Rofox

I use an old Function Junction 16 in 16 out midi merge which will filter out note off messages amongst others.

Truly sound advice from GRollins. The only action I might add would be to cut a slot in the top of the leg and make a wedge to expand the spigot. It's called a " fox wedge" here. Get it right and the leg will never come loose again

Search eBay for "non slip grip mats"

Despite using 30 and 60w RMS amps in the 60's, ringing in the ears after a gig was normal and would go away by the following morning - until it didn't. A succession of loud bands followed until '73 and I went solo and could control the volume. Several comments stuck a chord, particularly XKnuckles allusion to selective hearing. I think I've learnt to dial it out. If I choose to think about it it comes whooshing back but most of the time it's in the background. I'm sure hearing aids, which I've worn for 12 years, help by amplifying what you want to hear. Stephen Fortner's mention of low frequencies also resonated - when lying in bed and having tuned out the tinnitus highs a low hum becomes apparent similar to multiple 4 or 5 foot fans running on a distant cooler. Of course the biggest downside of tinnitus and hearing loss is that you only have the vaguest idea how the tone you're carefully crafting actually sound. I don't know if I can offer any words of comfort Bif_ we both have to manage it as best we can but I believe it can be tuned out and hearing aids have definitely helped me. Good luck in you struggle to overcome it.

7th November 1966, aged 19, I scraped together the pennies to see him at Wimbledon Theatre. Tickets were relatively cheap as he was still under a black cloud of opprobrium in the UK following the 13 year old affair. Setlist: Little Queenie (Chuck Berry cover) Play Video You Win Again (Hank Williams and His Drifting Cowboys cover) Play Video Mean Woman Blues (Elvis Presley cover) Play Video Lovin' Up a Storm Play Video Your Cheatin' Heart (Hank Williams cover) Play Video What'd I Say (Ray Charles cover) Play Video Great Balls of Fire Play Video High School Confidential Play Video Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (Big Maybelle cover) Play Video Good Golly Miss Molly The speed he could play astonished me and I've never come close. A memorable event.

There are plenty of screens on eBay and instruction videos on YouTube I seem to remember the trickiest part was sourcing the narrow double sided tape for securing the screen. Check the videos first to see what's involved and then take the replacement slow and steady. I think it took about 45 minutes and it totally transforms the usability of the instrument. Good luck.

Sorry, I can't share your appreciation of the Continental. I started my band career in 1966 with a Continental 2 and upgraded in '71 to an Italian Continental 300 which added percussion, reverb, presets and a tilting stand. All the time I found them both harsh and reedy despite adding a wah and phaser but tolerated it because they were the best of the portable keyboards that I could afford/carry at the time. It didn't take long to embrace a Wurli and clav, both of which I still have. Every year or so I call up a Vox program on my synths and shudder at the memory.

Roland RD200. Bought new in '86/87. Loved it from first touch and bought it on the spot. Eight sounds, three of them usable and two superb. No other instrument I've owned has provided the same playing experience - the SA sound generation combined with the keyboard feel provided a connection and response that was second to none and it formed the basis of my solo keyboard rig for 10 years until it was stolen. Piano 3 had so much bite when you hit it yet could be caressed, the same with the two EPs. Paired it with an MKS20 transposed down an octave for extra goodness.

Ahh, you've just reminded me. Mid 70's second hand ARP pro soloist...my first synth, bought to sit on the Wurli. Same issue as you Al Quinn, it just wouldn't stay in tune despite three visits to various techs. In fact I spent more on repair attempts than it cost to buy. When it worked it was glorious but sadly........😟

Plus 1 on the Rhodes comments. Mid 70's, friend playing on a cruise ship offered to by me one from Sam Ash and for three weeks I was sizzling with excitement. Back in London 10 minutes in and crushing disappointment followed. Impossibly heavy action plus ridiculous overall weight but I persevered ..... not for long! That was the keyboard I least connected with. Managed to sell it for more than I paid and for a third of the price bought a really beat up Wurli from the AWB. A couple of years later I figured a pristine brand new Wurli 200a would be an upgrade. One gig was enough to seal its fate. It just didn't have the grit and bark as the beat up EP200 which, fortunately, I still had (have). If we can include modules (?), Korg Radias, I've tried but could never coax the remotest approximation of a warm sound from it.

