slowtraveler

According to product info on the Kurz web site, the SP6 uses a Medeli K6 action. I don't know how it compares with Fatar's TP/100, which would have been obvious choice for a lightweight 88 (and which Kurz has used in the Artis SE and other SP-series boards).

... Peter is also getting ready to release a new course designed for intermediate players, which I am eager to check out. Bumpity to let anyone who's interested know that I received an email today announcing the availability of Peter's online course for intermediate players. Here's the link: https://www.openstudionetwork.com/ejp-landing-20/

Based on previous discussions I've seen on KC and elsewhere, I think it would be pretty widely agreed that trigger delay or latency in the range Jazz+ is claiming is quite perceptible. Besides that, comparing different patches on the same instrument, with the same signal path, would give you a good chance to notice different amounts of trigger delay, even if your estimate of the absolute values was somewhat off.

They've been shipping the "Lite" version for six months or more. Now there's an announcement about it? To me this reads like an attempt to counteract the perception that the v5 sounds different from (and perhaps quite not as good as) the original. Not sure this is a good idea. As soon as you claim that "the sound and performance is identical," you acknowledge the possibility that somebody might claim otherwise. OTOH, maybe there's enough confusion out there over the design changes that Aspen felt he needed to stake out an official position.

Where does this step occur with the SS3? If I understand correctly, R-L is what comes out the "back" of the SS3's open side speaker, which is to say it's simply the 180-degrees-out-of-phase inverse of the L-R signal emitted from the front of that speaker.

Did Thomann provide information based on unit serial numbers, or on the dates they received shipments? Based on Aspen's previous posts regarding production runs and serial numbers, I'd suspect that SpaceStation units with serial numbers ending in "0816" (assuming any such units exist) could actually be from production run #9, which Aspen described as the first run to incorporate the "v5" changes. Unless he's made public statements elsewhere about the relevant dates and serial number ranges, weight may be the only reliable way (other than internal inspection) to characterize SS units produced during 2016.

In a post on 12/22/16, Aspen said that production run #9 of the SS3 was the first to incorporate the new digital switching power supply and plywood cabinet construction that characterize what we now call v.5. I don't think he mentioned the exact dates of production run #9, but his last post on KC (dated 2/3/17) offered this guidance regarding dates and serial numbers: The last 4 digits of the serial number tell you the month and year of it's production; so Run #10 made in October of last year will read '1016'.

Like you, I'd describe myself as an intermediate player. I dipped into Peter's Beginning Jazz Piano course for a few weeks (you can subscribe on a month-to-month basis), and found that it offered some very good advice on practicing, breaking down tunes, learning solos, etc. Peter emphasizes paying attention to groove and time feel, rather than trying to play lots of notes. The music theory and jazz vocabulary aspects of the course are very basic, however, so I definitely wouldn't have wanted to sign up for longer than a month or two. PM me if you want more info. Peter is also getting ready to release a new course designed for intermediate players, which I am eager to check out.

Peter Martin has a couple of online jazz piano courses available at: https://www.openstudionetwork.com I think the quality of his instruction is quite good. To get a feel for Peter's teaching style, you can check out a number of bite-sized instructional videos he makes available for free on YT. Search for "Peter Martin 2 Minute Jazz."

I found a *very* elementary user guide here: https://www.acousticsamples.net/index.php?route=product/productmanual&product_id=84 B.

This (or something like it). It's kind of a tough design problem if you need to place a weighted-action 88 at the ergonomically correct height for piano playing, since that conflicts with proper typing position. If you are talking about using a smaller, synth-action controller to interact with a DAW, maybe proper playing height is not such a big consideration, and you could keep a slide-out drawer for the QWERTY below the desk surface, at proper typing height.

Wait, what?

The OP of that thread vociferously argued the former, but IIRC no one else who posted had ever experienced that particular fault. K&M were to examine the actual stand in question to determine the cause of the failure, but we did not hear the result of their investigation. In my opinion, based on the information published in the thread, K&M were quite cooperative in attempting to address the OP's concerns, and proposed a resolution that exceeded their warranty obligations.

I'm afraid it was. dB zotzed that whole thread because of its intemperate overall tone and toxic level of snark. Tread lightly, who revisits this particular topic.

That Mono case didn't fit my board (Nord E4D) too well, so I returned it and got one of the new Gator Pro-Go keyboard bags instead. The 49-key version (G-PG-49) fits the Nord 4D very nicely--a bit snug lengthwise, but the interior is super-plush so it's easy to get in and out. It has removable backpack straps; commodious exterior pocket; rigid sides; and an extra handle on one end. Very nice bag. I believe the 61-key version of this product would fit the OP's Kurz.

By coincidence I just ordered one of these: http://monocreators.com/vertigo-keyboard-61/ Happy to give it a preliminary review when it shows up early next week. Edit: Oops, it's too small for the Kurz.

It's exactly that simple. The only squirrelly part is the extra expense and effort required to make sure the artists are comfortable with the look, sound, and feel onstage.

Yup. The virtues of simplicity and self-reliance do not apply to arena-scale touring production. It's a whole different animal. If they are adhering to David Rosenthal's design philosophy, they'll be keeping redundant, identical backup rigs for each player. I bet they will have ditched the original hardware rigs by now, though. I'd like to see Keyboard do an update to that piece. It was early days for that upgrade when they did the original story. There were a few things in that story that made me shake my head, though. The idea of touring with a 620-lb keyboard controller, and fixing its strings twice a week when the thing isn't even mic'd as a backup--wow. I realize it's an artist comfort thing, or maybe a stage presentation thing, but still.

Reading between the lines of the diplomatic statements made by David Rosenthal and the keyboard techs, I had the impression that touring with the old rig running as a backup was a diktat laid down by the artists, or was deemed necessary as a provisional measure because of the last-minute nature of the upgrade project.

Hello all, I'm a long-time lurker and occasional contributor on the PianoWorld forums, who has recently discovered KC. I am now regularly following both. I live on the north side of Chicago. I'm a semi-retired management consultant whose professional background includes managing TV post houses and production companies. I'm also a largely self-taught hobby-level jazz player with a decent knowledge of music theory and recording technology. I just recently sold the Roland HP-207 that has been my main squeeze for the last few years, and I'm now shopping for a slab piano to serve as a practice instrument and software piano controller. Thanks and kind regards to all the regular KC contributors from whom I've been gleaning lots of great knowledge over the past few weeks. Ben Webber