ElmerJFudd

I still like to see the MainStage screen to confirm which patch/song I’m on and see that communication from keyboard and pedals is active and working should something flake out. Do you use a screen near your keys for this purpose?

I was in the GC near me yesterday. For a change there were some things in the showroom worth trying. I got to sit with the CK88 and the RD88. Two very different boards as far as user interface. I can see preferring one over the other depending what type of material and group you are performing with. The tactile CK is very easy to navigate and focuses on the immediacy of the holy grail - acoustic piano, electric piano, organ. Like the CP and YC there is an "other" category. I preferred the main CFX piano sound on the CK to the RD's main piano sound (I'd have to spend some time tweaking the FX and eq on this patch). That said, I preferred the RD's PHA4 action and key tops to the GHS on the Yamaha (which isn't bad, just not as good). The inclusion of internal speakers on both is helpful for practice. Access to Roland's Zen-Core sounds and MainStage integration is a major plus - you're not going to be short on sounds or caught without the one you need for specific gig. Both are a decently light carry at 28.8 (CK) vs 29.8 (RD88) lbs. Both are pretty compact, the Roland case being a bit smaller footprint, if a tad taller. CK88 (5.8" high, 52.5" wide, 13.9" deep) RD88 (6.3" high, 50.5" wide, 10.1" deep) The CK88 has two pedal inputs - 1 and 2, I assume 1 is for damper. Can the other be used for either a switch or a continuous? The RD88 has 3 pedals, one damper and 2 assignable that accept either switch or continuous. No RD-08 on the floor to compare, but they don't seem to have shaved much off the RD-08 when compared to the RD-88 (but the account creation and fee to get it on par with the 88). Mainly a loss of knobs, but thankfully not a loss of pedal inputs.

So I’m guessing your m1 MacBook Air is the leading candidate? 😊 Out of curiosity I took a look at the hacking community and have seen a few successful attempts to put macOS Sonoma on the Microsoft Surface 7. There seem to be some issues with getting the camera to work - unimportant to our purposes. Ideally this is the product I’d like to see Apple make. A convertible MacBook Air with a 4:3 aspect ratio screen. forScore is already available for macOS. If they won’t do this - they need to bring MainStage to iPad OS. Clearly not difficult for them having already released Logic Pro on the iPad.

Perhaps slips into the question of whether or not we have free will, is this whole story just playing out as created, are we predictable machines, etc.

That’s quite true. There is a performance gain with the SoC. But you have to get the upgrade upfront if you need it. Windows machines using an SoC will be doing the same.

Forumite counterpoint is successfully using his Surface Pro as his VST rig. I like that it is a tablet and as such can fold and do double duty as sheet music or chart reader (the resolution, not being 16:9 works well for a page of music). I wish Apple would do the same with the MacBooks (convertible with touch screen) and negate the need to also use an iPad. Or better yet, just bring MainStage to iPad OS.

$999 is $999. The thinkpad only avoids apples prices on RAM and storage. But you don’t “need” a 1tb ssd and 32gb of RAM to run MainStage which is $30 - all sound and fx included. As opposed to building a VST ccllection and buying Cantabile or GigPerforner.

Ya I was thinking what would I lock it to. Was also thinking maybe racking a Mini - in which case, I’d lock it to the rack. But even then theft is always possible, even if unlikely. I also tend to use my MacBook on wall power, set it not to go to Lock Screen while I’m using it, not to sleep the display while I’m using it, etc. So same problem - I guess if I’m not able to sit with it, I pick it up and keep it with me - which I also do with the iPad. The mini is pretty small, I suppose you can bag it and keep it on your shoulder in those situations where you are on break.

Interesting, so in theory, if one wasn’t using the ESP they could sell just the software.

https://www.maclocks.com/macmini-security-cable-lock-a.html

Hmm. 🤔 I missed that chat, Gene. It must have been that day when I attempted speaking with someone in my proximity.

The YouTube algorithm thinks I would find this interesting, and I did. So I share.

Same USB audio interface as the RD88, same MainStage control and feedback as well. $300 less. Does anyone know yet what the upgrade fee in Roland cloud costs yet? Is it… $29.99? $49.99? $99.99, $299.99?

Going to Mac for sounds is sound freedom, sound consistency everywhere you go with that Mac, or MainStage file. Great flexibility in fx, routing, layers and splits on a full size screen with a pretty decent user interface. Freedom to use any USB pedals, any keyboard controller. But Apple’s gotcha then - you may even have to think about a redundant Mac for backup. 😊 The RD-08 looks like a pretty good pick for MainStage - it’s just going to cost a bit more than $999 - and while your setting that up - come check out our Zenology sound packs and vintage instruments you may want to add to MainStage. In fact you may feel our instruments are superior and worth the subscription. 😉

Login to the cloud, dig around and try to figure out what will run on which hardware. Every time they release something it’s a guess as to how compatible it is with their engines.

Yes very much so. Great channel, tied to a business.

Nice walk through by our friend Stu at Merriam. He makes ONE bizarre comment, however. Did Roland REALLY achieve a better price point by removing functionality of a USB interface that is already physically in the keyboard? How did they do this? Was it magical? It’s not an empty slot where you buy the interface and install it if you want it. It’s already bought and paid for. They are withholding its use at its price point. Yes, this scheme may very well be an industry first. I’m confused on how it’s a selling point. Getting past that now as we’re all aware of their plan. $999 is a pretty good price point for a PHA4 stage piano with speakers and the Zencore engine, 3 layers/splits each with their own fx and eq settings. Yes, if you’re gigging stand alone, no laptop or iPad, it’s decent bang for the buck.

Has Yamaha taken this into account?

iReal is great for having all your charts in one place. you can lay out bars and mark structure, but I do not believe it includes lyric placement. You may prefer an app like OnSong, it imports text files for lyrics. You can place your chord changes yourself.

VALERIE Chords - Amy Winehouse | E-Chords Bohemian Like You With these free available charts, I would just listen to the tune and compare to make sure the person who created it is right. Copy/paste into your own sheet and make changes where needed, including song structure.

Is this sort of thing helpful? KRYPTONITE Chords - 3 Doors Down | E-Chords

Do you really need the lead sheet, as in a notated vocal and chord symbols with the form laid out with repeat signs, first & second endings, etc? Or do you just need the lyric and chords over it?

What’s the set list?

It’s just the trend. All businesses want to know who their potential customers are, how to target their marketing to their specific preferences and find a stream of predictable monthly earnings (subscriptions). They used to pay for names and email addresses. Stick a registration card in the box to be filled out and mailed in. Those days are long past. Now it’s about getting us to create the account ourselves, put a CC on file, require a software manager for installation, licensing, account managing, notifications about updates, new versions, new products. And since few have all the beans to spare in one go - subscriptions. A little money every month… foreverrrr. 😉 I’m still wondering when Roland’s Zenology controllers without an internal sound engine will arrive - ie. Arturia or Native Instruments. Unless they feel having the internal sounds is what differentiates them.

Correct, and an owner will have to provide CC because it’s a purchase made through their cloud and requires installing their cloud manager - not a firmware download from Roland.com. Or if you want it for “free” you’ll purchase one lifetime key. They could have taken it a step farther and offered the update as part of a subscription tier but did NOT. That is true. But the tactic is obvious.