+1 for the mixer route, more control and flexibility. Downside is a few more leads and a line wart but all in all the better solution.

PianoMan51 I feel your pain and none of us can predict if we'll succumb to memory loss or dementia but I'm sure if someone has an active mind, explores new concepts and takes an active interest in say science, current affairs and hobbies they can continue to make new neuron connections. Perhaps just following the "normal routine" isn't enough. If we enjoy new stimuli and keep them coming perhaps we can enable our brains to remain flexible. At 73 I'm still a bit of a whizz at quizzes although instant recall sometimes isn't quite as instant as it once was. My message is don't atrophy and enjoy retirement for as long as you can - after all, you've earned it!

Wow!, so many of the comments here resonate with me that I no longer feel like a fraud outsider - thanks. If I knew how to quote the relevant extracts they'd stretch to the end of the page. I joined a band in 1965, turned pro in '69, semi pro in '75, solo in '76. Kids arrived in '84 and '86. With the day job and up to six solo gigs a week I missed the first ten years of my kids lives but we needed the money. Gigs involved shifting three keyboards, two speakers, two amps, gig bag, stands etc. In all seven trips each way (the plus point is that it kept me extremely fit). In '96 I started my own engineering business which thrived and gigs became a chore, money was no longer an issue, I could enjoy more time with the family and a regular social life that you never get when gigging. Over the next 25 years I dallied with a couple of bands whose sole objective was to rehearse and allow the guitarist to drone on for hours at extreme volumes ( a topic which may have been discussed previously once or twice), a soul band whose leader expected me to lug my gear and play for pleasure and a friends '60's instrumental group (this was quite fun and we played a couple of dozen gigs plus two conventions) The most pleasurable was when one of my son's friend invited me to join his scratch band; six 25 - 30 year olds plus a geriatric keyboard player and drummer, six gigs, six great young musicians and six good times. Back to the OP's points and a few more:- I no longer want (nor have the strength, lungs or energy) to hump or haul gear around. I have no idea what the current gig going audience expects to hear nor would they want me to play it. I, too, no longer wish to play for the same as was the norm a quarter of a century ago. My business was sold 18 months ago - initially I missed the visits to site, (mostly in the City of London) and solving people's problems but my hobbies kicked in and have now taken over. To the OP, the thing I've learnt about retirement is - As long as you are financially secure (and it doesn't have to be a colossal amount) retirement brings freedom. Freedom not to do crap gigs, freedom not to lug gear, freedom to indulge in the the things you've wanted to do, freedom to have a normal active social life, freedom to play what you want, when you want. You may have guessed I'm a great fan of retirement, so much so that I now resent being tied down to an agenda or calendar. PianoMan 51, retirement? Come on in, the water's lovely!

Had mine on Sunday. I'm 73 and in the "vulnerable category". It was the Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine. Totally painless and no after effects, unlike four of my peers who had a variety of after effects including sore arms and a need for sleep. Here in the UK we currently have access to the Pfizer and O/AZ shots but the Moderna vaccine will arrive in the summer plus the Valneva jab is being manufactured in Scotland and should be available together with the Jannsen option soon. The UK was swift off the mark (cynics may say desperate) to secure a variety of vaccines early on - there's enough of the Oxford jab alone to give everyone over 20 four shots! Currently about 16% of the population have had the first dose and the aim is to have all over 50's vaccinated by early May. Take up of the vaccine is relatively low for minorities here, whether through fear, lack of knowledge or mistrust I don't know. However the program is already having an effect with infections falling and the R rate dropping. Here's looking towards the sunny uplands of a (relatively) happy summer for all.

