Strays Dave
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Posts posted by Strays Dave
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Nicely done. And you didn't spend too much time talking , as so many demonstration reviewers do. I ordered the CT-S300 for motel room playing on that road trip I've been fantasizing about.
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Like some others have said, I have several hundred CD's. Most recently I bought the Layla album (double CD) by Clapton and the Dominoes. And I recently became aware of Storyville records in London, who carries a lot of nook and cranny Duke Ellington things circa 1945-1952. And there's are evidently dozens of hours of radio recordings sponsored by U.S. Savings Bonds - the Treasury series they're called. So I now have 3 or 4 of those.
Everything I'm buying, I now am ripping to both my MacBook and my Windows PC. I'm currently android but if I change over to iPhone, I wanna have my library ready. I think of my phone mp3 library as a sort of corral. And my CD's are the source documents. The backups. I don't have even half of my CD's ripped, but hopefully drip by drip eventually. I love YouTube as a sort of jukebox that I use to pull up specific recordings. I was able to sample the Ellington recordings I mentioned earlier, that way.
BTW, I have wondered if making it impossible for me to transfer my library from the computer to my phone might someday become a thing. Could they possibly try that ? Sounds like an Apple move.
I don' have or use a continual streaming service. And don't really care to. What I always have enjoyed though, is a NARRATED curated radio show. A little bit of explanation can perk up my interest. I remember (at least I hope I accurately recall) a DJ once saying when he played "My Boy Lollipop" by Millie Small - that it was Rod Stewart playing harmonica on it. I love historical details.
What I hated reading, was a piece, probably by a millennial...something about CD's being so worthless that they were used for target practice someplace. Or something like that. No concern for the contents. Based on history, I think CD's will eventually be valued again. Sometime down the road. Of course wasn't it Solyent Green where they were selling old plastic pieces in the market place ?
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I've had the piano almost 2 weeks now. I've adjusted to it. I always put the key tension on "light" when I play it.
Problem is the A a 10th below middle C (A 3) seems louder in comparison with the others around it. And maybe likewise for an Ab (maybe Ab 5 - I'd have to go to the piano to be sure). I called the store - the guy is supposed to get back with me. Yamaha was good with the 5 year maintenance warranty on my previous high end living room digital piano (a Yamaha Modus F01).
So I'll see what happens.
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I had carpal tunnel symptoms maybe 5 years back. Had a steroid shot. I tried to get smarter. Take breaks if the hands are getting stiff or overworked. And I have tried to use weight and leverage more. If I'm mindful enough to keep my hands loose, and have my fingers hit the keys kind of like a rock skipping over the water - if that makes any sense. Using weight and momentum over brute muscle force. Of course the muscles are still being used.
Anyway that's me.
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Speaking as a pianist for many years now...
Practicing scales can be important and valuable in certain situations. It depends what one is playing. One important benefit scale practice is training the fingers and thumbs in playing piano solos - especially in playing right hand runs up or down the piano. The thumb under ascending (I'm talking the RIGHT hand right now). is important in playing up multiple octaves. And the 4th finger over the thumb descending RIGHT hand.
As for two hands playing scales, I'd say training the coordination of the brain (the cerebellum I believe) in playing lines in BOTH hands can be valuable. It comes into play when playing Bach Preludes and Fugues (as in the Well-Tempered Clavier) for example. Maybe not two handed scales per se, but independent parts in each hand.
I play solo piano and often play an independent left hand bass line. Lately I've been playing around with "Feelin' Alright ?" - similar to the Joe Cocker version. I've been slowing the tempo way down to get it where I can play and sing it - it's that left hand rhythmic groove figure that makes it so tricky. I'd say it's not unlike two handed scale practice - getting it imbedded into that coordination place in the brain.
OTOH, if you're NOT playing styles that can benefit from a level of two handed independence....maybe two handed scales aren't really valuable.
