[I’ve made a serious error: Omnisphere]

Does anybody use Omnisphere live in Mainstage? That sounds like something Mainstage users would consider dangerous. I am wondering about using it for my church gig in my new mainstage rig.

[macOS Sequoia Compatibility Chart]

I just made sure to upgrade everything to Sonoma yesterday so that I'm ready to stay parked here for a good long while. Plan on riding it out until the wheels come off of Finale.

[What Interface are you using for your Mainstage Rig - 2024 edition]

On 8/26/2024 at 12:38 PM, ElmerJFudd said:

MacBook onboard audio, 3.5mm to RCA cable, Radial AV direct box.  If using sounds from keyboard as well, Key Largo.  If going mono I do that in MainStage.  

 

I know others do this too. USB in for MIDI direct from whatever board you are using I assume?

[What Interface are you using for your Mainstage Rig - 2024 edition]

1 minute ago, vonnor said:

Read up on brand/model comparisons and benchmarks if you're serious about getting a good one.

 

Will do. I consider this forum to be one of the critical forms of due diligence on the matter.

27 minutes ago, NewImprov said:

I’m thinking about getting a Key Largo for smaller gigs so I don’t have to bring a rack. 

 

I can use my Key Largo for this!?! 😲 I feel like a fool for not knowing this.

[What Interface are you using for your Mainstage Rig - 2024 edition]

After resisting for 15 years, I think I need to finally get my Mainstage rig together. I have too many fly dates happening and they are having trouble scrounging up the now discontinued Montage 7.

 

What rock solid interface do people use these days for their Macbooks and Mainstage? I did a show recently playing Synth 2 for 'Batman 1989' and they had a MOTU interface for their Macs with Mainstage. I'm leaning that way. I think I would probably use the actual MIDI in on the back.

 

Anything else I should consider? Probably going to go get on in the next 24-48 hrs.

[Death of Finale: Long live Dorico?]

I have used this program for over 2 decades and can crank out whatever I need lickity split. I use it almost every day. I am BUMMED.

[Fingering guidelines for parallel sixths...]

Depends on the passage and how quickly you are playing. For serious legato there's a lot of 2-5 to 1-4. For fast runs in C it can be just wrist and 1-5.

[Help me appreciate Jarrett]

This utterly blew my mind as a college kid getting into jazz. One of my favorite solos ever. Off 'Whisper Not' in 1999.

 

 

[RIP Shaun Martin]

Oh no!! I loved him in Snarky Puppy but was first blown away by him in his playing in Kirk Franklin's band.

 

What a tragedy. Sounds like he was sick?

[OT Snoop Dogg Olympic's sportscaster.]

I'm kinda tired of seeing him everywhere TBH

[Gear insurance]

All I can say anecdotally is that the few cats I know that have used it all think it's great.

[Age Check for Those of Us Still Gigging and Hauling Gear]

42. For all my top 40 gigs it's a Yamaha CP4 and Montage 7 on a K&M Spider Pro as well as a Roc n soc throne. I don't need to bring a monitor. If I do, it's a EV-ZLX12P or two. Sometimes I have 2 or 3 setups for wedding and that means extra CP4s and PA speakers. Once in a blue moon I'll also bring the Hammond SK2 but adding a 3rd board adds headache and usually stage real estate I don't have.

[Tico Tico on Theatre Organ]

Hey I play that at Petco! It's been a couple years. I need to polish it up and play it again.

[Chord structure. Are you a purist or anarchist?]

Whatever serves the overall sound best.

[A good friend and bandmate called up from the minors]

So cool. He must be a bad dude!

[Tired of Playing Horn Parts?]

I'm surprised I haven't seen or chimed in on this thread until now.

 

A huge part of my life is playing horns parts on keys, sometimes with real horn players, sometimes without.

 

If you match the FEEL, and the actual NOTES the horns are playing, and it is the type of song with a punchy big horn sound, then a real horn section augmented by keys can sound great.

 

Some of you have probably seen this before; here is a video of my band playing September with me supplementing the horn section. It just makes it sound bigger.

 

 

 

[When was the last time you took a lesson ?]

Probably 8 years ago I got with one of the more well rounded pianists who plays for the SD Symphony. I wanted to work on my classical and get some help/motivation to get on top of difficult repertoire. I had a great few months tackling the 2nd and 3rd movement of Moonlight sonata. I never got it 100% down and my lessons with him had to go back burner and eventually stop indefinitely. Too busy with my own gig life. I also felt bummed because I was kind of plateauing working on that piece and wasn't ever able to relax and really get it under the fingers to the point where I was happy with it.

 

I would love to get back to that. So much repertoire, so little time.

[Wake up babe, new Kenny Kirkland bootleg just dropped...]

Kenny cooking on a DX7. Love listening to this, thanks for sharing!

[Some cool photos of Herbie and band at Disney Hall.]

He was in SD last week. I wanted to go but my FIL was in the hospital and I was stuck home with the kids. I am really bummed about it. Haunted by it being the idea that this was my last chance to see him. I had a dream where last night I got to hang with Herbie and he was saying some stuff about my playing and I got to ask him all kind of questions. I hope he comes around again soon.

[Lead sheets, where?]

17 hours ago, MathOfInsects said:

I really only care about exact form if it's going to be played that way. Otherwise I just want really clear A, B, C sections, etc, and a good sense of how it's LIKELY to go, even if it goes some other way. Most of my cover gigs are in a context that involves extending some section with solos and the like, so you really just need to know what you have to play when someone signals that we're going back to the bridge, etc. 

 

 

Good point. I know some cats who are so married to their own ink that they become a drag when the form gets more fluid.

[Lead sheets, where?]

I will see if I can find the PDF online through google search. I will then probably make my own real chart because most of those leadsheets don't have the right form.

[Porcaro and Paich on the Steinway]

Yes neither of them actually played the parts 100% like the record. But it's more than fine baby.

[Thinking about gigging with a Mac... Mini or Macbook Air? M1, Intel?]

13 hours ago, Stokely said:

honestly not having a rock solid place on some stages for a computer is one reason I don't use them.  My stages can be quite small to be sure. 
 

 

I'm still in this boat too.

[Porcaro and Paich on the Steinway]

They're playing the Africa marimba part on piano but it's a GS1 right? They didn't double it on piano.

[Porcaro and Paich on the Steinway]

Today I learned they didn't cut that album on a Yamaha C7 which I had always assumed they had. And I had assumed they cut it at Westlake. Wrong again. Now I realized I was conflating Toto's involvement on Thriller (cut at Westlake) with the recording of Toto IV. And here I am considering myself a true fan.

 

Thanks for sharing this.