HSS

Damn! RIP Joey.

I gigged with a with a band leader/ singer/ harp player for a few years who used to play the Wedding March horn intro to Rufus Thomas' "Walking the Dog" on a Kazoo. The audiences usually loved it, along with his outrageous attire. It just goes to show you that cheese can work if used sparingly for the right songs in the right spots. Franks Zappa was the master at precise and deadly application of cheese. Sorry for wandering OT. I'm becoming more unfocused in my dotage,

. I guess I'm just an old fart talking to himself here. It could be worse. I could be talking to myself on a street corner or in a bus station bathroom. FWIW I ended up purchasing the SoundFonts App for $8 after comparing it to the $30 Korg Module's Performance Expansion and BS-16i, which is also 8$. It turns out that the SoundFonts app comes pre-loaded with hundreds of soundfonts, about a third of which are decent and can be tweaked within the app with reverb/delay and EQ and then saved before plugging seamlessly into AUM. Of course, there are a boatload of soundfonts available on the internet of varying quality, often for free, which can also be integrated into the SoundFonts app. So, for me, there was no need for spilling $30 on Korg's Performance expansion for Korg Module Pro. I'll go back to IOS purgatory after its 7-day free demo.

The SoundFonts app can supposedly be used as an AUv3 plug-in which should be compatible with AUM, which I have. I have Korg Module Pro and am currently demo'ing the Performance Expansion package for free for 7 days. IMO the Performance Expansion's sounds are OK and are typical of a Rompler. It also integrates well with AUM. But its $30 price tag seems pretty steep to me for what it is, especially given that I can set up complex splits and layers on AUM. I know that sound fonts, albeit of varying quality, are available all over the internet, often for free, so I was thinking that I could save some $$ and just purchase the SoundFonts app for $8, find free or cheap sound fonts, and then use the SoundFonts app to integrate the sound fonts into AUM. Does anyone have any experience with and/or opinions about the SoundFonts app and its compatibility with AUM?

I have a TC Helicon "SingThing" that can make my girlyman voice sound like Barry White. It can also make me sound like Minnie Riperton or even the Vienna Boys Choir. So, I suspect it can make about any vocalist sound like Johnny Cash or Steve Perry. My son and I have a lot of fun with the SingThing at home, but I would never try to use those tricks in the dive bars I play in for fear of getting the sheeeit kicked out of me (and rightfully so).

Good point. KC has an interesting mix of top shelf pros like you, weekend warriors like me, and bedroom amateurs. As such, one needs to be careful about broad generalizations in discussions such as this. Because I'm just a crappy weekend warrior who plays keys mainly in dive bar blues bands for pleasure and to relieve stress, I won't cover horn and orchestral parts. On the other hand, if I had to play keys to put a roof over my head and food on the table, I would probably do what it takes. My context is that I "whored" myself out to the oil industry for 35 years as a geologist / geophysicist after I finished college to make money when I would have preferred to have become an adventurous gentleman geologist wandering the mountains mapping rocks and collecting minerals and fossils. But I needed to make money to support my family so I cut my hair, shut my mouth, doffed my corporate dockers and button-down shirts, and put my nose to the grindstone working for The Man.

I have a Numa Compact 2x that has a few AP and EP's with the same names as some of the AP's and EP's in the newer Numa X stage pianos (e.g. Japanese Grand, German Grand, EP MK I and II). Does anyone with first-hand knowledge know if the AP's and EP's in the new Numa X stage pianos are improved / better than the similarly named ones in the Numa Compact 2 / 2x ? Also, I noticed that the new free Numa Player app includes some APs and EP's with same names as those in the Numa X and Compact 2 / 2x keyboards. When I have some time in the next few days, I plan to download the Numa player and compare its sounds to the similarly named ones in my Numa Compact 2x. I suspect that Numa Player's sounds will probably be lower quality than those in the Numa Compact 2x (and the Numa X). Otherwise, why would Studiologic offer the Numa Player app for free?

I don't buy new clothes. Henry David Thoreau nailed it when he said: "Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes."

