Macsaint777
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Posts posted by Macsaint777
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I absolutely love mine. I use it in the studio as my keyboard mixer.. but I have used it live for 5 events as well and it is solid. I'm so impressed, that I plan to upgrade all our Presonus SL series to A&H for all 4 Church campuses I oversee.
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On 4/12/2024 at 6:44 PM, ob1 said:
What's making it particularly tough for me is that I am REALLY liking the various demos of the XK-4! If a second manual will be available, I'm in. However if someone can confirm the XK-5 sounds exactly the same, I'll get that for the dual manual and traditional form factor.
XK-5 doesn't sound as good to me. Nor is it as easy to adjust things. Leslie is not as good either.
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6 hours ago, AnotherScott said:
EV ZXa1 has plenty of highs, and is one of lightest and least expensive speakers that I think sounds good for acoustic pianos.
Fender Rumble 100 is nice for what it is, but is not as neutral as the EV. And as you'd expect from a bass amp, it has more bottom and less highs than the EV.
I can't find info on that one, only 10" and up (and over 20 lbs). Is this something new?
I'm Sorry, I meant the Presonus Air 10. There is no 8.
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57 minutes ago, mjsjazz said:
Hi Everyone. I am a new member. 73 year old professional jazz pianist. Currently playing a Nord Electro V. Looking for lightweight speaker/amp (20 lbs or less). Friend told me about the EVZXa1, but when I went to the local store here in Black Mountain, NC (guitar center) the saleman indicated this speaker would not give me enough high end. I play mostly acoustic piano sounds, Rhodes sounds and Hammond organ sounds. At this point I am not happy with the Nord and am also thinking of trading it in for the Kawai ES120. Unfortunately where I live there is no place I can try this keyboard hands on. Wondering what the community has to say about these issues, questions. Thanks in advance.
michaeljefrystevens.com
There is no guitar center in Black Mountain - so I assume you mean Asheville? Either way... the salesman is an idiot. You will be perfectly fine with that EV, but I also highly recommend the Presonus Air 8. That line comes very close to the QSC K series for a fraction of the cost. I own both. Excellent speakers. Works great for Nord.
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29 minutes ago, KuruPrionz said:
If you can find one to try out, a Fender Rumble 100 might be a good choice.
Did you just recommend a Bass amp for a keyboard player trying to reproduce piano and organ sounds?
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2 hours ago, AnotherScott said:
Remember, even though it's got the updated rotary, Montage still lacks an actual organ engine. If you use the "9 bars" performance, you get individual drawbar control, but it's still just using plain looped AWM2 samples. So each key you hit takes 9 instances of polyphony... actually more, because besides the 9 drawbars, there are also elements for key click, leakage, and possibly other things, I don't remember for sure. But at, say, 11 elements per key, a "palm" where you hit (for example) 6 keys will use up 66 instances of polyphony. There are a number of organ "combination drawbar" sounds that can use polyphony more conservatively, but of course, at the expense of complete individual drawbar control. But the "9 bars" performance should be reserved for when it's the only thing playing, and even then, you may need to be aware of its limitations.
Montage remains a board whose organ sounds are often suitable for a supplemental role, but if you want a clonewheel, it's not the board to choose. It's a shame Yamaha didn't include the YC or even CK organ in the Montage M, especially since it's an area where the Montage lags the competition (i.e. Fantom, K2700, Nautilus). That said, you can add VB3m from a smartphone, or some other organ app, and get high quality organ sounds there without impacting your polyphony at all.
RIGHT... and this makes it almost always the one I ignore in favor of my Stage 4.
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I have had my Montage M6 since December. It SOUNDS amazing.. but I cannot bond with it. It doesn't inspire me. Its beautiful.. but...I play my Stage 4 almost constantly.. and leave the Montage M6 sitting under... its dust cover. I might sell it. It has severe polyphony issues that I don't think should be there - I cannot for example have a beat playing, while the full drawbars of all the new organs are pulled out, without dropping serious notes and the whole board seeming to "cough" trying to get those hi hats out.
