eric.B

October 3, 2022

Similar:

Streaming has its purpose but older media formats as well (for some people).

I love (the physical aspect of) my compact cassettes, vinyls, minidiscs, reel to reels, DAT and DCC.
But I use Spotify, Tidal, Youtube, etc. when I want/need it.

There is no shame in using either, whatever suits your needs.

September 28, 2022

11 hours ago, Docbop said:

Just had a thought you said this 2nd area is adjacent to your space with your studio, how adjacent is it? If it's close enough maybe could run a pair of mic cables over to the 2nd area like tie lines in a studio. Most DAWs today have remote control via a smartphone, tablet, or laptop so you can control your DAW in the other room. That way you take advantage of the good gear in your other room.

That thought crossed my mind, the rooms are right next to each other, a couple of 10 mtr cables should be enough.

Having very limited control over the DAW (basically just starting the recording and letting it run for hours) made me look for alternatives.

But the remote control is an idea, I'll look into it.

BTW: not the main consideration but one becoming more relevant with electricity cost rising fast, is to only switch on equipment when necessary.

I'm more aware of that these days than in the past, some days I might record a lot, some days nothing.

September 27, 2022

It's a Yamaha MG166CX (no digital outputs)

September 27, 2022

Probably some pictures clarify my question:

I would like to just hit a button and record the stereo output from the Yamaha mixer.

Of course it would be most convenient if the mixer had a (USB) recording feature but over a decade ago mixers (in this price category) didn't have it.

September 27, 2022

Thanks for the feedback.

9 hours ago, Noah DC said:

Highly recommend the Tascam DP-006 for your exact purposes. Offers mixing capacity you won't find in the Zoom models that list for a comparable price. If you find the DP-006 to be too expensive, I'm not sure if you'll find a cheaper alternative - they regularly sell for just 70-80 dollars (reference here)

A standalone recorder and then specifically a desktop one like the DP-006 does seem the best fit for my needs.

I could leave it setup, press on and record and away you go.

I'm over here in The Netherlands though and they cost EUR 175 / $169 new and I don't see them on the local used market.

One negative thing I read was that the screen is not backlit, does it bother you?

If so, that would mean having to step up to the DP-008 which costs half more - so deviating more from my initial 'cheap idea'.

The audio interface / phone route is possible but a bit more fiddly to setup and record each time as my laptop (nor phone) are permanently setup there.

And I would most likely need an adapter for my iPhone 13, I haven't checked that out yet.

September 26, 2022

I have a small home studio with a multitrack DAW recording setup.

Recently I put 2 older 90s keyboards back into use but due to space issues had to set them up in an adjacent (storage) room (but with a mixer and PA at hand so audio is working fine).

Now I want to do some simple stereo recordings - highest quality is not required and I would like to keep it simple, cheap and preferably a desktop setup.

I tried setting up my older Akai EIE Pro audio interface but unfortunately it won't work with either my 2014 MacBook nor my new Chromebook.

So I'm thinking about either buying a standalone audio recorder, like a handheld Tascam DR-05X but preferably a desktop version (the Tascam DP-006 would do but is expensive).

Or go the laptop route with a simple audio interface - plenty out there, starting with something like a cheap M-Audio M-Track DUO.

Any thoughts, suggestions?

September 24, 2022

Yes, prices are rising quickly, inflation over here in The Netherlands has gone up over 10%.

The costs of gas for heating and electricity have tripled or quadrupled to an extent the government has taken measures to prevent a large part of the population not being able to pay for it anymore.

Crazy times.

About gear: I have noticed a lot of gear is out of stock and when the estimated 'in stock date' is reached, it gets postponed again.

The prices of the gear still seem to remain the same but I expect they will go up considerably once they are available again.

I have been keeping an eye on Fantom-07 boards and they have gone out of stock almost everywhere.

Still doubting if I want it and should buy now or wait and accept to pay a couple of hundred more in the future.

September 18, 2022

So yesterday I received the adapter, it was packed extremely well:

I still own another 3.5" disk drive and wanted to try if I could get it to work in the Korg X3:

Unfortunately, the power connector on this drive is right above the data connector so the adapter doesn't fit:

So that will be the end of using floppy disks with the X3.

