HSS

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.

I picked up a P121 a couple of months ago. IMO it's got decent piano and Rhodes sounds. The Rhodes sound has a fair amount of funky "bark, which I personally like. Others may not. Bear in mind the Rhodes sound is not top shelf with some velocity switching evident, but it works for me. I suspect that in a live band mix at a gig the P121's Rhodes' minor velocity switching probably won't be discernable. If you want a better Rhodes sound, the P121's USB midi / audio makes it easy with one cable to an Ipad / Iphone..

Looks interesting. IMHO it's good that Behringer is keeping the footprint small by putting the pitch bend and mod wheels above and staying away from silly artsy bulbous end caps. Hopefully Behringer keeps the weight down and includes a SW waterfall action that's not too "springy". Someone up thread mentioned adding an expression pedal input as well as a high trigger point option which would be plusses. It'd be cool if Behringer also offered a 73 key of the same SW waterfall action board as well fully-weighted 73/76 and 88 key versions.

Sorry for being anal and talking to myself in public but this is a follow-up to my query about the differences between the Alto TS3, Headrush, and Alesis Strike series active speakers. As you can see in the linked YouTube video below, it turns out that Alto, Headrush, and Alesis are all owned by the same parent company, inMusic, and the three speaker brands are indeed pretty much identical with the main difference between them being in the input gain structures as discussed at ~3' 40" in the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jh1ShRlT2s&ab_channel=expertisland

Thanks for all of the info y' all. I now have some food for thought. This is why I dig KC. I already have a pair of Alto TS 310's, so I'm aware that the Alto TS3 series is good quality for the money. I was looking for something more portable with the Alto TS308 when I stumbled on the Alesis Strike 8 which has the same stated secs (watts, spl, frequency range), dimensions, and enclosure design as the Alto TS308 and is $40 cheaper. FWIW the Headrush 8 also has the same stated specs, dimensions, and enclosure design and is priced the same at Alto TS308. Having said all of this and not having access the detailed frequency spectrums for the Alesis Strike 8 which is advertised as a drum amp and the Headrush 8 which is advertised as a guitar amp, I suspect that the three boxes are tuned differently, each fit for purpose. Also, I suspect, based on the labeling on the back panels, that unlike the Alto TS308, the Alesis Strike 8 and Headrush 8, may not have mic preamps for more gain. As a result, I'll probably play it safe and keep my eye out for a factory refurbished or used Alto TS308. Yes, I know, I'm cheap and always trying to nickel and dime it.

Same here. I suspect that a couple of decades of whiskey and cigs every day is what's needed to add some character to my squirrely voice, but I guess I've lived too clean a life and am too old now.

Thanks... I'll take a look at that thread.

Reezekeys... Yeah, I don't know about the internal speakers themselves. FWIW... The detailed specs for both on Gear-4-Music are identical (e.g, watts, spl, frequency range, etc.). The photos of the enclosures on Sweetwater, most notably the base, appear to identical, as are the overall dimensions and weight. But who knows... I was hoping a KC'er had had first hand experience with both speakers.

HMMM... Specs (watts, spl, freq. range), enclosure and size, and back panel layout appear to be the same. The Alesis Strike 8 runs about $40 cheaper new than the Alto TS 308 at SW and other vendors. It looks like the Alesis Strike 8 might just be a rebranded Alto TS 308 or vice versa. They're both made in China, like damn near everything else, and rebranding the same product happens all the time with Chinese-made consumer electronics. Alesis Strike 8 drum amp https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/StrikeAmp8--alesis-strike-amp-8-2000-watt-1x8-inch-drum-amplifier https://www.gear4music.com/us/en/Drums-and-Percussion/Alesis-Strike-Amp-8-Drum-Amplifier/3NVG Alto TS308 powered speaker https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TS308--alto-ts308-2000w-8-inch-powered-speaker https://www.gear4music.com/us/en/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/Alto-TS308-2000-Watt-Active-Speaker/2FOB?_gl=1*j8thmz*_ga*OTE1MjA1MTQ5LjE2NTAxMzYzNjQ.*_up*MQ.. If the Alto TS 308 and Alesis Strike 8 are indeed the same product just rebranded, I would go with the Alesis because I'm a cheap bastard. As a long-time value investor, I don't always a priori accept that one gets what one pays for. Thoughts, opinions? Edit: FWIW I already have a pair of Alto TS310's that I scored a good deal on and am happy with them. They may not be as good as high-end QSC's, Yam DXR's, etc., but IMO they're a lot of bang for the buck.

