Stokely

Hmm, have no idea. I haven't fired up my ipad in quite a while, I'd hope at the very least the app would still work even if they aren't selling it anymore!

Love B-3X, used the IOS version live for about a year with my Modx. I especially like the amp/cab options with the leslies that can blend with the guitar ones. I haven't been using it lately as my newer keyboards are "good enough" with organ to not want to hook up an ipad, and at home I'm still using Logic's organ on my mac. I suppose I could rig up the ipad to play as an external midi device, though honestly Logic's organ sounds quite good to me so again I haven't bothered for the small amount I use organ at home.

Music has to some degree moved on from the instruments sold in Sam Ash. I use software synths exclusively at home (other than a keyboard to control them). On a positive note though--after seeing the band programs in both my sons' middle and high schools, music is still kicking. I was absolutely shocked by the size and the ability of those bands full of kids many of which had never played an instrument before taking Band. It was a near miracle to me what they could pull off. And as an aside, band director has gotta be both one of the hardest and most fulfilling jobs there is. It's not just music stores in any case. Circuit City, probably Best Buy soon, places like Bed Bath and Beyond and so on...online stores have done a number on them. My first thought when I need a pair of shoes is not to drive to a mall or store...if anything, shoe salespeople are just annoying The way people "drive" glued to their phones I'm happy to mostly stay (and work) at home and shop from there.

I guess you could get into a chicken-or-egg discussion on the subject, but my local Sam Ash(es): - never consistently had much in the way of selection - never consistently had power connections hooked up - never consistently had audio hooked up, and if they did it was to some small mono speaker. The last one I will wave away because I would bring my good headphones in to audition keyboards anyway. As it was often on lunch break, another challenge was that guy over there sitting at a stage piano playing for literally my entire lunch hour at volume 11. Often it was hard to get anyone's attention, and IMO some of the people they had seemed "less than interested" in helping you (if say you requested the damn power to be hooked up). I do hate to see the stores go away as it was exciting to go through the various depts, but end of the day when it comes to keyboards my local stores were not really giving much value (offerings, or prices). I'm going to call them tomorrow about my order. I have a general concern that worrying about seeing my order through will be the last thing on the minds of everyone there--they are probably hurriedly doing a lot of job hunting about now. Just not a warm fuzzy feeling that this will end well. It's pretty ridiculous that my order is "processing" for this long without a shipping number being generated (same with GovernorSilver's order)

Something else that I just noticed when I refreshed my orders page: ALL SALES FINAL FOR PURCHASES MADE AFTER MAY 1ST 2024 As of 5/2. They do say that doesn't count for damaged items. But do NOT order if you think you might not like something and will just return it. Those days are done.

Well first concern (that seems unfounded....) is that they are just up and going bankrupt immediately. One would like to think that when your "store closing" message mentions sales online that you will be a legit business selling and supporting those sales for at least a while. Being a paranoid skeptic as I am though... If only Sweetwater had had the Fantom 6 in stock. I'd gladly pay a couple hundred more for peace of mind about now (and that couple hundred includes a nice warranty).

Wow I'm in the same boat, called them this morning and they told me it was moving through the warehouse or something like that. I purchased 3 days ago. On the website it just says "processing". My situation may be tougher because I used paypal balance for part of it (gig money for a long while was paid to me via paypal!). I also hope it won't come to a struggle to get my money back. Any concerns about receiving your keyboard knowing the stores (and likely the online shop) will be gone soon?

I'm giving it some thought. Not even sure I can cancel my order. Knowing they haven't just declared bankruptcy and made off with my money is good....but I'm still feeling a bit shaky right now. The first way it impacts me is if I could return locally if I had issues within the first 45 days (as you can with Guitar Center). After that, since I didn't buy their extended warranty I'd be on my own anyway except for any limited warranty from Roland. Any thoughts on this and what you all might do?

Uh....I just ordered something from them online. Cancelling now.

Euphoria Morning is pretty different from both those bands, especially Audioslave which is pretty straightforward (I happen to love both of those). Much more acoustic-oriented and a fair amount of keys on the tracks as you can hear in that track. The most well-known songs were "Sunshower" (featured in a movie's credits, forget the name) and "Can't Change Me". I love his songwriting. "She's going to change the world But she can't change me"

If you like that style of "that chord shouldn't really go there...should it?" pop/rock writing, check out Chris Cornell's Euphoria Morning album. It's a "Desert Island" record for me, one of my very favorites. Not everyone's cup of tea, but there's a lot of variation on it. I started learning this song but rapidly hit my "too many chords in one song to remember" threshold. Only half-joking.

