vonnor

According the the MIDI Implementation Chart on page 24 of the RD-88 MIDI Implementation Document (Available at: https://www.roland.com/global/support/by_product/rd-88/owners_manuals/), it can both transmit AND receive most midi events. Obviously the Rx would have to be via USB. ~ vonnor

Ha! We already do Pour Some Sugar. And come to think of it, we nail the harmonies on that one. Most of the time, the bass player finds a good harmony and adds it during live performance, and I key off what he's singing and add a lower line, so it eventually comes together. I was just ticked 'cuz I put the work into isolating the parts and made that video and sent it out, then nobody even played it or listened to it. https://youtu.be/lTFlSkR46pM ~ vonnor

There are 3-4 top notch cover bands in my area, who every time I've seen them just blow me away with both instrumental and vocal accuracy and tightness. They are always playing the top $$$ venues and packing the house. It is true that most bar patrons can't tell WHY they think a band sounds great, they just do. As a musician, I absolutely CAN tell why a band sounds great. That's what I had back when I was travelling with groups, and that's still what I dream about. Don't get me wrong, there are many songs we cover that have 3-part harmonies that we sing very well. I just can't stand saying f**k-it and giving up on the BG vocals without even working on them as a group. Lately harmonies are becoming more and more of an afterthought, if they are even given ANY thought. It's frustrating being the only one in the group who treats vocal parts with the same level of importance as instrument parts. ~ vonnor

A bit of a rant here, but I need perspective from you folks. This past Sunday the cover band I'm currently with had a rehearsal of three new tunes, one of which was Photograph by Def Leppard. Prior to picking that song, the BL (lead singer) adamantly expressed his desire to nail the backing harmonies on the bridge and chorus, so I took the time to send out a video describing and demonstrating each note as well as playing them together on the synth so the rest of the guys could hear how they blend. As we did our 1st run-through, the bass player (our "2nd" lead singer) tries to add some random notes on the "PHO-toe-GRAF" which sounded way off. I sang the lower note(s) over the same part and lord knows what the drummer was singing. I let it go 'til we had hashed out the instruments and ending, then asked if we could go thru the vocals acapella. I tried showing the Bass player the sequence (A to B, B to C, A to B, B to C) I covered the low notes (D to D, D to E, D to D, D to E) and tried to show the Drummer (F# to G, repeat). Neither the bass player nor the drummer could "hear" their parts and were jumping all over the place. The bass player when I kept playing his notes for him finally got pissed and was like "NO! I'm not gonna sing that! I'm gonna sing what I'm singing!" The Guitar player (who btw can't carry a tune vocally but is a fantastic player) was like, "We move and dance around a lot on stage, we can't hang out the whole song standing in one place eating a microphone! Stage presence is way more important than harmonies." Turns out neither the drummer nor the bass player even listened to the video I sent out which had their separate vocal lines described individually. Long story short, I told them, "Look guys, I will die on this hill! We picked this song specifically to shine vocally with the huge 3-4 part harmony and none of you guys give a f**k. I'm standing on what we said last time, either we do the harmonies correctly or we don't do the song." Rehearsal did not end well after that - talks of "Look, we sound way better than most area bands that do that song" and "As long as we sing in key (w/e the f**k that means), it doesn't matter if the notes are exactly right." The other guys helped me pack my gear to my car and stayed behind after I left. Time will tell the final outcome. Guys, I spent too many years playing with musicians that can both hear vocal harmonies and lock onto them in their heads, as well as shift harmonies on the fly if needed. I dream of working with a group again that can do that. I realize now how lucky I was back then. ~ vonnor

OK I went back and re-read the 1.0 Spec from '94. The wording is cautious as far as how a receiving device should apply the "standardized" CC#'s, and the spec for the Midi Implementation Chart purposely leaves the CC def's blank. It DOES however call certain CC#s by standardized names (Volume, Damper, Expression, FootControl, Modulation, Breath, etc.) Keeping in mind that by the Spec itself, those are standardized names for the controller numbers themselves - on the transmission side. The MMA doesn't attempt to infer, define or restrict how a device applies them (or ignores them in some cases like BreathController) in it's factory patches/programs/multis/combis, etc. I will concede the argument (in the classical sense of the word ) that given the maturity of the 1.0 MIDI Spec, the majority of manufacturers apply a similar default behavior to how those CC#'s sonically effect a patch/program/multi/combi, etc., It's still a good idea to dig into the internals of patches/programs/multis/combis, etc., on your specific MIDI receiving device(s) to learn how it applies the "Standardized" CC#s. A reader of this thread may take one implementation explanation as gospel, then find their specific receiving device handles the CC#s a bit differently. ~ vonnor

This is why I remain somewhat confused by this discussion. MIDI is a serial messaging protocol, nothing more. Little packets of data are transmitted really fast. These packets allow for a receiving device to do whatever the receiving device decides to do with those packets (with exceptions for specification standards like Program Change, Note-ON, Note-OFF, pitch-bend, aftertouch, etc.). MIDI CC#7 doesn't necessarily control volume. In the B-3x vst for example, I can make CC#7 control the "leslie" slow/fast if I want to. It's a matter of configuration. I once made CC#7 control the "Hard-Sync" modulator sweep in a synth patch for "One Thing Leads To Another" as well. If you think outside the box, MIDI becomes much more exciting and versatile. Learn what you can do with it, it'll blow you away. I would recommend spending the time to explore the MIDI Spec, read the MIDI Implementation Charts for your gear, play around with controller assignments in your programs. I've been doing this since 1986. Everything in my rig is midi'd to everything else. Stuff is even midi'd to itself (LOCAL=OFF on every controlling device) even for live shows. If I'm pressing a key on the Kronos and I want the sound from timbre/track 3 of the current Combi to come out of the Kronos audio out, I set up my Live host (Cantabile3) to watch for a NOTE-ON command coming from the MIDI IN port that the Kronos is connected to, then send that command back out the MIDI OUT port that the Kronos is connected to and set the channel for that NOTE-ON command to MIDI Channel 3 (or w/e channel timbre/track 3 is set to). I see this thread getting into how specific DAW's, instruments, VSTs and other devices handle MIDI CC#'s in their default settings, and I know from experience there are many different default setups out there depending on manufacturer. Be careful in explaining MIDI CC functionality. How it works "Out-Of-The-Box" for your stuff may not be how it works for everything or every piece of gear. ~ vonnor

