Cabo

Would anyone have a transcription of this song? I have the basics, but if anyone has pulled together a transcription of the piano parts, I'd be very grateful. Thanks.

Here's the isolated track with transcription - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI7OEQ2-siQ

I can do a lead sheet faster in Sibelius than by hand, plus it's quickly transposable and is much easier to read. Adding text is very easy.

I actually played in a mid-80's "Techno-Pop" band with August Worley. He's a really good bass player.

Given the other equipment you already have, I don't think I would go the Kronos route. Could you use the Fantom 8 or bring a laptop & S61? The Kronos has a lot of strengths, but it would require a substantial learning curve. If you're already very familiar with your other options, I'd go with one of those.

Sorry for the confusion, but I was actually asking about whether the new SKX Pro pianos and E Pianos have been updated from the SK Pro.

Nope, I'm using headphones and it's the same through speakers too. If I repeatedly play the E0 note (and below) with SN-A PRST 0021:Fing Bass 2, it blasts the low end much more than notes above E0 at high velocities.

I may have missed the answer to this but -- does anyone know if the Piano and E. Piano sounds are the same as the SKPro?

Excellent review / overview - Thanks Max. It's surprising how much of your sound descriptions I agree with, especially the Wurli and Clav comments -- they are truly dreadful and that's disappointing. I do have question with the electric basses-- I like the sound of the SuperNatural Electric Basses, but for some reason, for the Finger Basses (1st 5 tones) the low E gets super loud when you hit them hard and seems to trigger a more bass-y sound. I tried to fix it by adjusting the velocity, but no luck. It makes it unusable for me.

I was thinking about trying to implement something like this -- Could you provide some details?

I tend to use a lot of zones in Mainstage and I find I'm always guessing as to which part of the keyboard each zone covers. There's a few midi controllers out there that have lights that that indicate where the splits are right above the keys (like Novation 61SL MkIII), but they seem more geared toward studio use. Has anyone used these live with success? It seems like it would be a great feature to be able to see where the splits are as you are playing.

I found the K&M 18880 (with one tier) to have a lot of side to side motion when used for a "standing up" configuration. But, I did have it pretty high, since I'm tall.

I can't compare it to the VR-09, but I do find it much better than the organs in my Kronos. Also, It's a bit better than my Nord Stage 3 organ -- especially the overdrive and Leslie.

My Electro-Voice ELX200-12P's are 34lbs and sound great. They aren't as light as I'd like, but are lighter and sound better than a lot of other 12 inch speakers. But it's a trade-off. For me, the extra weight is worth the better sound, for now. I'd love something lighter that would give me enough low-end.

Seems like they mashed together 3 or 4 different songs that really don't go together. They should do a re-union album with DeYoung. His 2020 album, "26 East" sound more like classic Styx, imo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ezG38Iirqg&list=PLKaec2euPcgr_YTOk73sqGhmWkPDuai_7

It's an Elektron Octatrack (original version).

I just got the Sk Pro a few weeks ago and have had the Nord Stage 3 for several years. I'm actually a bit disappointed in the Sk Pro. I had expected more improvements over the SK-1. The organ is a step up from both the Hammond SK-1 and Nord, but the other non-organ sounds are really disappointing. Pianos and E Pianos -- seem not much better than SK-1, which is not good. There's one particular transition between key samples on the Rhodes which drives me nuts. For other sounds (sampled, synth), my Nord just sounds way better. Also, the Sk Pro interface (and manual) is confusing. It takes a lot of button presses to do simple stuff. I like the mono synth idea, but I didn't realize how much I use aftertouch on the Nord, plus the Nord synth is so much deeper (and is poly). Key beds are both very similar (except for the aftertouch). I've never run into a problem with the split point issue. Also, there's so much real time control on the Nord. If I need a lightweight, one-board solution to cover all bases, it's still the Nord for me.

Just an idea -- go to Craigslist and search on keyboard player ads in various cities -- that might provide some insight to what's out there.

