mauriziodececco

About the TP100: i am an happy owner of a NE5HP; i am not a great pianist, but i have a nice vertical Rameau, and at school i play a Steinway model B. Yes, the TP100 is by far not the best action i play; but my dexterity level is low enough that the impact of the keybed on my playing is limited with respect to my natural limits; i play mostly EPs with it but sometime AP when i use it with the school group. I choose the NE5HP as a compromise between multiple factors (in my case, portability, sound, keybed and real time sound tweakability), and i decided to handle the keybed by practicing to get used to it. I cannot bring a VPC-1 or an MP11 on the Parisian metro :->. Even a CP-4 would be problematic for my use. What i mean is that the different product represent different optimal points in the compromise space, depending on your skills and needs. I may understand that if you are a good pianist, using deeply all the nuance a good instrument provide you, you may rightly find the TP100 unacceptable; but there are many other cases where it become the (only) acceptable solution. About the Seven, no opinion yet, i hope to find it soon in a Parisian music shop to try it out :-> Maurizio

May be because the Howard Combo was itself Italian (produced by GEM . Maurizio

Well, i really don't know, but my OB-6 continue to insist that he would be happy to rest on top of a Seven. While i really appreciate the Seven form factor, it just do not fit my main use case, that is going to a gig/rehersal using the parisian metro, with my piano on my shoulder; that why a couple of years ago i choose a NE5HP, that perfectly fit the need (that are very specific, no car, no driving license, and a yearly metro subscription). But still, my OB-6 really want a new friend :->. Maurizio PS: another point of view: it is great to see a product like the Seven coming out from a region with such a long tradition in musical instruments ! (my region, by the way).

The things that pushed me and said "you have to make music" was Ricochet, by Tangerine Dream, and Mirage, by Klaus Schultze. A lot later, i discovered Jazz thru Miles Davis, and Herbie Hancock in theRound Midnight movie. Maurizio

I am following the Hans Zimmer master class; i find it really well done; it is not a lesson, it is master class where he tell his experience and explains his way of doing things. Really a lot to learn; ok, the guy is super, but in general the videos are very well done, good rhythm, great audio&video quality. I am having a lot of fun. The only little problem is that you cannot download the video; considering that most of my learning time is during commuting by train, where i do not have a stable internet connection, this reduce my available time for the class; but this will not prevent me to enrol the HH class :-> Maurizio

I search of some love, or may be just because i was tired to have all of my work in a closet, i put a number of my musical works done since the 70s to today on a single personal site, with most of the stuff on youtube. The site is http://www.barbogio.org/. All comments are welcome !! Maurizio

I am doing a nice reading/listening experiment. I am reading the Herbie Hanckock auto-biography (Possibilities), and listening chapter by chapter to the music he describe (and looking to video of concerts on youtube). I just arrived to HeadHunters; listening to the Mwandishi group was something ! Maurizio

I am checking PatchMorpher; i don't think it correspond to what i am looking for (playing vs programming), but it surely look very useful to using the Blofeld, i'll try it out. And i am looking around for a Nord Wave to test :-> Maurizio