FWIW I've been musically impressed by the live Dolly Parton performance below since the first time I saw it many years ago. I confess that prior to accidentally seeing this performance, I just assumed Dolly was a generic celebrity who got ahead based on her obvious twin assets. Although some may think the song below is overly sentimental and cheesy, IMHO Dolly's performance of it is close to flawless with near perfect vocal pitch, guitar fingerpicking, and meter. The one step up key change at ~1':30" is very smooth. And she's playing guitar with those insane fingernails. Dolly is not only a prolific songwriter but IMO her vocal skills and musicianship are underappreciated.

She's honest and cool. https://www.aol.com/why-dolly-parton-doesnt-want-174018548.html

Here's a few Mardi Gras tunes: Go to the Mardi Gras- Professor Longhair Mardi Gras Mambo - the Meters Big Chief - Professor Longhair Meet De Boys On De Battlefront- The Wild Tchoupitoulas Edit: I lived in New Orleans from 1982 - 1989 and am not familiar with more recent possible Mardi Gras tunes. Check with KC's Josh Paxton. He's a great New Orleans pianist and lives in New Orleans now, or at least until recently. He may be able to point you to more New Orleans Mardi Gras tunes.

I picked up a Yamaha P121 last week. It's portable (73 keys, 22 lbs) with basic GHS weighted action. It has good AP and Rhodes sounds, and decent onboard speakers with 1/4" outputs. It's easy to split and layer any of the 24 onboard sounds. It also has USB midi and audio so only one USB cable cable is needed hook up to an Ipad for more sounds.

"I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes. If there is not a new man, how can the new clothes be made to fit? If you have any enterprise before you, try it in your old clothes. All men want, not something to do with, but something to do, or rather something to be." - Henry David Thoreau, from Walden, chapter one. Hmmm.... One could possibly say the same thing about buying new gear to replace old gear that's still working and fit-for-purpose.

I'm a weekend warrior not a pro. Having said this, for me, new and better gear, and even technical skill of the musicians I'm playing with, are secondary variables WRG to how much I enjoy gigging in bands. Enjoyment for me has been more about the vibe and the organic spontaneity between the musicians I'm playing with. The most musical fun I had playing in bands was in Houston during 1996 - 1999 when I was gigging usually with just an Alesis QS6 and crappy Roland KC500 amp mainly with down-and-out unrehearsed blues and R&B bands who had crappy gear, sometimes rented from pawn shops, and whose members were in a constant state of flux dependent upon who could make the gig. Sometimes there were musical train wrecks on stage but it was almost always "life on the edge" and fun, at least for me. I currently have the best gear I've ever had and am playing with three bands here in Vegas, all of whom have excellent gear, are musically competent, and none of whom I'm having much fun playing with. One band is a Vegas lounge act that covers the musical bases using charts on Ipads, another is comprised of former Big Hair LA rockers doing generic blues rock and classic rock songs, and the third endlessly noodles in a living room on the same 10 -15 tunes, about half of them originals, making them more and more complex, and then recording the result. Since I started venturing out to play gigs after being vaxxed late last spring, I've only played about 6 - 8 gigs with the first two bands and not had any fun. In fact, the only semblance of fun I've had gigging since then was on 3 or 4 pick-up gigs with unrehearsed blues bands, and even then, on balance, those pick-up gigs were pains-in-the-ass for me, loading in/ loading out for $50 - $100. My New Year's resolution is to "diplomatically" quit all three bands and take a break, even from pick-up gigs. Who knows, I may discover that I'm the problem because I'm just old, lazy, and burned out on playing music in bands. In other words, as Ian Anderson famously said, I'm too old to rock & roll and too young to die. Perhaps I'll also discover that I've reached the level of my musical incompetence (i.e. Peter Principle), and new better gear and more playing /practice will not make me a better "happier" musician.