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On 1/28/2024 at 11:20 AM, Paul Woodward said:
Stick to Facebook Marketplace for selling...
Well... I GOT A 1099 FROM THEM..oddly, it came from PayPal.
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This uses the same Kawai RH3 action... but apparently has been "enhanced"... I expect along the lines of what Nord does with their "virtual hammer technology" in the Piano series. But it is almost literally a Piano 5 in the Grand shell... which a slightly more NS4 UI. Goodness. Why.
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Here is my playlist where I demo EVERY performance in the Montage M, using the Audition button. Finishing up the rest of the categories, but the main ones are already done. Please delete if not helpful.
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UPDATE on my experience with the Numa X GT. I bought an SL 88 Grand instead.. and it is perfect.
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1 hour ago, U.Honey said:
I just played a gig using Nord Stage 3 and B3X. The B3X does sound really good and I'd say better than Nord. The chorus/vibrato is more usable and to me and the Leslie sounded better too. I had mapped all the Nord's organ controls to B3X and mostly they worked fine but not without mishaps. The organ sound kept changing mystically and it took me a while to figure out that when I did a palm sweep I actually ended up sweeping the black preset keys of the B3X which resulted with "interesting" sounds. I hope there's a way to disable the black preset keys in the B3X. I will definitely use it again but really the sound is just one aspect of things when using a software Hammond, the other aspect is the controls. I would recommend setting things up carefully before the gig to avoid comical palm sweeps and other surprises.
Turn the split on inside B3-X and assign where your split happens. Had to do the same on a YC88, and that resolved the triggering of the preset keys.
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Just bought a new - not open box...not B Stock, not reselaed...NEW- Numa X Piano GT. It arrived with a scuffed up screen, very badly aligned LEDs, a missing screw from the right side wooden panel, and worst of all, the D#2 key was far far less sensitive than any others. I adjusted to to 30% max, and while that helped, it was still quite obviously not right, and especially over MIDI, did not play well at all. Also, I owned the SL88 Grand for 5 years. Never had a single problem. I expected this TP-400 Wood action to be miles better than the TP-40 Wood. It isn't. That is not to say it is bad. Compared to the NW-GH of the CP/YC88, it is quite nice... but I really doubt anyone could tell the difference side by side between the SL88 Grand, and the Numa X Piano GT. The differences were extremely slight. I would say, other than the escapement...and perhaps a slightly quieter "thud" when the hammers drop, the actions are nearly identical. For that reason, I promptly boxed mine up and sent it back. I ordered an SL88 Grand (mainly as a bottom board for my Nord Stage 4 compact and Montage M6) and I hope it arrives in perfect working order. Despite the excellent Dr. Mix Fatar tour, the quality control is clearly lacking with these boards. I recall my first purchase of the SL88 Grand when I worked at Sweetwater. I had to swap it immediately because of a dead note. The next one was excellent and lasted 5 years, then I sold it because I bought a YC88 and simply didn't have the room for two large 88 note boards. A word about the sounds. For the most part, the pianos were fine. They are definitely largely modeled, but the EPs, and especially Wurlitzer sounds were quite nice. Organs, which used the dedicated rotary effect, were surprisingly good. Strings... meh... Synths, and Pads, were excellent. The "analog" stuff in particular was far better than I expected. Upright piano was good.. Japan Grand was good. The others...were just OK. But I had no intention of using this as anything but a MIDI controller, so I don't really care about the sounds. My takeaway is this.... If, like me you think the TP-400 Wood is the best thing you can get in a controller, and you are happy to hand over the extra 1K for that action... SAVE YOUR MONEY and buy the SL 88 Grand. It is hardly worth 1K to get an audio/midi interface. If you want a stage piano with built in sounds, great action, and an audio/midi interface, then I'd say you are better off with a CP88 or YC88...but if you just want the great action... you are getting 95% of that same feel (minus escapement) with the SL88 Grand. You will rarely meet a more picky player when it comes to feel and action, than myself. I could get a Kawai VPC-1 or any number of other top tier controllers.. and I would say the SL 88 Grand is about the best value and feel wise that you can get in a portable MIDI controller.
