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pjd

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Posts posted by pjd

    Arturia Astrolab

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I had a chance to play one today. Wrang it out for an hour at GC Lynnwood, WA.

     

    Not bad. Short story, it's Analog Lab in a box with a decent keybed. I enjoyed playing the EPs especially. As to my own use, I need the Augmented Brass and Augmented Woodwinds which are not part of the current content load.

     

    A lot more comments here: https://sandsoftwaresound.net/arturia-astrolab-yes-i-played-one/

     

    Concerns about price vs. competition have already been discussed and I share the concerns.

     

    Have fun -- pj

     

    P.S. Thanks to the folks at GC. It's a lot more sane to try an instrument on a Wednesday morning with nobody around ...

     

    • Like 3

    Arturia Astrolab

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Hi Maurizio --

     

    Thank you for your detailed comments! They are encouraging enough that I will drag my broken bones to a brick-and-mortar store somewhere to try one.

     

    Astrolab and I aren't 100% ready for each other until Arturia adds the Augmented Woodwinds and Brass. I really need them. The one second voice switch time is concerning -- I hope Arturia finds a way to speed that up.

     

    Thanks, again -- pj

     

    Yamaha Reface CS price drop?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    The Reface DX is on sale, too. $250! The price of a guitar pedal! I couldn't resist and bought one. I'm glad I did. Thanks to Soundmondo, I turned it into a rehearsal tool.

     

    Gotta say, having patch storage is what did it. Not so sure about the CS and no patch storage. The YC model is fine without storage, but, hey, it's drawbars...

     

    The Reface DX and CS share the same internal design using the Yamaha proprietary SSP2 SOC. Yamaha have moved on to the SSP3. Possibly, they have exhausted their inventory of SSP2? Who knows what the kaiju will do? 🙂

     

    All the best -- pj

     

    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/yamaha-reface-dx-in-the-house/

    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/inside-reface-dx-and-cs/

    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/reface-yc-dx-teardowns/

     

    • Like 1

    Small footprint, jack-of-all-trades board

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I wouldn't count the Reface DX out. They're on sale for $250 and I bought one -- even though I swore I wouldn't by another mini-keyboard. 🙃

     

    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/yamaha-reface-dx-in-the-house/

     

    My first impression: It's a real synth and can store patches (32 locations). I need acoustic-type sounds and spent major time sorting through Soundmondo to find patches that aren't DX gag-ish. People over-tagged their contributions and it's nearly impossible to refine search.

     

    Anyway, I did find a decent Rhodes that doesn't have that FM tang and a good Wurli, among others. You can do a lot with the two-stage effects alone without dipping into the FM programming. 

     

    Cheesh, for $250?  -- pj

     

    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/reface-dx-no-static-at-all/

    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/more-dx-fm-learning-resources/

     

    • Like 1
    • Love 1

    Lightweight all in one board for fun, jamming, etc

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I had a Casio CT-S1000V and enjoyed playing it. Here are links to a few of my blog posts about it:

     

    http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-first-impressions/
    http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-observations/
    http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-quick-tips/
    http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-drawbar-organ-tones/
    http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-about-them-effects/
    http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-more-tips/

     

    The S500 is essentially the same board, leaving out the voice synthesis stuff.

     

    I sold the CT to my piano-playing partner. His daughter loved it, too, and it seemed like the right thing to do -- give it another home.

     

    I owned and played a PSR-E443 some years ago, and I would rate the CT-S500 above the Yamaha E-series for sounds. The styles not so much. If I need a small battery powered external speaker, I play through a Bose Soundlink Color II.

     

    Hope this helps -- pj

     

    • Like 2

    Yamaha P-225 - Anyone buy/play one yet?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    On 2/8/2024 at 3:47 PM, CHarrell said:

    @pjd wrote up a really good review that my fingers agreed with last year when I tried it myself. The keybed was surprisingly "springy", at my local GC the 125 and 225 were right on top of each other so I got to immediately A/B them and found myself preferring the 125.

     

    Thanks for mentioning that! The link is: https://sandsoftwaresound.net/yamaha-p-225-review-its-not-for-me/

     

    I was searching for a piano to have and play at home (i.e., furniture OK). I eventually bought a Yamaha CSP-170 on close-out and I'm pretty happy with it. It's kinda like a furniture P-515 (NWX) with a better sound system. There are still close-out CSPs around -- Yamaha got caught with extra inventory when the world economy tanked.