I tried to replace my Kronos, due to similar concerns about the weight and thinking that there must be something better out there since it's been around for so long. I came to the conclusion that there really isn't anything substantially better or less weight that does what it does (imo). Plus I know how the Kronos works and don't want to go through a learning curve unless it's a substantial upgrade. So what would a major upgrade be (for me)? Less weight, and a high quality clone-wheel organ inside I can't understand why one of the big manufacturers can't put a great clone wheel organ inside their flagship workstations. A Roland Fantom, Yamaha Montage, or Korg Kronos with an organ like the Hammond SK Pro, Mojo, etc. I would buy it in an instant, and pay a premium price.

What about buying the PC4 and selling some of the rack stuff? I think the PC4 could cover most of those sounds. It would be a lot simpler to set up / program versus multiple racks. My only hesitation would be the keyed of the PC4 -- I played it and found it too lightweight for acoustic piano (for me). I owned the RD88 and also didn't like the keybed or interface. I do like my RD2000, but it's 47 lbs. I carry it around in a lightweight case, which works for me.

What kind of rack modules do you have?

Transcribe. I've used it for years. It does a bunch of helpful things, in addition to what's been mentioned. - The navigation (to move around a song) and speed buttons are much quicker and more precise than using YouTube. - It's super easy to tune the song if it's slightly off. - I like the EQ Bass Remove tool -- taking out the bass usually makes it much easier to hear and see the keyboard parts. - Being able to highlight an area and see the notes played in the keyboard section is super helpful for transcribing. - Using the "Out Of Phase" checkbox can be helpful -- it can separate instruments and sometimes will remove lead vocals, while allowing you to still hear background vocals.

So, I should probably already know the answer to this question (since I own the keyboard) -- but-- For running the Roland RD2000 to a snake (and then front of house mixer), could I use XLR outs to directly go into the snake? I had thought the XLR outs could "replace" the need for a direct box. But since they're line level, does that mean I need to use a direct box?

I had the Casio PX-5S too - piano sound was lacking (imo); plus a crazy weird interface. I think I'll just stick with the RD2000 for now. I appreciate it much more, now that I've gone through all these others. It's great to have everything you need in one box.

I was also searching for a lighter weight stage piano. I currently have an RD-2000, and previously owned a CP4 and played a CP88. I played the MODX8 and bought and returned the RD-88. I would avoid both the MODX8 and RD-88. I found the MODX8 action unusable for piano. I played it in a store for a half hour, tried to change settings --- I just couldn't stand the keyboard action. Sluggish is the word that comes to mind. It would be a fantastic solution, if only the action was passable. I had bought the RD-88 to get a lighter version of my RD2000, but again was disappointed. The speakers are really useless (they really don't sound good and aren't loud enough for any sort of band environment). The board is really high - 6 inches -- mainly due to the speakers -- so it required me to raise up my top board higher on the stand, which made it seem too high. Also, I found the build quality to be very cheap feeling plastic - not sure I'd want to transport it too much. The display looked like something from 20 years ago -- too small and obviously cheap. I also had issues with the MainStage integration -- it really wasn't very useful; plus I missed the sliders, knobs, buttons on the RD2000. The acoustic piano sounds were okay -- the extra sounds were not so good -- nowhere near as good as the MODX. The Rhodes sounds were particularly poor, I thought. I'd really like to try out the PC4, but that doesn't seem likely in the short term. I don't think anyone has one anywhere near me. The sound demos I've heard online didn't impress. Many of the sounds seem similar to my old K2600. I've come to the conclusion that what I want (great feeling action, high quality sounds, excellent control surface, big, easy to read quality display) doesn't currently exist in a keyboard that is less than 40 lbs. I'm sticking withe the RD2000 for now (and plan to do more upper body workouts). I think the RD2000 or either of the Yamahas (CP4 or CP88) are much better choices that the MODX or RD88. Did I mention I hate wall warts?