MIDI CC#s are just controller numbers. There is no (verifiable) standard as to how an individual sound generating MIDI device will apply those CC #s in a given patch or multi/combi type setup. Quite often the receiving device's application of a given CC# is configurable rather than fixed. That being said, I have found that on some/many patches (programs) on my Kronos, if the program is on a timbre in a Combi with the overall Timbre/track level set to say 76, if I send CC#7 it can hijack that 76 and take it up to 127 if I peg the pedal. Whereas if I send CC#11 it'll take the level from 0 to 76 as I rock the pedal forward. It will preserve the max volume/level and scale up to that. This also happens a lot in VST's like Diva. ~ vonnor

Sorry for your loss, Dave.

4 out of 6.

Ah yes! I remembered being able to do that on a board in the past, but had forgotten it was the KS32. I still do that today, but through Cantabile on the laptop. ~ vonnor

You're too kind, Chris. I do this work as a hobby because it's fun. Glad I can help out another KC-er! ~ vonnor

While this graphic doesn't really fit the thread category (nor the "Dig My Rig..." , "Studio Desks..." - well OK it does kinda fit the "How Wide Z Stand..." and "Another Stand..." threads), seeing the same image posted on all five threads gives me some ideas for my USS tubes & T-connectors. I like the design! ~ vonnor

No argument here, Jeff. QSC replaced the original K series with their Kx.2 series, which had the beefier power-amps inside, then put the 1KW amps in the CP series. My description was superficial at best, and not meant to be empirical. That being said, I have no direct side-by-side comparison between the CP8 and the K8.2, but I do between the K10 (1st series 1KW) and the CP8 (1KW) and they sound pretty close to me - at least how I have them setup. That could be related to my rolling off the low end as a rule - to stay outta the bass player's tonal range. The CP8 is easier to schlep around. Note my tag "ymmv" ~ Bill C.

Image from O.P. added. ~ vonnor

I just got a QSC CP8 - it's a 1000w version of the K8.2 (2000watt) and is currently in-stock at a few of the usual places. So far I like it. It is placed on my rack and is only about 1 metre away from my ear. I haven't tested it in an actual live situation with drums and guitars at stage volume yet, but I did open up the throttle a good bit over the weekend in my practice space and was happy with the punch and low-end. I feel it actually made my go-to pianos cut through better. ymmv. It's only 21lbs and easy to carry. ~ vonnor

This is why external power supplies on keyboards is a deal breaker for me, if I intend to use it for live shows. That and the IEC C-13 connectors are WAY more secure than the little DC power plugs and jacks. I've even gone as far as to modify two instruments to internally mount an "inline wart" type power supply and re-wire the power in to bypass the DC jack at the power switch. ~ vonnor

You don't say... 😎 Top: Series-2 factory caps Bottom: Series-3 caps I printed for Moonglow. ~ vonnor

Forget Tom. I just want a few of those drink coasters. ~ vonnor

Long story. The Drummer, Guitar player, and Bass player are all old-school and refuse to even try ear bugs. They also refuse to try the ubiquitous phone apps for mixing your own wedge. They also are not understanding the concept of setting the keyboards level in their wedges WHILE EVERYBODY IS PLAYING! ...not just when I'm playing by myself. Last two shows they were unable to hear the keys in their monitors, thought it was too much hassle to ask the FOH tech for more, and timing suffered noticeably on numerous occasions. That being said, I have this little QSC CP-8 coming tomorrow to use as side fill. I will aim it across the stage and not toward FOH. Hopefully it will help. I gotta do "something." ~ vonnor

Saw this today on the "Keyboard Players In Cover Bands" FB group (great bunch of people, btw). Doug Johnson sent one of the group moderators a google drive link with his own (Doug's) "fast and dirty sketch" of Weekend from start to 'fine' which should set the record straight. 😎 Enjoy. Doug J's Transcription: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vmdnfXVQSUTHT5fCWza80HFH0KM5R_km/view FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1096679527422725 ~ vonnor

I sent you a PM. ~ vonnor

That works well for you, I can personally verify, but try doing "Feels Like the First Time" or "Rebel Yell" (with only 1 guitar in the band), without having to switch patches back and forth during the tune. Switching patches mid song is a plague on my existence and I avoid it at all costs unless absolutely necessary. I guess I'm old skool like Wakeman. The Foreigner song I have organ and the high arpeggio split on the Kronos, and both of the lead synth lines (on VSTs) split on the bottom board. Rebel Yell is almost as bad. I think you just can't give up your vertical-pivot action stage gimmick ... lol ~ Bill C.

Woah... deja vu. (that server move musta scrambled the post counts...

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! You need to drive up 95 to Woodbridge and come see my band tonight!! 😎😄😉🙃🤪 ~ vonnor