Poly after touch? Breath controller? Wireless connection? Brain scanning?(OK, skip the last one)

Sorry for being late to the party and a bit of a ramble follows> Back in the 70's whilst heavily using a Wurli I quickly learned that once a reed starts going flat it's pointless trying to retune it. It must be replaced and so I kept a lot of reeds in stock ready to be fitted at short notice, usually the morning after the gig. Any serious user will quickly become adept at changing and tuning a reed. Fifteen years ago I gave my Wurli EP200 to my daughter for her 21st as it was the instrument she learnt on. I still have a stock of reeds should they be needed. As a side note I bought that Wurli 50 years ago (shudder) ex Average White Band, anyone remember them? It was a bit of a wreck and I spent ages learning how to adjust the action and rotated the transformer to minimise hum. I also fabricated a replacement for the missing sustain pedal. After a couple of years I decided this old,beat up keyboard should be replaced with a brand new 200A. After negotiations at Rockbottom in Croydon an agreement was reached for a brand new Wurlitzer EP in exchange for 400 fine British pounds. My delight on collection was almost beyond ecstasy and I resolved to use it on the next gig, (I remember it was the "Golden Gloves in Fulham Palace Road SW London) My expectations were dashed! The 200A sounded thin and gutless. Immediately after the the gig it was advertised as "Brand new, unboxed and fully tested"....and sold for more than I paid including the home made pedal, (I retained the new one and the bench). The original 200, which I fortunately still had, sounded so much fuller, richer and organic,possibly due to distortion but I loved the bark and bite. A Wurli is probably impractical now as a gigable machine but I'm so glad mine is still in the family if I really need it (I still play on it every fortnight). It was part of my rig for about ten years, indeed for four years it was just the Wurli and a drum box working the pubs and wine bars of Kings Road, Chelsea. The rig was later supplemented with a clavi (which I still have) and Logan string melody. Happy days because I got more pleasure and punter response from that pre midi 45 year old set up than any subsequent rig. Apologies for rambling on but you will have guessed that I love and know the instrument. If you want to gig with it I fully understand why. It comes to life under your fingers but you must learn how to maintain the unique instrument you have.

...What to get me for Christmas... Dream on......

I will not buy a keyboard that doesn't have after touch.

"I quit before the first rehearsal and now I'm wondering if I should have at least gone and played with them to check them out?" Gotta disagree with some on here - I'd have gone to experience a live rehearsal. You could then tell if you could fix it or live with it. We can all waste far too much time in seeking perfection where it cannot exist, be it in band, house, car, job or woman. What would it cost? A day or two? Or spend your life searching for unobtainium?

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Rotary would be mentioned on here. It's good to see the ethos and Four Way Test means something. Past president and Paul Harris Fellow here - totally incomprehensible to my 70s prog rock self!

To my ears it was the Logan/Hohner String Melody 2 that ticked all the boxes. Although more limited in some respects it sounded sweeter, lusher and both more defined and refined. A String Melody, Wurli and Clav covered all my solo gigs in pre-midi days.

Agreed, the acoustic piano sounds were mediocre at best but EPs shone above anything at the time. 30 years ago I used to run an RD 200 midied to an MKS 20 tuned an octave lower - glorious! Piano three and the EPs stand on their own, but the most appealing thing was the amazing touch response - I've not played a keyboard since that's a patch on the RD in that respect. But times and tastes change and things move on .....I still have the MKS 20 though!

"Assuming a moral authority that isn't yours is another form of following a worser angel." A sobering thought Adan and I do take your point but I'm so often thinking "Oh no, not again" ..........I'd still like to know how to "Let me Google that for you" though!

During the many years I've been lurking here, (not much to say in such exalted company...keep quiet and learn being the motto) I'd long regarded Sven as being brusque to the point of rudeness. However I now find myself following his path! It seems to have become the norm, especially on Facebook, that people demand answers that they could easily have found for themselves. Is it laziness? Is it ignorance? Am I becoming more curmudgeonly with age? Sven, I have your search tip (Searching on this forum, page two) now imprinted on my mind. All I need is for you to teach me how to "Let me google that for you" and I will retract everything I ever thought and join you as an "Ambassador of goodwill"

How I envy you folks , still living in the past here with about 40, but then it's mostly old gear with only two usb pieces. I'd hopen we'd be wireless by now.