Greg Mein
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Posts posted by Greg Mein
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It's kind of interesting to me that the bass player who's been coming over recently would like to do Get Back. I'm able to fake through it easily enough on guitar for rehearsal but thinking back; out of all the band, fill-in, one off gigs I've done over the last 30-40 years I don't recall this ever being on a set list that was handed to me. It's hard to believe and I must be mistaken!
Recently I've had a strong desire to get back to performing as a true live act and getting away from creating/using backing tracks. Building the tracks has always been time consuming and often tedious work. The beauty of having everything timed correctly, effects switching in and out automatically and sounding like you have a world class group backing you is tempered by the sometimes sterile constraint of staying tightly synced to a click.
It's taken some time but I've found a drummer and a bass player that appear to be very enthused to work with my wife and I so we've been rehearsing the last two or three weeks. It may take some time and we'll be gone on vacation soon but we'll keep slogging away and see what happens. It helps that we're all retired so things are some what relaxed and although I want it to be the best it can, it also has to be fun.
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5 hours ago, Ibarch said:
Have you checked out the expansion packs from Roland Cloud? Maybe some better Clavs there. You can use their Zenology synth to test them out before having to purchase.
This would be a good first step and I'll need to take a look.
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2 hours ago, Reezekeys said:
I looked up the iPad 4th gen, that's kinda old and may be underpowered for what you need, depending on how much you'd be asking of it.
I have a newer ipad, wasn't even sure but just looked and it's apparently a 6th gen. I'd still want something newer before pursuing this but right now I'm just curious for possible future reference.
For years I've used MBPs loaded with DP and MOTU interfaces for live backing tracks I've meticulously created myself. Originally inspired by Keyboard Magazine articles in the 90's I used this basic setup with bands and also carried it over when my wife and I became a duo. Within that context MIDI control and automation are just as important as audio.
We're currently working with some other musicians and may break away from tracks but I want to keep up with the technology and like the idea of making things lighter, simpler, etc..
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42 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:
Until you attach the appropriate dongle or adapter. The conundrum with iPads is that the newer ones with USB-C can connect directly to a midi keyboard but there's no analog audio out. The older ones with headphone jacks give you the audio output, but you need a dongle/adapter to connect a midi keyboard. Either way you need a gizmo, but depending on what you choose to get, having multiple inputs and outputs for midi and audio doesn't have to be a problem.
I'm interested in knowing more about how an ipad can be used live. I have an older one (I believe a 4) that's been sitting around a long time doing nothing. Way back I'd bought an IK Multimedia iRig MIDI unit and also a Line 6 Sonic Port but just never saw a practical use for either on gigs where, for years, I was already hauling a MBP with Digital Performer and MOTU interfaces to do MIDI/audio backing tracks with Roland/Korg boards.
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We got an RD-88 in late December. It has a nice keybed and some decent sound but I'm really disappointed with the Clav sounds, they really suck. I have a much better sound for Superstition on my Korg Krome and even on our old Casio Privia PX-3.
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2 hours ago, summerinstereo said:
Anyone here playing solo gigs and just using a MIDI controller with an iPad?
The problem I see with iPads is that there's only one in/out port for everything.
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On 2/18/2023 at 6:24 AM, Notes_Norton said:
So I went to my public library, and checked out the 3 disc DVD set of the Beatles' documentary, “Get Back”.
We signed up for a Disney account preview so I could watch this back when it came out. I found it very interesting and you make some great points but what I really want to express excitement about is........the library!
My wife has encouraged me for a long time and finally, a month or two ago, I went and got a library card. I can't remember the last time I had one, I was probably still in school. It's a really amazing resource, especially now in the digital world where I can download books to read, watch programs on Hoopla and am even doing a Rosetta Stone course to learn Spanish.
I had been getting all my reading from Amazon/Kindle but that adds up and generally speaking (aside from technical/maintenance/instructional books/videos) once I've read something, I'm pretty much done with it.
I don't want to hijack the thread but I'm pretty pumped about re-discovering a forgotten resource.
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We have the standard live mics; a couple SM58 and an SM57 along with a couple AKG D880 I like that are relatively equivalent to SM58. For recording I'm down to just a Studio Projects C1 and recently bought a Rode NT1-A. A local studio owner friend of mine sold me the C1 and then later wanted to buy it back but no way!
I used to have a couple of the popular cheap condensers; MXL990 and some Nady model but sold them. They weren't bad mics and I wish now I would have kept them, just because they're cheap doesn't mean they suck. If the sound I get from a microphone is bad, it's generally because I suck.