Having played with a lot of "ok" bassists in my non-pro music endeavors, when I finally got to play with a really good one it was quite an experience. Not because the dude was flinging out solos like Billy Sheehan--he could lay down a simple eighth-note pulse and it just made you move. Ironically, it also made me play less because the song sounded so good with just bass and drums, I felt I could simply try to add on to the goodness here or there. But yeah I get both the keys thing and the cat thing. Specifically, keeping my cats off my keyboards is quite the job. The only comments I've gotten in the 12 years I've been gigging with my band have been about my Spider Pro stand. Our singer said one day "is that a new keyboard?" Yeah, a year ago when I first started playing gigs with it, it was! Meanwhile our guitarist seems like he brings a new guitar out every week and everyone under the sun is oohing and ahhing over it. I'm not jealous! My comment, said quietly: "great guitar, let's hope this one stays in tune better than last week's...." I'm not bitter either!

I've had that same thought It's actually a bit jarring to see old pics where he isn't wearing the sunglasses! Maybe it's just me but any time I got tempted to toss some beard dye into mine (when I have one), I always regret it. That stuff itches and burns like a mofo for a week, maybe it's just me! Kinda fitting song title, really nice synth tones in this song.

Yeah depends on each board. I haven't tried it out yet, as recently I've been using just the Nord stage 3 at gigs, but iirc the NS3 can send out program changes per-patch. Meaning, if I pull up the "Main Piano" patch on the NS3 I can associate a midi program change with it. The trick may be that you probably need more than just a program change--these are 0-127 (or 1-128 depending), so with keyboards with more patches than that you need to first send bank information....so essentially two messages. How you do all that would be up to the sending keyboard. Of course you'll need to identify what numbers to send to reach your desired patch on the receiving one. It's certainly something I intend doing when I add a 2nd keyboard soon. I've only ever changed patches manually live, which is pretty crazy when I think about it! I used to teach midi labs and have worked with midi a lot, so it was more out of laziness and "eh, this works!" than anything else that I didn't try it before. Of course you can use something external to do it, like that Behringer foot pedal or a tablet running an app. I tested Midiflow on my ipad connected via a usb hub to two keyboards, and it could send program changes and a lot more. I'd prefer to keep it keyboard to keyboard though. If your goal is program changes only, you might have the issue of triggering the other keyboard's notes when you don't want to! Personally I don't intend to do that with my two, I just want one of them (NS3) to change the patches of the other and then they stand alone.

Yeah that hurts. ELO was one of the first bands I really got into as a young teen, and to this day still love their tunes. That stretch in the mid to late 70s was amazing, so many great tunes. And it's a bit later, and stands apart from those in instrumentation (way more synth, less orchestra) but Time became a special album to me. I always liked how his keyboard parts fit the song so well. Even the more complex playing, it was all so "hummable" if that make sense! (Tony Banks is similar in that regard to me.) Though you ride on the wheels of tomorrow You still wander the fields of your sorrow Tomorrow, 21st-century man

Jumped the gun--I was trying to wait on sales of at least two keyboards to make another purchase--it's Sam Ash's fault. Got a Fantom 6. They recently discounted the non-EX ones by $400, then I got a Sam Ash emailed coupon for 15% off anything. O rly, I know that "anything" usually means lots of exclusions. Welp, it worked, so I got it. Brand new Fantom 6 for just over $2200 before tax. I considered the 7, but it is 37 pounds. Plus I have a really excellent gator hardshell flight case that will perfectly fit the Fantom 6. It's still "processing" so there's a paranoid part of my brain that thinks they might come back and say that coupon wasn't supposed to apply LOL! This plus the used Nord Stage 3 compact I have been using--which I love--will cover any and all bases I have and then some. Either keyboard can do my gigs, and both together should be fun. Sure, I'm missing a weighted board but that's never really been a huge deal for me. Assuming I like the thing, I really do feel "done" in a way I haven't previously. Of course, many of us have said that before and found it not to be the case!

Well, due to the discounts on the non-EX model I pulled the trigger on the 6. I wouldn't have except Sam Ash sent me a "last day for your VIP coupon" for 15% off that stacked. So brand new (it better be in the box and not an on-floor model) Fantom 6 for just over 2200 plus tax. That's less than most if not all the current used offerings (though I have seen those as low as 1999 on GC, they don't last long). Assuming I like it as much as I think I will, for maybe the first time ever my rig feels "done". I have two keyboards that really can cover any ground for me in a pinch, or play a gig alone for those quick setup/short gigs. The wife said "fine" when I explained I hadn't yet sold a few keyboards to make room/fund this purchase. Got work to do in that regard, and I'm not looking forward to it with great anticipation (the whole selling ordeal...) I may opt for the EX upgrade down the road, I may not.

