I didn't have time to do the drive on the dirt roads through Capitol Reef, hoping to do it on a return visit someday.

Yeah I was feeling more of a fast four or cut time myself. Definitely a great solo, might take a stab at transcribing it, really like those tasty little descending licks (whether or not I have the faculty to pull them off is another story) Yes, most pop songs/singles would probably qualify. I was actually going to post Get Back next but you already beat me to it!

I've been enjoying this catchy new number from Theo Katzmannwhich has a great little 8 bar rip-roaring piano solo from Lee Pardini (current keys man for Dawes) at the 2:15 mark. Got me thinking: what are some of your favorite short piano/keyboard solos? Let's say 16 bars or less [video:youtube]

Thanks Ken! Feel free to share some of those shots here if you want. Definitely worth the trip out west. The landscape out there is incredibly inspiring, especially for a photographer!

Arches was probably my favorite, so here's a few more from there: Arches #2 by Rich Pantaleo, on Flickr Arches #3 by Rich Pantaleo, on Flickr Arches #4 by Rich Pantaleo, on Flickr

I took a vacation to Utah in early October to visit the five US National Parks there. Pretty packed trip with a lot of driving (1200 miles!) and plenty of photography. Here's a few select photos from the trip from my DSLR. I also shot a dozen frames of medium format slide film. Those aren't developed yet, but when they are I'll share them here. Zion by Rich Pantaleo, on Flickr Bryce Canyon by Rich Pantaleo, on Flickr Capitol Reef by Rich Pantaleo, on Flickr Arches by Rich Pantaleo, on Flickr Canyonlands by Rich Pantaleo, on Flickr

Nice stuff Lou! I like these old, grungy and decrepit places.