Justin Havu

If I wind up giving a Kawai a try, I might go for the 520. While not having MIDI out wouldn't really be a deal-breaker, it'd be nice to have if I ever needed it. I'm almost leaning towards the CK88. I remember liking it to an extent when I tried it at a GC back in May of last year. However, the morons at GC had it sitting on a set of angled brackets, which should be absolutely prohibited when displaying any hammer/weighted action keyboard, especially if any part of the mechanism relys on gravity to any extent.

I thought the RH3 was, and still is, a heavy action, until I laid hands on a P515. That action was virtually unplayable. The problem I have with the Yamaha GHS, is it's very inconsistant across the different models. Some feel a bit heavier to the touch than others, and where I live, there's no real showroom around to A/B a bunch of them. IIRC, the CP300's graded action really isn't a true graded action--it's split into three sections: heavy on the bottom, medium in the middle, light on the top, and it just uses three different hammer weights to achieve this. One idea would be to swap all the heavy and medium hammers with light ones, but even the light hammers feel a bit heavy. I also don't think it's much help that they slopped a bunch of white grease in the keybed as well. Lol

Korg RH3 always felt really heavy to me, no matter what model they threw that action in. I remember working for a Korg dealer from 2004 to 2011 and trying the SV1 when that first came out. Neither the store owner or I were impressed enough to stock it, and as far as the keybed went, it was unplayable. IIRC it had some issues, but even after those were addressed, I never got along with it. The other thing I loved about the RD-1000 was I could play near the rear of the keybed with little resistance, which comes in handy when playing stuff in #/b keys.

Compared to the CP300, Korg's RH3, Fatar's TP1xx, any modern Roland, the 1000 felt nice and light under my hands. It literally is a balanced action in that the keys, which are about as long as the piano is deep (with a weight in the back of each key), sit balanced on a long rail. They're held in place by a series of pins about a couple inches beyond the rail. Two big levers underneath the piano lock the keys in place for transport. To this day, I've yet to play another DP that feels as good to me as the RD-1000.

I thought about that. The RD suffers from the dreaded all-notes-off CC that nearly every Roland had around the time the RD-1000 was released (1986), meaning I'd have to filter that CC with my iConnectMIDI 4+ before going to a computer or sound module. The other thing is I'm really looking to keep the church rig to just a single board, stereo DI'd straight to our PA, no dealing with computers/external stuff. I'd be interested in trying an ES520 way more than I'd ever want to touch any Casio. Lol

So last week, my beloved RD-1000's audio output finally went kaput, and after replacing the relay, which usually goes bad on these (and the MKS-20), it still was toast. Such a shame, as that was my go-to piano for Sunday morning service, as I absolutely can't tolerate the action on my church's aging CP300. The RD had, IMO, the best action in any DP I've laid hands on over the last 20 years; smooth, light to the touch, and just easy to play. That being said, I'm hoping to convince my church to sell the CP300 (with matching furniture stand, music rest, and bench) and upgrade to something with a key bed I can tolerate. I'm kinda leaning towards the CK88. Played around with one last spring, and I found it playable, and a good sound to it. I'm wondering what else might be out there within that $1K-2K range. Oh, and anything with any Fatar TP1xx is out. Lol As far as other features, onboard speakers aren't important at all, but I need stereo out. I just need mainly an acoustic piano and an EP for sounds.

Ah. That's where the KingKorg tube went.

The main reason I still love my old trusty RD-1000. Angled front panel, and plenty of room for a second board on top. 95 lbs. is just extra motivation for me to stay in shape. Lol

GXP88 has aftertouch. Haven't played that one, but I had an LX88+ which quickly got replaced with a Keylab 61 MkII. I thought the keybed in the LX felt a bit stiff, and very uneven as far as velocity, no matter what curve I had it set to. Also, the black key tops on the LX are at a slight backwards angle, which felt very unnatural to me. I prefer them to be flat as on a normal acoustic piano.

A little challenge to myself to create a piece using just one brand of VI's. The title should be a bit of a hint...

When I used to play in a cover band, I just used a MODX-7, my only board. Basic sawtooth patch across the whole keyboard. Whistle sound was mapped to the lowest E-B on the keyboard, and played with the left hand.

Depends on what I'm doing. On a Sunday morning at church, RD-1000 Piano 1. At a gig, MODX-7, but I use a custom patch. Main piano is the CFX, but I use the first 5 scenes to change different layering options. Pads, different EP's, etc.

Did a quick one a couple years ago.

Dark-side mix on vinyl for me. A bit more beefier, and that vocal reverb on the hook of "The Court" is just amazing.

My resolution: ii - V7 - I That is all.

I'll wait until 11. The augmented stuff is pretty much useless for me; they make even my i9 12900K cry for help. Same with most of the rebuilds.

Yamaha RX17. Cool little drum machine. Just tried programming it. Not too difficult.

Glad the Stage 4 worked out for you. I am not a Nord fan at all. Every one I've ever laid hands on, I hated. I can't connect with that brand at all. Had to do a subbing gig in Boston last May, and suffer through playing a Piano 4 for three hours. I could not get any of the pianos to sound the way I'm used to (CFX samples in the MODX), no matter what I did with EQ, or anything. Hated the action, hated the interface, the experience was miserable.

Just got a 10thGen iPad to replace a 2019 model that took a fall off my desk. Now, I need to connect a KeyLab 61 MkII and an AudioBox iOne. Only way would be to use a powered hub, but which one? I don't want to just get any old cheapo off Amazon, and I also need it to keep my iPad charged, as I do not want to risk having it die on me in the middle of a gig. Only thing I'm running right now is VB3m. Went the iPad route only because it's way cheaper than a clonewheel.

So, I help out at a local Christian school, doing A/V, as well as some music stuff, and I started teaching piano last year for a 5th-grader, and he's doing okay at it. I've been creating material from scratch for him to study and learn, basically simple lead sheets (melody and chords, with the chord fingerings notated.) Now, I want to get him playing both hands independently (some really simple Bach stuff, like WTC I Prelude in C), and really get him good at reading. I told him if he can get good at reading music, he can pretty much learn anything. I haven't really started ear-training yet, but that may be coming soon. Now, I may have another 4th-grader interested in taking piano lessons from me, and this time, I'd like to look into using some beginner books, instead of creating the material from scratch. Anyone have any suggestions?

Just got Peter Gabriel's I/O (Dark-Side mix) on vinyl.

I used to do both, depending on the occasion. Most of the time nowadays, because I sing a lot, and I'll commonly use an L-shape or U-shape setup, I play standing.

I've always used powered PA speakers. Every keyboard amp I've ever played through, I hated.

The DX7 solo patch at 2:23. Simple, but expertly played.

Written for the season. "The Light" The Light.mp3