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Daddyg3042

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About Daddyg3042

  • Birthday 11/30/1999

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    Oregon

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  1. It's been awhile, and I no longer have the Vent II, but I was having what sounds like the same problem. Stayed in a bypass mode. I corresponded with Guido, sent it back, and he fixed it....no charge. Good luck to you. One of these days, I got to head north to catch one of your shows!
  2. I wanted to share an experience with you. I only occasionally post, rarely start a thread, but have been an avid forum reader many years. We all contribute our experiences with manufacturers/vendors here. Some good, some not so good…., but this situation certainly has had an impact on me. I decided a week ago or so that I needed to update Set List Maker (SLM) databases on my iPhone. It’s current with its updates for both SLM and IOS. I want to use this as a backup to my iPad3 which I use at gigs, and have for many years. Due to its age, the iPad can’t update SLM nor the IOS to current versions. Long story short, SLM has changed its database structure in the past few years. Od version export .txt files, newer version export .sqlite files. Newer version can’t import the older .txt files. Yikes! I have a lot of years building those databases…..I was nonplussed. I posted my dilemma on Arlo’s forum and got a response very quickly. The databases on the older version would need to be converted, to which he graciously said he’d convert, even after I told him I had 8 databases that needed to be converted!! He never asked for a cent and had these files converted and back to me within days. I don’t know if this is his standard customer support, and wouldn’t want to speak for him on his support services, but I simply couldn’t have been more impressed with the service and interaction. I post this for two reasons. The first is that if you need a song management, gig ready software, you should seriously look at SetList Maker or BandHelper. Arlo, the developer of these app, absolutely stands behind his product to an extent I find hard to believe. I spent maybe $35-$40 dollars ten years ago on SLM. His response to my customer needs was above and beyond anything I would have expected. This is the least I can do to spread the good word on him. Secondly, to say, that there are still good guys out there trying to provide us the tools to make music. We should support them whenever we can.
  3. Jack London's has more gravitas, but... as I usually say "We're not here for a long time, we're here for a good time". Enjoy it while you can
  4. I've used SLM for close to 15 years, with probably 8-10 major projects. I use if for chord charts, lyrics, patch changes and performance notes for live performance, on an iPad3, which has been running it the whole time. I import PDF's of songs for most of the work I do rather than using the chord/lyrics windows; it's just how I started, and continue to work with the program. I probably have 500-750 songs between all of my databases. Each project gets it's own database as they usually have their own songs. It could have better database functionality to allow merging/archiving/de-duping and the like, but after awhile, you develop workarounds for these things. Since "Band Helper" came out, which is a subscription model of SLM with added functionality/sharing capabilities, development of SLM has somewhat ceased but the functionality you're looking for is in there. Super easy to modify/copy set lists and set up songs to trigger patch changes. I use an iRig too...works great. Other's may have different opinions, but this has been my experience with it. Good luck
  5. Steve, great interview. One thing you said struck me..... When you talked about having lessons with your teacher, you said you'd listen to him play and practice afterwards what he was doing by ear, and how it hampered your ability to read. I did the same. After a lesson I'd practice by ear to what I'd heard so I'd "get it" for the next lesson. One day, as I was playing an assignment, in mid song, my teacher pulled the book away and I just kept playing. Busted...he knew then I wasn't reading. It's still a task for me. I'm much better than I was back then, but I much prefer to hear it first rather than read it. You're an inspiration, Mr. Nathan.