     

    All the best -- pj

     

    • Like 1

    Hammond M-Solo

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Just when I thought it was safe, there's the video from Ujiie-san! 🤩 Nice to see he has the same piles of pens and litter in his studio...

     

    I agree, if the street price was lower, they would reel me in.

     

    -- pj

     

    No more Drummers! Time for a reliable one

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Just a thought...

     

    You mentioned that a Yamaha PSR-SX900 arranger is available? My suggestion is to use it as a live drum machine.

     

    One thing folks miss is that you don't have to use every part (track) in a style. Turn off the tracks you don't want. It's super easy to get rhythm only -- press the ACMP button (turning it off) and all that's left is the rhythm. Then press the ABCD buttons to change pattern within the style or to trigger auto-fill. Some of the PSRs support a foot pedal for pattern (ABCD) changes during performance.

     

    I do this when I want to knock off a quick demo and play all of the non-rhythm parts myself.

     

    Since the PSR is around, why not give it a try and save money...

     

    Hope this helps -- pj

     

    • Like 1
    • Cool 1

    Crumar D9X Midi Drawbar Controller kit

    in The Keyboard Corner

    seqtrak

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    6 hours ago, GovernorSilver said:

     

    I'd be interested in your thoughts on this compared to Yamaha's QY-70/QY-100.  I've seen some nostalgia expressed for the QYs, but since I never had one myself, I haven't had the chance to experience what was so great about them - besides the QYs having screens.

     

     

    Quote

    t’s £399 in the UK, what would you consider the competition for this?

     

    Your wish is my command: 😃

     

    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/yamaha-seqtrak-quick-reaction/

    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/namm-2024-yamaha-seqtrak-ideastation/

     

    I quickly browsed through the SEQTRAK voice and effects list. If someone owns/plays and programs a Montage or MODX, the voices and effects look very familiar.

     

    No AN-X? Not much new ground broken, here. Kind of blah. The workflow had better be outstanding or sales are going to be slack. My old AN-200 has AN and AWM, for pity's sake and it's how old?

     

    -- pj

     

    • Like 2

    Why do acoustic snares always sound like sh*t on Yamaha arranger keyboards?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    The style developer chooses the drum kit and digital effects to be put on the drums and other instruments. Sometimes the style developer tweaks individual drum sounds like the snare or kick. The Genos (and PSR) ethos is to "sound like the record" out of the box.

     

    The "ActionAnthem" style uses the AnalogT8Kit and the new Ambient drums RockKit. The channels are run through the Uni Comp compressor effect and the Ambi kit probably has some level of ambience dialed in.

     

    The "OrchRockBallad1" style uses the new OrchTimpani voice and the new Ambient drum DirtyKit. The DirtyKit is going through the newly added multi-band compressor effect.

     

    There's lots of sound shaping tools available. I'll grant ya, the Ambi RockKit is largely the old Revo kit with new ambient samples added.

     

    Hope this info helps -- pj

     

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
    • Love 1

    Yamaha P 515/ blowout prices / Yay or Nay?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I meant to reply earlier -- Oh, well. I spent most of the Fall trying different digital pianos and blogged my opinions. I liked the P-515 and its NWX action:

     

    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/yamaha-p-515-i-played-one/

     

    I played it several times and liked it every time. When the P-525 came out, I made a comparison:

     

    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/yamaha-p-525-digital-piano-announced/

     

    Still haven't found a P-525 to try. Since I was buying for home, I eventually settled on a CSP-170 Smart Piano (NWX). Gonna be delivered today! 🤪

     

    Yamaha is blowing out the CSP-150 and CSP-170, too. My biggest beef with the P-515 is the lack of secondary voices. I have an MOX and Genos -- come on, Yamaha, stop being so stingy! The CSPs have a lot of good secondary voices. The same voices are available in the P-S500 -- about the same size, weight and price as P-515, but has GHS action.

     

    Can't go wrong with any of these instruments -- pj

     

     

     

    • Like 1

    Yamaha to launch new GENOS 2 today

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Hi --

    I've written a mess o' articles about MODX and Genos/PSR rotary sim, etc.

