Jaspla

I use these two Apps occasionally on an Android device for 'backing tracks' mostly for practice- jamming, but there are potentials for busking. Drum/percussion performance seems to be a little more realistic in DrumGenius, however Drummer Friend HD, allows you to tap on the screen for fills, intros, and will work with a USB pedal to kick in a slight variation of the track Are any of you aware of other Apps that might have similar, (or even better) features? ....more me, Android is preferable, but if you're aware of Apple apps, would also be good to hear about them

I picked up one of the talentcell '12 volt' battery packs noted in this post. The output is not well regulated, and voltage drops as battery discharges. There are 5 LED lights that indicate battery status. Fully charge, with 5 lights the battery voltage is around 12.2. As the battery discharges, and you get down to 2 lights, the voltage was measured to be 10.4 volts. Could present a problem to keyboards that require a regulated 12+/-V power source. Some keyboards might shut down on low voltage, others, response is not known. The instruction sheet that comes with the battery pack specifically notes output voltage to range from 9 volts to 12 volts

HSS, Touch Sensitivity I suspect its more 'software than a difference in the GHS keybeds, or their 'stetting in' If you haven't explored already, the CK had a lot of touch variation options. First starting with the board global settings: 1) MENU, General, Keyboard, Touch Curve ....sets the baseline keybed velocity. ...then going into the SETTINGS for the particular LiveSet, you can +/- the touch response for each of parts A,B,C. 2) SETTINGS (for a particular Liveset), Sound, Part A, B, or C, Touch Sensitiivity, Depth or Offset ......You and further adjust the touch sensitivity for each LiveSet, and in my case most notably make LeftHand Bass sound velocity response more rapid, while making piano/EP right hand response a little slower, or with 'more bounce' ...then SAVE your selections in both of these cases. 3) ..also, when having you piano Liveset selected, you can use front panel EG control panel Attach and Release controls to apply some effect to keybed performance, however, don't think these settings can be saved...

Yamaha includes on many boards under Guitar/Bass the sound option 'A.Bass=Cym'. I have owned or played P-125, P121 and CK88 they all have this sound option. On my present board (the CK88), which allows for more than one layer, as I configure side-by-side the A.Bass-Cym, along with Acoustic Bass, and turn them on and off individually, the sounds appear to be almost the same, and I can only detect a very soft 'chink, chink' being heard with the Bass-Cymbal option is turned on. ..the result is similar when playing thru on-board speakers, or connecting to a keyboard amp. I've owned Rolands, Privias, Kurzweils and with any of these other boards with their Bass/Cymbal option, you can clearly hear the cymbal ride when selected. Is there a 'secret' to turning up the Cym level for Yamaha boards, and in particular for the CK88 that has some sound editing options ??

Anyone come across a 12v power pack, 2-3 amps+ for use in place of the cabled power adapter (PA-150) that comes with some Yamaha board or Alesis boards? I've run across post below regarding the 'Talentcell' battery pack, seems to hit most of the requirements, except for the company product statement: ... 'Voltage range of the 12V output port is 12.6-9V, suitable for powering most 12 volt devices' ............ Really? I would think keyboards using a 12v power source would want a 12v regulated source - not with voltage ranging 12.6-9V https://pianotone.ca/talentcell-battery-review/ ??

AnotherScott, thank you for the clarifications, relating to CK sample memory. I do enjoy this Yamaha board's keybed/EP/Acoustic interaction, but need to think about that. I currently use a couple of Kurzweil boards that don't have that limitation (PC4/SP6)

Question 1) For the CK88/61, Yamaha’s “social sound-sharing community,” called Soundmondo reportedly allows users to post or download additional sounds that have been posted there. https://soundmondo.yamahasynth.com/ I am considering getting a CK88 and am wondering if anyone has been in that site and checked out any new sound/sample postings for CK series. ---> in particular, has anyone posted any additional Basses (Acoustic, Fretless variations), EPs ?? Question 2) I thought I saw in one of the youtube reviews that the CK on-board sounds could be further edited (i.e.modify a sound envelope - ADSR) ?

Hot glue could be a thought, but I think we need something that is strong and flexible, that will allow the connector to be kept from moving, but is also easily removed or cut if connector needs to come off again for service

Placement and Jar Management. Of course you need to 'entertain them'. Evening off yesterday, went to see a jazz Duo in a nice restaurant that seated some 40+ people....very skilled players. They cooked, played 2 hours...I was sitting very close to them. They might have made $17 - Problem; they're tip jar was very high, on top of a railing near them, where nobody walks by. On the front of the jar a sign' Tip Jar'. You couldn't see the money.....You just saw a sign. Contrast, did a duo with a guitarist Saturday, place only sat around 25. We got little over $200 in 2 hours. Tip jar was right in front of group, right next to the exit- there was a dollar bill taped to the front...for visibility...management.... We joked around....a little jazz, some Xmas stuff, some pop. Hamming it up, entertaining. Couple of weeks ago I did a Thanksgiving Cocktail piano gig Solo. Tip jar on the piano, pretty tall...you can see the money.... Management...as the jar started filling I would occasionally remove a few bills so it didn't look too full...cocktail music, some jazzy, little country, pop, blues, smile to the patrons as they dropped the eagles into the nest. Made over $100 - solo.

