Adam Burgess

And one quick one - getting driven in a golf buggy heading onto the beach for the gig through the underground car park under a hotel - a Lexus taxi/limousine thing with a texting driver hits the buggy side on. Could've easily lost a leg. At least me and the gear were ok, and it was for an Irish society gig with any amount of free Guinness.

Worst one was after a gig a few years back... Had a Kronos 73 and a Numa Organ in hard cases (wheeled), my silly heavy-but-cool Gibraltar stand in an actual Hardcase (plastic drum stands box) and a bag with cables and usual stuff in. Tired after an early soundcheck, long day waiting round, then the gig. In a cab going home, get to the end of my street... the electricity company have closed the road for repairs. Maybe a 5 min walk to my apartment without gear. With gear twice that. OK, I'll have to walk. Only 40ºC and humid as hell, haha. Luckily a friendly shop-filled narrow busy street in old town Dubai - so I go to leave my stand in a store and asked the guy to look after it. He got his mate to help me take it home, which was a much appreciated act. Gets to the apartment building - no elevator - guess our apartment block was on the broken phase or whatever! What else to do but to take it up 7 flights of stairs in the dark...? Wasn't fun. How much weight... easy 100kg in total. A little warmer inside with no AC for who-knows how long that day. Going back along the road to the store I really needed a beer so called into a bar with my new friend to repay his kindness. Never has a cold beer tasted so nice. Not having gigged or carried gear since March, dunno if I could do it now!

Thanks, guys. Never thought of checking CCTV power supplies. Something like that could do my 12V stuff. Good avenue, Mike. The iConnectivity interfaces' original adapters need 2A each @12V, but I'm guessing a lot of that is used to charge an iPad, if connected. Don't think the hard drives need anywhere near that. The 9V guitar pedalboard supplies are all quite low current-wise. The Minilogue needs 1.7A @9V. Anyway, some more stuff to research. Thanks again.

Hi everyone. Not posted for ages but still pop by now and again! Hope everyone is making the most of this awful time for us. Just moved house and had space for a custom made studio desk, so I had one made. Still a work in progress - waiting for some rack hardware to mount everything properly. Want to keep it neat, so looking for a power supply (240V AC > DC) to get rid of a load of wall warts. At the moment I need: 2x 5V for a couple of USB hubs 1x 9V for the Korg keyboard 4x 12V for the MIDI and small Audio interfaces, and a couple of old spinning drives Greatest current requirement is 2A and I guess an extra out for any added bits n bobs wouldn't go amiss. The lamps, X32, and sound module etc are doing great with some 5-way Wago connectors. They're great.⨠Obviously, cheaper the better as I've just moved and haven't really had a gig since March. Don't mind adapting something to work, maybe get some modules from amazon and box them up? eBay isn't great here. Be grateful to hear any thoughts! Cheers, and greetings from the UAE. Adam

It was a great big beast. Quite rare (in the UK) for sure.

Only keys amp I liked was back in the 90s. Heavy but sounded warm and could get loud. Yamaha KS531. Had the misfortune of using Peavey KB100 and 300, and the dreaded Roland garbage, so used to carry a couple of Yamaha Club series speakers and a Peavey CS1200 hah. Again, not light but passable. The Peaveys worked and worked with an all manner of noise put thru them - can't fault 'em for that. And, those CS amps are all probably still working now. A resident gig I did for a couple of months had a more modern Peavey maybe 8yrs ago? Possibly a KB5(?) which sounded ok until it gave in with not much stress. Since then for club/pub/restaruant gigs - gimme my JH Audio IEMs. Used with pleasure RCF TTs, Yammy DSRs, EVP115s in stereo or properly powered passive stuff (D&B etc.) for bigger gigs. I did play second keys for the Supremes show early this year in Dubai with a single SRM450 as a monitor :-( but the gig was so much fun, they made noise enough to hear, but not pleasant.

Unbalanced jacks (Integra-7, Kronos, Deepmind12, Numa Organ) into an XR18. 3m cables. Just had my Minilogue returned from a friend... that puts me at 19 inputs, dammit! It"s pretty much silent. DAW outputs into an iConnevtivity Audio2+. Three outputs to monitors, headphone amp, and just some more headphones. Nice to have a volume knob handy rather than having to use an app or route MIDI from the Kronos or whatever to the the XR18.