Thanks for all the hints and tips :->. I cannot sell the Blofeld, i have developed some software for it that is still evolving and then will be need usual bug fixing and so on, so i need it handy. Also i like the sound and it is perfect for my composition oriented studio set up. To go back to the roots of my need (more for me to make my thoughts structured than for asking help : for many years i have been a Cubase composer (actually, started with Pro24, with a TX16W and a TX802 and a M1000, last is still there . I have been quite happy with the results, been an amateur. I even made the music of a documentary (good ties with the Executive Director, my wife and some music for a friend short movies. Mostly electronic stuff in the german 70s style (with my own twist) and later some minimalist acoustic stuff (never really performed by real people, even if i tried hard at a given moment). In 2002 i found a great Jazz piano teacher, that took me for what i was and helped me going forward with the piano; i discovered playing with other people, and slowed down computer composition (that is lonely, and lacks adrenaline, but it is still good . In the last couple of years i have been thinking on how to marry the two sides of my musical personality; looking at the Mehliana duo on youtube was a shocking revelation :->. So, what i am really looking for now is a synth that can actually be played as an instrument vs programmed as a computer. A synth for which i could fully grasp, and that i can interiorize and feel and connect to, even in its technical characteristics. A synth intended to be my second instrument after the piano. A synth i can use as a tool to look for musical freedom and expression and not to cover standard ground. Either that, or i drop the subject and start to study trumpet :->. This imply a very good ergonomic. Probably some simplicity (even if the P12 gave me the impression that its complexity is not in the way of mastering it). This imply also some character; an instrument must be inspiring, but does not need to be universal. Than there are mundane constraints like money, space, weight. And less mundane one, quirky : if i can develop my software for it (i.e. enough sysex support), i can charge it on my IT consultant activity (even if this specific software will never pay for it , and solve the classical musical vs family budget subject :->. This is how i get to the initial short list :-> Thanks for reading, Maurizio

Thanks, i'll check out the Wave and the Sledge also. In principle, i will *not* sell the Blofeld, that will stay in my studio, also for other reasons. The board will substitute it in this specific project, but it will end up in the studio, were i'll still have the Blofeld, so i am not sure :-> .. Anyway, the A1 have a bit of digital waves and some samples to enrich somehow his sound spectrum wrt the traditional analogue one. Maurizio

Well, Prophet 8 (at least a new one) is out of budget; i also like the idea of having a sound palette that is a bit larger than a pure analogue. In principle, the board will be part of piano+synth rig, where the piano will be acoustic when logistically possible. Polyphony: enough to make a chord and a bass or lead line. Idem for multitimbrality. I plan to have no laptop in the rig, but probably the iPad, And yes, this board will substitute the Blofeld in this purpose; i want i more direct access to sound. And i want very reduced technical setup and installation and problems. As a computer professional, i do that all the time, and i want to relax :-> Maurizio

To resurrect the thread: between GAS and real needs, i focused my research on the KingKorg on the low end of the budget and the Nord Lead A1 on the high end of it. By the way, the price difference around here is no more than 200 euros. (18%). (Yes, GAS push me toward the P12, but no real money for it). Main use would be in a group, not for studio composition (but why not), so it will have to go around at least once a week for rehersal. The style zill probably be Jazz/Jazz rock with some experimental stuff (i love minimalist music). On paper, the KingKorg seems a lot more flexible, but somehow i find the A1 sound more "real", present, organic. (OK, this is the subjective part, i'll spend some quality time next week end with both keyboards, i hope). The A1 UI give full access to the instrument, even if the choices are reduced, and this appeal to me (i learnt synths on a MS-20/MS-50 combination . I have the impression that the general feeling in terms of building quality of the instrument would heavily favorise the Nord, right ? Maurizio

What is the general feeling about the KingKorg ? Is it getting interest around ? [i haven't found a thread, but may be i haven't understood the search page well :-> ] Maurizio

OK, after months of lurking, here is a link to my music; i would really appreciate your feedback. http://www.myspace.com/mauriziodececco There are six compositions of three different period; Carmen and Venezia are a kind of pseudo acoustique European minimalist stuff, made across 90s and 00s; Quest and Nostalgia are two long repetitive electronic compositions that will make you think about the Tangerine Dream era; and finally MR and Japanese Impressions are my first serious compositions, around 1990. Japanese Impression was in the Usenet Tape compilation in 89 (or 88) and it have been broadcasted at the time by a university radio somewhere (i still keep the letter , and used in some tv transmission in france (do not know which one, i just received some royalty money, a few dollars ; i tell this not because i feel a great professional artist, but because it is the only composition i wrote to be heard outside of my house :->. Maurizio