[K&M 18820 Stacker complaint and workaround]

4 hours ago, Rustar said:

I heard about this stand in the "Keyboardist's for Cover Bands" forum on FB[...] I leave mine assembled for transport.

The problem with those table-style stands is that the rear legs won't fold while the arm for the second tier is attached. And it's bulky to transport with the rear legs in their assembled position.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[The Anti-Keyboardists]

4 hours ago, kpl1228 said:

could you imagine Purple Haze on a keyboard?

A talented organ trio  could slay on Purple Rain. 

 

In fact (confirming a distant memory) Cory Henry's done it with the Metropole Orchestra.

 

4 hours ago, kpl1228 said:

too much keyboards, aren't the answer

No keyboards are also not the answer. The mono-tonality of a "guitar-only" band, unless they're super talented, is tedious in the extreme.

 

I agree with other points in your thread (particularly the phrase "phallic swagger").

 

Cheers, Mike.

[If sponsored by one brand… what would you choose?]

I would need great actions, AP, EP/electromechanical, clonewheel, VA and ROMpler. The latter is where Nord falls down (although a Piano 88, Stage 73 and Wave 2 is tempting otherwise).

 

Roland? RD2000 is a nice action. The Fantom is a mighty beast, but VR730 is their best organ, which concerns me. Plus I've never really connected with Roland's AP tone.

 

Korg? That would be GrandStage + Nautilus + Vox Konti. Not a single (moving) drawbar/fader among any of them. I've struggled with Korg's hammer action as well.

 

Kurzweil doesn't have a hands-on/easy-to-use stage keyboard or (real) clonewheel. (There's two opportunities right there for the taking)

 

Which leaves Yamaha. Montage 7, YC61 and CP88 is a strong combo, with clonewheel perhaps its weakest point. I think Yamaha have the best "piano in a band" proposition.

 

I think we're back to: it depends on the gig. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

 

[Any Keyboardists Here who Also Play Bass?]

4 hours ago, ProfD said:

Definitely bass curious or should I type bass appreciative

Bass Axe-ual?

 

Cheers, Mike.

[The Anti-Keyboardists]

On 1/8/2024 at 8:19 PM, JohnH said:

Scholz has this bizarre obsession with thinking people think his guitars sound like violins. Only he thinks that. He put that notice on several albums. Tom Scholz guitars sound like layered guitars. I've never listened to his music or any other that made me think " Gee who is the violinist? " Same as Kansas, you would have to be on your first day in music to think that the violin parts of Robby Steinhardt or David Ragsdale were playing guitars on the Kansas

albums. NO.

I've heard a Brian May part that sounds like a cello. Of course I can't find it now...

 

Cheers Mike.

[Use midi to swap keyboards bottom to top and top to bottom]

On the Nord, you can use an Extern section to play the Kronos. For the converse, set up the Nord onboard sound to respond to MIDI, but not locally (the section will be active, but none of the zone LEDs will be lit). Set MIDI channels appropriately, and cross-connect MIDI OUT->IN and IN->OUT across the two boards.

 

Cheers Mike.

[New Yamaha 3-pedal unit - FC35]

Thanks @Floyd Tatum. I am looking for a compact three-pedal unit (simple switches) for my pedalboard. Not MIDI, just momentary switches wired to TS jacks. I'm aware of the Berry FCB1010 but it's more than I need.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[External Power Supplies revisited]

14 hours ago, AnotherScott said:

a removable standard or figure-8 cord for the other side. You can velcro the piece to the keyboard and have essentially the same benefits as an internal (e.g. can't forget/lose it), along with the added advantages of an external (easy replacement, lighter keyboard weight, since it seems that internals are rarely if ever found in boards with plastic chassis)

I've done this. The risk is that the point where the (DC low-voltage) power cable leaves the PSU is fragile and can be easily damaged. It needs to be located carefully and potentially protected to avoid damage. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[External Power Supplies revisited]

Thanks to @Jim Alfredson, Craig @Anderton and all the other experts on this thread.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[External Power Supplies revisited]

3 minutes ago, The Real MC said:

"USB-PD at the expense of standards complexity" you're right back to the problem of wall-warts

To some extent. If I could power keyboards from (say) a standard 65w laptop USB power supply, that's an improvement over having a different, proprietary PSU for every keyboard. The challenge with USB-PD is poor ratification of standards and labelling when it comes to the different standards supported by devices, PSUs and cables. 

 

And as I mentioned earlier, high-specification, high-power-draw boards tend to have internal PSUs to start with, so the problem doesn't arise. It's with the budget/midrange, cost-sensitive models that I think USB provides an opportunity. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[External Power Supplies revisited]

3 hours ago, TJ Cornish said:

I suspect 15W isn’t enough to run a lot of keyboards, and a 5v supply is very limiting as well - pro level boards that can push +12dBU or better can put more than a 5V swing on the outputs. Very basic opamps are fed by +15v/-15v, and good pro stuff with headroom probably a lot more, so that means step up conversion in the board for those functions, not to mention the heat of modern processors and more than one keyboard with fans.