I'm a little giddy...picked up a really nice board (name is withheld to protect the 'innocent') - from a reputable shop. LCD screen lit up...nothing else worked...knobs, push buttons, no audio nothing form keys. Since it went thru a boot cycle and did nothing after that...suspected...connector. Shop didn't want to go thru the effort to repair...so they 'cut me a deal'. Cracked it open, most of the connectors seemed properly seated (could also be a bad solder joint). Most had some sort of goop to keep the connectors in place. There were a couple that looked like power leads, with 'wiggly' connectors. Wiggled em, put the hood back down...still no action. Opened it again, pushed on all the connector, moved the wiggly ones again. This time board lites up. Even though, it could still be a bad solder joint or one of the 'gooped' connectors that wasn't seated.....' I now want to apply some removable goop to the 2 connectors that do not have this stuff ....what to techs usually use? RTV.. something better?

They did it !! - Moved the VARIATION button to below the Master Volume slider. I don't know how many times I've inadvertently changed the master volume on a gig with my PC4, while trying to punch in a Variation change....including last Friday's gig. On one gig I accidentally slid the master volume almost completely off when doing this.....thought the board was dying ...by the way, the SP6 already has it's VARIATION button under the master volume (knob)

(1) yes (2) yes... I'd even say better than "all right," it's one of the better piano actions I've played, as non-hammer actions go. Though the resistance does increaese toward the reat of the keys. I would agree with AnotherScott on both items 1) and 2) - well said. I have both the PC4 and PC4-7. I need two boards that can have the same programs. (My last 'pair' were a couple of PX-5s's). I acquired the PC4 first, and found the key action faster, and more to my liking than the PX-5s. The PC4-7 action with semi-weighted keys is even faster, and for use with Acoustic Piano, appears to be best with Heavy(ier) Global velocity and Pressure settings. Being originally an Acoustic/Rhodes player, I'm pretty sure I can work into using the PC4-7 comfortably for most 'compact' gigs - solo cafe, restaurant, jams, etc.

As a predominately 'acoustic/EP' player, I finally found the best Velocity map (Hard2) and Pressure map (Harder) for the PC4-7. The default settings when shipped were not going to cut it. With these settings, I've started to get comfortable playing acoustic/EP sounds where you expect that weighted action. It's certainly not as weighted as a PC4, but is now becoming 'comfortable'. The semi-weighted action is of course lighter and faster, but the large combination of Velocity/pressure settings helps to provide the experience of a more weighted keybed. Below is a fairly lengthy video of a player exploring an SP6-7. It's in italian with subtitles, but quite informative as you can see this gifted player pretty easily trying a wide variety of piano, EP, organ, synth sounds and approaches on the board. The sp6-7 action and sound engine is largely the same with the exception that the PC4-7 also has a varied touch/pressure map settings. They both use the same Medeli keybed.

When you get your PC4 or SP6 (incl pc4-7 or sp6-7) - - first thing: go to Kurzweil.com and download the 'Musician's Guide' PDF for your board - it doesn't ship with the unit and is absolutely needed (it's how you'll find instructions for Global settings noted below) - second thing. As you 'plunk around' on the keys trying to feel out the action. Don't spend much time until you go into the board's Global settings and try the different 'Velocity Map' settings, and on the PC4 also the 'Pressure Map' settings. For the PC4 there are 10 velocity settings and 7 pressure map settings...so using 'Fuzzy math' - somewhere in the area of 70 combinations of key velocity and pressure are available to optimize your 'touch' If you're an 'acoustic' or EP (weighted keys) player, on the pc4-7, you might like one of the 'Hard' Velocity map settings along with a 'Harder' pressure map setting. ...checking these settings is quite important if your trying a board at some shop or studio - you have no idea how the last player left the settings. As far as learning VAST, tutorials, etc. There are some in various areas including youtube, Facebook groups, and the 'Community' links on the Kurzweil web site, etc. Note that for PC4, a percentage of the Forte video tutorials can be useful.

Years ago, was in a small band that had a 3 day/week gig at a decent restaurant. December, wintry. Who wants to lug stuff..... I would leave my amp, mic stand, music stand and a wicker swivel chair there. Drummer, others would take their stuff. One Saturday morning, first news of the day was that the 'Red Feather' had burnt down. Got there within an hour. The place was gone, almost completely. In the remains proudly stood my mic stand. The steel bottom of the wicker chair was there, as well as a partially twisted music stand. In the middle of the pile of rubble and soot were a couple of 12 inch speaker cones, and remnants of an amp chassis. Now for the bad news and the good news. Bad news - restaurant was not insured. Good news - I was over insured...got more gear. Cause. Owner had some holiday lights dangling from the eaves outside. FD figured a short was the cause.