MojoGuyPan

Really Dave? Don't tell me you're drinking the Kool-Aid on Dave Smith. He has been an innovative guy but a ROMpler? Yeah he invented MIDI, put out some awesome synths with Sequential, innovated with the VS and kick started the new era of polyphonic analogs but the X is a sad entry. At this point he seems to value being prolific over being cutting edge. If he didn't have a new idea for a synth why force it and put out a rehash of the new Prophet with a generous side of ROMpler. Does he really need to release something new each year? To be honest, this is better than just releasing a desktop of something else. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh on Dave, maybe he's getting a lot of requests to produce a ROMpler and he just wants to capitalize on the demand. So maybe he is doing it just for business. If that is so, what does it tell us, that all roads lead to ROMpler? For years everyone complained about the lack of analogs, lack of warmth, how ROMplers sucked the life out of music and were bland. People hated them. A ROMpler was good for piano but a synth? Now after 20 years of synth making, Dave is finding convergence on the very same type of synth that people were demanding an alternative to and hence grew DSI into a major player. Just remember the late 90's people were beating on Yamaha, Korg and especially Roland to revisit analog. The big three were fine with ROMplers and the masses turned to Moog and DSI. After DSI's success the big three saw the market and started putting out VA's and analogs. You mean to tell me now, Dave Smith's big announcement is a ROMpler while Korg's was the Prologue. Is the world not upside down here? Am I really the only one who notices the absurdity of this. I wish Dave would've innovated with the X. It doesn't have to be analog. He seems in love with the possibilities of digital synthesis. Why not create a new innovative digital synthesizer? Why just add a ROMpler to the Prophet? Dave does try to milk the designs for all he can but this one is particularly offensive to my sensibilities. I guess now we know that Bowen was the Lennon and Dave the McCartney of that relationship. Wings . The Prophet with a lame piano sample, just what the world needed. Thanks Dave Smith.

Anyone else here think this marks the beginning of the end for DSI? Dave putting out a synth with a side of ROMpler wreaks of desperation and a lack of new ideas. When Dave started off with the Evolver and then the analog synths I would've never thought he'd circle back and start putting out ROMplers. It's like the late 80's all over again. If I wanted a ROMpler, I'd get a Kronos or Montage. The Japanese do them better than anyone.

And they all pretty much sound the same. Thin. At least this will have a piano. It's a shame that Dave can't reproduce the magic of the P5 or the 600. They just sound so much better and have a weight and presence to them that the DSI stuff is lacking. With the stuff he is putting out now, you're better off going with a plugin. I don't hear any benefit to getting DSI hardware at this point.

Nice, I've got one on order and have PA speakers. Sounds like I'm set.

To you guys who have received yours already, what are you using for amplification? Powered PA speakers? Twin Reverb? A 12" keyboard amp like the Roland or Behringer? Does the Seven want a PA or a real amp?

The pianos were well maintained. These were at high end jazz clubs out here not dive bars. Also was Corea really playing APs on the Montage? I saw him a couple years ago and he bounced back and forth between a real piano and the Motif but he only play EP on the Motif. Same with Hancock, saw him last fall and he used his Kronos for synth sounds but played piano on his giant Fazioli. He didn't play AP's on his Kronos or through the keytar. Okay so now you guys are drinking the X-stand Kool-Aid. I know you're not really. Why would we have that guy who built the B3 style shell for his boards, effects and power supplies. Why would Billy Joel and Elton John be playing digital pianos in grand shells. Why would there be a million anti-X-Stand threads here. Sven's probably got them tallied up somewhere. Why would Murphy Dunne cover his Rhodes in shag? Let's stop be contrarian here. A slab on an X is visually weak. The Seven looks a hell of a lot better and more substantial than a Numa Stage on an X (my current anti Kool-Aid piano rig). Weak aesthetics are why everyone thinks the guitarists are "cool" and the keyboard players are "nerds". It's fact. Back in the day, Jerry Lee Lewis and Thelonious Monk were cool, they played real pianos. Do you really think Jerry Lee Lewis banging out Shaking on a Numa Nano on the Steve Allen Show would've had the same impact? or Monk having Basie stare him down from the back side of a Privia would've been as sweet. Let's get real. These tiny boards are playable and sound great but do nothing for our image. I want to thank Guido for thinking not only of the sounds and playability but the style as well. The Mojo and 61 look really nice and the Seven is a homerun in the looks department. The dude's a genius. I offer you this comparative visual, I think we all know which setup is cooler. http://notinhalloffame.s3.amazonaws.com/images/Fictitous_Rock/Murph_and_the_Magic_Tones.jpg

