Justin Havu

I knew Dane's late father quite well. Got to jam with him several years ago, on a NS2 that belonged to Dane, which was fun.

I've got two DP's--my church's CP300 and my RD-1000. Primarily, I use the RD. That keybed just feels right to me, and playing near the back of the keys is nearly effortless. The CP300 is totally stiff, slow, and heavy, and I have the hardest time with it. Only other DP I got to try out recently was the P-515, and I found that action way heavier and harder to play than the CP300. I think I'll stick with my 37-year-old RD-1000.

I had a QS6.2 over an original Quadrasynth as my main gigging setup for a couple of years, until the display on the Quadra started acting weird. If I had the opportunity to have those two boards again, I'd definitely go for it. I remember liking the stock piano patch on the Quadra quite a bit, and the action on both of those boards felt great under my hands.

I really want to try the TS4xx's, however I've already had to replace three HF drivers total, in a pair of TS312's that are only half a year old. and I'm barely even driving those hard. I guess my concern is there'd still be something faulty with the HF drivers in the 4xx.

I've got a Pro-X. Only thing I'm not big on is that the OS lags quite a bit. Other than that, I love it.

Yamaha MODX+, MX series, Roland Fantom-0, Korg Kross 2, Nautilus. All of these come in different sizes, whether you want weighted or unweighted keys. My main gigging board is a MODX7. Lightweight, yet powerful.

From what I remember, it was easier to mix in a loud rock setting than an acoustic piano. IIRC, he still used an MKS20 when he switch back to using a traditional piano (I think it was a Yamaha Disklavier setup.) And yes, I love the keybed. I have yet to come across a modern digital piano that feels as good as the RD does under my hands. The problem with using it as a master controller, and this is notorious with a bunch of Roland boards that came out around this period, is that it sends an All-Notes-Off MIDI CC after the last key is released, which makes using quite a bit of plugins with the RD extremely frustrationg. If I could ever find a workaround for that, without having to get a MIDI Solutions box and tediously programming the thing, I'd be extremely grateful.

Elton has been a hero of mine since I was about 6 or 7, and one of the reasons I own an RD-1000.

And, on the solo side of things, something I'm currently working on. Needs a couple more things, but I'm liking the way it's coming out. No title, yet... Idea 8.mp3

Those upper-tier arms on the OnStage are plenty long enough to support a pretty big 88 (I've had an 01/W Pro X above a Roland RD-1000 on mine, and it hasn't budged at all.) Just make sure all of the adjustments are nice and tight (but don't overtighten anything.) What I'd be most concerned about, especially at a sitting height, would be a heavier keyboard (in this case, a Kronos 88) on the upper tier, as the stand might tip backwards due to the legs not extending all the way underneath the upper tier at the stand's lowest height.

1st one that comes to mind is the OnStage 2-tier Z-stand. However, I wouldn't advise placing the heavier board on the upper tier with this stand, unless you're at a standing height. Hercules also makes a 2-tier Z stand. That one might be worth checking out.

Tune done by a good friend of mine that I got to play on, (keys, bass, and drums.)

Same here. I've never played one that I've gotten along with. Sounds, action, IDK. Last one I played was at an outdoor gospel concert last July. I was only doing two songs, so I asked if they had something available. Needless to say, I wish I'd brought my MODX-7, even for just two songs. They had a WK-8000, and that was the last time I ever laid hands on a Casio.

I bought Steven Slate Drums 5 a couple of years ago when it was on sale. It sounds great, has plenty of grooves, but it seems to be more dialed in for rock or metal than anything else. I've had to pick and choose various parts to get a vintage, dry-sounding kit, but once it's tweaked a bit, the sound is very pleasing.

This is a tough one... Interval: I'd probably go with minor 3rd Chord: I/bVII (First chord of the chorus in Toy Matinee's "Last Plane Out.")

That could be a way to do it. Another way would be to have a separate track for keyswitches only, just to clean up that bit of clutter. I like to keep as simple a track layout as I can, so I'm not looking at so many things at once. A solution to that would be to use track folders.

YMMV, but after trying a ProKeys88 back in the day, and going through two different Axioms and a MkI Keystation 88, I've stayed away from M-Audio for the past 8 years. I've never gotten along with the action on any of their keyboards. Everyone is different though, and your experience might be a bit better than mine was.

I simply just get the part recorded into Studio One, then I'll manually write in the keyswitch articulations when and where I need them. It does take practice. I will say, that I have both the EW Composer Cloud+ and IK Miroslav Philharmonik 2, and I find myself using both at the same time. To me, some things sound better in EW, others sound better in Philharmonik.

I had a MIDIBoard for about a year back in 2006-2007. Absolutely loved the action, however it would always freeze up on me if I played too hard, or too fast, or really big chords on it, so unfortunately I had to let it go. The only other weighted action that would even come close to the MB is my RD-1000. Unfortunately, it sends another MIDI message along with the note-off, that acts like a panic, and stops all notes, even with the sustain pedal. I need to check a MIDI monitor and figure out what is up with that.

Grabbed IK Multimedia's Total Studio 3.5 MAX for dirt cheap. So far, I've just had time to mess around with the B-3X. Love it quite a bit. Can't wait to dive into some more of this stuff.

Oh, this is a tough one... Still here: Bob James. His playing is incredibly moving to me. No longer with us: Lyle Mays. Piano solo at the end says it all. H. M. Elton John. First full song I ever remember learning to play all the way through is Cold As Christmas from the Too Low For Zero album. I was 6 or 7.

Got the composer cloud+ subscription. Everything works in Studio One--except keyswitching. It's definitely something inside Studio One, because if I open up the standalone Opus, or use it in Cakewalk, everything is fine. Weird.

Correct. The control assignments are done on the keyboard. You simply press SHIFT + SETUP, which puts the keys into setup mode. Press C2 (the manual says it's C1, but we know better, lol) which enables Control Assign. Then, move a control or press a button. The display will show that control's CC setting, which can then be changed by either using the keys labeled + or -, or using the keys labeled 0-9 and pressing the Enter key. The drum pads can also be mapped to CC settings instead of MIDI notes. My bad, I was referring to the Essential 88. That's understandable. I have two low-end ProLine expression pedals that I bought back when I got my Motif XS6, just cause. Funny, I don't really use them that much, though. Sadly, I'm not sure of any 88-key semi-weighted controller out on the market that even has an expression input. Everyone's needs are different, though. Mine is laying pretty flat on my desk. The front of the chassis, however, is slightly bowing upward just around the middle C octave, just above the keys. I didn't really notice it until yesterday, so I guess it really isn't a deal breaker for me.

I was going back and forth between the LX88+ and the GXP88, which lacks the control surface as you mentioned, but has aftertouch. AT would be nice, but I really wanted an affordable 88 with a control surface and an action that didn't suck ( <cough>Keylab88<cough> ). The LX88+ is nice and smooth, has just a little resistance, but doesn't feel springy or spongy to me, and there's plenty of control for synth/B3 stuff. I would probably prefer if the wheels were a little bigger, but again, not a big dealbreaker for me.

Just got an Impact LX88+. Checked the MIDI monitor in Studio One, and I can get anywhere from 1 to 127 for velocity. Action is quite smooth, although the key travel is just the tiniest bit deeper than I'm used to. Other thing is the tops of the accidental keys slant backwards starting right at the front of the key, instead of, say, halfway up the key like most unweighted/synth keybeds. Again, I'm not too bothered by it, it'll just take some getting used to.