[Nord Stage 2 problem and questions - looking for feedback]

2 hours ago, cphollis said:

Although, from what I remember, it would make a fantastic midi controller.

Second manual for a clonewheel? Waterfall action with high trigger is attractive, and rare among controllers.

 

Cheers, Mike

[Nord Stage 2 problem and questions - looking for feedback]

There are two aspects to the USB failure. Firstly:

15 hours ago, Dave Osoff said:

I had deleted a bunch of sounds from it [...] When the chip failed I then couldn’t load the other sounds back in.  This has left me with less than the factory soundset and unable to upgrade the operating system or restore factory settings at all since 2018.  

And secondly:

15 hours ago, Dave Osoff said:

I also have to use long standard MIDI cables and a midi/USB interface

I agree with Rob @Reezekeys and Chuck @cphollis that the second isn't really a big issue.

 

But the first is more significant. I would be surprised if the USB controller is a custom Nord component - if you can get a manufacturer or part number, it's worth trying to source a replacement "via alternative channels" (s/h, reclaimed from another dead board etc).

 

Regarding reselling it with faulty USB, I think the inability to load new samples and OS updates will be unattractive to buyers. Look out for a "not working/parts only" NS2EX perhaps?

 

Regards, Mike. 

[Non-verbal band communication]

7 hours ago, MathOfInsects said:

That meta-study I linked essentially finds that the "wood wide web" concept has been fueled by a sort of sexy storyline, which has led to publication bias in its favor and even confirmation bias among those researching it, and if you look at the data behind the idea, it doesn't hold up. Trees are probably just trees, or at the very most those connected by root systems are probably the only ones connected. 

Props to your s[ck]eptical, self-researching attitude. My understanding of the concept is not that trees communicate with each other, but rather fungi. "An Entangled Life" is a good read.

 

Regards, Mike.

[Non-verbal band communication]

1 hour ago, MathOfInsects said:

The part I quoted. The trees.

 

1 hour ago, Thethirdapple said:

mycorrhizal networks

Google "Wood Wide Web". Fascinating.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Lead sheet tool for iPad]

1 hour ago, AnotherScott said:

Adding PDFs to the recognizable file formats would be useful.

Was thinking the same thing. Great work so far Erik.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[An alternative to the matchbook trick for organ…]

8 hours ago, Tom Williams said:

This is a good example of why clonewheels aren't necessarily inferior to the original.  

 

I press the sostenuto pedal.

Plug a latching switch in there and you're golden.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[How great singers' voices have or have not held up over time]

Didn't Jose Carreras recently tackle some baritone repertoire, in recognition that his vocal range was lower as he grew older? Nothing to be ashamed of. Pick your repertoire with care - bubblegum falsetto disco will likely work in a lower register. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Super Locrian]

Harmonic theory gets squirrelly in the "far reaches of the circle of fifths".

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Adding a lower manual to Hammond SK Pro]

1 hour ago, AnotherScott said:

it should certainly work

I think this thread is teaching us the difference between "it should work" and "it does work".

 

Regards, Mike

[Anybody know of a good video of fly like an eagle.]

On 5/18/2021 at 9:43 PM, Jr. Deluxe said:

Anybody want to proclaim their greatness for all time by posting themselves covering this? The isolated drums are right here. I've seen the isolated guitar. And I bet the isolated bass is around somewhere.

Woody's next community challenge?

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Super Locrian]

P corinthian over K blunt demented.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Wishing for a bare-bones/no-frills digital piano]

12 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

No speakers on the 11 on the 7 or 11.  So one more thing to hook up and turn on. 

Apologies, brain fart. I meant the ES920.

 

Cheers, Mike

[Wanted: A Keyboard with integrated “Computer” for loading whatever sounds I want to buy]

3 hours ago, TommyRude said:

Has AI come up in this thread?  Maybe future keyboards will use AI as part of their 'brains'.  The keyboardists can type in their sound request, i.e. "please give me a pad that's a combination of Pink Floyd and Metallica" - out will pop a sound.  Then fine tune the sound with more text prompts, i.e. "faster attack, less decay, yada", until you land on the prize.

 

This post prompted the realisation that many music reviews sound like they could be AI prompts:

- "A post-modern grunge take on flower-power folk-pop performed by Kraftwerk"

- "2000s pop-punk meets Tori Amos at a warehouse rave"

- "Brian May, Ringo and Flea pitch atmospheric trance to Bruno Mars"

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Wishing for a bare-bones/no-frills digital piano]

What is your budget Woody? And what aren't you getting from the P121?