I have both of those adapters and use them every gig I bring my Omega pro out. Yes you will need both as far as I can tell. I leave the 18814 attached to the stand, while the boom and the 18817 get taken off for transport. Also I highly recommend quick mic connectors--I use K&Ms, but I'd think any others would work too. Instead of having to screw the boom on and off, you just press the switch and it pops right in/out. One side stays connected to the boom, the other to the 18817 (or anything else that it can go on, I use it with another stand.) The only downside to these is that it makes my boom and a platform I use (with a double mic thread bar) set up a bit higher than I'd like above my single keyboard since they are about 3 inches tall.

Not sure what you are paying but guitar center has a number of used Montages, and you get the 45 day return window. That said, used is indeed more of a risk, I've had a couple keyboards (both Kurzweils) have issues pop up after that window. They have a couple white ones too, which IMO are super sharp looking Montage 7 is 37 lbs btw, which is getting up there a bit!

I own one. It's got a very short throw as Scott says and it's an extremely "light" action--meaning you barely touch a key and it goes down. I changed the velocity curve right away but it still took me a while to be able to play piano on it--and even then not all that well. On the other hand it actually works pretty well for organ, for a non-waterfall board. I haven't tried the PSR keyboards. It feels better than the ultra cheap midi controllers I've tried. I like it better than the Fantom 07 I tried, though at first I was the other way around until I spent more time with the Fantom-0. AnotherScott had it right IMO with that keybed--too springy even though it feels a bit more premium at "first touch". All this stuff is so subjective! I've done many gigs with mine. Right now its a backup to my Nord stage 3 compact. I supplemented mine with a b3 organ app, that to me is the biggest sonic shortcoming. I don't think the action ever held me back at all, though as I say it takes a new approach to play piano on it. I tended to play too fast and a bit sloppy on that action.

JD-800 is "in" the Fantom, no idea how close it is to the original I was sort of out of the keyboard thing for a long while, skipped that whole generation or three. I have to say the brief time I spent with the Yamaha M8X left me with the impression that it may be the best weighted action I've ever tried. Too short a trial period to really say that however. Too bad that thing is the size and weight of a small Buick. I still hold my old Virus kb up as my favorite synth action. Fatar tp-9 I guess so not unique but perhaps it was also in the patch design. It was so easy to control the sounds with velocity and aftertouch on that keyboard. I regret selling it to this day. I also remember the Korg M3 action as being great.

The Penix thing doesn't make much sense to me. I obviously do not run an NFL team, those people are paid to. Penix is older, 24--they've signed Cousins for big money for 3 years iirc. If that was JJ McCarthy at 21, it would make more sense as presumably JJ would be 24 when you are ready to let Cousins go. Quarterbacks are always a crapshoot. That's the first one "my" Vikings have drafted in the top 10 of a draft ever I think they said. Fran Tarkington (perhaps the only franchise true quarterback they've ever had) was 3rd round. I don't pay much attention or worry about grading drafts etc. You won't know how good they were for years. My days of being a fan(atic) who lives and dies on what my team does are long past. I just assume they'll never win the big one so if they do it'll be a pleasant bonus

It's funny I was thinking along those lines earlier today. I used to own a JX10 and there is a nostalgia factor....what's nuts that I (with parents' help to be sure) paid close to the same amount as the Fantom 6 for that Jx10 + pg800 programmer way back in the mid 80s. This has that keyboard in it (or close) plus so, so much more. I thought this was a pretty cool vid about the Fantom but for anyone interested in vintage Rolands. Sounds great to me.

Eh, I thought my synth sounded good through it. That said, it's the only amp I've ever used at a gig other than occasional house amps of various sorts so I'm hardly a good judge of amps. The last gig where I needed an amp or a powered speaker as an amp was at least 5 years ago. Gigs where I can't use the in-ears I just depend on a wedge mix for keys and everything else. I do bring the powered speaker to those just in case the wedge isn't enough, but so far it has been and the speaker can stay in the car. Interesting how there are many ways to get the job done

Speaking of big ol heavy amps, I somewhat fondly remember my Peavey KB 300 I had in the late 80s. I like to say I could drop farm animals at 50 paces with that thing. Not sure how it would sound with a decent piano--that's the instrument that makes cheap speakers and amps sound bad IMO--since the only one I had was the one in the Emu Proteus. Like a fool I used to tote that around with no casters, young and dumb then and old and slightly-less-dumb now. One thing is for sure, I stay away from loud practice rooms and stages now, wish I had then....