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The AKOZLIN bag arrived and it's not great, I can't recommend it. It's a good fit but padding is skimpy. I'm still trying to decide whether to send it back. This Casio bag would probably be better.
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I chose DP because at this point, it's the one I've used the most. It's at the top of my experience list primarily because it has unique features for live performance other DAWs don't have and I've used it on many gigs for many years now.
There have been times I thought Ableton might be more efficient for live gigs and I recently upgraded to ver. 11. I have found it useful for a couple things but just haven't invested the time into it and frankly, attempting to port my whole life performance backing tracks would be a HUGE project. Additionally we've been working with some local musicians and actually hope to break away from tracks for a while and get back to pure live performance.
When I got my newest MBP I had Logic 10 preinstalled. I was upset for a long time about Logic; I had been using Logic 9 a few years back and then suddenly, an OS update killed it dead. It's taken me a while to get over that and I hope to accomplish some home recording with it again.
I've always been a fan of Reason's unique features and functionality and have used it a lot but as a DAW? Naw.
In my early days I was PC and tried a few but really took to Cakewalk. I used it extensively well into the Sonar years but then abandoned it when I wanted to use laptops live. I quickly learned that Mac laptops were the way to go for live performing. It turned out to be for the best when Sonar went belly up a couple years later.
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I recently had some experience with this when I bought a new monitor for an older Dell desktop. The Dell had DVI-D single link and HDMI outputs. I ordered a cable that was DVI-D to Display Port but after it arrived I learned that it's a one way connection, the opposite way, so I returned it and got a DVI-D to HDMI which works great and is supposedly capable of working either way.
I needed to use the DVI-D output because I have a dual monitor setup and needed the HDMI output for that.
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Nice wood working and it looks handy, always great when things are easy to reach and conveniently located.
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13 hours ago, ewall08530 said:
If you want a good padded bag this Casio works well. I had an RD 88 for a year and since I’m the only one moving it and transporting in my SUV it was enough protection and kept the weight down.https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SC800Bg--casio-carry-case-for-px-s1000-3000
All the info I was gathering indicated that the Casio bag was the best fit and the measurements seem to confirm. I added one to my list on Sweetwater but then found a different one, much cheaper, on Amazon. It seems a little too good to be true but I ordered it and we'll check it out. If it sucks I'll send it back.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2JM8HKT?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
I thought it was a little odd that google searches brought up a lot of cases/bags from European countries, I don't want to pay to ship overseas.
Appreciate the feedback and suggestions.
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My wife recently bought the RD-88 to use for local gigs. I had a reasonably sized and lightweight hard case I thought we'd use for it but when we got the keyboard home I discovered the case didn't have enough height. The RD-88 is somewhat odd shaped; not very deep and rather tall. I have a huge flight case that would work but it's ridiculously bulky for this keyboard and our little local gigs so we put it in the gig bag the Privia PX-3 came with. That works fine but is not a long term solution.
So I'd be interested to know if others are using this keyboard and what they're using for transport. Hard cases are great but a padded gig bag is almost preferred. Appreciate the knowledge and advice from the community.
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Nice work and I really admire the DIY impetus. I've also built my own rack units on a couple of occasions. Although mine were more function than aesthetic I rather like the raw look.
I'd once built a mixer rack unit that I actually took to gigs for a while and around the same time I built a rather tall rack case. Years later, as I thinned out some of my rack gear, I modified the tall rack case to accommodate my SL1642 mixer. It continues to be my home studio rack case.
Many years ago I built a pedal board using a power supply I built myself from my well stocked hobbyist supply. I most likely used industry application notes for that as it would have been the early days of the internet.
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4 hours ago, Anderton said:
Probably not what you want to hear, but moving the piano closer to the center of the room, away from the corner, would probably help...
That thought did occur to me and perhaps could make a difference. I had the movers position it as it sits so the top opens towards the wall and mics go under the "hood" from within the room. The piano wheels sit on plastic casters that will slide on the tile floor without great difficulty and I have a little space to maneuver it around without having to move a bunch of other stuff.
One of the frustrations is that I've been trying to do it all myself. I really need to have my wife playing it while I move things around or have someone else come over who can move things around while I play and listen. Actually I probably need three people; one to play and one to move things around while I'm in a different room listening on headphones. I should be able to make it happen but it's just not as simple as I fooled myself into believing, top quality vintage instrument and a good sized room looks good on paper but it's really only the start.
Mics are probably my weakest link, Studio Projects C1 and a Rode NT1-A are currently my only condensers. I'm confident that the UAD Apollo Solo should be up to the task albeit only having two inputs. I have other options if I thought I needed to use more mics but apparently some pro studios do it with just one.