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I have an M7, and it’s not the black hole of mystery and fear you might think.
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21 hours ago, DroptopBroham said:
And for me, I hate the Nord Electro and Stage interfaces with a passion. The sounds are great but the interface is garbage. I had a Nord clonewheel in the past and liked it but am forced to play on an Electro at one rehearsal spot and it is terribly unintuitive. People say that Yamaha is bad but I'd much rather have my MODX+ interface. Not enough to bring it to rehearsal but playing on that Electro I just don't understand why anyone would get one, especially considering the price.
Paul mentions the CK and for something that does what the Stage and Electro do, the CK interface slays. The CK61 does feel cheap in the keys by the 88 is solid but so easy to use, only the organs are a let down but usability is leagues ahead of what Nord is doing. I also us a Stage regularly when sitting in and it's sad too.
I haven't had the opportunity to play with a YC but honestly the CK seems even better in terms of ease of use. If Yamaha could tighten up the B3 and Leslie and Chorus I would be ecstatic to leave the Mojo at home and gig on one board.
This is a baffling comment to me. I have used Roland, Yamaha, Korg, Sequential, UDO, Kurzweil, and yes I am a long time Nord user... and if we are talking Stage pianos or synths, or workstations... I cannot think of a simpler system than what is on the Electro, now copied nearly exactly, by Yamaha with the YC series.
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2 hours ago, Aynsley Green said:
A great rig would be a YC88 on the bottom for pianos, and NSC4 up top for organ/synths/fiddly bits- neither board too heavy (unlike the Montage M), great actions, great sounds, for around ten grand.You just described my exact setup!
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Blake just said they had created a MONTAGE M VST - Holy Crap. Free to Montage M owners - a Librarian and Editor, but also THE FULL MONTAGE M IN VST FORM. Now that, I can afford.
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Yours sounds excellent. But I would say that the Vent II version has the vent set way slower and further back than most of us would expect.
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I've gotta say...I used the XK-4 this past weekend for a large church event. Eight songs, and I used it on nearly every song. Both in the room, and in my in ears, it was really great even without the vent 2. I'm super happy with the adjustments I've made, and it seems to be a great board for live organ.
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On 9/12/2023 at 2:23 AM, Nathanael_I said:
The Stage4 continues to delight - first rehearsal and gig done along with a solid start on sound design. The immediacy is exactly what I hoped it would be. It’s just fast to get good sounds. The rig is Stage4, OB-6 module, Eventide H90 and Hologram Microcosm (granular reverb and delay FX). I use an RME UCX as a mixer. The H90 is on an aux send, the Microcosm is in its FX loop. I’ve devoted the third synth layer to OB-6 control and the Stage sends it patch changes.
Highlights:
1. I know why churches use them. The piano library basically matches every song. It’s like they were recorded on a Nord. It’s uncanny. And the upright piano samples work great with a bass player - just not a lot of energy down there. It’s so easy to change emotion/feel by turning a knob.
2. Nord string samples layered with OB-6 and a Nord oscillator can be almost endlessly configured to sound great.
3. The H90/Microcosm combo pretty much nails any modern ambient and pad sound design needs. Both are very fast to work with. The H90 has a very useful app. It’s like a plug-in that saves to hardware. Quick controls on H90 put three real-time controls per patch at the ready. The Microcosm has presets but can be instantly accessed for sound design or modification.
4. Small amounts of Hammond upper drawbars adds texture and sheen without being recognizable as organ. Super useful for sound design.
5. I’m finding “base patches” that I can easily modify by changing mix on faders, FX on H90, etc. every patch has multiple feels and use in it. Change piano and the whole feel shifts. This flexibility is wonderful - or try a different OB-6 patch or a different H90 spatialization. It’s all immediate. Playing space, not computer-nerd space. It’s working for me.
