[Does anyone make a keyboard shelf?]

How about a guitar pedalboard and some velcro? Or a perforated shelf and cable ties?

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Sibelius jumps on AI bandwagon]

The latest 2023.6 update of Sibelius include AI-powered chord symbol detection: https://www.avid.com/resource-center/whats-new-in-sibelius-june-2023?utm_campaign=sibelius_2023_6--renew&utm_source=gainsight&utm_medium=email

 

Personally I'm a little underwhelmed. It seems everything needs to be "now with added AI", and the training set is Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, and other material that doesn't really benefit from chord symbols. And the range of chords identified is restricted (nothing more than a seventh). More interestingly, they've deliberately chosen a model that runs locally (no data harvesting), and their blog post (https://www.avid.com/resource-center/data-driven-workflows-within-sibelius) states: "we are [...] committed to using ethical AI practices to respect creators’ data."

 

I wonder how long that will last...

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Dreamy CUSH Chords]

Interesting, he's at a keyboard, but he explains it like a guitarist. "Just move it up three frets a minor third". Nothing about the harmonic-theoretical foundation that underpins this idea, which I think is basically what @CyberGene posted. It's modal interchange with the relative minor. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Searching for funk / soul music played with Synth Bass]

Adding to the Stevie canon: Lately.

 

Not very funk, but oh so very soul.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Pitch bend and mod: wheels or joystick?]

1 hour ago, TommyRude said:

Creating 'actual' mod on the Nord stick is cool cool when you're on a note

This. I like doing guitar-style "up-only" vibrato using the Nord stick (any sprung joystick will do I suppose). 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Searching for funk / soul music played with Synth Bass]

D. Gauss obviously gets the gold medal, so I'll try for silver/bronze:

 

Thriller and much of MJ's output. (Whether that qualifies as soul/funk is down to your definition).

 

Boogie On Reggae Woman.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Seeking for the essentials...]

2 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

Sell off all your digital synths, especially the ROMplers.  They’ve been multi sampled to death in many formats and/or there’s already a VST.  Definitely sell any board you haven’t played for a year or more.  

The only synths worth owning are analogue, and even that is questionable given how good the modeling is getting with synths and fx.  

Keep only the keyboards that are excellent controllers, offer unique controls (knobby, after touch, poly after touch, ribbon controller, controller pedal inputs, etc.).  

This is great advice. Although I would add that if you have a keyboard that qualifies as 3 (excellent controller) but not as1 (digital/ROMpler) it might still be worth keeping. Your K2661 possibly qualifies in this category.

 

You have huge Roland redundancy across Jupiter XM, JD-08, JD-990, JV-1010, Juno stage, JD-Xa. Surely one VA and one ROMpler from that collection would be sufficient. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Kurzweil Midiboard and Prophet 10 desktop.....]

12 hours ago, justin_havu said:

 

Same reason I love my RD-1000.

Yam CP300 also. Why do all those boards have to be so darn heavy?

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Kebu's live rig vid - so much MIDI!]

2 hours ago, Adam Burgess said:

I've had around 5 more problems with USB than I ever did with MIDI - which I believe is around zero! 

Plus the problem with USB is that SOMETHING needs to be a host. Lots of keyboards (particularly budget) are devices, not hosts. Casio CT-S1/500 are great examples of boards that should integrate well into two-board rigs. But you need to add a host box, and a power supply, and a USB cable - too much faff.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Kurzweil Midiboard and Prophet 10 desktop.....]

Angled, shallow front panel. Deep, flat top. Ideal form factor for a downstairs board.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Studio monitors versus PA speakers for small jazz rehearsal space]

IEMs and a Roland HS-5?

 

Cheers, Mike

[Nord Stockholm EP]

8 hours ago, MathOfInsects said:

All these years and it's literally never occurred to me play a major pent arpeggio--where it's functioning as scale tones and not a wash of glissed sounds--by sliding my thumb up the black notes. 

You're kidding? I do that all the time! Harpists can "pedal" their instrument into a pentatonic scale and do those sweeps all day long - pull up a harp patch and try it. You'll recognise the effect immediately.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Nord Stockholm EP]

Glad to see Nord haven't forgotten about EPs - although I don't hear enough heft and punch in the sound for my taste.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Rhodes Clone Inquiry]

31 minutes ago, Dockeys said:

There's also the Valente

An interesting leftfield nomination! Not exactly a Rhodes, but they don't come more hardware than that, and it's fairly portable (42lbs).

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

 

[last-minute recommendations, RCF speakers!]

