Noah DC

New Mojo 61 firmware update came out over the weekend. From Crumar: We have two important firmware updates: Mojo 61 - update to version 1.50 Seven - update to version 1.36 You can find the files in the support section: https://www.crumar.it/?a=support Naturally, all users of these two instruments are invited to download and install these very important updates. Among a few fixes and optimizations for both instruments, Mojo 61 brings in the new improvements that have been made to the Tine and Reed EP models, the new 3-band EQ and also opens the doors to the future ability to replace the internal acoustic piano sound with a new one. On the other hand, the new firmware for Seven adds 5 velocity curves, and a new "mix" parameter to the Phaser effect. Please read the README.txt file included with each zip file for more details about the new changes. Have FUN!

Kawaii ES110 used on Amazon right now for 580, if that’s what you’re looking for

Sweetwater told me early April, but Studiologic keeps pushing it back. FWIW, I haven’t seen it written anywhere that the Numa Player sounds are the same as the Numa X Piano’s - seems dubious since one is $2k and one is free, but honestly, who knows.

Agreed - but for $3,000, it should! I guess my main takeaway from a lot of these comparison videos (and this one in particular) is how similar two boards can sound even when one costs way more than the other. You can sweat the details - and I do - but one of the things that's appealing about the concept of the Numa X 73 is that it's got the best form factor for gigging while sounding just about as good to the audience as these more expensive boards. All that is pending an actual try-out, of course, but I just don't think a bar crowd would notice a lot of the nuance between this one and another that costs several times more - and that's key if you're looking for a board to play out with (rather than a studio rig).

I’m kind of surprised to see interest in swapping out a Mojo 61 for the updated YC61 - and game to learn what’s appealing to folks about that. Is the new organ that much better than the Mojo? Or are people thinking it’s worth the extra $500 (more if you’re selling a used Mojo) just for the better pianos and the bi-timbral feature? Seems like a lot of dough just for those pieces. That said, these YC boards are very cool…

I mean, I got mine used with no instructions so all of that is useful news to me! Will have to dig into that manual…

I’m no expert on this stuff, but the Roland a49 is class compliant if class compliant means what Sweetwater says it does — I.e. that you can play it by plugging in directly without installing drivers. I am using the a49 plugged directly into an iPad Air without an interface and have never messed with drivers at all. https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/class-compliant/

Is that an iPad attachment you've got on there or a mic stand? And if so, which one?

Kind of off-topic, but for what it's worth to you, I just bought a Roland a49 for 100 bucks and it is the perfect 49-key controller, as far as I'm concerned. Slim enough to sit on top of a narrow-shelf top keyboard (Mojo 61, in my case) and with an action that most people online seem to say is one of the best for the price point. Unlike the Arturia (to my knowledge, anyway), it is "class compliant" so I can plug my iPad Air directly into the Roland to control Korg Module and VB3 - just takes a USB-C hub.

When I pre-ordered mine a few weeks back, Sweetwater said the current estimate was mid-March. But that date has been sliding around since the fall so I wouldn't bank on anything.

I bought a digital audio player for about $300 last year, loaded it up with high-quality files, and haven’t looked back. It just sounds so much better than anything I get on my phone, especially with good headphones. I would have thought this kind of thing would appeal to a forum full of folks who obsess over every tiny technological advance in clonewheeling!

I’ve been taking some great and very affordable online lessons the last couple years with Carey Frank (no relation to Dave Frank, I can safely assume). He’s such a great player, an excellent teacher, and makes things real easy on the virtual technology side. Can’t recommend his lessons enough! https://www.careyfrank.com/

One option no one mentioned here is grabbing a Hammond M3 with the various mods that give you lefthand bass, screaming upper register notes, etc. I purchased one for around $300 and it's sitting in my small living room apartment right next to a Leslie 145. Of course, if you add a line out through modification, you can run it through a Mini Vent for another $250-300. Might be that this setup doesn't match your criteria, but I'm just putting it out there since it worked nicely for me when I had the same itch for a home setup on a tight budget.

I personally disagree that two monitors at that QSC-level price range categorically sound better than the current Motion Sound stereo amp models. You can tell even from Al’s video that that is basically not true (the MS holds its own against the extremely expensive TT-08As - imagine swapping in much cheaper QSCs and you get the picture). Regardless, as a CP4 owner who plays through an MS KP-612, I’d highly recommend selling your MS 500s and buying one of the newer models. The combo just sounds really good.