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Hey, Strays -
Could you post a link or provide some more specific info for the case you found for the Casio? I have a CT-S300 myself.
I've been looking for a case myself; the difficulty is finding one that's decent quality, fits the keyboard well, and is reasonably-priced. As the keyboard is so cheap, spending a lot for the case doesn't make much sense. I've seen that Casio makes a rolltop-style bag for the CT series, but it costs around $100, and doesn't appear to be officially available in the US (though seemingly available from international vendors). Here's a link: https://m.thomannmusic.com/casio_ct_s_keyboard_bag.htm
As far as the CT-S300 - it is what it is, but the bang for the buck is pretty great! Super-light and portable, decent sounds, a few other bells and whistles, etc. Speakers are OK for what they are, and the action is surprisingly workable for the price range. Hey, in a world where Yamaha uses really cheap, bad actions in the otherwise stellar MODX6 and 7 (I have a 7), the Casio is way ahead of the curve.
This one (below - the $40 one) sounds OK to me. And BTW, I think that the CTS300 with the handle is the way to go - for this specific use - motel rooms. I even think I'll get a red one in case Yamaha starts making that dream Reface CP - I can give the red piano to a grand niece. Win win - if Yamaha will heed the call
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Thanks for the ideas. I'm leaning toward the Casio CTS 300. I found a $40 case by Road Runner. I could live with headphones. But honestly, dead simple for traveling seems like a good thing. Thinking about being unencumbered by cables has some appeal in my planned situation. I can envision a revision of Yamaha Reface DP - with larger keys - 49 of them. But I'm daydreaming now. The Casio seems ideal for grabbing and going.
Thanks.
Hey...great minds think alike! The 4-octave (with full-size keys) Reface DP was my wish list item from manufacturers for years...never happened
But like i said I'm now happy with my solution. Obviously, a newer model iPhone might also give you better sound options if you find the Casio sounds unacceptable. Action is always subjective but I find the CTS-300 much better than the typical department store consumer stuff and actually better than some dedicated MIDI controllers. And for the price, it's built pretty solidly and has that nifty handle.For traveling, it's more a "beggars can't be choosers" as far as accepting the sound of a Casio. BTW, I went to London about 3 years ago. Visited friends. The one who resides there arranged a couple of what I'll call "lunch parties". We went to their flats, I sang and played for them and they served us a nice lunch. Also, some of the tube stations have Yamaha upright pianos. So I utilized one of them (Canary Wharf station). Also I got in a daytrip to Brighton by train. On the train station platform at Brighton was an old piano. Under a high roof, but exposed to the open air. The body of the piano seemed to be iron. It was in decent tune. U.K. is a nice destination for pianists.
Gosh, it would be really cool if Yamaha read this. But surely they've pondered this specific thing. The Reface is so solid.
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Thanks for the ideas. I'm leaning toward the Casio CTS 300. I found a $40 case by Road Runner. I could live with headphones. But honestly, dead simple for traveling seems like a good thing. Thinking about being unencumbered by cables has some appeal in my planned situation. I can envision a revision of Yamaha Reface DP - with larger keys - 49 of them. In this vision of a larger Reface - it could be used for sitting in with a band, sitting on the lap. This sitting in feature wasn't part of my original statement - I'm daydreaming. The Casio seems ideal for grabbing and going.
Thanks. For the feedback.
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As travel becomes more possible, I'm thinking about a small keyboard to take on a road trip. Ideally , 4 octaves. This is just to keep my piano playing chops up so that my whole coordination/muscle tone "thing" is kept intact.
I've watched a YT review of a Casio Casiotone CT-S200. It's a candidate. But if anyone has other suggestions, I'd like to hear them. I'm thinking of up to $200-250. I don't expect the best sounding speakers. I'm thinking of something I could play sitting in bed with the keyboard sitting on a pillow in front of me.
Any suggestions ? Thanks.