I was thinking along similar lines. High-spec outputs, a big touchscreen, or complex audio processing typical of pro-level boards may require over 15W - but those are the kinds of beasts that are already, and would continue to be, fitted with internal PSUs. (Kronos is basically an entry-level laptop in a keyboard-shaped box). EDIT @Delaware Dave's comment above puts pro-level keyboards at around 40w.

 

At the other end of the scale, controller keyboards can be bus-powered on USB 5v 500mA = 2.5W. Somewhere in between would suit a 15W power draw. To pick an example at random: Yamaha CK61 specs a 11w power requirement https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/music_production/stagekeyboards/ck/specs.html. And that's with 2x 6W onboard speakers.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[The Anti-Keyboardists]

2 hours ago, Tusker said:

The band Queen put a No Synthesizers! label on four of its albums:

I also heard that Queen put that on their albums not because they didn't like synths, but because some of the sonic effects and textures on their songs could be mistakenly attributed to synths, and they wanted to correct that misconception. (This explanation accompanies yours, but doesn't contradict it, of course).

 

Cheers, Mike.

[External Power Supplies revisited]

11 hours ago, Anderton said:

USB-C connector itself is designed for around 10,000 plug/unplug cycles, but can go as low as 1,000 or as high as 20,000, depending on the quality

11 hours ago, Anderton said:

The USB-C is a compromise for consumer connectors because it has to handle displays, computers, smartphones, etc. But, as compromises go, it makes a lot of right choices.

My understanding is that the USB Implementers' Forum messed up on mini-USB (very unreliable), improved with micro (better longevity, the connector will break rather than the socket, etc), and further improved for USB-C. 

 

21 hours ago, kenheeter said:

USB is only 5V and limited current. Not enough power for most keyboards.

USBC "current mode" offers 5v at 3A = 15W. Enough for a keyboard without (or with modest) built-in speakers. USB-PD offers even more (at the expense of standards complexity).

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Killer keyboard sounds that dominate a track!]

8 hours ago, Synthaholic said:

Gary Husband is a great drummer, but have you heard him play keyboards?

Yup, Husband is a double monster. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[The Anti-Keyboardists]

5 hours ago, Docbop said:

I never heard of all this crap you guy are talking about with anti keyboard or similar stuff

I've guested with the house band at a jam, where a slide guitarist comes up to play a blues (yes, a blues!) and says "no keys in this one, thanks". 

 

I've also had plenty of "we'd like to add keys to expand our sound and allow us to cover more varied sounds" quite a lot. Most people understand that keys are essential to a versatile band.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Dave Grusin GRP All Stars - 80s LA Studio Jazz appreciation - DX7 et al]

10 hours ago, Tusker said:

Aunty Beeb

Educate me, what is this?

 

In the UK "Beeb" is a contraction of BBC, which was affectionately know as "Auntie". But I don't know how it became a US reference.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[External Power Supplies revisited]

22 hours ago, rogs said:

Shame there doesn't seem to have been any attempt at standardisation?

That's where USB comes in. I'd like to see USB-C become a standard for electronic musical instruments/accessories the way it has for phones/wireless earphones/fitness bands/etc.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Killer keyboard sounds that dominate a track!]

5 hours ago, Synthaholic said:

The criminally underrated Mike Lindup, who had memorable synth sounds in so many songs

I love Level 42 and Lindup, but wasn't Wally Badarou key to their synth sounds as well? That percolating sequence in "Lessons in Love" is 100% pure Wally.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Did you ever see a video of your band performing?]

39 minutes ago, BMD said:

were (or was, if you're American

👍

Cheers, Mike.

[Yamaha CK61 and CK88]

28 minutes ago, danskeys said:

Not that our opinions here will decide it, but I would prefer a GHS 73-note, like the P121

Hell, do that as well! The P121 was close to being a good controller for a "do-it-all" top board (Montage, YC61, etc.)

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Making a ‘Rhodes’ from a reface…]

The Studiologic SL73 Studio (or 88) gives you a Rhodes-like Fatar TP/100 action without the faff of adding weights.

 

Add a MIDI cable. The rest is furniture. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Yamaha CK61 and CK88]

20 hours ago, HSS said:

Agree...  A 73 / 76 key 15-20 lb. CK with decent piano-organ compromise semi-weighted action would hit the sweet spot for me.

 

19 hours ago, AnotherScott said:

 

I think your Kurzweil PC4-7 comes really close to that.

A CK73 with the Kurzweil action would be really nice. Dual-mono option to split organ to a Vent to complete the victory.

 

Cheers, Mike. 

[Who's leading the Music ?]

Someone can be a "critical person with interesting thoughts" and still hit a play button. Pet Shop Boys spring to mind. 

 

I'd still prefer a live band, because music is a performance art.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Impedance, Levels, and Pedals (oh my)]

I've always understood that it's fine to connect low-impedance outputs into high-impedance inputs. So [something something impedance] shouldn't be an issue in the use cases you describe. You might need [something something gain-staging optimised levels] but there's no harm in trying what you want with just what you've got. If you find you need to turn gain really high or really low, we can talk again.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Killer keyboard sounds that dominate a track!]

Synth bass in Berlin's "Take My Breath Away". DX7 I think?

 

Cheers, Mike.