Jwave

I've acquired countless iPad music apps over the past dozen years. The ones I use the most are: Symphony Pro: for creating and editing sheet music using my preferred method of direct touch input (currently buggy - I'm a beta tester for the long-overdue update) forScore: for displaying PDF sheet music OnSong: for displaying text chord charts which I can instantly change to any key Amazing Slow Downer: for practicing with tracks which I can slow down/retune/loop (I wish there was a similar app that supported multiple tracks with mix/pan/mute/solo) Let's Unmix: for separating recordings into vocal/drum/bass/piano/other tracks liveBPM: for detecting the tempo of recordings and real-time performances I've used a bunch of iPad apps for sound generation in gigs, most recently Zeeon, GeoShred and SWAM Trumpet. I've started trying to recreate the many custom song multis from my Kurzweil PC4 in case it's broken or unavailable. The simple option is Korg Module Pro which has good-quality sounds but limited switch/layer/control. My more complex option is AUM which has nearly unlimited configuration and access to high-quality AUv3 sound apps such as Pianoteq, Hammond B-3X and emulations of many classic synths.

You could download a PDF of “Eric Clapton - Rock Score 2” from Scribd which has a free 30 day trial. The transcriptions for After Midnight organ and piano look pretty decent to me at first glance. For the main C organ riff it shows a high G-C fourth interval on beat 2, followed by F-A, Eb-G and C-E major thirds.

The separate acoustic piano track created by the free Gaudio service is generally very good, and invaluable for study purposes. It can also create an electric guitar track, though if there are multiple guitars then some tend to go to the Other track. I’m hoping their “Coming Soon” promise means there may eventually be separate electric keyboard and synth tracks.

I use the free online service Gaudio Studio (winner of the MusicRadar roundup) which can split to six tracks including acoustic piano and electric guitar. I’m in a Steely Dan tribute, and Gaudio has been a gamechanger for figuring out tricky piano parts such as Victor Feldman’s voicings in “Home At Last”. As well as allowing downloads of separate stems, it has an excellent online mixer for creating backing tracks.

Yes, the minimum height of the Knox accordion stand is the main drawback for many people. Mine adjusts from 27.5” to 38.5” as one Amazon reviewer said. It works fine for me as I’m tall and I put my folding bench to its maximum height.

Not exactly table-style, but the $40 Knox Gear accordion-style stand is great - super-portable, stable, and easily adjustable for both sitting down and standing up. https://www.amazon.com/Knox-Universal-Portable-Accordion-Adjustable/dp/B0798TYT75

There’s a trick to just disabling the rotary part (and possibly cabinet) of Kurzweil KB3 effects when routing to external rotary so that the other parts which give the organ sound its character are maintained: https://kurzweil.com/2020/09/25/routing-kb3-programs-to-the-b-outputs

Thanks, I think I’ll try a Synthonia piano - do you remember which one(s) you liked?

Minor nitpick: PC4 keyboards have MIDI-only USB.

I’m curious about which piano sample set you loaded, as I’d love to load improved pianos on my PC4?

The verse of “Yesterday” is known to have similar chords to the Ray Charles version of “Georgia On My Mind”, but the incomparable melody is very different.

I never use sostenuto, so I program SW2a in my PC4 multis to switch rotary speed or mute/unmute layers. I actually ordered the Fatar VFP2-10 as a spare as I’m currently using a Studiologic VFP3-15: I had planned to use the middle pedal as a third switch controller (SW1b) but it’s tricky to hit this pedal accurately and it currently doesn’t seem to be responding anyway (perhaps the TRS cable has developed a partial fault after two years). Hopefully the open 10 model will work correctly on SW1a and SW2a like the closed 15 does, due to auto-sensing on boot.

I just ordered the Fatar VFP2-10 for my Kurzweil PC4 from Thomann for USD$45, and it calculated shipping to my US address as $0! This would be a bargain as the equivalent product with free shipping on Amazon is $63.28. I bet this was a glitch and that Thomann will soon email me with the real shipping price…

Actually I'd jump at the chance to play this. I don't know about the SKX Pro, but I'd connect up my iPad running the modelled SWAM Flugelhorn app which I suspect would sound more convincing than any keyboard sample.

Q: How many keyboard players does it take to change a light bulb? A: Ten. One to do it, and nine to complain that the harsh electronic glare of the LED is no substitute for the warm analog glow of the original.

Thanks for posting this. Specs and price ($132) look good. Admittedly it doesn't really *look* good.

Around 123 bpm versus 111 bpm for the studio version. Things Go 10% Faster With Coke.

The 60s-psychedelic-pop covers band I was in performed the Beatles “Glass Onion” a few times but the ending was a disaster. Maybe my fault as keyboard player covering strings, but it’s hard to sell that abrupt anti-climactic ending in a live setting!

You took the words right out of my mouth - it must have been while I was dissing you.

NEVER! It's worth keeping in mind that some of us speak Earthling as a second language.

That reminds me of the rising synth tones at 1:12 and 2:20 in Manfred Mann's "Blinded By The Light" which function as short keyboard solos.

Just thought of the four-bar piano bit after the 2nd chorus of "My Old School", though structurely that's more of a connective "fill" than a solo.

This weekend I'm filling in with a classic-rock cover band so I've reacquainted myself with the keyboard solos of "I'm A Believer" (four bars, repeated almost identically) and "Breakdown" (four very cool bars from Benmont Tench). Can anybody think of well known keyboard solos that are similarly concise? I'm thinking of featured expressive solos rather than intros or riffs or fills. [No longest solos please - that would be another topic entirely!]

In this situation I usually run a 3.5mm stereo audio cable from the iPad headphone output to an audio input port on my Kurzweil PC4. But the PC3K doesn't seem to have audio input ports so this won't work for you. You'd need to run the 3.5mm cable from the iPad headphone output directly to your mixer, using an adapter if your mixer doesn't have a 3.5mm input.

25 or 6 to 4