About 20 -25 years ago I played some gigs in Texas with a band leader (RIP) who was a good, albeit old and cranky, blues guitarist / singer who did quite a few originals. I recall a gig in an icehouse dive where, as usual, there were drunks in the audience yelling for the band to play Stevie Ray. I recall that the band leader replied loudly over the PA: "So y' all want to hear some Stevie Ray tunes? He never played any of mine, so I won't play any of his tonight." The band never played that dive again 😉 .

I hear you and agree with your sentiment... I quit a musically good soul / blues band with a really good lady singer a few months ago because they wanted to add 6 or 8 pop and disco songs to score more high dollar gigs. The songs would have required me to cover horn and orchestration parts on keys. Having said this, I fully understood and appreciated the band's motivation because the lady singer and the lead guitarist play music for a living. If my priority was making coin, i probably would have stuck it out. But life is too short and I'm old, my hair's long, my feet stink, I have a bad knee, I have family issues, and I confess that I can be cranky. I play music for pleasure and to relieve stress. I only want to play AP, EP, Hammond, and occasional clav and synth. At this point in my life, I don't want to be a horn or string section for a band on the cheap. Maybe I've become an old uncompromising A-hole but I am what I am.

Same here. After having the NC2X for 2 1/2 years, I've given up waiting for an update to improve its Leslie sim.

Back on topic... IMO if the rhythm section sucks, a gig can be hell. When the rhythm section is in the pocket, the gig is easy for the other musicians, barring obnoxious loud SRV wannabe "hats & strats" guitar heroes. As a former drummer, I put the onus for the rhythm section equally on bass and drums. I recently had an experience playing a couple of dive bar gigs with an unrehearsed improvisational 1 - 4 - 5 gut bucket blues band where the bass player, a retired High School band teacher, charted every blues song out and brought an Ipad with the charts to gigs. The gigs were train wrecks because the bass player, who is otherwise a super nice guy, didn't play or even interact with the other musicians, he played with his Ipad charts. The harp player/ vocalist band leader fired the bass player after the second gig. Having said this, I'm not averse to charts at all. I use Ipads with "MySongBook" charts when needed. They are great tools for more complex structured forms of music but IMHO they need to be fit for purpose.

Never... If I crank my volume up and play a dynamic two-handed 13th chord with a flatted 5 followed by an ascending arhythmic whole tone scale run in the middle of an up tempo 1 - 4 -5 blues shuffle, I'm just trying to elevate the music. Of course, said artistry would be accompanied by me standing up, kicking my piano seat over, and a pained emotive look on my face. I'm sure my bandmates will appreciate my soulful musicality. Sorry for the sarcasm, but I couldn't resist.

I agree. My wife is a non-musician with a PhD. At most, she can tell if the vocals and band are in tune, if there's a recognizable chorus, and if there's a danceable rhythm. She doesn't recognize signature instrumental licks or even what sounds the individual instruments are playing in a band. She doesn't even know all of the lyrics of popular songs she likes, she mainly just relates to the choruses. Most of my non-musician scientist and engineering colleagues I worked with in the oil industry for 40 years, many of whom had PhD's, were similar to my wife and were astonishingly unaware of all of the nuances of music that we as musicians obsess over. IMHO cover bands, whose focus is making coin, often spend way too much energy and time trying to precisely emulate solos and signature instrumental licks. Get the vocal chorus, the gross chord changes, and the groove right, and most of the audience, who are non-musicians, will be happy. And just as important, create an entertaining stage presence and vibe. Having said this, here in Vegas where I live, tribute / copy bands in the big casinos are a whole different beast and require precise covers of songs, often even accompanied with a stage act imitation. As such, IMO, they are essentially musical "impressionists", akin to comedian politician impressionists such as Rich Little. FWIW... Since I'm a crappy weekend warrior who isn't in it for the money, none of the above really matters much to me. I just want to play music that provides a therapeutic emotional release for me. If I make a little money while doing, it, all the better,. Edit: Apology to MathOfInsects for wandering very far off topic.

