[Intro to "Does anyone body know what time it is"?]

5 hours ago, Old No7 said:

"Does Anybody Really Know What Time Signature It Is"?

 

 

25 or 6 to 4

[The best, most useful and enjoyable keyboard you ever bought?]

Kurzweil PC4 - everything I need for gigging in a single lightweight board.

[PX5s & B4000+, a good combination?]

On 3/10/2022 at 10:36 AM, GotKeys said:

I'll make sure to check this, is there any fix to the problem?

This sounds like the Casio PX-5S problem where a particular key (G#3 in my case) would start to sometimes generate an additional note-on with velocity 127 soon after the initial strike.  There's no fix, but an effective workaround for me (and others in the PX-5S forum) was to set maximum velocity to 126 for that zone in any program where I needed to use that note. This eliminates the additional loud note without affecting the original note. This of course also filters out velocity 127 notes that you generate, but I don't hit the keyboard that hard so it's not a problem in practice.

[iPad Pro - no 'phone jack - how are users coping with that?]

I have the 2017 2nd gen iPad Pro in both 10.5' and 12.9' models, the last ones with headphone jacks (and home button) which I find extremely convenient and useful both on-stage and off. They"re still powerful enough to run all the latest apps with no problems. When I need a replacement I"ll just get the regular iPad with headphone jack.

[Scott's Clonewheel Shootout 2021, part 1]

Tried to post this yesterday:

1) Nice fat extortion, somewhat static fast Leslie: A

2) Balanced tone, but bad fast Leslie: C

3) Good, though on the thin and panny side: B

4) Very harsh mids: D

5) Tea towel city: E

Looking forward to seeing which if any were my most-preferred B-3X and most-convenient PC4 (though I never pull out all stops).

[New feature in Powered Speakers - built-in tablet stand]

Everything should have a built-in tablet stand.

[The http to https thing]

Normally when a site is converted from HTTP to HTTPS it"s set up so that if anyone uses an old HTTP URL, the server automatically redirects the browser to the corresponding HTTPS URL, so old links still work.

[What I Learned Today]

Thanks for the tip about iZotope Vocal Doubler. While downloading it I found they"re also currently giving away Ozone 9 Elements, so I got two useful plugins for the price of none!

[Turning Down an Opportunity]

If it wasn't for bands with too-loud guitars, I wouldn't have no opportunities at all. Musicians' earplugs are what makes the volume tolerable (and safe) for me.

[Roli support]

Wow, that"s a pretty egregious bug for Roli to ignore. I have Equator 2 and ADADR does show up there (above ADS-PR). Unfortunately I guess most of what support resources they have are going towards version 2. It sounds like you"re getting ADS-PR results from both of the 'ADS-PR' menu items, it"s not just that the ADADR option has the wrong label in the menu?

[Controlling B3-X?]

Kurzweil PC4. Created a PC4 multi which maps B-3X default MIDI controls to the PC4"s labelled B3 drawbars and switches, with footswitch mapped to fast/slow. Made sure to assign a KB3 program to get the high trigger point over MIDI.

[Kurzweil PC4]

I thought I read that it was impossible to get the data off that CD-ROM without an SCSI drive and K-series board (neither of which I have) because of its formatting. Is that not true? Could a person get that CD-ROM, open the files on a computer, and convert from there?

Good question - I forget how I got the files onto Windows and no longer have that CD-ROM. Maybe it was formatted as a DOS disk image which my PC was able to read. I've just ordered the related "Vintage Synth" CD-ROM and will let you know if I'm able to load the files in Windows.

I've received the Kurzweil Classic Synth CD-ROM from Alto Music, containing over 2000 emulations of patches from 20 vintage analog and digital synths. I was able to copy the entire CD-ROM contents to my Windows 10 Dell laptop using the program "kcdread.exe" and the driver "FrogASPI.dll" (which needs to be renamed to "WnASPI32.dll" in the same directory). The instructions are here.

I just tested the first sawtooth brass program from the "ob8.krz" file and it sounds fine on my PC4. You can get the "Kurzweil Power Trio" bundle from Alto Music at Reverb for $9.99 (including shipping), which has both the Bass Gallery and Classic Synth CD-ROMs: CLONK

[Kurzweil PC4]

I thought I read that it was impossible to get the data off that CD-ROM without an SCSI drive and K-series board (neither of which I have) because of its formatting. Is that not true? Could a person get that CD-ROM, open the files on a computer, and convert from there?