Adan's absolutely right about the way boards look on stage. I hadn't really thought about it but it affects my enjoyment of the music. I see a lot of jazz and when someone plays a real piano, a Rhodes or a B3 there is a certain amount of gravitas there. A few times I went to jazz clubs and cats in a quartet were playing something like a Montage on an X-stand and it just flat out looked stupid. They had a Yamaha baby grand in back of them but they played this dinky board on an X-stand. The dudes could play and I know they were using it to mix up the sounds they'd play EP on some tunes and strings on others but to stick with the Montage for APs was sad when you've got the real thing right next to you. The whole show I'm thinking the dude should've left his board in the car and just played the baby rand all night, screw the other sounds. It's so true. When I see videos of the band playing and I've got the two tiered X-stand I cringe. It just looks retarded. I've played a lot of restaurants with a stage piano and have seen the photos. It's like being caught riding a moped.

Max's video here of the modeled piano sounds much better than the demos posted a few weeks ago. Now they sound legit. Now there is no reason for anyone to hesitate on dropping the coin for the Seven. And no, I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid. If I is was I'd be playing a Casio PX5 or Forte with a Legend Live running through a Ventilator amped up by a Spacestation. That's the Kool-Aid Man's rig.

Crumar v. Nord EPs is no contest. Crumar houses the Nord. The SV-1 is better than the Nord. As a package the Nord Electro is solid but the EP's are not it's strong suit. Jack of all trades and all that.

^^^^^^ or Crumar can put out an oversized mouse pad type doily to put on top of the Seven, easily stowed in the right cubby.

That Tines EP has that Bob James nuance down to a T.

This is the only place where the refreshing Kool-Aid is served.

I know and this is what poor Guido has to deal with, people bashing him for ridiculous combinations that are only destined for three sales world wide (per Svenny). or Jazz+ who wants to take the B3 out of the Mojo to make room for a piano. I really feel for Guido reading through the crazy on this forum.

I'm sorry Dave but I don't get the disappointment. You should be buying an instrument on the basis for what it can do at the time of purchase. Not in the hopes that things will be made perfect in the future. If you looked at the Gemini and the Clav sucked, then why buy it if you are going to be using it for Clav? I bought a Mojo 61 for organ. Then the easter egg piano came out then the clav. That's just lagniappe. Now everyone wants the modelled piano and vibes spread across the Crumar line up. You've got the desktop Gemini, buy a SL73 for $500 and call it a day. I didn't want another variation of the Gemini. I think the Seven makes much more sense, a piano centric board with a piano action. I've got the Mojo with the waterfall keys. GSI probably hasn't sold many of the Gemini and Dual Manuals so updates for it are likely to be low priority. The Burn discontinued, so what? You have one, it does what it does when you bought it, now you're crying that it'll get no more updates. I'm sorry but you've got to put on your big girl panties. When Korg discontinues the SV-1 are people going to be crying that no more updates are coming out? You buy an instrument for what it can do. That's it end of story. I have a piano at the house. The mfg now cranks them out overseas, do I cry? No. It is still a great sounding piano, I don't expect updates. That's the way it should be with your boards. Don't count on any updates or fixes, buy a board for what it is now, not what it has the potential to be. And to think GSI/Crumar is on the same scale as Kurzweil is a little bit optimistic. There's no reason to beat them up.

Hear Hear. So many people here just can't wait to crap on Fatar at the drop of a hat. Their keyboards are legit. The Mojo feels fantastic, the TP 40 and 100 are solid and their synth action in the Sledge and Moog Voyager is awesome. I don't see the reason behind the hate, they seem to be on a higher level than Korg's and Yamaha's keys. I need more review talk of the Seven. Not three pages of people wiping their A's with the TP100 like it's a Roland KC500 amp. Domo Oh and Guido, while you're at it, throw a few lire Max's way we need more demo's of the Seven on YouTube.