Thanks for your help, guys... but, a nice little resident gig two nights per week, stopped because of the VIRUS. Doesn't matter any more! EVERY gig/gathering/event in Abu Dhabi cancelled for the next two months. Knew it was too good to be true, not having to carry a load of keyboards around in the heat... Take care, guys n girls. Adam

Hmm... That"s kinda my thinking. Guess I"ll get thru tonight"s next two sets. I"m here again tomorrow so I may have a look in the morning.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zkuri3brwKPYxiYV7 On a Yamaha house piano today... A few plastic key tops have pinged off. Ok for normal 'Superglue" to get them back on? I normally fix electronic stuff! Little slides across the keys just don"t work; and my peripheral vision is a bit confused with white, black, and brown haha. Cheers, Adam

https://www.radialeng.com/product/usb-pro Can"t go wrong.

Has anyone ever had a moulded 5pin DIN fail...? In 30 years for me, no. I get the bi-directional thing, which is still possible with the extra unused pins. Would love IN/OUT/THRU on one connector. Why even a mini-DIN/S-Video? Pins are closer together, more failure points if one gets out of line. Maybe I'm set in my ways. I still dislike USB for live stuff. Ok for your mouse or printer at home but please no minijacks!!!!!

Hey Greg. Yeah, I'm aware of the Kronos' EXT 1/2 for Program Changes and it's controller map... But it only does CCs, not SysEx strings which the Integra needs for lots of functions. Used the Kronos control surface as a MIDI backup for an X32 digital mixer for years incase the iPad wifi went down. Worked great! The Kronos is also fine doing the articulation switches etc on the Integra as that's all just CCs. The controllers that do SysEx I've read about still have trouble with Roland's checksum byte, too. Apart from Roland's own, presumably, which I'm not that fond of.

Wow! Just mended a few broken keys on a friend's Fantom G8. Service is not great here in the Middle East so me and my hammers are unfortunately the best option ;-) That thing is possibly the heaviest, unwieldy thing apart from an actual piano to manoeuvre around once it's in half and ready to be flipped over! Wished I'd have had a helper! I don't mind carrying lots of gear to gigs, but I'd draw the line at something like this. It's HUUUUUUGE! He also brought a NI Kontrol S88 with one non-working note. Just took off the rubber contacts (kontakts?), cleaned it up a bit and all is well. The Roland was obviously solid, (being made of mediaeval iron) and easy to put back together but the difference is amazing... The NI thing couldn't have been more plastic-y and bendy without snapping in half. So fragile. Loved the OLED displays, and the encoders were nice. Not sure what the point is in having an LED on each key, though! Posted a few ongoing pics on Facebook for my geeky friends and it prompted a few "What's the best 88 controller?" questions. The NI feels god-awful; as do most standalone USB things I've tried. Far too wobbly and light... Roland too bulky by far and as a controller, maybe a bit limited and too many gimmicks. Never owned one so can only comment on initial findings testing it out. The Kronos is ok but still trying to find a way to send real SysEx to my Integra7 I keep meaning to take out. Most controllers only do CC messages. Guessing a Kurz could do it? I did mention ages ago about building a nice controller for the Integra. Maybe I still will. Just a rant or a talking point. Feel free to jump in or not. Adam

When I came to the UAE around nine years ago from the UK, 6 night residencies in hotels (only place there are bars) were normal, and have been since the 80s. This place has grown so quickly but still seems maybe ten years behind regarding band admin stuff (also musically, to a point). There"s quite strict government licenses ('Permissions') that, as a performer, you have to have. You"re tied to that venue, on that gig. The venue foots the bill but it"s extra paperwork and $$$. If the hotel has you on their books for, say, a three month period, then it"s easier visa and permissions-wise doing that than one-offs. Also cheaper. Many more freelance gigs these days. Could be in a place maybe twice a week. They"re better paid but no accommodation; gotta get your own visa; always get fed and watered, though. Guess it"s a balance between hiring a band as 'employees" and hiring and firing as the trends/seasons change. Never really did it back home with bands â just with theatre productions where I"d be there maybe eight days at a time.