Good question - I forget how I got the files onto Windows and no longer have that CD-ROM. Maybe it was formatted as a DOS disk image which my PC was able to read. I've just ordered the related "Vintage Synth" CD-ROM and will let you know if I'm able to load the files in Windows.

[Kurzweil PC4]

2.) In general what samples have others been able to load int the PC4, and how did they do it? Use any software? (I'm on a Mac myself)...

4.) Any good bass libraries out there (with non copy protected samples) people have used? Max, did you get any bass samples loaded in your PC4?

2) I've used the Windows program Awave Studio to convert soundfont libraries to .KRZ format to load into my PC4. I think the free demo allows conversion of just the first program in a soundfont.

4) It's no longer state of the art, but I got the Kurzweil Bass Gallery CD-ROM many years ago for my K2500 and now have some of these sounds on my PC4. It has over 600MB of .KRZ samples from 17 electric and acoustic basses and is listed on Reverb for $8.99 with free shipping from Alto Music.

[Soundfont to Kurz PC4, Chicken Systems?]

I haven"t tried Translator, but was able to transfer my favorite soundfonts onto the PC4 using Awave Studio. I think the free trial allows you to convert just the first program in a soundfont.

[Pianoteq Petrof 284 Mistral]

Pianoteq on iPad would be an instant buy for me, just as Hammond B-3X was.

[Time for another pedantic theory question]

I'd say Bbm7(b13) - someone smart enough to read such a chart would realize that the F below/above middle C would be a bit too muddy/discordant.

[What is your maximum weight for a gigging board?]

A 50 lb keyboard feels pretty light if you're taking it to a $500 gig. The same keyboard carried to a Monday night rehearsal is godawful.

I finally found a solution to the Monday night rehearsal shlep: an iPad, a plugKEY, and any old keyboard that's lying around the studio.

[What is your maximum weight for a gigging board?]

I wouldn"t get a gigging keyboard that"s over 30 pounds these days, so the future is plastics. Same limit for powered speakers, unless I"m playing keyboard bass.

[Kurzweil PC4]

The Vintage Keyboard Collection sounds for Forte work great on my PC4 and are a big upgrade from the built-in electric pianos, especially the Wurlis IMO. You can also download the excellent Rhodes Mark II for free.

[RIP Gene Taylor]

RIP. I mainly know Gene Taylor from his terrific piano playing with Los Angeles neo-rockabilly band The Blasters, my favorite band back in the 80s. I'm glad I got to see him play at a 2002 Blasters reunion gig.

[My Church is buying a new keyboard]

The logical Kurzweil alternative would be the new K2700 with its premium action, build, and expanded sample sets.

[Moondance Piano Solo]

One of my bands has covered "And It Stoned Me" from the same album, where Jeff Labes played a shorter but perfectly architected piano solo. I've always loved the dramatic descending finish.

[Much abused DX7 - should I bother?]

It took a pounding but it kept on Chowning.

[Best iOS utility for running multiple iOS sound apps]

I hate to put a fly in the ointment, but I just got notice of this post on a very well-respected music hardware/software site. I have not used the software in question, but feel I should bring it to folks' attention and encourage discussion among those who are already using it... are these objections valid?

Comments? (I should note that the blogger's objections are more principle than technical; this really does seem like a dick move, but it probably won't affect usability and isn't a huge outlay in the long run....)

As a Discchord reader and subscriber, I was disappointed in that response to KeyStage 2. Tim Webb is known for entertainingly OTT rants about developer misdeeds - usually the targets are deserving, but not in this case IMO. Also, he uncharacteristically missed the lede - what was essentially a MIDI processor (hence not useful to me) has changed into potentially the AUM/MainStage hybrid some of us have been wishing for. I happily paid USD$28.95 for KeyStage 2 with all IAPs to encourage what seems like a worthwhile and ambitious project for a solo developer. It's valid to question the pricing structure, but recouping costs via IAPs for major new functionality is common practice since Apple disallows charging for updates, and I greatly prefer it to the alternatives of changing to a new app (e.g. Cubasis 3) or subscription model.