  6. In the last 10 years or so, I moved from a PC3 to a Kronos and now to a NS376. Still have the Kronos but I haven't played out with it since getting the NS3. I bought the Nord for really two reasons; didn't want to beat up the Kronos, taking it out 2-3 times a week. Secondly, it was just too damned heavy in its hard case. I was always scared it would go down and need to reboot on a gig as it takes like 3-4 minutes to boot. They both have hammer action, but the NS3 plays much more "crisp-ly" than the Kronos, which feels kind of mushy now. I certainly preferred getting around on the Kronos with the large screen and relatively user friendly interface, but the Nord is becoming much more intuitive as I use it, especially now learning how to use to use Song mode as kind of a "quick access" like the PC3. Insofar as AP & EP live, the Nord cuts though better than I found the with Kronos, which I'm sure EQ and whatnot would help. It certainly doesn't have the variety of sounds the Kronos does, and orchestral stuff beats the Nord hands down, but I rarely do that live anyway. There's enough within reach with the EQ & effects sections that tweaking on the fly helps sit the keys in the mix. Between the weight, weighted action on a 76 key board, and its presence in the mix, I'm glad I got one before the price went up. I still miss V.A.S.T though : )
  7. Definitely a standing X. If he can, so can I.😀 Red Streamliner's been bouncing around in my head now for weeks. What a groove....
  8. Thought I’d jump in here; I own both a Kronos 73 & an NS376. Have had the Kronos for 4-5 years now. Got it for a Pink Floyd tribute band that has since run it’s course. It served that purpose excellently. Each song had its own combi, and I found it very intuitive setting them up. With the ability to set splits anywhere you wish, it was became 2nd nature playing parts. Given one can add written notes to the SetList menu, I could always take a quick look down to the screen to see how the combi was setup. I could easily sample in any part necessary and add it as well. It sounded great in pretty much every circumstance I was in, whether through FOH, or through an amp. While I was never thrilled with the APs, they're tweakable enough to get me mostly there. The weighted action is decent, not my favorite, but not the worst thing I’ve played. It looks good up on stage too. I’m going to keep it around. I bought the NS3 about a year ago for a couple reasons; I didn’t want to “ruin” the Kronos from constantly schlepping it all over the place, and it isn’t an easy carry. My long time (13yrs) project is much more “guerilla” with our gigging. We do tons of venues, indoor, outdoor, stage, no stage, large and tiny setup areas, etc. Used to do so with a Kurzweil PC3 which was light and maneuverable and gave me a full palette of sounds, but sold that when I got the Kronos. I hated the PC3’s action. The Kronos though proved difficult in these circumstances; tight playing areas/stages, chancy power, and to an extent, was like bringing a 50 cal machine gun to a knife fight. The NS3 is definitely an easier schlepp. While as long as the Kronos, it’s about a third less wide and 15-20 lbs. lighter; much more maneuverable on stage and in tight spaces. I connect better with its APs & EPs than the Kronos….they seem to be more lively or something. It’s not just the EQ on the patch, they just seem more “brilliant” than the Kronos. I find the organs similar and given the dedicated drawbar function on the NS3, and sliders on the Kronos, they seem a pretty comparable playing experience. With the ability to load samples, it ticks off that box of my needs. The NS3’s synth is adequate and certainly readily tweakable with all the controllers at your disposal, but I think I prefer the Kronos’ multi synth engine in dialing in the exactly sound I want to hear, and using the available controllers for tweaking. The Nord’s weakest point is not being able to set up splits exactly where you want, and even though you can overlap, it’s not the same. The Kronos’ set list menu is a huge advantage, plus the ability to view notes on both song particulars as well as keyboard setup info right on the screen. On the Nord, I jump back & forth between Live mode, program, and song; it’s not quite as straightforward as I found the Kronos. So, not a Nord fanboy, but do like it pretty well. It was way more about the general functionality in a lightweight package than the cache of a red keyboard. I also still like and appreciate the Kronos. It’s a wonderful machine, that hopefully I’ll have for a long time, especially now that I’m not beating it up so much. In the end, they’re tools; sometimes all you need is a ball pen hammer, sometimes a big ole mallet!
  9. For those who play with a guitar player or two, song flow and set lists are also somewhat influenced by guitar tunings. Not the in between songs, playing a cold venue, tuning correction, but having the guitar being tuned for a song. If they've got a rack with guitars set to a particular tuning, or a guitar tech handing them a correctly tuned one, then it's a smooth transition even if songs are being called off the set list. If not, it's beer selling time. We haven't made it to the guitar tech phase yet😀.