Okay so to bring this full circle, it's just that Jim hates the TP100. We need some more reviews. Anyone else receive theirs yet? We need confirmation that it just feels like a normal TP100 fresh outta Ancona.

So you're saying that the keybed has short travel in the Seven? I've got the Numa Stage with supposedly the same keybed (TL100) and it seems fine. Are they using a modded 100 with short key travel for some reason? I think the 100 is pretty good. It be a shame if they are using a lame version of it in the Seven. Just wanted to know because maybe you just don't dig the 100. If it's like the Numa Stage, I'd be happy with the Seven.

The latest demo is simply breathtaking. The Rhodes is amazing. The Rhodes is why I'd be getting this. and if it had a solid AP. But this Rhodes is wonderful. I've got confidence Guido will get the AP into shape. I'm saving up my pennies for this one.

This thread has really done a 180 on the AP model in the Seven. First everyone says it sucks, now everyone is upset that this sucky modelled piano is not going to be made available for the 61 or Gemini. The AP in the Seven sounds off, more like it is a Yamaha CP Grand. Honestly I don't care to have it in the 61. I've been using my Numa Stage with the Mojo 61 and the piano in the Stage is pretty good and the Mojo's EP's triggered by the Stage are bad ass. You really need good keys to really enjoy the EP's in the 61 anyway and most hammer boards will have a better sounding AP. The Seven though needs a legit AP model or sample. I get that it's an EP recreation first and foremost but for this thing to be considered by most people you need to have a viable AP sound in there. No way am I bringing the Seven AND something like a CP4. That's just way too much to lug around.

Half guilty as charged. I played the Forte in the store with headphones and honestly didn't hear a huge improvement over the PC3K that I had. The only major improvement to my ears was the AP not the EPs. Maybe the Dave W patches or Purgatory Creek stuff take it to another level but I was just commenting on what you get from Kurzweil. Not going to buy his EP Pack to upgrade a floor model just to check it out so I really don't have chance to play a Forte with the upgraded EPs. But just the fact that you need third party EP's speaks volumes as to the weaksauce of the Forte native EP's as rolled by the factory. I did get Dave's set for the K and it was legit. It really made the board more playable. Having said that, what I am hearing from the Seven and my 61 is an order of magnitude more playable and expressive and alive. Look, I'm not trying to trigger buyer's remorse in Forte owners. Because in reality almost no one cares about this stuff and the Forte can do a lot more than the Crumar Seven. In reality all of these EP's the SV-1, Forte, Motif, Kronos, CP4 are all good enough to play on a gig and no one is going to call out your EP as crap. It's just playing solo at home or even at a restaurant type gig you are going to be the one to notice the playability and nuance. Even on those gigs though the audience doesn't really care and something like a Casio would cut the mustard as far as the audience goes. (again, no slight to the Casio owners here and no I haven't tried the Weisersound PX5-S upgrade, but I do hate the action of the PX5 don't see how it gets so much love and the TP100 scorn. I am very unimpressed by the PX5's action. Not saying the TP100 is amazing but at least it is decent, I do get on with the 40 a little better.)

Sorry bro but no way. The Kurzweil EPs are okay but not even in the same league as the Kronos let alone the Seven. I know this forum has a strong Kurzweil bias due to Dave W's presence but really the sun has set on their VAST architecture. They're milking every last drop out of what they have but really need to move forward to be competitive again.

This Seven sounds better and better each week. The amount of variability and adjustments that can be made to the CP is astounding. Guido hit it out of the park, this is a homerun board for sure. Can't wait until April 12th.

Totally agree with Moe here. The actions on most real Rhodes I seen in the wild are crappy, the TL100 being much nicer. I'm going to give it a shot this weekend controlling the 61 with my SL Stage and see how I make out. See if I dig it like KenHeeter.

Aidan, That's what they said about the transistor organs too. Now we have Korg cranking out the Vox. While it's true DX7 pianos have been run into the ground to the point of being an 80's ballad cliche, it's also true that it is a beautiful sound with a warmth and level of expression not common in a patch. The Seven's FM piano is alive, a living breathing beast. Not canned corniness.

Just heard the DX demo. The Seven is a beast. Can't wait to get my mitts on one. Sounds so warm and lush. Guido's nailed it. [video:youtube]