montunoman

I think I was that I was lucky to find both a ' blemished' Yamaha NTX 500 and a used Ovation 1624-4 classical that I ordered through GC within our budget. We tried the Ibenez GA35 but didn"t love it .... We actually really liked a Lucero , never any even heard of that brand. Once the Yamaha , Ovation come in , we may take all three guitars home for a week and pick out our favorite. Should a fun or maybe agonizing experience!

Thanks KP. I found an Ibanez GA 35 that also in my budget. Anybody have experience with the Ibanez? Or would you rather play on a Yamaha NTX?

Hello again, Unfortunately the used Yamaha NTX 700 goes over our budget with the shipping. I did find an NTX 500 that is actually under our budget. Is there much difference between the 700 and 500 models? Again, a thin neck for greater comfort is the number one priority.... Thanks!

Great examples. I"m familiar with a lot Floyd Cranmers playing so now it"s time to dive into Pig ! More please!

I've heard the Cordoba Fusion would be good for what were looking for- a nylon acoustic/electric with a thin neck. I haven't found any used in our price range though. I'm hoping this Yamaha NTX 700 works out for us!

Great thing about a or duo, is that can easily go trio then quartet..... Once you two get tight, the other players are just "icing on the cake" . My wife and I do a duo, but sometimes a clients budget will be bigger or they actually want a full band, then we just hire the best players we can. Here in Texas there is no shortage of really good musicians that can play a gig without having to rehearse for 6 months. Who has time for that? My motto is "get the gig, and the musicians will come" Best wishes to you with your duo, Dan.

Thank you K.P. for the details. Hopefully we can get the Yamaha, and it sounds like this particular Córdoba wouldn"t be good for us.

Thank you guys for the recommendations. So far I'm looking at a used Yamaha NTX 700 for $380 and a used Cordoba C5CE for $275. Unfortunately we can't try these out in person and the most important thing for us is feel. A traditional classical guitar neck is too wide. Also the ability to plug into a speaker is important as we have some very good (but fairly loud) Latin percussionist in the family that like to come over to jam. Someone was asking about what style of music.: We just want to back ourselves up as we sing boleros,bossa nova and popular Latin-pop type songs, and also keep up with basic classical guitar, jazz chords, and blues. We both don't use pics, just finger so nylon feels better to us, and we grew up the the nylon string sound. Thanks again!

Thank you Kuru. We are looking used, and it's pretty hard finding a electric/classical. Steel strings for sure dominant the market!

Also, could someone compare and contrast Pig Robbins to Floyd Crammer?

Greeting, I am a long time member of the "Keyboard Corner" and my wife and I are starting our adventures in learning guitar. We both like the sound of classical, bossa, and flamenco guitar styles and we have a nice sounding Yamaha classical. The problem is the neck is so thick it hurts our hands after awhile. We are looking to find an acoustic/electric "classical" guitar with a much thinner neck, with the hope it will be easier to play. Our teacher has Ovation 1624 that feels very good to us, but it's out of our price range which is about $300. Any recommendations?

I tried the speakers at the same outdoor venue again, and plugged the keyboards directly to the speakers (Bose S1 Pro) instead of the mixer, and they keyboards sounded much better, really great actually! I'm not sure why running the keyboard into the mixer was causing a slight distortion though. Ideas?

Hello MPN21, I know you're asking Randy, and I too am interested in what battery he uses too. I got the" Flash Fish" It's supper light weight and powers up my keyboards, mixer and vocal processor for at least four hours. It couldn't power up my 12'" power speakers though, which would be over kill for what I'm trying to do now, anyways. https://www.amazon.com/Portable-FlashFish-Generator-Adventure-Emergency/dp/B07T48L6CF/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3UCCBGR1AJ2L2&dchild=1&keywords=flashfish+portable+generator&qid=1592310635

Hi again Randy, I live in Dallas, but grew up in Los Angeles. I wish I could go back to CA, , but I'm very comfortable here with my wife and she has lots of family here in Texas and Mexico..... Anyways good luck in San Diego, another great city for sure! Yes, I love playing with good percussionist too and actually drums set and Latin percussion are my first instrument. I even studied with Luis Conte and Poncho Sanchez among others years ago. I still play drums and teach lessons too. I did think about taking advantage of the stores return policy, maybe I will just to at least try the JBL's out. I really bought the Bose in the first place because I got a really good deal on them as the Bose Stores were going out of bussinesss, so I could probably break even if I sell them. We'll see.... I actually really hate selling stuff and buying new gear, and trying to get to it sound to my liking, learning new operating procedures,.,,,, Kind of a PITA for me..... Regarding the bathroom breaks, my wife is singing with me and we're just doing 2 hours so far so we've been OK. The Texas heat is the biggest obstacle so far, but we start when the sun goes down. It can sometimes get a bit cold in the winter so we'll probably not busk much after November. Who knows, we just stating out with this busking so we have a lot to learn.... I prefer to sit when I play but I'm trying to keep this busking set minimal so I'm now standing and trying to incorporate dance moves and stuff to be a bit more entertaining. I love the PA1000 too! I am using either my Yamaha psr 950 or Ketron Audya ( not very well known in the states) I do have a Korg Micro Arranger as well as a Korg Havian 30, so yes I am a Korg fan too, but I feel most conformable with the Yamaha OS at least in a performance situation..I thought I was the only arranger KB player here and there is a bit of a negative stigma to the instrument among some American players, so I'm glad to meet you! I'm sure between our interest in Latin percussion and arranger KB we would have lots to talk about!

