stoken6

I've not researched those - thanks for the suggestion. I never thought of AKAI as a ROMpler company. The MPC One does more than I need (CV/gate, for example), and costs more than the MC101, however. Cheers, Mike.

Thanks everyone. I am aware of the Fantom's ability as a ROMpler (and more), with sample playback pads. It doesn't meet my brief in that it's a keyboard. I have a waterfall Nord as an upper tier, which I like for the ease of access to front-panel controls. I have a weighted action controller underneath it, so the way to go would be to replace it with a Fantom 08. But I don't want an 88 (too big, especially with wheels to the side). If there was a Fantom 00 module, with sample pads, it would be perfect. I'm already running BandHelper on my iPad. So if there's a way to run a ROMpler app (responding to MIDI) and a sample-playback app (responding to prods of the screen), and BandHelper (sending MIDI) and all three play nicely together, I would consider it. Cheers, Mike.

Have you thought of adding the Mixface to your P125? Cheers, Mike.

For most of my "run-of-the-mill" gigs my Nord Stage 2 does the job. Some of the more prestigious pick-up gigs I do require two things: - "More ROMpler" than the Nord's two synth slots - One-hit sample playback (think orch hits, rises, FX...) I was wondering if there's a product that can do both of those? So far the Roland MC101 looks plausible - any others I should look at? MUST: - Sample playback ("playback to end of sample" and "playback while pad held" is sufficient, no looping required) - Ability to load user samples - At least 8 sample pads - Simultaneous ROMpler playback via MIDI (I'll use Nord Extern sections) - 5-pin MIDI (not USB, and preferably not mini-TRS) SHOULD: - Audio in, to avoid needing a mixer. Cheers, Mike.

I don't lust for one in the slightest. But I think the draw of VST-quality sounds in a portable package, no laptop needed, will attract some. Let's wait and see... Cheers, Mike.

Now available in the cloud, for an "easy" monthly subscription... Cheers, Mike.

I suspect that most of what you want to take out of the board isn't going to be that heavy. Looking at a pic of the A70, most of the front-panel "furniture" is fairly shallow - apart from the pitch/mod wheels and joystick, which you should be able to remove. If you want space for an ipad or similar, how about a carefully designed "shim" that sits over the remaining panel space, with cutouts for the existing buttons, so that you can rest something on there. 3D printed, perhaps? Or skilled woodwork/marquetry? Cheers, Mike.

For some reason I love the whole modular scene, without in any way desiring to own one. I think it's just too impractical to gig vs the flexibility of modern digital all-in-one boards. Cheers, Mike.

@LarsHarner are you driving a software rig? The Mixface outputs MIDI over USB, meaning you can only connect it to a USB host (PC/Mac, Kronos and certain other, but not all, boards). Cheers, Mike.

If you pinned me up against the wall and forced me to predict a price, I would probably have gone "it's worth £1399, and it will be priced at £1499". So that advertised price is actually a nice surprise. Cheers, Mike.

for Tom Lehrer. If you enjoy that song, check out UK comedienne Victoria Wood's "The Ballad of Barry and Freda", for a uniquely British take on related subject matter: Cheers, Mike.

My slight nuance on that: trap is of course a valid rhythmic style, and the Axis progression the basis of many great songs - but lazy overuse of them is not acceptable. I would put "Autotune as a creative effect" in the same bucket - "Believe" was at least innovative, even if you don't enjoy the resulting song/product. "Autotune as an effect most people wouldn't notice" is like covering your food in salt and spices - you can't discern the quality of the underlying ingredients. Cheers, Mike.

That does look secure. Good choice. Cheers, Mike

Tell them the buttons are superficial - it's what's on the inside that counts... Cheers, Mike.

That's crazy (and not in a good way)! The guy we use regularly will tell me things like "this mic is for your trombone player, it's amazing on baritone sax and cello as well". Cheers, Mike.

The 197xx family are great, but the 19791 is intended for attaching to a cylindrical tube. ( @Paul Woodward how do you attach yours to your 18881?). The 19795 is the same thing without the "clamp-to-a-tube" bit, it fits a standard mic thread. I would couple it with something like a 23700 table clamp, that's designed for flat surfaces. Cheers, Mike.

The second sentence definitely sums me up. I hate "separate boards", and I feel restricted by "less than two boards", so any two boards I choose need to be jacks-(or better)of-many-trades. Cheers, Mike.

Point 3 is only really software, and point 4 requires components that cost $ not $$$ (and software) so I definitely agree with you there. I'd love to see the ability to load samples into the piano section (or even some "pianos" that are actually string, horn, pad samples). Regarding points 3 and 4, the particular memory that Nord uses (NOR flash, I think?) allows it to stream directly but costs much more than the NAND flash in your SSD, for example. I think this has been discussed here in the past, in that an extra $100 component cost can easily translate into $500 addition to the purchase price. And also, yeah, market forces. If Nord can sell sufficient quantity of a board for $5000 at 40% margin, there's no incentive to sell for $4000 at 20% margin. Cheers, Mike.

And is it velocity-sensitive over MIDI? (I know I could RTFM...) Cheers, Mike.

I don't have a problem with tuning being used as a creative effect. (Auto-tune was originally demo'ed using a Theremin!). But if it's the default on every pop record, it's lazy and uninspiring. EDIT: @ElmerJFudd has posted something similar ahead of me. Cheers, Mike.

I didn't realise the M-solo didn't have waterfall keys. Does it have high trigger? The synth is more powerful than I expected, but it desperately needs real pitch/mod wheels. The topic of a "organ+VA" board has come up before here, and this is the closest I've seen. Cheers, Mike.

That (sadly no longer manufactured) Kurz was a secret weapon - because it supports high trigger, it makes a great lower manual under a clonewheel. But if we're leaving speakers behind, the Vox Konti, Roland VR730, and Hammond SK1-73/SK Pro all appear on the radar. Studiologic's Numa Compact 2x is worth a mention (with speakers, although not dramatically better than Casio's), with a slightly unusual 88-note format. Cheers, Mike.

Absolutely. The Nord Electro is a ready-made template for these kinds of boards, and it's a proven success. (Although even the latest Electro only supports 3-way split I think). Cheers, Mike.

Casio's WK700 gives you 2 and 3, I don't know about 4 and I suspect not 1! Regards, Mike.

I like that it's named for/inspired by a real place (just down the road from me) - in the same way as Penny Lane. Cheers, Mike.