For those like me with an absurd ratio of interest-to-time-on-my-hands, there is a short new review of the 73 up on this Italian website, which Google Translate handles pretty well. https://www.supportimusicali.it/forum/view/8/42/92955/1/

Thanks again for these notes! They’ve convinced me to buy a Numa X 73 for sure. An action in the realm of a keyboard that costs almost twice as much (Modx) that offers one-touch access to VSTs alongside decent internal sounds in a package that is as compact as almost any other option on the market? I’m in. Just hearing people express uncertainty about whether to buy this vs. another keyboard that costs nearly twice as much (CP73) seals the deal for those of us who can’t afford extra dough. Also, fairly sure the Mojo 61 will be able to rest on the top of the 73, creating a tight, 42-inch-wide rig for bar gigs without the need for a mixer or extra FOH inputs for playing in stereo (especially helpful if I were to drop my Reface CS synth on top of the Mojo). Looking forward to trying this one out!

Thanks so much for these notes - great review. Interested to hear more once you"ve had some time with the Numa. Re: Pianoteq, one of the main selling points for this board beyond weight and footprint is the built-in interface. I used to run Pianoteq on an old Surface Pro 2 and as far as I can tell, all I"d need to do to get one-touch access to Pianoteq through this board is connect the Surface"s USB port to the Numa. Same goes for VB3 or Mellotron on an iPad. To me, that gives the Numa a big leg up over higher-quality, much more expensive boards like, say, a Nord Piano 5 73 or a Nord Stage.

Maybe this is an imaginary concern, but let"s not scare away the reviews/info from the few folks who have actually tried these boards with wild (but informed) speculation. Would love to hear more from the folks in Europe who have started to receive the TP-110 Numas.

I use the Kington Nucleum USB-C Hub with a Komplete Audio 6 interface. No issues whatsoever - no latency, rock solid, couldn"t be easier. You should buy that hub - it"s one of the only ones that has a second usb-c that allows you to charge the iPad while playing.

There are major differences between the 500 and the 408/610/612 that Mitch Towne has outlined. https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/3016601/1

Gigged in a loud rock band for years using Pianoteq - would highly recommend for cutting through the noise.

Killer sound

Thanks to you both! Dave, you are exactly right - there is a "Washington Music Center" label on this thing so it must have spent time at Chuck's. Mate, thanks for sharing those - checked out your rig many times when doing research on leslies in recent years. See the attached pictures of the inputs/settings sections. My sense is that this does have the tube preamp because of how it sounds/feels (and because it has a low/high gain switch), but that unfortunately it does not have the tube amp because I haven't been able to get the tone to break into distortion, even when I push it. This thing does get wild loud, though - I haven't even been able to play it at half volume in my apartment. I tried to pry off the front panel, but it seems to be stuck for now - will keep trying. One thing I thought was interesting is the fact that it has speaker inputs and outputs as if taking and sending signal from a home stereo system? Wonder why you would want that... Anyway, thanks for the thoughts - I figured some folks here might know.

Here's a low-stakes question for folks who have been on here a while. I've stumbled into possession of a Speakeasy Roadbox 3 leslie after someone in the area put it up on reverb for a super low asking price in order to try to clear a family members' storage unit. I wasn't actually in dire need of one of these (if anyone in the northeast corridor is interested in picking one up, get in touch) But now that I have it, it's been a blast running my Mojo 61 through the tubes. It's mellow and smooth in a way other newer leslies I've encountered haven't been, though I haven't found a way to get quite enough drive yet. Basically, the model is labeled as the "Roadbox MkIII-250." So, a Roadbox 3, with 250 watts (rather than the 60 watts used in certain models). On the web-archived version of Speakeasy's old site, though, the only 250-watt models listed are the ones that also include "AMA" in the title, which, as I understand it, always came in a separate cab as a rack. And while the 60-watt models had a tube pre-amp and a tube amp, I saw that some of the 250-watt models seem to have a solid state amp, along with the built-in tube pre-amp. I'm just curious: among the folks here who know Speakeasy products, which model do I have and what's inside of it? Is it a tube amp with a tube pre - or is it a solid-state amp with a tube pre? And am I missing the AMA piece or is it a single package?