5 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

There’s a next step up from Yamaha in the DZR line

Someone on this forum uses DZRs for organ and loves them (is it Darren Heinrich/dazzjazz? Can't remember).

 

Cheers, Mike

[Calculating amperage draw realistically]

7 hours ago, jarrell said:

the PC4 is listed as 2.5A

And just to repeat - that 2.5A is at 15VDC (from the output of the transformer/power supply). That transformer will not be drawing more than a fraction of the 2.5A from the wall outlet. 

 

Please buy D. Gauss's gadget if you like, but I think there's plenty of margin of error around the assumptions we've made in this thread to support a single 15A outlet. In fact, please buy it and run it during the gig - I would be fascinated to learn how much current your gig needed!

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Roland V-Combo VR-09]

@franky46 if InMusic come knocking to make you an offer - slam the door in their face! You're far too valuable to the community as an independent.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[last-minute recommendations, RCF speakers!]

@Stokely - one way to resolve your dilemma is to set a budget. Stick to it absolutely 100% strictly. And audition the usual suspects. Yamaha, Electrovoice, RCF, HK Audio, JBL, FBT etc. Dave Ferris's recommendation ofthe Yamaha DXR is worth heeding.

 

Cheers, Mike

[Rhodes Clone Inquiry]

Korg SV1/2, Crumar Seven/teen, Viscount Legend 70s deserve your attention. 

 

Nord gets bashed regularly for not having updated its EPs recently. I'm happy with the Nord sounds, but I'm not an EP connoisseur.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Gigging in 2023]

On 6/14/2023 at 3:40 PM, Paul Woodward said:

Yorkshire

 

4 hours ago, drawbars said:

The Bash and Thumbtack

That's a Yorkshire pub surely! Do they have live music? 

 

Cheers, Mike.

['I'm a Barbie Girl' as a 3-part fugue]

40 minutes ago, Old No7 said:

that bass players can PLAY

Yeah Charles Berthoud is awesome. His sense of time slays me whenever I hear him. To the point where I wonder if he's getting some beat detective-style assistance in post.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Calculating amperage draw realistically]

2 hours ago, Reezekeys said:

Just looking at one item, the EV ZxA1 - you say "800 watts", that's the power output through the class-D amp into the speakers, not a measure of the current draw from the mains. Looking at the spec sheet it says "120V: 95V–132V, 0.6A, 50–60Hz." There is a footnote after "0.6A" that says this is a measurement at "1/8 power." I'm pretty sure this is because class-D amps don't draw a constant amount of current - it varies with the program material and how loud you want things. Manufacturers seem to have settled on "1/8 power" as an informal (or maybe formal?) measurement metric to describe what they feel is an "average" or typical use case. Maybe an expert here will correct or explain more, but I'm pretty sure your calculation of each of your ZXa1s drawing 6.6 amps is a little off.

This. I would probably factor about 1A for each speaker, and negligible for the Kurz. A single 15A circuit will be fine. Your experience with your Furman (and Real MC's experience) is supporting evidence. When my band brought our equipment, we asked for two sockets (UK, 13A 230V) - one for all the sound (1200W PA, four monitors, guitar amps etc.), and one for the lights (old school incandescents, probably about 1kW).

 

I would ask to have one socket dedicated to you - so nobody "accidentally" plugs in a space heater, hairdryer, or washing machine, or something.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Recommendations for stand extension tier for a micro keyboard]

You can always "angle in" the extension tier so the arms are spaced closer than the lower tier. That also has the benefit of bringing your top board closer to the bottom board.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[The keyboard player paradox]

Here's a suggestion: 

Use your Zoom H6 recorder to playback both the mic recording and your keyboard track - simultaneously, in sync. Pass it around the band and ask them to adjust the faders "I'm trying to get my levels correct. How much keys would you put in the mix?" 

 

This would:

1. Demonstrate to the band that everyone has different views

2. Get you an answer to the question "am I valued" without being as provocative

 

Cheers, Mike.

[InMusic buying Moog?]

2 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

I would imagine owning the brand and using it to sell software and more affordable brands of hardware is decent value. Does Moog USA have to do anything more than reissue classics and variants?  

I can see how owning the Moog brand helps InMusic sell software and other brands ("infused with the legacy of Moog Music" or some other marketing nonsense). But I don't see how it helps consumers. In theory, economies of scale should help InMusic charge lower prices. In practice, it rarely works that way. I've seen too many acquisitions that destroy the culture, passion and ethos of smaller companies (see also: Sibelius).

 

Cheers, Mike.