My impression is that I need a little less "room sound". I'll keep at it and see what happens, it's all in fun anyway!
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I've always been a fan of ST, and IK Multimedia stuff in general, I have ver 4 and I'm pretty sure I installed it on my gig mac not long ago. If I were to record our gig backing tracks to audio I would use ST for most the sounds except drums. I wish I could use it live for MIDI backing tracks but I'd never trust running that and DP all together on the same computer.
I almost certainly used it on the recordings I did so many years ago.
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It's an interesting article certainly but I figured most anyone who cared already knew about this. I'd be a lot more interested in deeper details; musician/amp placement, where the mics were (room mics, amp mics, etc.), what about the gobos and/or other absorption/deflection?
I've tried recording our Steinway and so far have not been too pleased with the results because, ironically, it always sounds like it's being recorded in a big room. Now I'll admit I haven't spent a whole lot of time trying different methods. When I went online to do some research it only made it more confusing, no two were doing it the same, often radically different in fact.
I can always go into the little studio room, use the FA-08 or whatever, record to MIDI and use one of the fine software emulations but here I have this amazing piano and a big room. I haven't tried for a while but I haven't given up yet either and so it goes.
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2 hours ago, pinkfloydcramer said:
As I have been gifted an iPad (basic model, not Pro) I’m sure the day is coming soon when I show up at a lounge gig with the typically cramped stage area, with nothing but it and my M-Audio Code 61 controller.
The trouble with iPads, in as far as I'm up to date, is that there is only one connector. I have a couple; a newer one I use regularly at home and a bit older one that has been laying around doing nothing for a couple years. Also going back a ways I have an IKMultimedia MIDI interface and a Line 6 audio interface for these iPads but you can only connect one of them at a time and, of course, the power cable is also excluded then.
Maybe things have changed, I dunno?
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12 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:
Try to imagine a world where the only instrument was the piano
I'll need to get into character...
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On 1/1/2023 at 7:48 PM, Sundown said:
I really miss synth modules. I’m sure their demise is economic given the rise of software instruments, but I still like hardware synths and I have no desire for another set of keys. A 19” rack makes a lot of sense for a guy like me and coupled with an editor/librarian it’s a great combination.
The last one I had was the Roland Fantom XR. A versatile and great sounding unit that featured multi-sampling I used live as my Digital Performer/MIDI sound unit. It was rather large and heavy though as I recall, stuck out farther back than anything else in the rack and increased the overall weight significantly.
I remember wishing they'd come out with one that had similar functionality but be smaller and lighter but that never happened. I quit using it in my live rig and sold it. I kind of wish I'd held onto it but I suppose I figured I didn't need it anymore after I bought the FA-08.
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1 hour ago, KuruPrionz said:
learning the patterns means you can use those patterns up and down the entire fretboard, as long as you stay on the same strings those patterns will not change. I know quite a few patterns that require all six strings to execute in a single position and I know those patterns in all positions. It felt very simple and organic to me.
This is quite different from keyboards, where you must learn a different fingering for every simple major scale in every key.
This is a strong point and very valid when it comes to actually learning, playing and practicing these instruments. I was looking at it more from the perspective that I hadn't even touched the instrument yet and am only looking at the layout.
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1 hour ago, KuruPrionz said:
While 88 notes is cool and being able to play 10 notes at once (and sometimes more aka Jerry Lee Lewis etc.), a violin can sustain a note for a long time, pianos can't do that.
An electric guitar can "catch" a note and by adjusting the position of the guitar to the speaker, create an amazing animal howling that splits up into harmonics, pianos can't do that either. The list of things pianos can't do is pretty long, including being carried on your back to play music in fun places.
I used the term baseline standard for a couple of particular reasons; the full range of 88 keys, of course, but also because it's laid out in a linear fashion as opposed to a guitar, for example, that can have five middle C notes along the neck. Anyone can sit down to a piano and begin to understand about notes and octaves as, at your left it begins with the lowest notes and works to the highest at the right. It's the essence of the 12 tone western music scale where sharps/flats are easily distinguishable as black keys.
As far as what's the best sounding, most fun, loudest, quietest, most easily transportable, etc. instrument, that's an entirely different discussion, in my mind anyway. I'm always open to entertain other ideas on the matter. 😼
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I had a nice basement space with big plans for treating the room. My research lead me to buy some boxes of the Owens Corning 703 rigid fiberglass panels I was going to use to make isolation panels and I stuffed the ceiling with batt 30. Sadly though I moved away before I could finish that whole project.
Late to the RD-88
in The Keyboard Corner
Posted
It looks like I'll need to install the Roland Cloud app on a computer.