JohnH

Well geez, I certainly don't expect the general public to have any of my or our skills here and wouldn't criticize them for it. I can't do what they do either. Dumb video!

Bookmark this page. Click on it everyday. Load the firmware the day you see it. There's no "trouble" here. You are trying to get something that doesn't exist. There's no firmware to load. https://usa.yamaha.com/products/music_production/synthesizers/modxplus/downloads.html

That is really the only way. If the former owner doesn't do this, then there's no ESP software. It is not available for used owners.

The Queen isolated piano tracks I found were immensely helpful. There are parts that are completely buried in the mix and impossible to hear. Such as the middle uptempo part of Bohemian ("so you think you can- can you listen to me baby section". There is a rhythm piano there that you cannot hear on the full version. And piano arpeggios on We are the Champions during "No time for losing" that are completely buried. Huge help and wish I had these when I started subbing in a tribute in 2021. This gig was very hard to get down, mainly due to so many parts and the tempos are so laid back and slow and behind the beat. Worked with a metronome and started pulling it back while practicing. And I also moved to the back, so the drummer is just at my left.

Yeah Roseanna doesn't sound quite right to me. Doesn't it go up to B C and down again? (Off the top of my head).

Yes you do. I've been using this one for a long time. On my second one. The ground lift is really helpful, but I don't need it often. https://www.artproaudio.com/product/dpdb-dual-passive-direct-box/

https://guitar.com/news/industry-news/sam-ash-set-to-close-18-stores-across-us/

I used to gig in Venice a lot, where the TDI was the car to have. I remembered before the scandal broke, the one time a TDI wagon went through an intersection and I smelled the exhaust. That sure was no clean diesel and after the scandal, I realized why I was smelling more exhaust than I should have. The cars were designed to cheat!

They could have easily had Greg, JR, Steve P and Paich giving a few words about the recording and added on to the doc 3-5 mins. It was a shame they weren't interviewed. It was a very bad omission, and I noticed that right away. Ridiculous. The guys I mentioned are great story tellers, so they would have been great to hear from them.

Yes and Kiss didn't sue Bruce, it would just be one half billionaire suing another. Gene said they wouldn't sue. I remember at the time Bob Lefsetz's column saying "how could the producer (or anyone else) not tell Bruce how blatant a rip off that part is?

Not even close, and I always notice when something rips something else. Now if you want to talk about Outlaw Pete - Bruce Springsteen and Kiss I was Made For Lovin You, then we have a total rip off, that is impossible not to notice how similar they are.

Yeah I just don't take any chances at places like NAMM. I had one on for airline trips, had a fly out gig this weekend and at NAMM Thursday. One guy was giving me a look in the airport and I noticed almost nobody at NAMM had one. I don't have any health risks, I just don't feel like getting sick if I don't have to. Went to Oppenheimer in December and got a cold because I didn't wear one. One of my guitar players got the flu on his flight back from NYC last week, of course was maskless on the flight. Since the day after NAMM I was doing a fly out gig, why risk waking up Friday sick or getting sick just before the show Friday night? Not worth it.

Keybass and bass guitar and left hand key bass for 35 years. Did synth bass recording before that in 87/88. When I started, my timing was terrible, rusher, overplaying, etc. As I got more experience I have gotten better at all of that with metronomes and I just learned to not overplay and play for the song. The over playing was really only my first year or so on bass guitar because of being immature. I learned not to. Like that drum break on Born to Be Wild, I would play over it. Not good.

Yes I use as much as I can in my practice area, and my shop GPS has told me to use them. All my stuff is downstairs in a garage, away from my cat, so thankfully that is not an issue.

Scholz has this bizarre obsession with thinking people think his guitars sound like violins. Only he thinks that. He put that notice on several albums. Tom Scholz guitars sound like layered guitars. I've never listened to his music or any other that made me think " Gee who is the violinist? " Same as Kansas, you would have to be on your first day in music to think that the violin parts of Robby Steinhardt or David Ragsdale were playing guitars on the Kansas albums. NO.

Gigging every weekend, i had Music pro for awhile and going to re add it in 2024. It is also a tax write off.

Yes played a casino gig , flights and rental gear covered Motif XF and ES7. Glad for the work and great pay. Variety of dance hits , 80's and classic rock .

I would get a metronome. Although I was doing cover band gigs for four years and playing a long time before that, when I got in a cover band gig on ships my timing was not good! It did get better later as I got into making my own sequences, but has really only gotten a lot better in past 10-12 years as I use metronome apps alot. I still rush sometimes, but, at least I can now count. I started doing drumming stuff in the gym in the late 90's until 2023 , that was a huge help for counting.

Loved this! This was great!

Piano ballady stuff like Chicago and Bohemian Rhapsody are rough for me. Just got a last min Queen gig for Saturday. I could never pull off Love of My Life before, but I saw a video of their previous keyboard player simplifying the crazy piano stuff. So I will copy that. I am going to see if I can get it done this time. I found a piano only version on You tube and I use those and slow it down. I did get way better last time out with this band and I nailed it. So I felt a lot more comfortable going over some of the stuff last night. Making clips and slowing them down in audacity has been a big help the past couple of years. Freddie Mercury was a monster piano player and seems very overlooked on that part. I am getting way better and over the mental blocks. I can do this.

Rip to WAV and onto either an ipod classic or the ipod touch I have. Then listen in room on small computer speakers. Before this it was all in the car, now that is mostly podcasts in car. On long trips I've been breaking it up half pod cast half music in car. And if I find I am not paying attention, then I switch to music in car. The listening at home started in the pandemic. Before that it was just about all car and the gym too. Although these are cheap PC speakers with an SW, they actually sound really good. May be time to upgrade at some point.

There isn't a sound sample difference, there are four more voices added from the 515- which had 40. . Here are the differences: GrandTouch-S wooden keys (white only), synthetic ebony and ivory key tops, escapement 44 Voices + 18 Drum/SFX Kits + 480 XG Voices vs. 40 Voices + 18 Drum/SFX Kits + 480 XG Voices Insertion Effects 16 Track Recorder FC3A Pedal included USB-C Bluetooth MIDI

The DX7 ( as well as MIDI) was announced at winter namm in Jan 1983 so it is now almost 41 years. I just got through this chapter in the Dave Smith book. Very interesting.

Don't put up with this. There's no reason in hell why guitar players and bass players get amps and we are supposed to be in in ear hell or just have one tiny monitor. It's total BS! I have a full stereo rig. I have had to get into it with soundmen sometimes who give me that deer in the headlights look when they see my mixer I bring and monitors. I subbed in one band four years ago that everyone had amps and the drums were full loud acoustic, but I was forced to be in ears. Ridiculous. I don't have to play loud to hear myself either and nothing ever sounds as good as my rig. "Robby has his amps and I have mine"- Ray Manzarek.

Have had mine for 16 months. Not a single issue with the keys. So this is not an epidemic. This has become my main second board at most gigs, so it's out on the job every weekend.