However, I already received the Gotek USB drive:

I left the jumpers at the default settings (S1 on, others off):

Connecting the adapter is a piece of cake:

The Gotek fits perfectly in the bracket of the disk drive:

And it looks nice from the outside as well:

Powering up for the first time with a regular (non-prepared) USB stick:

The USB drive needs to be formatted:

And then works as an old floppy drive (also at the same speed):

The 2 buttons on the Gotek can be used to select multiple slots / floppy disks.

This version is advertised for supporting 100 but I had no problems going past that:

I then put the USB stick in my Win 10 PC and it shows up as 1 primary partition.

So transferring files from and to the X3 works fine. However, it only shows the files in the lowest slot (000), not the other ones.

The seller of the adapter did send a link to software, containing Virtual Floppy Format and Virtual Floppy Explorer.

I haven't installed it yet but that should make browsing all slots possible.

So concluding: it is very straightforward to replace the broken Korg X3 floppy drive with a USB drive and matching adapter and getting it to work.

That blows some new life into the X3 again.

September 18, 2022

I think there is only as much as you can do covering this song on piano while staying close to the original.

Alternative versions can be hit but a lot of times miss, in my opinion.

Postmodern Jukebox and Scary Pockets (both on Youtube) have done some good ones.

What I like about Gamazda is that, besides being a great player, she plays with a lot of energy and passion and seems to be having a great time doing it.

September 18, 2022

10 hours ago, Tom Williams said:

Alas my remark was serious.

Where I live you dont have to be surprised only 1 or 2 (maybe even none) of the boards you want to try are available.

Dont even start about the 61/76/88 versions.

September 16, 2022

Excellent piano cover:

September 15, 2022

Fair points, and I realize I'm shifting from the topic title.

Owning a MOX8 I was looking for something similar available today with 61/73/76 keys but probably another brand as for another flavor of sounds.

And I'm seeing more options as I look further into today's offer of keyboards, especially as I will be focusing on playing and not on sequencing, deep editing, vocoding, etc. with it.

Although, if the features are there, who knows if they may come in handy in the future.

So I want to make a shortlist of several boards which seem appealing and try to find a store so I can try them out.

September 15, 2022

13 hours ago, AnotherScott said:

There are certainly more options besides these two. The MODX+ is in the same general feature/price/weight category but there are other possibilities as well.

For people using a stagepiano or a board like a Roland VR730: I realize it isn't a workstation and aimed at playing live but do you find it lacking?

September 14, 2022

1 hour ago, Moonglow said:

Some of your preferences are expressed in interesting pairs. Here’s my $0.02.

1.) Synths - FA07; APs - PC4

2,) EPs - PC4; Organs - FA07

3.) Strings (acoustic) - PC4; Strings (synth) - FA07; Pads - FA07

4.) E-bass - PC4

5.) Brass (acoustic) - PC4; Brass (synth) - FA07; Other? - Not sure what you mean here. Synths? Woodwinds? Percussion? Guitars?

Thanks. I created my list thinking which sounds I use most so hence the pairing like synths and APs.

Other sounds are all the ones not mentioned in the first 5 categories like accordions, harmonica, percussion, etc. I hardly play guitar sounds on keys.

So it seems like I need both boards 😁

September 14, 2022

Here are the thoughts from Justin from 65 drums, a well-known Youtuber who focuses on e drums:

Having played both a and e drums for over a decade, I have mixed feelings.

A big company behind great acoustic drum brands like DW and Gretsch could benefit them.

Better Hybrid kits wouldn't hurt anyone either.

But if DW really developed new technology for e drums and Roland considered that a (possible) thread to their market share then aquiring them would take out an alternative.

That's a shame because, considering DW's good reputation on a drums, some serious competition for Roland and Yamaha would not be a bad thing, IMO.

Anyway, we'll see what the future brings.

September 14, 2022

Thanks for the feedback.

So each board has its strengths and weaknesses - I guess that applies to other brands like Korg and Yamaha as well.

Besides the extra keys that must be a reason why a lot of players use (at least) 2 keyboards, to supplement each other.

I have watched and heard several demos but I'll check for nearby stores which have both in stock to try out.