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I'm a piano player in the traditional sense. I grew up in the piano lessons and practice tradition. In my 20's and 30's (I'm 67 now) I played gigs, often as a pickup sideman. The skills that were valued in that time - a good ear for chord changes (mostly things like I IV V , I vi ii V and such), good chops for solos and so on. There was a time I played a lot of conventions here in Orlando. Having a familiarity with standard tunes from the Real Book (a fake book) was also a necessary skill. During the years I worked a day job, I struggled to make time to get in an hour or so daily to keep those chops maintained. My goal was keep in shape - good playing form.
Fast forward to my retirement 5 years ago. I now have an abundance of time and I'm able to indulge myself. I probably spend 3-5 hours at the piano most days. And I've transitioned into composing - in the traditional sense, on paper. Except now my iPad Pro has become my "paper". My process of composing typically starts by improvising at the piano. When I get and idea I like, I notate it. Then I play with the idea, improvising and trying things out. It's a distillation process for me and a song may be worked on for a week or more - interspersed with my regular piano practice. And with the iPad, I can change and revise things and NOT have to recopy a whole sheet of music by hand. I'm not thrilled with myself as a lyricist, but I get by. And like I said, I keep revising and changing to something I like better.
The iPad has liberated me. Where I fall down on the job is in crafting a multitrack recording. I think I'd benefit from a collaborator for the recording process. There was an early song by Cream, I think it was "N.S.U." on Fresh Cream. I've always remembered a line "driving in my car / smoking a cigar / the only time I'm happy's when I play my guitar". Kind of a silly line, but I think it applies to me.
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Detouring here because your last message triggered a memory. I was playing a month-long gig in London in the early 1980s and remember going into Harrods where I saw a keyboard that blew my mind - it was a Yamaha GS synth. This was the precursor to the DX7. I remember a small booklet with pages containing sleeves that held plastic strips a few inches long. These were the patches - you fed them into a slot on the GS and they got sucked in and you had a new sound. It all seemed futuristic back then and it sounded futuristic too, although today we'd all consider the sounds dated. I wonder if your salesman was working there at that time? BTW for any FM synth geeks out there, I do not recall if this was a GS1 or GS2 - but knowing Harrods it could have been the GS1 - a fairly rare and expensive FM synth.
Enjoy your new axe! I'm sure it sounds great.
It's possible that you spoke with Anthony the Londoner at Harrod's. He said he's 56, so he was born sometime around 1965. He said he started working at Harrod's at 18. His specialty was organs. He was an organ player (the pedals too I think he said). He mentioned that they had a roped of section with harpsichords. He also said they sometimes would open after hours specifically for the rich and famous.
He told me a little story about the store opening after hours for the Sultan of Brunei. He said the sultan had body guards. I think he said they were given some sort of special permission to carry firearms (like AK's ). One of the body guards had a satchel with millions of pounds (UK currency). They followed the sultan thru the store. In the keyboard department, the sultan would point out keyboards (especially Clavinovas) and specify how many he wanted to buy. Anthony (the salesman) said he was buying them to put in palaces.
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The Yamaha piano store got an NU1X in stock. The model with the hammer mechanism (no actual strings or soundboard) - a hybrid piano. It felt and sounded authentic enough and I'm going to buy it. The key action was stiffer than I'm accustomed to, so my fingers were a bit lazy for this action. I'll have to adjust.
The guy working the store here in Orlando, is originally from London. He worked for about 20 years at Harrod's in London in the keyboard department. Originally the organ department. He had some interesting stories to tell.
Thanks for the feedback.
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The plot has thickened a bit. The piano store called and said they're going to get a Yamaha NU1 - a hybrid digital piano with actual hammer mechanisms for the key "feel" - into the store for me to try. I googled and it says the NU1 is discontinued. Interestingly, I bought my F01 around the end of it active model life. I never cared about the actual hammer mechanism, but I'll try the piano out. A quick google search indicated the both the NU1 and F01 have 40W X 2 speakers. I've never had a problem with volume in my living room.