     

    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/modx-drawbar-control-part-1/
    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/modx-drawbar-waveforms-part-2/
    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/modx-drawbar-overdrive-part-3/
    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/modx-overdrive-slight-return-part-4/
    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/modx-rotary-speaker-part-5/
    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/yamaha-modx-gospel-organ/
    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/critique-genos-drawbar-organ/

     

    I also play Reface YC. I don't believe Yamaha did anything really special with Reface YC. I can recreate Reface YC on MODX; Genos not so much.

     

    It is possible to put overdrive in front of rotary sim on Genos and other mid- to high-end Yamaha arranger keyboards. It takes a little effort to work around the "Organ Flutes" routing and the effect order may not be "correct", i.e., overdrive after rotation.

     

    Like others, I'm tired of Yamaha botching this up. Leaving the VCM rotary sim out of a $5,700 premium keyboard is a SIN and killed the Genos2 value proposition for me.

     

    I'm looking to ditch Reface YC in favor of Hammond M-Solo. At 72, I might die before Yamaha gets this right. Yeah, I'm that PO'ed.

     

    Good on ya 🙃 -- pj

    • Like 2

    A question for the more experienced MODX users.

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Late to the Live Set party, but here is a picture of the first page in my church Live Set.

     

    Why all the "PJ"? I create and edit almost everything. At the very least, I dial down the reverb. Our church has enough natural reverberation and I don't need to muddy things up. So, in order to track all of my own Performances, I tag the name with "PJ".

     

    My church Live Set goes to three pages roughly in the order of necessity and frequency of use. Page one gets a lot of action.

     

    Hope this helps -- pj

     

     

    Church_Live_Set_1.jpg

    • Like 1

    Yamaha to launch new GENOS 2 today

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    BTW, arrangers are quite common as so-called professional instruments in many parts of the world.

     

    It ain't no accident that a large number of styles are "schlager". I remember getting blissfully drunk outdoors in Erlangen watching and listening to schlager. 🙂 In South Africa, I watched a street kid rock the s--t out of a beat-up old arranger. It's a privilege to have what I have...

     

    Peace -- pj

     

    North America is an arranger desert.

     

    Yamaha to launch new GENOS 2 today

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    4 hours ago, AnotherScott said:

     

    For Genos 2 vs. Montage M hardware, maybe PJD will chime in, he always seems to have interesting info about the guts of these things. 

     

    But also, arrangers are not always pricier. While Yamaha and Korg's most expensive portable keyboards are arrangers, as it happens also some of their least expensive keyboards are likewise arrangers! So while Genos pricing may top Montage, and Pa5X tops Nautilus, at the other end of the spectrum, Yamaha has numerous PSR arrangers that are cheaper than their MX, and Korg's EK50 and i3 are cheaper than Kross.

     

    Thanks for saying nice things about the blog, Scott.

     

    The compute and tone generation core is very similar between the mid-/upper-end synths and arrangers. Differences are largely due to display(s), choice of keybed, front panel gizmos (plus gizmo scanning), digital audio handling and amplification system.

     

    Parts is parts, but a large part of the base cost is software and content (digital assets). Without tipping my hand about night-time activities, you would be shocked at the sheer number of digital assets in one of these products. (Same can be said for video games). That's why Yamaha and other manufacturers reuse waveforms like crazy across product lines. The synths and arrangers are voiced differently by the sound designers. More cost.

     

    Styles are not that easy to develop. [I've tried my hand at this.] The MAINs and FILLs need to be versatile. The musically complicated INTROs and ENDINGs need to strongly suggest popular songs without stepping on copyright. Some folks here know this problem -- The director/producer throws you a temp track and says "I want it to sound like this." Good luck avoiding infringement. 🙂

     

    The arrangers and synths have separate, unique code bases due to their unique functionality/UI. The synthesis software layers are definitely different, too.

     

    In Genos, Yamaha created a product with the expectation that it will lead all other product lines. Part of the Genos selling price is the non-recurring expense of producing the next Genos. Thus, Genos funds a lot of advanced development (and research) in the Yamaha Digital Musical Instrument division.

     

    Yikes, this response has gotten way too long -- pj

     

    Music technology blog: sandsoftwaresound.net

     

    • Like 1
    • Cool 1

    Yamaha to launch new GENOS 2 today

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    22 hours ago, GovernorSilver said:

     

    Thanks, pj.