So last nigh I went to my local Sam Ash, and compared the JBL Compact to the Bose S1 Pro. I really couldn't hear a big enough difference to justify the purchase. In fact I liked the Bose sound a bit better. Truthfully it's hard to tell in the store using recorded music- you really have to test them out in the "field" live with you instrument. Maybe I'll buy them anyways to get a better idea, but I am not too inspired to do so... Thanks for the replies, and feel free to add anything related to your experience busking too.

True! I did another busking session yesterday and moved speakers much closser together and about six feet behind against a wall, and the sound was way better!

Hi Anderton, I always run two speakers in stereo. I put a lot of work into using stereo effects on the drums and other sounds on my keyboards, and use lots of EP too, and to my ears stereo sounds better!

Thank Randy for your very thoughtful answer. Lot's to consider, and it sounds like you have lots of experience playing out in the street of San Francisco. Wasn't there a TV by the same name? Anyways, I love SF, and my favorite part about the city is checking out the buskers. During my last visit to SF I actually saw a really great arranger KB player busking . He did very nice Carlos Santana inspired guitar simulations that really inspired me. You're lucky Randy to live in such an awesome place!

You so right about loud music can obnoxious especially in a busking situation, so I'm totally keeping that in mind. You have a very valid point about security/safety and let's not forget health too! It's a jungle out there!

True, The first night of busking was on a bridge and the sound was not the best sound. The second night I set up with a wall behind me, and that did help a lot. It would be unrealistic to expect to get the same the sound I got indoors in a loud urban outdoor setting. I guess I could get some generators and use standard 12 inch power speakers but that's a bit much to lug for a busker!

Hi, I've had the Bose S1 Pro for about six months now. I used them for small senior center gigs for arranger KB and vocals. They sound great for that but since that type of work is gone for for the foreseeable future, I'm taking to the streets. Yes, I'm busking..... Anyways, I tired the S1 Pro outside, on a busy street, lots of noise, rowdy people, playing much louder and harder driving material than I was doing at the senior venues. The Bose could ALMOST keep up but not quite. The sound was beginning to distort. I was able to dial it down a bit and got it to sound OK, but it I felt it lacked a bit of volume and perhaps bass. I'm just wondering if the JBL Compacts with the slightly lager sub would give me more bass and volume? Again, the S1 Pro's are real nice, and maybe I'm expecting too much from a little battery speaker. Also I got to keep in mind that I shouldn't be playing all that loud out on the street anyways..... In other words,do I make peace with the tools I got or keep on looking? Anyways, I thought I'd see if any fellow keyboardist have any experience with both units . Thanks!

We did the performance outside the funeral home yesterday. Inside they held they held a mass, and also a viewing earlier. Also a mariachi performed. We rehearsed all weekend and came up with a set that I think was very meaningful, and some songs brought tears to everyone's eyes, while others songs got everyone smiling, laughing, singing and dancing.I think Mexicans and Latinos in general have different way of grieving, and actually part of the process involves celebration through songs,dancing, eating, drinking, laughing, crying, and grieving together as one. Between each song, my wife and I would share a memory about Ruben, and how that song captured his essence. One his best friends/clients, a lovely lady named "Corazón" told me something that really impacted me. She said that, of course Ruben was a good stylist, and had impeccable taste, but his services as a stylist went way beyond that. She said she could probably get just as good results with a number of other stylists. But what set him apart was his ability to build meaningful relationships. She said that an appointment with Ruben would often become like a therapy session. He would listen and often give thoughtful responses. She said he could make a women feel beautiful not so much by how he cut or colored her hair, the make up he would use, or the dresses he'd pick out, but by the emotional support he would he would give. Descansa en paz mi amigo

Thank you Eric, very well said.

Thank you, Rod. We've been rehearsing some very fitting and moving songs and the tears were flowing as we played. I'm very sorry too for your band mate.