You should trying to spend money in The Middle East! Tried to get all $1200 worth of my Gibraltar rack/stand stuff here. No chance from the distributor here. Not an email or call or anything back. Same with an RD2000 I wanted to try. Can I come play it in the store? 'Yes' Get there, same as the OP 'We have them in the warehouse...' Just bought 2x Kronos" second hand from friends instead. I"d obviously prefer the local warranty etc, but it"s easier to fix stuff yourself here, too. Weather"s nice, and the $$$ can be, though.

I"ll probably grab a MODX6 at some point just to play the odd string/brass line or whatever I can"t fit onto the Kronos 73... Yeah, the Korg Kross is quite cheap, but feels terrible. Worse than going from my Extreme (with the much loved FS keybed) years ago to helping a friend program a TR or a Triton LE; can"t remember. Apart from the keys, I"d have had one. Know the interface well; sounds are, for a bit filler, no worse than the Triton I used for years. Shame, really. Both have the dreaded external DC power brick, though! God knows where I"ve misplaced my Minilogue adapter oops.

The word Spigot is your friend if you just want to have one fIxture on top of a stand. When I did lights and stuff in the UK, they were usually a 38mm pole diameter, speaker stands usually 35mm...

Similar experiences... A while back, I played a Roland V-Grand five nights a week for around a year. Its funny, it was easy to forget that it was electronic. Loved the action - i didnt really have to think about it, or go thru a transition period like some boards.. it just felt perfectly matched to the sound... that elusive finger - ear connection. It improved my playing no end, too. The venue closed down last year, wonder what happened to it. Like you say, this sort of instrument doesnt appear on the SH market much. Dont think I could afford one, unfortunately!

I did a LH bass gig a few months ago. First time I heard the Kronos thru a lovely Ampeg stack. Piano sounds going in stereo thru a pair of 12 QSCs. Night and day difference to everything in the 12s. By the way... Was the sound guys idea to run the bass from its own output, and he asked if I wanted stereo monitors. Thats rare, but its so much appreciated haha

I never got on well with the FC7 so cant comment if it works with the Numa. I used to use the Boss FV500, but got soft cases and thought I may as well try and save a bit more weight. So... I just bought 4x M-Audio EXP pedals cause they are so cheap. It works fine with my Numa Organ, and the Kronos. The sweep is actually ok.

Back in the early/mid 90s, I was on Finale 2.5 which was a pain on a 9 Mac screen. Better on a 14 LC II but ran sooooo slowly! Was easier to write by hand. Been on Sibelius since 1.4, I think... now on Sib 8 and have been for ages. Yes, the UI (with duplicate dialogs and buttons that should be checkboxes etc) just seems to get worse, but I know the keyboard shortcuts for everything and it looks great to me. Im tempted to get a fast (read: cheaper) Windows machine as my 2011 MacBook is about dead, but the shortcut thing is honestly a big reason not to. My fingers are so used to the crazy modifier key clumps... I tried Dorico for a while and I guess with a bit more time with it, Id probably quite like it. But Im halfway thru quite a big project... tried importing an XML from Sibelius and it didnt really get that much right. Im half guessing its Sibelius fault by the error messages, though. Cant remember exactly what they were... As Joe says, you can try them all for free. (and, everything Ive seen done on MuseScore looks dreadful... just my opinion!)

The Kronos (and probably a few others) can do velocity crossfades between timbres/OSCs and a lot of synths allow velocity switching. Same as the OP, I find it a bit hit and miss. As for MainStage, I think you should still set up splits per song/patch as you normally would: i.e. What's the lowest note I really need the piano to go to (or vice-versa for the bass in this example)? Don't always use the default middle C or whatever it may be.

Quick re-purpose for my Gibraltar stuff. Got enough bits spare to fashion something to take out, I think... http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i10/adamburgess2004/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsifbsaf7t.jpeg I thought correctly! Got a nice whole stupidly high standing height stand from the remaining bits. :-) They're both only single tier, obviously, but suiting me at the moment living without my Kronos :-( Never got a pic before leaving my apartment today...

Last few things in the last few months... USB / MIDI interface MIDI spitter - why doesn't gear have real THRUs anymore?? Sennheiser G3 in-ear system and some nice (Nord Red) custom 4-driver earphones - freakin expensive and still waiting after 6 weeks Many many AA batteries - rechargeables, but currently need 16 at any one time!) A Casio and a cheap stand. It's sooo light and feels great!