I know it may seem silly, but I've been a Yamaha convert for decades. Played a P80, a P90. Now I have a P515 (played only once on a gig before the pandemic hit) and a P121 (nice light 73 keys).
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Speakers near a wall will accentuate low end. If the piano was not against a wall in the showroom, that might account for your impression of the sound. The youtube demo is most likely recorded directly from the line outputs of the piano - not from microphones recording the sound of the piano's speakers in the room.
What gets me is that Yamaha describes the CLP785 as their "flagship" model with the "finest sound system in the series", yet you're claiming their 12-year old F01 sounds "more realistic." Something is wrong with this picture. If you truly think your current piano sounds better, why replace it? Those CLP785s start at $6500. I would be very sure I'm getting an upgrade if I was gonna drop that kind of coin!
You ask a good question. The F01 key mechanisms are showing their age - some clunky knocking noise. The sustain pedal also sometimes doesn't stop sustaining when my food raises back up. I've had this (purchased new) for 5 years and the thought occurred to me to inquire with a technician how much it might be to replace some things to make it more up to snuff again. I'm puzzled why Yamaha had such great design with the sound in the F01 - and didn't continue with with the speaker design (whatever that was). Reminds me of Apple - coming up with something great and then partially dropping the ball with a new design.
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Regarding a living room piano...
I'm seriously considering buying a Yamaha CLP785. For a little over 5 years I've played a Yamaha F01 Modus - a digital that's approximately 12 model years old.
My question is regarding the sound that hits my ears. My older F01 piano sounds much more realistic to my ears. When I listen to a demo of the CLP-785 on YouTube, is sounds great. Maybe the demo piano was going thru a soundboard. But in the local Yamaha showroom store the CLP-785 sounds like the sound is boxed in - the best way I can think to describe it.
So, how much of this disappointing sound could be the room. Will the piano sitting in a living room against a wall, improve it ? Would a supplemental sound bar sitting on top help.
Opinions or insights please. Thanks.
https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/pianos/clavinova/clp-785/index.html
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Yes, I started watching the Bobby Whitlock videos last month. They're wonderful. Some of these videos contain rock-n-roll history never heard before. Those late 60s and early 70s anecdotes are priceless.
Watching these videos motivated me put the Layla album on the turntable for the first time in about 40+ years. Listened to all four sides and it was just like yesterday - truly a great album.
Similar to me, I pulled up side one yesterday on YouTube. I listened to the Layla album many times circa 50 years ago. Listening yesterday, Bobby Whitlock was mostly buried in the mix. Way back when, I remember thinking the album was a sort of catalog of great guitar licks. Basically nothing on keyboard. I wonder what magic Leon Russell might've created as a player on the album if allowed to be an audible component. But hey, it really was a guitar album.
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I've been enjoying these anecdotal videos by Bobby Whitlock and Coco Carmel. In this one he tells a great story, along with some side notes, about the song "Layla"....and he goes into the challenges of the physical 2 inch reels used in putting it together.
It appears they've done over 100 of these little videos.
[video:youtube]
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I am a bit worried that historical revisionism is happening with the Let it Be/Get Back movie. The original Let it Be movie included some happy moments, but it seemed a bit grim. The new movie looks like it will be the opposite. By most accounts, the Beatles did not enjoy most of the Let it Be movie making process, so the original Let it Be movie may be more accurate. I am especially worried since Disney is involved and they might want to clean up the Beatle's image for the benefit of Disney's branding. The truth may be somewhere between the two movies. I hope they re-release the original Let it Be movie when this comes out on disc so we can compare the versions.
I have heard a large portion of the audio outtakes from the Let it Be sessions and most of it sucks. On most songs they did not seem to be making a genuine effort to play as well as they could. At times I wonder if they were intentionally bad to avoid being bootlegged.
