Adan

Are you relying on just the internal speakers? I guess that could be it's own thread topic: DPs with internal speakers loud enough to co er some solo gigs.

I'd love to see more competition in this niche of the 4-octave clone. To me, the argument for single manual clones being 5 octaves is weak to begin with (dual manual is a completely different thing). Is it so you can split the 5 octaves and play left hand bass? Well, sure, that works to some degree, but it never feels natural. I would much rather have, say, a 3 octave keyboard midi'ed in to handle bass duties so my right hand can go wherever it wants, and that allows my brain to more easily compartmentalize right and left hand. Or is the point of a 5 octave clone that it allows you to play other sounds, e.g., piano, better than you would with 4 octaves? OK, well, we sometimes do that as well. But in my experience not very much, and 5 octaves is a handicap for piano playing anyway, so it's a poor solution for that. The most natural application for a single manual clone is in a 2-board rig, and in that context the 5th octave is almost just extra baggage. I would submit that the idea of single manual clones being 5 octaves is an artifact of the original Hammond that got carried over without much thought to functionality. I'm not advocating that there shoudl be no 5 octave clones, only that there should be more options. As an added benefit, competition would probably bring prices down. it would help if someone would manfacture a waterfall 4 octave keyboard. Easier said than done. Someone would have to believe they'll get a return on their investment to create the hardware. Maybe all of this is just me fantasizing about the world I want to live in. While I'm at it, I'd also like babysitters every Friday and Saturday night, and I want them to clean up the house while they're at it. But the fact that the MSolo exists, overpriced and flawed as it is, is cause for hope.

I haven't played the XE20, and if the action in the XE20 is Korg's proprietary "lower end" hammer action, the I don't think I've played it in any other keyboard either. Scott, how would you compare the XE20 action to Yamaha GHS or any other "budget" hammer actions?

Small is the whole point of it. If you want a clone with a larger footprint, they exist. We can all have our own opinions on aesthetics. Personally, I would find odd the idea that a black slab covered in buttons and knobs (e.g., the YC61) is more attractive than the minimalist look of the MSolo. But the MSolo doesn't have nice wood panel ends like the XK4. I wouldn't say the MSolo is a good looking keyboard, it's more in the neighborhood of "if looks matter to you, look elsewhere." Which is where most modern keyboards live. Interesting question generally, though, of whether, if you have a single manual clone, why spend more money for the MSolo? The YC61, for instance, is a compact 5-octaves and only 15 lbs. Do you gain much in portability or otherwise by going to 4 octaves and 8 lbs? A reasonable conclusion for many people will be no, you don't. More debatable if your clone is the Mojo, which is still a great clone after all these years, but it's 24 lbs and fairly bulky. The MSolo is much easier to toss around.

I wonder if it makes sense to say an action can be heavy but at the same time not fatiguing. For me, this kind of gets into an area where semantics starts to fail, but that could just be because I don't know the right words. i can play the Numa X GT for hours without feeling fatigue, but maybe it doesn't follow from that that I should be calling it a "light" action?

I love the action on the Numa X GT, and I would say it is on the lighter side. Definitely lighter feeling than the Roland PA-whatever that has wooden core keys. It's been awhile since I played the Yamaha wooden core action, so harder for me to make a comparison. It's probably not the lightest action you can get, but it's a much higher quality compared to the Yamaha GHS. By contrast, the Numa X with TP110 feels heavy, not as heavy as TP100, but much heavier than the action in the GT.

The Sequenz stand is super solid and highly adjustable. Downsides are 1) doesn't pack down to a slim size, 2) takes a bit longer to set up and break down, and 3) has a larger footprint than most stands. I'm often gigging in small physical spaces where it would take up too much room. The Vox carrying bag looks nice but is very poorly constructed. It will come apart at the seams (literally) long before a Gator bag shows signs of wear.

I'd have sold my surfboard and bought both. I think the Mojo is a better clone. But I've done so many rock/blues gigs with a weighted piano keyboard on bottom and a clone up top. I think the MSolo would have been more than good enough for all those gigs while being easier to transport. And in many cases the smaller size could have been advantageous in setting up the rig. I've also done a lot of more organ-focused projects where the advantages of the Mojo would be more appreciated.

