Spider76

I think there should be plenty of space, but the best way is to remove the left side panel of your SK1 and look and measure yourself. It's just a matter of removing a few screws, no need to disassemble the whole instrument. If you're willing to drill holes in the chassis, unscrewing the panel should be the least of your worries. Especially because you'd have to to it anyway afterwards, to clean and remove the debris and metal filings: you definitely don't want that stuff messing with the circuitry and keyboard contacts!

TE, Liberace, Lang Lang... So I guess the question is "Are there some keyboard players who are self-absorbed ultra-virtuosos but still somehow tolerable to listen to for a couple of seconds"?🤣 I'd say Monty Alexander is probably the best example. For Latin contaminations, Michel Camilo. Maybe lesser known outside Italy or EU, but Stefano Bollani is also probably part of that group (though I personally get tired of him after a few minutes).

Do Elton John or Billy Joel count? If not, maybe guys like Michel Camilo or Monty Alexander come to my mind

And Mario, of course. https://youtu.be/NuW41shJm0k

Rental option no.1: buy new from a shop with a 30-day return policy. Rental option no.2: buy used, and if you don't like it resell it for more or less the same price. I strongly STRONGLY endorse option n.2. Apart from that, I agree that if the OP doesn't give us more info, it's very hard to suggest a specific model. If he was a total beginner I'd suggest a simple, cheap WYSIWYG mono like a used Microbrute or even a Volca; if he already knows his way around synths something more advanced but still relatively easy to navigate, surely not a deep menu-driven workstation like a Yamaha MX... a Minilogue, Deepmind, Microkorg, JD-Xi, Prologue...even the dreaded Nord Lead may do! 😁

Awesome! It just reminds me to slap myself in the face, for not getting that minimoog-shaped bean bag when it was available a few years ago.

Thanks guys, but it's not really the flawless work I'd have liked. The are more than a few creases on the rounded parts and some junctions and overlaps are quite visible from up close. But from a meter away it looks very decent, and from an audience perspective a few meters away, it looks great! Oh, and of course there are no gigs now so problem solved! 🤣

I don't know the color, I had this roll of wood-grain dc-fix lying around, yes probably oak or light walnut. The rounded corners are the worst, I couldn't manage to do them perfectly, but good enough I think. The flat parts and sharp corners are easy and come out great. But it took me a couple of days to do everything with the sides disassembled, I can't imagine having to do it on the fully assembled instrument...it must be a nightmare and probably the result won't be as good, unless you're a master wrapper (which I'm not).

Sooo...my old SK2 was beginning to show the signs of time plus, I never really liked the purple sides. I had a few days to spend in quarantine and some spare contact paper. Put these factors together, and the result was...

yes once it's on it's no problem, although you have to be conscious of the size, and careful not too bump into things, doors etc. Of course I'm not talking about normal, effortless walking: it will be more like a slow cautios stroll, always minding each step. When I didn't have a raised support to put it on/off, I put i vertically on the floor, squat down, put the shoulder straps on, and then CAREFULLY stood up. Carefully to avoid toppling over, and most of all to avoid injuring my back. Very good exercise for your quadriceps, anyway!

I was almost exactly in your situation, as I used to carry a Nord Stage (only a couple of kgs lighter) up/down 4 flights of stairs in a Gator Pro-Go case. As the others have mentioned, the weight is absolutely manageable. What's awkward is the balance, and most of all lifting up the thing on your shoulders, and then putting it down. You have to squat very carefully not be thrown off balance and risk falling down. Ideally, you should have a table or chair to do it, first putting the keyboard on it so it's roughly at shoulder level. Otherwise, it's VERY unconfortable. I ended up just carrying it by the side handle most of the time.

"What are y'all using for a two-tier keyboard stand + music stand?" I use a two-tier keyboard stand + a music stand.

The Wootens are not a bad musical family, too

Considering it's his own company, I would be surprised by the opposite 😁

Adderleys. Van Halens. Breckers.