     

    Now I have something legit to GAS for after I have fully mastered the use of my PSR-SX600, to where I can just raise an eyebrow and it magically cooks up the perfect accompaniment in response to my psychic waves.   Just like the master monks in the 36th room of the 36 Levels of Shaolin.

     

    I know exactly what you mean by Schlager styles.   Le fromage, el queso, however you want to name it, is strong with those.  Uh oh, there's a Schlager style demo at 42 min!

     

    The British guy who took over demoing the Genos 2 at around 30 min. has similar tastes to mine, lol.

     

    Ay, guv, thanks for reading the blog!

     

    Last week, I walked through the arranger Data Lists across the whole arranger line. That SX600 is no slouch. 

     

    Thanks for loading up the DJX-II style pack, too! I have some additional styles which I really should distribute. I'm tempted to run them through the new MIDI file to style conversion app just to see what's up. Would take additional time and effort, tho'.

     

    All the best, peace -- pj

     

    Music technology blog: sandsoftwaresound.net

     

    • Cool 1

    Yamaha to launch new GENOS 2 today

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I did my usual post-announcement summary here:

     

    https://sandsoftwaresound.net/genos-2-is-here/

     

    $6,599 USD (MSRP), $5,700 (MAP)

     

    It's a nice bump to the generation 1 Genos. FM synthesis. CFX is upgraded and Genos2 got a few of the character pianos, Steinberg REVelation reverb. 

     

    Yamaha stopped short of cannibalizing other product lines. No new rotary speaker sim, no Bösendorfer, no VRM. Maybe that REVelation reverb might get ported to Montage M? It's probably space hungry (for impulse response data), so I hope the Montage M platform can handle it.

     

    All the best -- pj

     

    • Like 1
    • Cool 1

    Yamaha CK61 and CK88

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Hi Paul --

     

    Thanks for making the comparison. I would never dare to be so bold... 🙂

     

    The "closed system" nature of the CK and Stage CP/YC makes it difficult to compare EP waveforms and programming. With Montage/MODX and Montage M, we have the waveform lists and we can menu dive into the Performances.

     

    Montage/MODX have the following EPs: 

        Voice      Vel levels
    ---------- ----------
    EP1            3       Soft/Med/Hard
    EP2            2       Soft/Hard
    EP3            2       Soft/Hard
    EP4            5       p/mp/mf/f/ff
    Rd Soft        5       p/mp/mf/f/ff
    Rd Hard        4       mp/mf/f/ff
    Rd73           5       p/mp/mf/f/ff
    Rd78           5       p/mp/mf/f/ff
    Wr1            3       Soft/Med/Hard
    Wr2            4       p/mf/f/ff
    Wr3            5       p/mp/mf/f/ff


    Montage M has: 

        Voice      Vel levels
    ---------- ----------
    67Rd           9    
    73Rd Studio    8    
    74Rd Stage     10    
    78Rd Studio    10    
    Wr Warm        12    
    Wr Wide        10    

    Maybe Montage M got the newer EPs added to the Stage YC/CP? Maybe CK got recycled EPs from Montage/MODX? If so, then there would be some qualitative differences.

     

    Just speculatin' -- pj
     

    • Like 3

    Rumors: Yamaha Montage successor

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    The optical shutter sensing system is used in the older AvantGrand and SilentPiano instruments. The "Non-contact continuous detection electromagnetic induction sensor" is the latest Yamaha tech and will be delivered in the newer AvantGrand and SilentPiano models. GEX is derived from the EM induction sensor approach.

     

    I'm still searching for information, but a recent Yamaha patent describes such a key articulation system. The key side has one or two coils of wire. The substrate (PCB) side has similar opposing coils. The circuitry senses flux direction, etc. on a key-by-key basis.

     

    Yamaha's latest patent is interesting because they want to measure "yaw" and "roll", not just vertical "strike" distance. Couple this with their recent key/note articulation patents and you've got an "MPE" keyboard!

     

    Quite possibly, they were not able to finish the design and set up the manufacturing for these advanced designs. Thus, the m6 and m7 got FSX (for now). The Montage M team were probably ordered to "deliver or die in October 2023" by the suits.

     

    That's my freshest take -- pj

     

    More background: https://sandsoftwaresound.net/montage-m8x-key-notes/

     

    • Like 1
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