Reezekeys

Most definitely a different use case than mine! I can see where you'd want a screen.

I bring an iPhone as a backup for the computer to AWB gigs. On local gigs I don't use the laptop anymore, it's all on the iPad. The phone can be used as a backup for that as well.

No, I've never had a screen near me. Never had the idea I needed to confirm communication except right when I've completed setting up. When I boot Bidule, it opens with a simple default program of my midi interface connected to a midi monitor. I hit a few keys on my keyboard and watch for activity on that monitor screen. If I see note info displaying as I play, I know I'm good. At that point I load in my real setup and dim the screen all the way. That's the last time I look at the laptop until the gig is over. As far as confirming the patch - I'm probably lucky in that my AWB chores are mostly bread & butter things. I only need presets for five songs. I assign those to pads on my A800. I hit the pad and the preset switches. It's never not worked - so I don't need confirmation! About the "should something flake out" part... it's interesting that after the years I've put in with my rig, "flaking out" doesn't even enter my consciousness! It's been so long since any incident. One show with AWB around 2016 when my MOTU audio interface lost its connection (that's when I went to using the laptop's headphone out). I've had a few hiccups here & there but besides that one show, never during a gig - I catch them when I first load my setup or during sound check. It's hardly ever something to do with software - usually me being confused by forgetting a setting I made on the last gig - dumb stuff. I remember when I first started bringing the laptop I connected an old Roland JV1010 and had it running in parallel. If anything happened I could switch over quickly. After a few gigs I kept the JV in my accessory case and went laptop-only. I understand being nervous, but the more gigs you do that are trouble-free, the more confident in your system you'll be - that's how it worked for me.

Here I go with my .02: use the Air. First see if the libraries you need for the gig fit on the internal SSD. I just added up what I use on my setup, it's a little shy of 10GB - not a super-big chunk of a 256GB SSD. I have plenty more on an external for the stuff I do at home, and only put what I need for gigs on my internal. Port-wise, two TB ports are limiting, but if you can fit the samples you need on your internal then you have one for power and one for USB midi from your controller – so maybe no hub required. Or, chance it and use the M1's battery. Battery life on the Apple Silicon machines is good, and assuming it hasn't degraded should easily get through a gig. I'll admit I do connect to AC for my gigs but it's more out of habit - I needed to do this with my older MacBook Pro. Are you sure? I thought I would have problems when I first got my Air, coming from a late-2013 MacBook Pro running Mojave. I had older plugings not updated for Apple Silicon; they ran just fine under Rosetta 2, even inside my host (Bidule) running natively. There was exactly one plugin I had to abandon - "midichords" from Piz (it was 32-bit). I was pleasantly surprised that I got my Bidule rig running with zero issues (and a much smaller buffer!) in just a few hours. Of course I'll add a big YMMV – but I wouldn't automatically assume there'll be problems. The issue with security is one that affects any computing device brought onto a stage. I only know from what I've experienced closing in on twenty years of bringing laptops to gigs. I use the 2-space SKB Studio Flyer, placed in back of me because I don't need to look at or touch the laptop when I play. I strongly suggest anyone using a laptop do what Mainstage, Bidule, etc. do so well: let you map your keyboards' controls to anything and everything happening in the box. This is the beauty of this kind of rig vs a hardware keyboard: you can have it your way. I've used the same controller for 12 years now and kept pretty much the same layout of controls I mapped back then, so everything I need to do is intuitive and automatic. I can concentrate on playing the music - not what button I need to press or slider I need to tweak. The other thing I like about the Studio Flyer is that its inside compartment holds my midi interface, Rolls wall wart, and laptop power brick. The cables connecting them, plus the audio cable coming out the headphone jack all route through holes at the top, where the laptop sits. You don't want all that stuff dangling off the laptop sitting out in the open - even on a table somewhere. IMO that's a downside of this kind of rig - bandmates and tech people running around a stage setting up will cause problems. Your space is never sterile. It may actually be safer if you mount it to your keyboard stand and keep it close – though that's against my philosophy of wanting the computer to "disappear" while I'm playing.

In terms of Apple design clunkers, nothing they made holds a candle to this (imo)! 🙂

I might be imagining this but I don't think so. When I'm forced to set up my two speakers very close to each other, the L&R summing phasyness that renders my piano sound boxy when running mono seems to happen - acoustically! I definitely notice a degradation in the sound quality.

