Stokely

Do you mean you set them to transparency, and it knocks down some of the volume even still? So you don't have any signal running through the airpods? (I generally use noise-cancelling mode when doing things like the dishes while I listen to my book, but holy hell does the wife get annoyed when she asks a question that I can't hear!) As an aside, I just got mine run through the wash when I left them in a pocket. They were making high-pitched squeals at first, I figured "that's it", but as they dried out they went back to normal. if you get them wet, advice I read online was to let them dry out before trying to charge them, which makes sense. I just had a band practice where I had my normal stereo in-ears, man it was great to actually hear everything

Argh, well at least you are (like me) able to reset. I felt a bit relieved actually even though I missed out on a great deal. I'd say that when you sell things online as new, then it comes out that you don't have the stock--which is the same thing that happened to me--it says a lot about how organized you are as a business. As in, not very. Contrast with Sweetwater and how they sold me my guitar--I got to pick the actual guitar, see the weight and so on. If I lived near SW I'd be in serious trouble financially....

Ironically, when I demoed The Legend years ago I took some of my favorite patches on it and removed the reverb. What a massive difference. It wasn't that the patches were "bad" without it, it's that they were completely different....in other words--and not a knock on them--Synapse employs some really nice-sounding fx heavily in their patch design. Same for Dune 3 (same company). Sounded amazing, but very wet patches. With that synth I am a bit leery of one-finger and layered patches that do everything and Dune 3 had a lot of those (though surely it could be used in a simpler fashion as well.) I find that (usually) u-he patches tend to be drier, though that depends on both the plugin and which developer made them. I did a bit of an experiment with the "lowly" Logic Retro Synth by trying to emulate a favorite u-he Repro 5 patch. I had to add plugins to match the ones in Repro before I could get close (maximizer/exciter, chorus, delay, reverb). The end result sure didn't sound that much like the original Retro Synth patch!

I've been known to have the larger of two keyboards on top. Heretical! Looks kinda cool in my opinion. The Modx7 has one pretty cool advantage if you use an ipad at all--a nice empty spot on the right side. I velcroed my ipad down, velcro over gaffer's tape which I found worked great for not leaving much of a residue (I just removed it yesterday as I'm prepping to potentially sell mine.) Just a side note on splits--If you happen to transpose as I do (we tune down one half step), keep in mind that the Modx split points will move if you transpose using the buttons on the left (shift plus the octave buttons will do it by semitones).

Again, if you want a bunch of songs written with unusually put-together chords, listen to that Euphoria Morning album I mentioned It's Chris Cornell's thing. What makes it brilliant to me is the melodies over top (and some nice lyric writing as well... "using stars to light your candles" in this tune for example.)

That is EXACTLY how I'm looking at it My rep emailed me back and said we can do "something", and to call him in response to my "can we make a deal on the EX" email. I'm not expecting a huge break on (technically) a new model. Nothing close to the deal I had of course, though it would be the EX and the SW warranty as value added. I'm afraid to call him as I know it'll be more than I want to spend until I make those sales! I did just sell my Lester K through Gear Exchange and so far so good on the experience. That was my "test the waters" listing before putting keyboards up there. Saves 7% if I get paid in SW gift card balance, so that's also a bit of an incentive to buy from them.

Blargh, no new Fantom for me yet. Sam Ash (they of the closing stores) refunded my order after they called and said they only had "not great condition" floor models on hand. Might end up with the EX after all down the road. Not worried at all about polyphony for my needs. Live only, and no sequencing (for now at least) and I don't tend to do lots of layering of patches.

My Sam Ash "saga" is over, or will be very soon. They ended up cancelling my order, and will refund me (that's when it definitely will be over). Reason is, the store that supposedly had it in stock brand new didn't. The one they did have was missing two knobs and according to the guy who called me "wasn't in great shape." Which is another reason these stores are dying--their stock gets beat to hell by the apes we call "the public". I've seen so many knobs missing on keyboards. New in the box, ok, but I'd never want a floor model unless it was a big discount. I kinda feel relieved even though I'd have to pay more (by a couple hundred) for any other new Fantom out there currently. I just sold something on Sweetwater's gear exchange and opted for the gift card (to save 7%) so I'll likely be getting the Fantom EX down the road, ideally with at least a bit of a discount from my intrepid rep.

Arrrrggghhh this drives me nuts. Generally only a problem when we go off script from our set list for that night, whether because our singer "reads the audience" and thinks we should, or a request. Plus we are breaking in a new drummer and a few times we've nixed songs on the list if he feels sketchy on it. I've gotten good at preparing ahead otherwise, with one keyboard it can be a challenge. Patch remain helps a ton, hold that last chord while you scroll scroll scroll. Our set lists differ from gig to gig and I've found it's better to keep my patches where I know they are, vs re-doing them each time. Regardless, what has happened is that suddenly a song like the Motels' Only the Lonely (which I start) is called....I'm not quite ready, so the guitarist just starts it which sounds....weird. I join in quickly but still...

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!