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DJkeys

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Posts posted by DJkeys

  1. I am going with 2 Nords in this situation. Stage 3 Compact on the bottom and Wave 2 on the top because I find this setup REALLY light to carry for a flagship build quality and REALLY easy to operate during a gig. It does reduce the schlep factor of a Kronos. Yamaha CP/YC are also good here, in my opinion. MODX and Kurzweil PC4 have great sounds for the $$$ but are mostly plastic and use cheaper build qualities than their flagships.

     

    This is the exact rig I use. Checks all the boxes and weighs 40 pounds total. Both boards have synth and sample playback, the Stage has great Pianos and Organs, and the Wave 2 is four synths in one. For example, Just Dance by Lady Gaga has six different synth sounds. I have two of them split in the Stage, and the other four on a single layer each on the Wave 2

     

    -dj

  2. Not to shift focus, but I always wondered what Bill Payne was using on the original recording of Tripe Face Boogie

    Sounds like a CP70/CP80 to me.

     

    I had a Helpenstill Roadmaster 64 and sold it to buy a CP70. I hated the sound of it, plus the pickups fed back at really low volumes. The sound here is very close to the Helpinstill rather than the Yamaha-

     

    -dj

  3. I have had luck using a program called Transcribe. I use it on my iMac because it is just too hard for me to operate apps on a smart phone, the screen is just too small. Transcribe is inexpensive and allows you to slow down the music without changing the pitch. It also allows looping, EQ and other things. The software developer is also very proactive in writing new updates:

     

    https://www.seventhstring.com/

     

    -dj

  4. Sound deadening studio panels are really inexpensive on amazon. Is that too obvious of an answer?

     

    It's a trap that a lot of people fall into. The panels, foam, egg cartons, bottles, grids, etc. are great at softening hard sound reflections and reverb, but they do not contain sound to any significant degree. They just make it more pleasant to listen to when inside. The lower the frequency, the more power sound has and it'll transmit through concrete, foam or anything else that is solid. As mentioned elsewhere, if you want real soundproofing, you'll have to build a room that is physically isolated.

     

    After trying and failing in multiple rehearsal studios, the answer was to get a place right near the airport. We can get as loud as we want, as the town has zoned the neighborhood for high levels of (ahem) ambient noise.

     

    This is correct. The only solution is to build a room within a room where there is air space between the two sets of walls. I don't think there is an inexpensive way to accomplish this-

     

    -dj

  5. Back in the old days, I also played with lots of heavy gear, often with Anvil cases. CP70, CS80, and Prophet 10 in one band, Helpinstill upright, Rhodes and five other keyboards in another, full PAs just for keyboard monitoring - it was awful except in every band we always had a strapping roadie that believed we were going to make it too LOL

     

    Nowadays, my 46 lb. Kronos 73 is too heavy. Or at least it's too heavy at the end of the gig when it's time to tear down.

     

    I just played a duo gig with the 20 lb. PX-S3000. Yeah, that's just about right these days.

     

    I had the real heavy stuff back in the day (same as you, CP70 w/anvil and Prophet 5 w/anvil cases. Just the cases weighed 120 lbs). but we had a truck to move it. Today, both my Nords are 20 lbs apiece, 40 total. Light is beautiful!

     

    -dj

  6. I have two 3-space racks for my live rig. One has a power supply, Ashly mixer like yours, and and Ashly compressor. My second rack has my IEM system, a guitar modeler and another power supply. I use the short (12 inch) power cables in both racks, along with short TRS cables, and have cut the power supply cable in the top rack so that it has a short line. I then just connect the power from one to the other and connect the modeler lines to the mixer. Three cables and done, everything else is permanently connected. Since you have all of the power in one rack, you will have to snake a bunch of power cables from one rack to the other. Just use the shortest ones you can. Your design looks like it will bring the power cables all through the line cables. I think I would arrange it so that there is a power strip in the rack with the modules, so that all you would need to do is connect one power strip to the other.
  7. I started subscribing to Keyboard in 1982. I kept my subscription until they changed to Electronic Musician. I kept that for a year and then dumped it, as it had less and less pages and relevant information for my needs.

     

    What I really would like to see is an ad-free gear review mag (much like Robert Parker's Wine Advocate) which is not supported by any outside money and is brutally honest about the gear.

     

    -dj

  8. I left a band with horns for the same reason, they were incredibly loud on stage (and I was behind them). There were also three guitar players all with boutique amps and custom-made pedalboards. Not only did their tone suck, but none of them could play very well. They were a "Dad Band" and they had tons of money for gear, but not a lot of talent. I lasted 4 gigs-

     

    -dj

  9. When a band is looking for a keyboard player and they send you their setlist and it 90% songs with no keyboards. Or "Classic Rock" where there is nothing but piano or organ. Or, the band finds out that you are a better singer than the lead singer but won't let you sing any leads.

     

    I love Top40 because it is totally fun and challenging to program and perform the most important parts. Even Disco is more way more fun for me than "Classic Rock". I do love a lot of the 80s stuff for keys.

     

    -dj

  10. Wow, I am very sorry to hear this. I worked at a music store in 1986 to 1993 and Bob was the tech for the store. He worked on the Yamaha Electones they sold there. He used to come to our Christmas parties and I remember drinking port with him at the restaurant in Walnut Creek CA every year. Sometimes the store owner would cut us off, as we could drink port and talk for a long time. Great sense of humor, very direct guy, being from back East I really appreciated him.

     

    RIP, Bob-

  11. My cover band was playing in Hawaii in a club at the Sheraton Waikiki. Monday was our dark night, and the band was meeting for dinner at Orson's Seafood restaurant. I was a little early and killing time in the shopping center when the news came on the radio. When I met the band I told them and they couldn't believe it. It was my birthday. Never gonna forget that day-

     

    -dj

  12.  

    Ed. Do you have this one yourself? It"s been ok my list for a while.

    What"s your review?

     

    I reviewed the Panorama P4 when I was at the magazine. Really good build quality and nice action, but depending on what DAW you're using, the integration that is its main strong point can be iffy. A good friend got a T4 for use with Ableton Live and sent it back.

     

    I have the T4 and use it with Studio One, maps really well. Keybed is pretty darn good at this price, as well as overall build quality.. Integration of course depends on your DAW-

     

    -dj

  13. I have the Baby Spider Pro (I'm 5-8 and stand while playing). I bought the second tier arms for it. The keyboards can be as close together as you want, there is plenty of space for pedals, and setup and teardown is a snap. Weight is only 18 pounds as well-

     

    -dj

  14. Back in the day, I toured with my cover band using a CP70-B and a Prophet 5. All gear for the band was in the old, heavy anvil cases. The two cases for the piano weighed just about as much as the piano itself!

     

    Now I gig with two Nords, two three space racks, two QSC K8.2s, a keyboard stand and utility box. Setup time is about 20 minutes, total weight less than 200 pounds. Small is beautiful!

     

    -dj

     

    And a fan of Invisible Stands judging from the picture!

     

    Yep, those stands are older than a lot of the members here! They have been holding up my studio gear for decades now-

     

    -dj

  15. Back in the day, I toured with my cover band using a CP70-B and a Prophet 5. All gear for the band was in the old, heavy anvil cases. The two cases for the piano weighed just about as much as the piano itself!

     

    Now I gig with two Nords, two three space racks, two QSC K8.2s, a keyboard stand and utility box. Setup time is about 20 minutes, total weight less than 200 pounds. Small is beautiful!

     

    -dj

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