Didn't want to take up the space quoting your entire post just to say I agree! 🙂 My two A800s have been in airplane holds over a total of many thousands of miles. Except for the USB jack falling apart on my first one due to its loose grip on the cable causing flexing as I played (which seems to be corrected in my current A800), they've been pretty good to me. I have a bad slider now, but the service manual has the Alps part # so I plan on fixing it... someday! (I mapped another slider I wasn't using, so no rush). To paraphrase, "it's the keybed, stupid"... it has the combination of lightness and springyness I like. Absolutely correct on the lack of any edit buffer, you have to be careful when messing with your setups. The "keyboard memories" are confusing too, and there are parameters that require the computer editor if you want to change them. The manual mentions a "panic" function (on the midi implementation chart) that doesn't exist. There are a few other weirdnesses too. I'd like to find a used A300 I can cannibalize to keep my 800s going as long as possible. You should get some kind of prize - you've collected them all!

Notwithstanding the fact none of us may be able to get a new A800 🙂 ... I took another look at that old thread and our videos there. The one I posted seems to show a smaller dead zone than yours - that's just how it hits me, watching this one right after yours. It does not strike me as being a very large dead zone, tbh. As I said in that original thread, I'm not bothered by the size of the dead zone on my A800 at all. Actually, in all the years I've owned synths or any keyboard with a pitch bender, I've never done a PB move the way you did on your video - very slow and deliberate (which I know was only to illustrate the dead zone, not a typical way to do PB). If I needed to do very presise, slow and wide bends, then the A800's bender would probably not work well for me - but that's never been the case. I have my PB range set to 2 semitones up & down, and as I said in that old thread, the most I do with it is quick little scoops or bends down that return quickly to center.

Interesting - I guess it's official, although the usa Roland site has the exact same web page without the "discontinued" text - https://www.roland.com/us/products/a-800pro/ In any case, hardly a surprise given its age and with midi 2.0 starting to happen. What other midi contoller has been around unchanged for fourteen years?!

I'm curious what kind of projects you're doing - as far as track count and number/types of VSTs – that led you to think you needed 64GB of ram. That is quite a lot of ram for audio work!

Where do you get this info? I do see it as "not available" at the usual sources but I remember this same scenario happened a few years ago - it was unavailable for months, then it was back. It's still on the roland website. https://www.roland.com/us/categories/keyboards/keyboard_controllers/

In the 14 years with my K8s I've never thought them insufficient in any way - that includes left-hand bass gigs. The Alto TX308s are not in that league but for the kinds of gigs I do now, they're fine. IMO you don't need thunderous low end for a piano and I also believe it's detrimental to the band mix anyway.

Can't get much lighter and more compact than these - Here they are in action. This is a very old picture, I use an iPad now, and those are my QSCs, not the TX308s, but the principle is the same. The horns being below ear level allow me to have the volume up louder so the direct path from the speakers mostly goes out to the room, while I still hear my rig at a volume balanced to my satisfaction.

Of course we're talking smaller local gigs where you're not going into a PA & monitors, correct? I run stereo and always try to have my two speakers close, as I like to hear the sound coming from where *I* am – not from somewhere far away. So, a few feet in back of me, on my left & right side, about 4 or 5 feet apart, on foldable plastic footstools so the horns are below ear level. That way I can push the speakers loud enough to cover me, the bandstand and room without blowing out my ears. Very occasionally I've mounted speakers on poles (if the venue has them for me to use) which probably gets the sound out to the adoring crowd a little better - but makes for a more "far away" sound that I don't like to experience as I play. The footstools have worked really well. Inexpensive ($8 - $12 each), light, and they fold almost flat. I try to set up on one side of the stage or other, angled toward the center, which helps with coverage for everybody. Depending on the layout of the room and stage, I might tilt the two speakers (horizontally) a little more outward in relation to each other, if more area needs to be covered - as long as I still get enough. As I understand, my 8" speakers have wider horizontal dispersion than larger woofers. There have been times when the stage is real tight, so I have my speakers closer together than I like. I still make sure to find room for two - gotta have that stereo goodness!

Not positive on the timeline but around 15-18 years ago I was playing the NI "Akoustik Piano" multi-GB library off a 7200 rpm spinning-platter Toshiba 2.5" drive in an external Firewire 400 case, with no issues. A much slower computer as well, of course (the last Apple G4 Powerbook). Some people think you need thunderbolt 4 enclosures & drives for audio work - or they're worried they'll have problems if they don't get the latest, greatest, fastest, etc. interface & SSD. It's "what if"... "you never know"... "good to future-proof"... etc. Spend the money I say - it's yours to spend. The peace of mind is obviously worth it to those folks. I'm confident my little 1TB Intel 660P gumstick I bought for $40, inside the $18 USB 3.1 case, is going to serve my needs just fine. So far so good, anyway. Obviously if you're doing video work at 4K or 8K, or mocking up movie scores at 192Khz, the equation changes - but that's definitely not me!

