Justin Havu

I've been writing quite a bit of retro-themed stuff over the last year, so a couple of days ago, I decided to put an EP out on Bandcamp. "RetroActive" https://justinhavu.bandcamp.com/album/retroactive

Yamaha QX3 sequencer. Wanted a different way to get ideas down without having to fire up my computer.

Yeah, I'm all set with Casio. Haven't seen anything interesting from them since the CZ-1, and I've yet to play an instrument from them that just blows me away. They have their customers, but they're not for me. It's been a couple of weeks with the M8X, and it's not going anywhere! Having owned and gigged a MODX-7 since 2019, I found it very easy to navigete the M8X and set up my favorite/most-used performances, as well as create a couple of custom ones I'll be using for services. I'm not concerned about the weight at all, as I'd rather have a solid instrument that won't slide around on the stand. Like I said, as far as the action, it's lovely! Smooth, light to the touch, and not fatiguing to my hands.

UPDATE... We ended up going with the Montage M8x. This is by far, the best feeling modern weighted/hammer action I've played in a long time. Under my hands, it feels REALLY close to my old RD-1000. Nice texture on the black keys, and halfway between a matte and a polished finish on the natural keys. The return is just a tiny bit slower than I'd like, but I'm extremely comfortable with it, with no need to change the velocity curve. Oh, and the added bonus of poly-AT. ❤️❤️❤️

Best: Most useful: Most enjoyable: My old Motif XS6 ticks all of these boxes. Felt great, sounded great, and was fun to play around with. Only reason I got the MODX-7 to replace it was I needed a single gigging board that had seamless patch changes, without the sound cutting out, which the Motif didn't do. Sadly, the MODX needs some new end panels as there are some cracks in the cheap plastic. If I could find one cheap enough, I'd swap for a Montage 6.

Actually, his 2nd album. His debut was released in 81, with no real support from the label; apparently they didn't want it to interfere with Chicago's upcoming album. Livin' in the Limelight, the only hit off the album, peaked at #6 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

I'd rather gig a heavier board that has a solid feel, and is not going to feel like sliding off the stand at any given time. Plus, it's great motivation to stay in shape! Lol

MODX-7 is my main workhorse, but the rest of my rig will change depending on the band, and which sounds I need, or want, access to, as I don't like to change patches mid-song. For the classic rork project, MODX handles AP, EP, along with some layers; Korg Karma takes care of soft pads and mellotron sounds; iPad running VB3m controlled by a Keylab 61 MkII for organ. For one of the Christian bands where I handle left-hand bass, I'll truck the MODX, plus an SY77 for additional pads and big brass sounds, then a DX7 MIDI'd to a Behri Model D or a 2600 for bass parts. The other Christian band requires my big rig: MODX, SY77, then a Deepmind-12 for anything analog, iPad organ setup, and the Karma for soft pads and Mellotrons. If I want some monosynth action, I'll MIDI the Keylab to my 2600 on a different MIDI channel.

From the most recent live-in-studio video shoot one of my bands did.

Ah, when you said in the back, I thought you were talking about the XR18 on the floor, as in the back of the photo, not the back of the rig. Lol. The whole left side, and the 2600, is pretty much bass land, since I cover bass in addition to main keys. 2600 is MIDI'd to the DX7, which is set to the ever-popular E BASS 1 patch, and the 2600 adds a bit of extra meat to that. Oddy was dialed in with a patch similar to a fretless bass.

Behringer XR18 digital mixer. Using it to sum everything down to a pair of XLR stereo outs, no DI boxes needed.

This...

Here we go. Feeling a bit retro-active lately!

My MODX-7 is set to power up in Live Set mode, User bank 1, where all of my favorite/most-used patches reside.

Coffeehouse/concert event. I love playing a big rig like this. With as many sounds as I use, it's a bit easier for me to have some real estate than to change patches during a song. I've also never been a fan of splitting the keyboard. I'm an improv guy that never really plays the same thing twice, and unless I trigger a couple of one-shot samples from either end of the keyboard, I can never remember where the split point is. I'd rather focus on playing during a song than doing a bunch of patch changes in the middle of one. Plus, hauling this kind of setup around helps keep me in shape. Lol The two Behringers and DX7 are merely for playing bass, as we don't currently have a bass player. 2600 is MIDI'd to the DX7, with which I use a couple of different patches, one being the obligatory E. BASS 1 patch. Then, I just have a different bass patch dialed into the Oddy.

Another little something I threw together, using everyone's favorite board...

My rig from last night

I use a pair of TX310's for my rig (must have stereo or my main piano and some efx [auto pan on a Rhodes patch, for example] sound lifeless and just terrible.) Lightweight, very affordable, and very simple. Downside is they only have an XLR in, no 1/4", which doesn't bother me at all, since my rig mixer is an XR18. I send the main outs to FOH, and auxes 5 and 6 to the TX's. If I'm in a situation where I need a little more power, I'll grab my TS212's.

I'm also feeling like one of the reasons the RD-1000 was so comfortable to play was that the action wasn't a graded action. So, I'm wondering if maybe finding something with a balanced action might be my best option, as impossible as that may seem, seeing that everyone's going for a graded action. Only thing that comes to mind would be the Montage M8X. That may have more features than I need right now, but we're looking to get something that's also going to be a good build quality, and last us a good long while.

What I've found with GHS keybeds is they seem very inconsistant from model to model. While I remember liking the CK88's GHS, the MODX8+ and MX88 situated nearby felt really heavy, almost like the GH action in the CP300.

Bump/Update: So, the church is on board with getting a new DP to replace our aging, crippling-to-play CP300. However, the $1000-1500 budget has pretty much been lifted, as they really want to make sure I have a good, quality instrument to play. So far, my requirements are that it needs to be a stage piano; as I play standing up, making it easier for me to sing. Also, as per the main topic of this thread, it needs to have a light touch, due to my carpal tunnel surgery 5 years ago--my hands have not been the same since. We don't want anything too lightweight, so Casio is 100% out, other than the fact that I just don't like the quality of anything they've done since the CZ-1. Nord is also out; In my 20 years of playing professionally, I've never played a Nord I've gotten along with, plus the Fatar keybed is just terrible. I need to have 1/4" stereo outs, and built-in speakers are not important at all--I'd rather not have them, or have the ability to shut them off (the one thing I liked about the CP300.) The other big issue is that where I live, there's not really a good showroom anywhere close-by that I could stop in and really spend time with a bunch of instruments. I don't dare walk into either of the nearby GC's as their inventory keyboard-wise has pretty much been a let-down.

I've used various Korg workstations over the years; Triton Extreme 76, 01/W Pro X, M3-61, Motif-XS6. Nowadays, MODX-7, for my budget, I'd consider expensive.

+1 for Standtastic. Rock solid and can hold quite a bit of weight on the stand. The footprint is a bit deep, but it keeps the stand from wanting to tip over. Only issues I have are the screws that adjust the bracket lengths don't like to stay in place, so I have to really tighten them. Also, when tearing down, make sure to go around and tighten all of the screws/wingnuts, as they tend to come loose, or worse go missing, during transport. The supplied bag is incredibly low quality. However, once you have the heights of each tier adjusted to your liking, which probably takes the most time, it sets up and tears down in minutes.

Found a nice bass flute sound library, wrote a quick piece with it. Kinda how I roll. Lol

I had carpal tunnel in both hands back in 2017. Had surgery in 2018 in my left hand, and a cortisone shot in the right hand. Hands are good now, but they haven't really been the same since. Probably the main reason why I can't stand most modern weighted/hammer actions. Lol