  10. Thought I'd jump in here on two points: First, I'm with Iconoclast on the 70 something key models. It's all about the size of the board for me. I too wind up on stages way too small where there's just no room to spare. My last three gigging boards; PC3-76, Kronos 73 and NS3 76 barely fit on 80% of the real estate we play on. With a drums, bass, guitar (sometimes 2), horns (sometimes 2) amps, wedges, etc....there's just not space. Stage aside, lugging an 88 key w case into cars, through doors & crowds, etc. is no fun. Settling on a 70 something key model with an action that fits one's playing style narrows one's choices. Point two; I owned the PC3 for a number of years. I bought it after owning a K2000, K2VX, SP76, K2600 & K2661. I like Kurzweil boards, but was no fan of the PC3 action. For me, it was not just the feel I didn't like, it was that my forearms ached after playing. Not just a mild annoyance, they really hurt, especially after a long show. I've never had that experience with any other board. I bought the Kronos and NS3 because they were weighted and I did not trust semi-weighted boards after the PC3. I've come to the conclusion, as some here have related, it wasn't so much the downstroke, but rather the "spring back" that was causing the pain. I actually bought the Syntaur springs to try to mod it, but never did get around to installing them as I never felt confident enough to open it up; I needed that board to be operational and worried about messing it up. Given how common discussions are on actions/feel, and how many years these have been going on, I'd think a manufacturer that came up with a system to be able to dial in resistance/tension of their keybed would be a game changer.
  11. Imagine how steamed you'd be if it was reversed! I'd say you were lucky, under the gaping circumstances. I conceptualize a giant office pool situation, where you pick your best imagined delivery date. The winner will have enough money for an Osmose to put on top of their Nord Grand, next to the Moog One. Definitely got the more useful of the two. Since gigs have again become a crap shoot with Omicron, not having the case is more of an inconvenience than anything else. My Kronos case works, but way too big and heavy. At this rate, it'll be paid off before I even get it
  12. I ordered my Nord Stage 3 76 from SW in July along with the Nord rolling soft case. Got the NS3 within 2 weeks. In 3 days, it'll be 6 mos waiting for the case. Still no ETA offered.
  13. We did a gig on Halloween eve. Rolling Stones tribute. Decent sized outdoor neighborhood venue with food and drink carts. I got volunteered to run sound. I do it for our 3-4 piece band with my XR12. Simple stuff, so it was assumed I would do it. Saturday night we added another guitar, & sax to the group, and it was decided we'd were mic'ing everything, drums included...something we rarely do. On a 12 channel mixer. I found out about this the day before. While seriously stressing about these new additions, I decided to use a sub mix from the drums and my input problem was solved. I have a small Eurorack 8 channel that did the trick. We got all packed in and were setting up when I realized my adapter for the WIFI router was missing. I keep that, and a small ethernet cable in an old camera bag/case. It was not in the mixer case and nowhere to be found, and the internal WiFi on the XR would not connect due to high traffic. I was told WiFi interference was really bad there. After a frantic phone call, I headed home to look for an adapter that'd work. Grabbed a few and headed back to the gig. It's 6:15 when I get back, downbeat's at 6:30. I finally got it up and running at 6:35. We had a good 1 minute sound check and we were off to the races. Not stressful at all Still can't find that bag with the adapter in it. Checked the place of our last gig, and the rehearsal areas. It's a mystery. Of all the things I was concerned about going into this gig, and missing adapter was not one of them. Amazon's got 2 for twelve bucks. I think they will live in my car...
  14. Charlie's passing is driving lots of this... I too will be playing a Stones tribute Halloween eve. We've got around 25 tunes lined up and I've been on YT for the last week trying to dig in. A few songs have no keyboards, but the group wants me to play on those anyway. That's been interesting. What's been tricky is adding string parts to Angie, Fool to Cry, Moonlight Mile, as well as the flute on Ruby Tuesday all while trying to hold down the keys part. There's some things that require a note for note approach, but as Sir Paul just said...the Stones are a blues cover band, so that's the way I'm approaching it too.
  15. Thought folks would be interested in this. Uncanny facilities. Not sure if this makes me want to study harder, play more, or quit altogether. [video:youtube]
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