I think the concept of the MSolo is solid -- a clone designed to be on top in a multi-board rig. I've used clones that way on certain types of gigs for decades. IMO, 5 octaves is one more than needed in that configuration. So the idea is brilliant. The execution and cost are debatable. I've got a CK61. Organ to organ, it's not a match for the MSolo. Of course there's other reasons why someone might want a CK61. I don't know anyone who buys a keyboard because it's "cute," but maybe people like that are out there somewhere? My thought on the cost is this: if something like the MSolo had existed 30 years ago, I would have bought it and, speaking as a pretty active weekend warrior, probably used it on 100+ gigs. If you use something that much, does $300 difference in the price really matter? Again, the MSolo is for some types of gigs. To my mind, it's rock/blues where I want a dedicated clone but I'm never playing two-handed. That describes a pretty high percentage of my gigs over a lifetime. Sadly, I likely don't have another 30 years of gigging in me. But hopefully at least another decade and maybe 60-70 gigs with the MSolo. It's not my job to convince anyone else to buy it, but maybe hearing my logic helps others with their decisionmaking.

Have you played it? All clones have plastic keys, as do real Hammonds. The MSolo has diving board keys, not waterfall. That does make a difference for smears. Aside from that, it feels a lot like the keys on other clones. I agree $1300 is overpriced, but then I think all Hammond products are overpriced. The MSolo isn't more overpriced, proportionally, than other clones bearing the Hammond name. Got mine for $1100, which I'd say is still about $100 overpriced.

It's a hole in the bottom of the amp with some internal ridges. I think it could sit on any speaker stand, but maybe this Roland stand has ridges that match up? Last night I put it on a stool.

First reaction is to just check my own feelings because it's so weird to be hearing a new Billy Joel release in 2024. Is this really 2024?l Unfortunately, yes. It is. There's so much passion and grandeur in his voice, even still. I got chills even despite the blandness of the lyrics. The over the top production comes close to ruining it. Joel obviously doesn't need it, but I imagine that for the producers a more minimalist production for the first new song in decades was unthinkable. Speaking of BJ songs that have held up, I've been pleasantly surprised at how often people want to hear Vienna at my solo gigs (instrumental only). I love everything about that song, and it has a specificity that I think is often the hallmark of a great pop song and also that's often lacking in Joel's work, and certainly lacking from this new one, which is sort of drowning in platitudes.

Last night I used my KC 220 for a weekly solo piano gig. Previously I'd been bringing my Mackie Thumps, but that's 4 things to carry including the stands. This is a moderately difficult load in, walking a fair ways and a flight of stairs. Also, it's the middle of Vermont winter, so fewer trips is better. Typical audience is around 50 people. The room is expansive but very hot acoustically. The KC was plenty loud enough, and though it didn't have the clarity of the Mackie's I'm convinced it didn't make any difference to the audience (they liked it). As usual with my solo piano gigs, success depends more on my preparation and attitude than having pristine amplification. An easier in and out definitely helps with the attitude. I'm not here to say Roland amps are great. I want nothing to do with most of them. But the KC 220 is a nifty tool for some applications.

I think the KC220 would work very well for the rooms you describe, with 50 or fewer people. It's pole-mountable, which you will probably want to do. I generally think keyboard amps are for stage monitoring, powered PAs for projecting to an audience, but you can think of the KC220 as a mini-PA. Not a very good one, but I think it's more than up to the task you describe while minimizing your shlep.

Yep, it's the proverbial baseball "utility player": the guy who's below average at everything, but can competently play any infield or outfield position, pinch hit, doesn't draw down the budget much, and never complains about their gap-filling role. The CK is an essential part of my quiver. It's the best rehearsal tool I've ever had, knocking the VR09 off its pedestal.