The action is fully “out-of-my-way”. I don’t think about it at all. And it’s a rig I’m happy to practice on for hours. It’s a keeper.
Great to hear you are loving your Stage 4. I concur with all of those observations, and I am a Church Tech Director and keyboard player. I have H90 I never use.. so might dig that out after looking at your post. Cheers!
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9 hours ago, Mark Schmieder said:
I went for the Gator TSA case as there are too many ways in which it felt better to me than the SKB "i" series case.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GTSA61Key--gator-gtsa-key61-tsa-series-keyboard-case
I ordered from GC as I am broke and needed to do this on six-month no-interest payments, but the Sweetwater link has more details so I provided it above.
I also ordered the medium size Maloney reversible dust cover, having owned the small (for Pro 3) and large (for Prophet XL) and finding them the best dust covers ever, even before considering the practicality of having silver for outside and black for inside. Unfortunately the GC site rejected the coupon code repeatedly, but I wasn't going to hold this up for $2 and change. I find that I almost always have to call them by phone to get their discount codes to apply to the items that are marked for that code.
I wish you the best with your gator case. I can tell you that when those get very warm, they warp and bend, and they don't go "back" to normal easily. They are also quite a bit more flimsy and thin than the SKB versions I posted. Maybe these won't be issues for you, but I've had 4 of those gator TSA cases and will never buy another one. The SKB 76 key i series here, is cheaper and much sturdier. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/3i5014TKBD--skb-3i-5014-tkbd-76-note-keyboard-case, and GC does carry it.
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5 hours ago, Mark Schmieder said:
Voila. It doesn't show up when searching via criteria, but you can eventually find it if you drill down by category.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GK61Slim--gator-gk-61-slim-semi-rigid-keyboard-case
Width is 12.5" inside, and the XK-4 specs say it is 12.67" wide, so I'm wondering if this one is a risk in terms of fit?
As the XK-4 is only 21 lbs and extras don't weigh that much, maybe the simple GKB-61 bag is enough.
In my opinion.. based on personal experience, anything over $800 is too nice to put in anything but a hard case. The best I've found are the SKB i series. They are a lot lighter than you might think in practice, and they are waterproof. I've gone through several soft cases, and wouldn't take another one if you gave it to me. Zippers wear out... fabric tears, water gets in...plus you can sit on the keyboard and cause damage by mistake. If it falls...not great. Yamaha has one YC series case that is very well made.. but other than that, I won't use a soft case. Your experience may be different, of course.
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I have used two different cases with my XK4, and both fit, though one is a perfect fit. This one fits perfectly. The XK-4 is jus slightly smaller than my Stage 3 and 4, which fit super well as you can see from the photos on this link. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/3i5014TKBD--skb-3i-5014-tkbd-76-note-keyboard-case
This is the other one, with plenty of room to spare. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/3i4217TKBD--skb-3i-4217-tkbd-61-note-keyboard-case
Congrats on your new XK! It does indeed have strong bass, especially if you turn on the pedal bass for a split (though be aware that you usually need to then go to lower drawbars and push those in, otherwise you have pedal bass and drawbar bass.
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Update: Sweetwater sent me a new XK4 and I haven't had any issues yet. I had the previous one for about a month before the issue popped up, and I didn't see it happen but one time, so I am a bit nervous, but I'm hopeful this time around.
Jim, I'd love to know what Hammond says in response to your inquiry about this issue, which is in the manual... so they must have some idea what causes it.
Allen & Heath CQ-18T. This is the mixer to get...
in The Keyboard Corner
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I don't have that many boards anymore, so not an issue for me.. but I'd just use adapters if I needed to.
I sold my Ui24 and bought this and don't regret it at all. Ui24 can be buggy and just disappears from the iPad/Mac/iPhone at random... but I really like having the built in screen here, as well as iPad control. Sounds better too actually.