Nice review by PianoManChuck. He spends some talking about the new Numa board's footprints. I don't know if I will like these boards until I try them but I certainly like the fact that Studiologic is aggressively minimizing the footprint of their new Numa boards by placing pitch bend and mod controls above and staying away from unnecessarily big end caps that many manufacturers put on their boards. All things considered, when I shop for a new board, I not only want reduced weight but also the smallest possible footprint so I don't end up having to potentially spend a bunch of additional money on a new case just because a board has big bulbous endcaps that make it an inch or two too long to fit in any of my existing cases. I wish more manufacturers would take the hint and aggressively try to minimize not only weight but footprint as well when they design their boards.

Moon Mullican for old school Honky Tonk, Hillbilly boogie, and Texas Swing:

I use the NC2x mainly for rehearsals, quick jams / open mics, and with my Ipad or Iphone at home. I play a lot of blues and soul and also use the Japanese Grand when I don't want to hassle with hooking my iPhone or Ipad up to run Ravenscroft. I play piano on the NC2x with the touch set on "hard" so high velocities don't trigger as easily and "clank" as much. I agree with previous comments that the NC2x's action is a bit "spongey, but I much prefer it over my NE5d for piano playing while I prefer my Kurz SP4-7's SW action a little more than the NC2x's. Despite my whining about the NC2x, especially its crappy Leslie sim and overdrive, IMO the NC2x is helluva lot of board for its price point and portability.

I have a NC2x and its basic B3 emulation (i.e. drawbars, tone, C/V, percussion) is decent except for the Leslie sim and overdrive which are pretty bad. I've not used Galileo but suspect its Leslie sim and overdrive is better than the NC2x's. I have IOS VB3m which has a far better Leslie sim and overdrive. It works great with the NC2x and my Ipad Pro or Iphone 6s. FWIW I've been waiting for nearly two years for Studiologic to improve the NC2x's internal Leslie sim and overdrive with an update and it hasn't happened, so I suspect it is what it is. Perhaps Studiologic doesn't want the NC2x to start cannibalizing its more expensive Numa organ if they improve the NC2x's Leslie sim and overdrive.

Prior to travel by air back to Missouri during the Thanksgiving Holidays, I was looking for a travel piano keyboard for carry-on and I tried out the Vangoa Folding, Lexington Splicing, and Carry-on (88 key version) piano keyboards from Amazon. I returned all three before the trip because IMO their internal sounds and speakers blew chunks. Although I could midi my Ipad to all three for better sounds, I felt that the boards should at least have good enough internal sounds and speakers for just casual spur-of-the-moment noodling without having to hook any peripherals up. For context, my Casio CT-700 smokes all three of these keyboards for internal sounds and speakers. Having said all of this, IMHO the all-around best of the three keyboards I tried was the Vangoa Folding piano keyboard, because it at least had somewhat touch sensitive, nearly full-sized keys with travel approaching a real piano. Both the Lexington Splicing and the Carry-on piano keyboards had smaller (shorter) keys and substantially less travel, with the Carry-on being the worst having no touch sensitivity at all. I'm hoping that Casio or Yamaha jump on the concept of an affordable folding or spliceable piano keyboard for air travel carry-on that will provide decent internal sounds and speakers as well as basic midi functionality. I suspect that there could be a lucrative market. I'm aware of the old VAX-77 folding keyboard from several years ago but it was priced way out of reach for the mass market or weekend warriors such as myself.