Speaking of lines that shouldn't be crossed (were we? Not sure . . . but anyway) I don't think I've ever criticized the music of a forum member who has shared their music here. Constructive criticism maybe, but just saying someone's music is bad? . . . in my opinion, that just shouldn't happen. This should be a place where people should feel no reluctance to share their work. In the appropriate thread, of course.

Pretty sure Marcus Aurelius never spent a minute on the internet. If he was alive today, maybe he'd say something like "practice your own art rather than judge someone else's." I tell myself that about eight times a day. But putting aside that I don't practice my music enough, I don't think I'd agree with that principle -- isn't forming opinions about other people's art an essential part of creating our own? And is there something inherently wrong with sharing that thought process with others? How you share matters. Aurelius probably knew the phrase ad hominem, which is the type of argument we should all try to avoid. Just because I don't appreciate the same things you appreciate, shouldn't mean I can't appreciate you. Obvious point, right? But even Marcus Aurelius might have occasionally been challenged to be his best self when typing on a keyboard at someone he will never meet. I appreciate Jim Alfredson trying to elevate the conversation. I take the Aurelius quote to be useful not as an absolute standard but rather as a corrective measure. The pendulum can swing too wide . . . I can get too absorbed in other people's stuff such that I forget about my own. Thinking about the Aurelius quote could help me have a better sense of when to pull back and focus inward.

I have infinite respect for Medeski, and I would also suspect he said that tongue in cheek. But it's important to note that he's out there doing his unique thing, he's not usually trying to fit into someone else's thing, so he doesn't have to address the question of how to have a good wurly, rhodes, and piano all in one gig. On the rare occasions I take my Vintage Vibe to a gig, it feels more than worth the trouble for the extra inspiration. At the same time, there's usually one or several points in the gig where I'd like to switch to a different piano voice, because that's a different way of spurring creativity.

My Seventeen feels like it's got TP100. I've played the TP110 when I tried out the Numa X 73, so I think I'd be able to tell the difference. I got an early Seventeen, so it's possible they've switched from 100 to 110. I think 110 is better, more crisp less sluggish, but by a degree. Maybe 10% better. Which, now that I think of it, would explain the 100/110 nomenclature! (prob has nothing to do with that)

OK, interesting, so the video is a bit misleading as it only shows AP sounds. It does sound better than my Seventeen, but maybe that's the triple sensor. I feel the APs on the Seventeen don't have enough dynamic response. But I also like that the Seventeen is 25 lbs. The Parsifal is going to be substantially heavier, and I long ago stopped wanting to have 88 keys on any gigging keyboard.

There's also a theory on the Facebook Crumar page that the Seventeen Parsifal is exactly the same brain as the Seventeen, just in a different physical package.

Happy to see any new Crumar product. The piano sounds really good. I can't get the pianos on my Seventeen to sound that full and dynamic, so perhaps the Parciful is juiced up for acoustic piano (whereas the Seventeen seems to devote most of its processing power to Rhodes). Crumar definitely charts its own path. The big manufacturers generally try to put as many sounds together in one package as they can at a price point. The Seventeen, and now the Seventeen Parsifal, seem to be specialized. I guess there's a logic to it if you assume they are trying to create a quiver of instruments at relatively low price points. Under the Parcifel posting on Crumar's Facebook page someone asks "is it TP100LR?" and Crumar responds simply "no." Crumar being cagey as usual! I would hope that it's something other than TP100 or TP110, because neither is all that great for playing APs.

That's a fair point, and I'm definitely guilty of hyperbole in the sentence you quote from my earlier post. The real question is not whether this genre is more useful than cat videos -- clearly it is -- but rather whether it's useful enough to spend time on. I'm not convinced that it's the best use of my time to watch a musician, even a great one, scrape together their first thoughts in reaction to something they've never heard before. Then again, if I'm really serious about being more efficient with my time, there's a long list of truly useless crap I should cut out of my internet browsing.

The idea that I "own" my dog is kind of absurd. That lovely little fellow is in almost complete control of our lives. And he knows it!

So you're asking us to side with landlords and against emotional support animals (aka, animals)? That's a tough one . . . Now if it's keyboard players versus animals, that's a closer call. Keep those emotional support pigeons away from my rig!