Wow Josh, I just discovered this topic and your transcription and tutorial are pure gold!!! Thanks SO MUCH for sharing such detailed info! I took the freedom to re-organize your tutorial in a more compact 3-page layout, and also to condense only the keyboard parts in a 2-page gig-ready music sheet. In both files I put you as the author, to give due credit where it's due. I attach them here for all to use but of course if there's any problem with that just tell me, and I'll remove them immediately. Stevie Wonder - Superstition tutorial.pdf Stevie Wonder - Superstition.pdf

Wow, I'm quite amazed how they managed to fit all the controls in the same width of the 61-key panel, which was already crowded! They moved to "drawfaders" to save space, but nothing changes in reality, the SK series always had faders even if camouflaged as drawbars, which I always found a bit cheesy to be honest. And looks like there will be the option of choosing between plastic and wood sides.

Sounds like a nightmare. I truly hope this is not true, or they won't sell a single unit.

As others have mentioned, China and India make up about 40% of the world's population, and Asia as a whole has 60%. So anything that's not a hit there can hardly be described as "global". Also, "global" means global distribution and access, something that really became true only with internet and streaming. And even nowadays, I don't know how many people in China or Pakistan have access to Youtube and Spotify... I'm honestly dubious a truly GLOBAL hit has ever existed yet. If it did, it would undoubtely be something by BTS (or maybe Gangnam style?), not anything from the pitifully small and unpopulated West

I don't think Petrucciani or Hiromi were born with huge hands. Still...

I totally agree. The keyboard player is visually the weakest member of the band, not only because he's trapped behind a fixed instrument, but because that intrument usually looks like the workshop of a demented electrician. And the side facing the audience is invariably the worst-looking one. There's a reason a real Hammond or piano has a completely different appeal: not just because of the sound and size, but because it doesn't look like somebody dropped a bowl of oversized spaghetti on it. Some keyboards have connections on the side, and that's already a huge improvement in looks. For example, I love Moog's Phatty/Sub/Subsequent series: with all cables on one side and the sleek, curved back with the moog logo, they are clearly designed to look cool on stage. And they absolutely do, in contrast with just about any other keyboard ever produced. Your idea would be even classier, let's hope some manufacturer takes notice!

Yes, they actually WERE in a time crunch, it's just that they were so used to compose and record on the fly, that having to do a full album in 2/3 weeks for them was like a leisurely vacation. In the old times (like, 5 years before ) they had to record 2 albums per year, usually doing it in very few days squeezed between a crazy touring schedule.

I'm currently (since this summer) in the process of trying to learn theremin and I can confirm it's not easy. To put it more clearly, it's friggin' hard. Like learning from zero any other instruments, if not more. It will take months to be able to do very basic things, like a scale. Precise jumps between non-consecutive notes, like playing a C and then an F, are a VERY advanced skill. After 3-4 months of practice, I'm not even close to doing that reliably. It's true that sound-wise, any synthesiser can do anything a theremin can do, and then about 2846 things more. But I must say that the physical and musical experience of playing theremin is totally unique and fascinating. It's probably the best (and hardest) possible training for the ear and intonation. You think you got that note right, you check the tuner...and it's pretty humbling. I was surprised by how physically challenging it is: you have to keep your whole body totally still except your forearms, hands and fingers. This is incredibly easier said than done, as the instrument reacts to MILLIMITERS of movement. Overall, it's a lot like doing tai chi: I realized how much I was wobbling and rocking back and forth, even when I thought I was perfectly still. Now after a few months I have much better core strength and much better control and consciousness of my whole body. Oh, and of course it's not only you playing a theremin. EVERYBODY in the room will influence it...forget about practicing with a kid or a dog jumping around. All in all, for 100 quids I'd say go for it and give it a try. You may like it or not, just remember it's not a toy that you learn in an afternoon of fiddling: you will not be able to play it musically unless you put in months (years) of serious work. You must approach it like you would a violin, saxophone or any other instrument you've never tried before. Only you will know it it will be worth your time, but for that price, why not try? For more advice and technical informazioni, you may find useful the thereminworld forum.

Hyper-insanity Hold my beer... we're lucky we're not guitarists

Just out of curiousity and almost totally OT. I was reading just a few days ago an article about this paradox, that the most in-demand areas of the US, where all the people keep moving to, are the ones which will be most at risk of becoming uninhabitable (or at least, VERY uncomfortable to live in) in a few short years, in between fires, floods, heat waves, hurricanes and rising sea level: Florida, Texas, California... Is this somehing that is taken into account when deciding a move? Do employers and/or insurances factor in these elements when deciding to relocate? (I'm from Italy so I'm genuinely curious, no snark intended and absolutely no politics involved)