You have to try keyboard action yourself, opinions vary a lot.

Prioritizing sounds by usage, for me it would be: 1) synths and a-pianos, 2) e-pianos and organs, 3) strings and pads, 4) (e)basses, 5) brass and last other sounds.

Regarding the sample memory: a number for the memory size doesn't mean a lot to me, is 256MB adequate or limited?

I do realize it depends a lot how many samples you need for the music you play.

Kurzweil praises the KB3 ToneReal organs but Rolands are considered better? Is Nord still considered one of the best brands for organs?

The Kurzweil probably seems more suitable for deep editing.

I like tweaking and editing but, as it can be very time consuming, I'd rather focus on playing.

As I don't have much need for a sequencer, patterns, etc. and looking besides workstations, maybe a stage piano / live performance board could also be an alternative?

A lot of choices these days - it was a lot easier when I bought my X3 in the 90s 😉.

September 13, 2022

I Already own a Yamaha MOX8 and vintage Korg X3 and Roland JV30, I am thinking about getting a new 73/76 board.

I've read the specs so know a bit about the differences but haven't had the chance to compare the 07 and PC4-7 myself.

Any thoughts?

September 13, 2022

7 hours ago, AUSSIEKEYS said:

Im watching this spave as i have heaps to repair one day....one day.

One day is today or it could become never 😉

September 12, 2022

1 hour ago, AUSSIEKEYS said:

One thought. Although the bustedgear branded one seems to fit well could it possibly be too tight thus slowing down the motor a bit hence giving a drive error?

In essence a tight belt will pull the shafts closer together and a motor shaft under that pressue means a slower motor.

Does bustedgear actually sell one manufactured to original tolerances or a generic one that is close???

Yes, it crossed my mind the belt from bustedgear might be too small.

I don't have experience with replacing belts on floppy drives but I replaced several ones on tape decks and IMO this one didn't feel too tight.

I don't know if it is produced to original specs, only that it was recommended by several people who used it and got their drive working again.

I have some belts in stock for tape mechanisms but they are much smaller in width. I can give them a try before going to USB drive route.

September 11, 2022

@ProfDYeah, it is satisfying to get a piece of gear back to work - storing it free of dust already helps to a great extend.

I have worked on other equipment, mostly tape decks or audio gear, but also replaced broken keys.

My slightly older Roland JV30 works flawlessly, it just needed some cleaning and pressing all buttons and moving all faders several times.

September 11, 2022

I agree the built quality, keyboard and internal power supply are great. And still a lot of useable sounds.

I recently tried a Fantom-07 and, although a great piece of gear, it was somewhat underwhelming, considering 30 years of 'progress'.

Back in the day I couldn't get hold (nor afford) RAM or PCM cards when I bought my Korg X3.

Now they are rare although I did manage to get a PCM card a while ago:

The floppy drive Korg used back then apparently was a Matsushita EME 113 or 213 which prooved not to be very durable.

@Pa Gherkin: not good news but good to know your tech also confirmed repairing fails - I'll cease my efforts then.

Another downside is it has a 24 pin FPC (ribbon connector) instead of the usual 34 IDC connector.

So you cannot replace it with a regular (PC) 3.5" floppy drive or USB emulator.

And it is a 720KB double density drive instead of the much more common 1440KB high density.

I did some research and there are 2 options:

1) get an 24 to 34 adapter and a 720KB USB emulator (or original 720KB floppy drive if you want to keep using disks).

2) get a (custom built) USB emulator with the 24 pin connector

For option 2 I found these (not cheap):

- https://www.ebay.com/itm/153765265466

- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134023791246

I decided to order this 24 to 34 adapter: https://www.ebay.nl/itm/304600904006

A similar one is available here: https://floppyemulator.com/products/34-24p1-25adaptor/

BTW: I found several cheaper adapters on China websites but they seem to have a 26 pin FPC. Not sure if that is compatible with 24 pins.

For the 720 KB floppy USB emulator the guy I ordered the adapter from recommends a SFRM72TU100K from Gotek, it's available on eBay or Amazon.

I already received the Gotek and am waiting for the adapter to arrive this week.

I'll update this thread with my findings.