You might measure faster transfer speeds with the Mini's internal SSD compared to a USB 3.1 SSD external on the Macbook - but I also think you're 100% correct that "maybe even the external SSD here is so fast that faster storage won't make a difference (for audio purposes)." I'm getting near 1Gb/sec transfer speeds using a $40 1TB NVMe gumstick SSD in a USB 3.1 case - more than fast enough for any audio work. Hook up that Crucial, load it up with your samples and go for it - you'll be fine!

It seems like a good time to recommend a UPS again, even though it adds a few pounds to the gear schlep. I'm getting confused thinking of what possible scenario would warrant needing a UPS for a laptop.

On my fan-less M2 Air, my setup running in Bidule is using ONE of its eight cores and never gets over 20% usage. Ain't no throttling happening! [EDIT to add: I forgot I had reduced my buffer to 32 samples! My late-2013 MacBook Pro ran this same setup with the CPU hitting 35-45% at a 128 buffer]

Agreed, if you just want a very capable music-making laptop for gigs, the M1 Air would be a great choice. Some iPads cost more - a lot more – and need the various doodads to get midi in and audio out. Of course there are some positives for going with an iPad (had to say that since that's what I'm doing for my local gigs now! 🙂 ) but at least with that $700 Air you'll have the keyboard, trackpad, and access to a great selection of productivity software not necessarily in the tablet world (yet).

Unfortunately that M1 Air deal at Walmart applies only to the base config. 8GB ram is probably OK - you're probably not gonna have 20 Safari tabs open or be rendering a FCP video while you're on a gig. The 256GB SSD might be an issue if this computer is to be used for general-purpose needs as well as making music. The other ding on this model is that one of the two USB-C ports is used for charging, unlike the later Airs that brought back the magsafe port - that's gonna make a hub more of a necessity. I have a hub for my 15" Air M2, but rarely need it.

I vote Macbook. My perspective is from being on the road doing a variety of gigs but many that feature multiple bands, some where we're not headlining - and the last thing I would want to happen is a glitch with my iPad remote screen or some other failure. Too many pieces here, and having to rush a setup to make a start time can be extremely stressful. Laptops - especially one that's asleep with all your software loaded - go a long way to alleviate that stress. My 2p anyway.

I haven't read the book. Is the house the one I described in the post above yours, the one in New Jersey with the stream running through it? I guess I'll have to find a copy!

The music biz has been pretty good to George. He used to live in or around Englewood NJ (I don't remember the exact location). I was asked by Eliane Elias to help her do an overdub session on one of her tracks at George's studio, which was at this house. I did not see George while I was there but I will never forget this house, ever. Quite modern - lots of glass, and built on top of a stream which they left unaltered - yes, a forest stream was running through his living room! The other thing I remember from this session was that he had a Synclavier which Eliane used to do rhodes overdubs! And, truth be told, its sound (at least the particular patch that was used) didn't impress me much!

Here I go again... First as everyone else has said, that "salesman" has no clue. The EV is a good speaker and has plenty of highs. The next thing relates to your not enjoying the sound of your Nord. I've said it before and will say it again, ad nauseum - stereo sampled pianos generally do not sound very good coming out of one speaker. If and when you play the Nord with headphones, is the experience better? That's a pretty good clue you'll be happier with stereo amplification. I am a fan of the smaller Alto speakers I now use on most of my gigs (TX308) because two of them weigh less and cost less than one of most other brands! They are probably not the right choice for a wedding or bar gig with a really loud band, but two of them are, in my opinion, perfect for jazz duo or trio gigs where you don't enter the "bash zone", lol. They are bare-bones with nothing more than an input jack and volume control, so you'll want to use the EQ on your keyboard to balance the sound appropriately. If you're only playing a single keyboard on the gig, you don't need a mixer - just cable directly from the keyboard into these speakers, done. That's how I do it (except my sounds come from an iPad, iPhone or laptop, same principal though).

Was that the thread where we both posted videos showing a midi monitor's output as we moved the lever? Or maybe the other vid was comparing with a different Roland board that had a higher resolution output. Too many brain cells ago! Hold up - is this the one? ---> For the record, I have no issues at all with my A800 paddle. I started out on a DX7 with two wheels, I used an OBXa with two levers. I had a Technics WSA-1 - that keyboard had BALLS! 🙂 (And three wheels too, as you can see - has there been any controller to offer this number of real-time controllers of this style?). My .02 is that you acclimate to the controls you have and how they work. I guess it's saying something that I have no issues with my A800's low-res paddle implementation (for more details on the resolution aspect, check out the videos in that older thread I linked to above if you have time to kill!). OTOH I'm a piano player that does very occasional pitch bending and "wiggle-wheeling" so I've never felt like those A800 controls hampered my playing or any semblance of "expressiveness" at all.