FWIW... When I had an SK2, I used a wheeled SKB 3i-4719-TKBD 61-Key Wide Keyboard Case. It was a snug fit vertically when I unscrewed the rubber legs on the bottom of the SK2. I don't know about the SKX. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/3i4719TKBD--skb-31-4719-tkbd-61-note-wide-keyboard-case

I bought a pair of Alto TS310's last summer and they're a lot of bang for the buck. I paid about $400 (plus tax) for both, which were factory refurbished. I'm a cheap bastard, so I rarely buy new. I've been pretty lucky so far (cross my fingers).

In addition to previously mentioned powered speakers, you might want to consider the Yamaha DBR10 which is similar to but less powerful, lighter, and less expensive than its big brother the Yamaha DXR10. It has two xlr /1/4"combo input jacks along some simple DSP settings for some basic mixing capability. It's under your stated price and weight limit, costing less than $400 and weighing 23 lbs. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DBR10--yamaha-dbr10-700w-10-inch-powered-speaker

I usually use a little mixer for gain /eq / proximity to controls but when I've had to do quick set-ups or was just too lazy to hassle with it, I've also flipped the line/mic switch to "mic" for more gain with my QCS K12 and Yamaha DBR 10. When I've done this, there was plenty of volume and headroom. FWIW... My Alto TS310's don't have a line/mic switch and when I boost their gain knobs above 2/3'rds they start distorting so I recently used the headphone out from my keyboard for more gain when I had to do a quick set-up. It worked but the gain increase wasn't nearly as much as flipping the line/mic switch to "mic" on my QSC K12 or Yamaha DBR10.

FWIW... I use Vycro MX editor with my MX88 because It's completely free and I'm cheap. Vycro MX has quite a bit of functionality, perhaps not as much as the John Melas editor. For me it's fit for purpose which is mainly setting up performances with multiple splits and layers. I don't know about its capability for moving performances around. You might want to download Vycro MX and try it out. This link was working at the beginning of April: https://drive.google.com/drive/fhttps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13jPTOBHq7pdeEwl_TfcRk09YPs8vazW9?fbclid=IwAR008UhZJXT60SKTse6lARZ27Hp91Pxw0EuRs1ly8Y2eVtCu-1kzwUSqHzUolders/13jPTOBHq7pdeEwl_TfcRk09YPs8vazW9?fbclid=IwAR008UhZJXT60SKTse6lARZ27Hp91Pxw0EuRs1ly8Y2eVtCu-1kzwUSqHzU

OT: Every time I think about smooth jazz, I can't escape the image of SNL's Ladies' Man putting the moves on a hot-to-trot divorcee while cracking open a bottle of Courvoisier with some Kenny G playing in the background. This is not to say there wasn't some great musicianship in smooth jazz, but IMHO it's one of the most contrived, formulaic, and tacky genres of music out there. Despite this, I certainly don't blame musicians like Kenny G for trying to make some coin playing it. I spent 35 years whoring myself out as a geologist to the oil industry so who am I to pass judgement.

I resurrect this video recorded in 1998 every few years at KC. The highpoint of my failed musical career occurs at ~32 seconds. I don't know if my recovery was "proper" but at least in hindsight it's good for a few laughs. My apologies to those of you who've seen it before.

The guy is a monster player and he's smooth with a self-deprecating sense of humor which ladies usually dig. I suspect he does all right with 'em.

I was fortunate enough to see James Booker a few times at the Maple Leaf Bar after I moved to New Orleans in 1982. I used to sit about 10 -20 feet from him while he played the hell out of an upright. He passed away towards the end of 1983.

FWIW... Definitions of musical genres for me are often arbitrary and confusing. In any case, I would timidly vote for Herbie Mann's 1961 version of "Comin' Home Baby" as perhaps an early example of (proto) smooth jazz. It had originally been recorded by the Dave Bailey Quintet just a few weeks earlier as a more hard-nosed jazz tune with in-your-face horns. Mann's version of the song with flute was more mellow with a nice danceable Latin-ish groove. It got a fair amount radio play for Mann as well. Of course, Mel Torme added lyrics to the song and had a pretty good hit with it about a year later.

Thanks for informative review Dave! I have the Numa Compact 2x, which I like but it also has the pitch and mod sticks. I'm always afraid that in a moment of unfettered enthusiasm I'll grab one of 'em and break it. Nevertheless, IMO Studiologic is kicking some buttocks at the price point of their recent keyboard offerings.