 

Dave Ferris's P515 and a Kawai MP7 or MP11 would be my choices in the "premium, but not outrageous" price bracket.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Repairing RH3 keybed, how difficult/expensive?]

I see this as an opportunity for intense, albeit creative, bargaining.

 

"Do you know, of all the keys that one's my absolute favo(u)rite. I would say I like it about as much as I like all the others put together. So if 50% of what I like isn't working, what would you say...?"

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Sustain pedal on The Entertainer?]

46 minutes ago, CEB said:

That is the thing ... The pedal doesn't make you smother.  Solace without a pedal is a good teacher of this.

Upvote for "Solace".

 

cheers, Mike.

[Adding a lower manual to Hammond SK Pro]

37 minutes ago, CEB said:

How does the SK recognize the trigger point on a satellite keyboard.  Is that a physical function of the second board.

The SK only responds to MIDI. It's down to the satellite board to implement which trigger point causes the MIDI "note on" message.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[A "how are people using IEMs" Thread]

26 minutes ago, EricBarker said:

My concern is it might be more intrusive to some of the local hacks, who just want you to come in and use their setup.

That shouldn't be intrusive - one side of the snake goes to the venue, and they have to run FoH but not monitors.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Wanted: A Keyboard with integrated “Computer” for loading whatever sounds I want to buy]

39 minutes ago, Thethirdapple said:

Better yet, the cpu board could be a usb key, which exist today, capable of fully running linux/windows… bundled with a software DAW and sound banks/audiounits(vst’s)… so the only actual hardware is something like the Osmose with a usb port and a small touch screen.

I'd have it the other way round. The controller is the USB key (device), and the CPU is the host (Raspberry Pi etc.). The intelligence to be a USB host is then provided by the more significant compute power of a CPU. Plus (if we indulge in some creative thinking), it makes it straightforward to add multiple USB devices (keyboard manuals, pedalboards, drawbar controllers, ribbons etc.).

 

Frankly, USB isn't doing much more than MIDI here, but it does provide a standard for providing device power, for discovery, protocol negotiation, hot-swap etc.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Wanted: A Keyboard with integrated “Computer” for loading whatever sounds I want to buy]

10 minutes ago, MathOfInsects said:

the hardware-to-software-on-other-hardware routine is going to be the tip, and the thing that will improve will be ways to interact with the "external" host of choice. Integrated mounting, one-cable or dock connection.

This. It allows a manufacturer to compete and disrupt in the controller space.

 

Cheers, Mike

[Backline a Nord in the UK (London and beyond)]

Just now, yannis D said:

I'll miss the sustain pedal.

You can plug a sustain pedal into the Roland, no? And map any controller to any sound in mainstage.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Backline a Nord in the UK (London and beyond)]

Just now, yannis D said:

my main controller in the UK will be a Roland F-20 which is good but lacks expression pedal for pads and organs

Get a USB expression pedal for your mainstage sounds? Or plug one into your Arturia?

 

Cheers, Mike

[Backline a Nord in the UK (London and beyond)]

@yannis D I'm in London and I would be happy to help you with my Nord, except for the fact that I need it for my gigs!

 

There are places in London that will rent you a Nord (Sound Services, piano-hire.co.uk has an Electro for £40/day, FX rentals...) Even gig-worker site Fat Llama has an Electro for rent for £17/day over a week or more.  

 

I have to say: in your position, I would run everything from MainStage, and get some kind of controller keyboard. Don't pay the Nord premium if you don't have to, and if budget is tight.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Your Latest Purchase (music related)]

4 hours ago, mountainjammer said:

Not my main rig

I have seen worse main rigs!

 

Tell me more about the upper tier on your keyboard stand? It looks DIY (in an interesting way...)

 

Cheers, Mike

[A "how are people using IEMs" Thread]

11 hours ago, RABid said:

Subs use the same IEM's as regulars and in some cases that means 4 people using the same IEM's. I've been told you really don't want to share in ear devices.

In my experience, subs are asked "bring your own buds" - i.e. the earphones that go in your ears. They plug into a 1/8in TRS socket into a personal headphone amp (shared between the sub and the regular).

 

When I subbed for this kind of band, my contract said that monitoring would be IEMs and that I should bring earphones, and everything else would be provided. In practice, the sound crew provided headphone amps that took a (mono) XLR input and raised it to headphone output. I ended up plugging it into my Rolls PM351 and had a "more me" capability on the gig.

 

Cheers, Mike.