September 10, 2022

Well, hoping this thread won't stay a monologue 🙄

About the floppy drive floppy: I removed the stepper motor and it seems OK but when engaging the disk it only moves when I lift the head assembly.

So the head is putting pressure on the disk, slowing down the disk and causing the error?

I measured the voltage to the spindle motor and it reads around 2.5V. It's a 5V motor so maybe there is a problem?

I'll look at it later.

Time to start using the X3 again!

I fired up my old Windows Vista PC, got my Akai EIE Pro interface running on it and X-Edit as well.

So even if the USB disk replacement fails, I can still edit my X3 with this PC:

With a library of thousands of programs and hundreds of combis I have enough choice to set up my preferred banks.

BTW: sounding pretty good through my HK Audio PA 🙂

September 8, 2022

As a log for myself and possible reference for other X3 users, here a post of getting my X3 back into use (long post warning).

I recently took my Korg X3 - and Roland JV-30, I'll probably start a topic on that as well - out of storage after more than a decade:

I bought it new around 1993/1994 and it is still looking, working and sounding great except for 2 issues: the disk drive fails and the backlight of the LCD is very dim:

I already got 2 new EL backlight panels and will fix that problem later:

The top one is from eBay, specifically built for the X3, more expensive and white color. The bottom one is from elwirecraft.co.uk, a generic 30x94 mm light blue one.

It is a bit longer (it can be clipped) and seems a bit narrow but should fit.

I unscrewed the bottom panel to fix the floppy drive:

Side note: I found it interesting the keybed seems to have been produced by Yamaha:

As expected, the rubber belt of the floppy drive had perished after almost 30 years:

It got loose and wound up around the motor pulley:

So I cleaned it up with isopropyl alcohol:

To replace the belt you have to remove 5 screws from the circuit board. That should be easy, however one screw was extremely tight.

So tight that it got stripped when I tried to unscrew it. Not wanting to put too much pressure on it and maybe damage the PCB, I decided to drill out that screw.

I covered the PCB to prevent metal particles getting into the drive:

And after careful drilling the head of the screw came off nicely:

For the belt I ordered a specific, expensive one for the X3 from bustedgear.com and 2 cheap ones locally, based on a post I found online:

The 2 top ones are 66,0 x 0,6 x 3,0 mm and DO NOT FIT, they are too big. The one from bustedgear is 56,7 x 2,5 mm and fits well:

I also lubed the motor and plastic wheel bearing, put the floppy drive back, switched on the X3 and...still got a Drive Not Ready failure

I figured the read/write head could be stuck so took out the drive again and removed the metal cover:

I lubed the stepper motor and opposite guiding rail, gently wiggled the head assembly a bit back and forth in case it was stuck and also cleaned both heads with IPA:

Unfortunately, I still get the disk drive error.

I tried reading several floppy disks, also formatting them, each time I get the same error message - which is not really helpful for finding the exact issue.

Two things come to mind: the floppy drive is spinning but it still doesn't sound as smooth as I remember it should. Not sure what to do about that though after the lubing.

Secondly, I don't hear the "rasping" sound of the head going back and forth, just the other motor spinning.

I haven't tried manually turning the worm gear attached to the stepper motor - and how to do that, with pliers ? - or disassemble that part as it might cause more problems.

Anyone with experience fixing ths problem?

In case the recovery of this disk drive fails, I ordered an adapter from eBay so I can connect the Korg X3's ribbon cable to a standard 3,5" disk drive (I still own a few).

And I also ordered a USB Floppy Drive. I would prefer using floppy disks for nostalgic reasons but if it fails I'll switch to USB.

But on a positive note: apart from the disk drive, the X3 still works without any issues and the sounds are still useable - for a 90's board.

The keyboard action (with aftertouch) feels nice and the build quality (mostly metal) is great.

Long post, thanks for reading! And to be continued.

September 6, 2022

Interesting! At first I thought he was just going to play orchestra hits for 6,5 minutes 😆

September 3, 2022

Good suggestion! I know the V3 100 is a very capable bass combo.

I did a mod 6 years ago so I could also use it as a cabinet or use it with another amp, and also upgraded the speaker (the link to that thread on Talkbass is over here).

However, I never thought of using it as a keyboard amp, I'll sure give it a try!

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