octa

Jokic, one of my faves, was MVP tonight. But, Murray might've deserved MVP for the series? (not to sow division, like they frequent the keyboard corner hehe) Other than a close series, I'm not sure who to root for in the Finals, presuming the Heat get in. Both are great organizations with some really cool players. Slightly leaning towards Nugs but we'll see. .

Yep, thanks for heads up. Just bought one of these dongles last week.

Told a friend about Amazon "deal" and he rolled the dice on this $999 too, hoping for CK88. CK61 arrived a couple days ago and luckily he seems to be real happy with 61.

Have noticed that Pianoteq tops out at 64 buffer size on MacBook/Windows/iOS, whereas most others do 32 or very occasionally 16. However, at 64, Pianoteq feels as snappy as the others at 32 to me.

Lowell nite 2nite

Tho I never entirely stopped playing or listening to music (rock esp.), teenage years were definitely when I practiced classical the most. So I took some (30?) years off from the woodshed, but Covid (thankfully?) pulled me back in to jazz/classical mode. The most useful things I've learned the last few years: Listening is as important as practicing, yin and yang. Have been finding great new albums everyday lately. YouTube interviews are great for steering folks in a cool direction. https://youtu.be/9kjvfn1AZNA But also listening to Charlie Parker and Bach fugues/chorales/etc. often seems to help the playing. I haven't been meditating lately for allotted time etc., but relaxing in that manner and really thinking about what you want/need to learn and how to go about it can relax the brain, and let the fingers and soul get to work. Practicing in smaller chunks helps. (ex. Last nite, taking some short riff I made up or "Donna Lee" in segments through the 12 keys while watching Nuggets/Lakers game 1) And on the opposite spectrum, harmonically/melodically/thematically analyzing everything helps to see the bigger picture. Growing up in classical world, I now notice analyzing jazz, classical & rock are often much different beasts! Rules vs. no rules vs. no key center etc. etc. This analyzing thing I need to do a lot more often.

Went to music shop in small town SC where my parents live and was surprised to see fp-30x, p45, mx49 and others running thru Roland cubes. Not bad at all compared to guitar center in big college town where I live, where there’s a few Williams and maybe an Arturia controller (not hooked up).

used to play wurly 200a under old wooden cx3 and cx3 would slide off due to rockin’ on the wurly, not smears iirc. One very cool club owner herein town would be up there in a flash putting it back on top within a few seconds. Older, wiser octa would probably use bungee cords. (or Velcro)

#2 in second batch is my fave. #1 in first very good too. Can tell you’re more used to dynamics of #1. Cool playing & tune! May have to steal some of yer licks. When at home with studio monitors, I like running garritan, modern u & keyscape at 96 kHz as it adds a little presence & oddly enough garritan seems to run better at higher sample rate. Wondering if sample rate would make a noticeable difference w/ modeled piano. (higher sample rates are only available in Pro) If there’s a sale, I may spring for Pro. Paid for Stage and really enjoying Steinway D and bluthner. Would like to have full keyboard available on Bechstein & Clav too.

Recently was looking at ik multimedia irig duo pro i/o (& Quattro because I like having 96k option). These are advertised as being able to interface while charging but are pricier than what you’ve been surveying. Someone in dig my rig thread bought duo recently and I’m hoping to hear more about how well that works. — I’ve had noise issues lately using an LG monitor that interfaces with and charges MacBook simultaneously. Could be easier to isolate hum with power and data on separate cables. — I often use original RME Babyface with a split usb cable. These are not too expensive on used market and sound really good. Hold 2 buttons while powering on to enter (and exit) class compliant mode. Use with Apple camera connection kit (with charge option) to charge iOS device.

Haven't tried though am curious about Ravel/Noir, but I find KeyScape C7 and Modern U by UVI get me closest to the Nord sound. (which to me sounds like it is close miked in a smaller less reflective room?) Though at home I mostly practice with Garritan CFX, because it feels the most real, I'm not crazy about the "this grand was sampled in this legendary concert hall or Abbey Road" sound, when on stage through an amp esp. If Nord released a VST with White Grand and Amber Upright, I'd stand in line for 10 hours for tickets to that event. . Although the action on Nord Piano 5 73 is not great, especially for practicing, come showtime I usually take that to the gig for the sound (and portability).

Keith is on 🔥 on this one:

Congrats to the Hawkeyes. Caitlin looked like Kevin Durant out there and Iowa sure had an enthusiastic crowd! Lookin' forward to championship game. Hopefully my Lady Gamecocks will be back in the Final Four next year.

Casio CT-S500 is going on land tours with me and I'm quite happy with the keybed, for slow practicing esp. When flying, I'll take my old iRig Keys Pro, and don't recommend that flimsy 37-key synth keybed at all.

Was hoping y'all were talkin' about the ladies when I hit this link Go Gamecocks! Should be a good one tonight. I predict that Brea Beal is going to TCOB.

i'm using CME WIDI Master lately and it works pretty well. Using it with Nord Piano 5 73 to play Swam Strings and B-3X on iPad pro, backing up a singer in a country band. Latency is there but not too noticeable with those sustain-y sounds, but it is more noticeable with piano sounds. All but two of the songs are piano songs, so this helps keep it a single board gig.

this kinda helped me find a ”zone” or 2 a few weeks back

was loading my mountain of gear out of a local small town theatre here and a soon to be friend approaches holding my soft gator bag, looking panicky says, "i don't know how this happened, but i just ran over your keyboard". We unzipped the case on the car hood and there wasn't a scratch on the mkii. I use it often to control macbook synths/organ. Other than the organ smear finger snagging (which isn't dangerous, just annoying) mentioned above, it plays real well. And sure is tough!

have been keeping an eye out for HA 76 NS2's, and considering NS3 88's too. (tho not as portable o' course) -- You're right, I've used Nord soft cases a good bit and they protect the Nords well.

creating your own samples could lead to some original and useful sounds. . at least that's my plan. I must admit again, the Stage 4 is super tempting, practically speaking. Tho not sure I'd wanna toss $6k in the back of a van. .

opened for him in 2013. Yep, he had a big white grand piano shell, with some sort of electric piano in there and a small teleprompter situation going on. (chords/lyrics) Most of the rest of the band hung out backstage and chatted with him a little. Occasionally wish I had too.

Maybe it's the same action or very similar to NS3 88, but triple sensor. Jack described it as "posh, for lack of a better term", in recent video.

Piano 5 has slightly better (for piano at least) triple sensor HA action than new Stage 4 models, and 2X sample synth of the Nord Grand, using newer sample technology, also found in Nord Stage 4.

If I hadn't recently spent a fortune on Macbook + VSTs and if they'd upgraded organ, I'd definitely be into the HA 73 version, tho I might only use the ARP function once every 5 years. Nord, please make that new single sustain pedal work with Piano 5. .

also there's a price increase: $1399 --- $1699 Someone on Talkbass forum says Faital has a higher crossover rate, leading to clearer highs. Bassists equally like the Eminence speakers for the punchy lows. Played first gig (jazz combo in very small theatre, vocal PA) with KP610S yesterday and it did real well. (better than i did :p)