I remember seeing the Let It Be movie and being somewhat disappointed. I bought the Let It Be album at some point and remember thinking that it was the one Beatle album that was spotty and disappointing. I always liked many of the songs, but remember disliking "Across the Universe" and "Long and Winding Road" and maybe a couple of others. Maybe sometime in the 1990's I read an interview with McCartney where he said he thought there was actually a good album in those session tapes. I sort of shrugged to myself and dismissed the thought. Fast forward, and maybe in 2010 I happened upon the CD "Let It Be Naked" at a yard sale. It was maybe $3 so I bought it. And to my surprise, it had that Beatle magic. I even liked "The Long And Winding Road". For anyone curious, listen to Paul's bass line on the song. As so often, Paul's line is inventively crafted. And many of the songs have 2 part vocal harmony melodies - leading to my (likely false) theory that Paul and John were paying homage to Phil and Don Everly.
I watched an interview with Alan Parson's some time back. IIRC he quoted Glyn Johns as saying that the Beatles made an album, and Phil Spector puked on it. I read (on a recent piece appearing on my Google news feed) that said they gave Spector the LIB tapes and he worked slavishly on them. Reportedly John like what he'd done. Paul disliked Spector's version. I couldn't agree more with Paul. I remember John remarking that he liked the Let It Be movie because it exposed the Beatles with their trousers down.
As a side note, there's a (what I'll call) a mini-documentary on Burt Bacharach's "Alfie". It's about 7 minutes on YT. In the doc Bacharach said that after hearing Spector's production of Cher's (of Sonny and Cher) version of Alfie, he was appalled. Burt subsequently wrote an arrangement of Alfie and flew to London to conduct the orchestra for Cila Black's version - produced by George Martin. Evidently Bachrach is such a perfectionist that he had Cila Black record more that 40 takes. When George Martin asked Bacharach what it was exactly that he was looking for, Burt said "that little bit of magic". George Martin said something like "I think we had that around take 3".
I welcome any new historical documentation in the form of a new Peter Jackson version. There was an excellent record album in the Let It Be sessions. And more importantly for future musicians who might come across the Beatles and dismiss them after only hearing "I Want To Hold Your Hand" or "Love Me Do".
In my view, the Beatles became something of a creative musical eco-system. Enabled by George Martin and Geoff Emerick and others. Also by commercial success. I have a similar view of Duke Ellington - using his revenue flow (not concerned with hoarding wealth) to keep his human chess pieces on the payroll for crafting music that at the time was like the tip of a spear. I read an anecdote that around 1940 Ellington hired a then well known tenor sax player, Ben Webster, because he wanted his musical persona in the band. Not having arrangements for a 4th sax, Webster doubled someone else's part. They complained. Ellington told Webster to experiment. Imagine the possibilities. The Beatles did.
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High jacking my own thread.
Well I never found out about copyrighting. I joined a sonwriting forum, but inertia set in and I simply haven't followed up by asking the question there. The "dumbest thing you ever recorded" thread made me think to post my one multi-track effort. It's not mixed, since I know nothing about mixing. But I recorded everything at -6 db (I think). Piano needs to come up. I added a guitar part on another recording, but listening later, don't like it. I read something about recording vocals straight up (un-panned) so I did that. I have the piano at 9 and 3 o'clock (on an X/Y two headed mic). The percussion at 10 I think. And guitar maybe at 5 or 10.
I wrote this intentionally goofy as an exercise. Blue Betty done got sad, got the blues today...
So, question is, can I proceed recording (tracking is suppose) other things in this manner, and figure out about next steps later ?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-Z7EtY4_QgIRcbc4c7g-NXQPDEwB8Wym/view?usp=sharing
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I debated on using the existing copyrighting thread. But since I have a detailed specific scenario, I decided to post my own thread. I've shared the iPad graphics in case someone might benefit from knowing this. I used to write songs on paper, but my process is to write something, then later write something else, then later maybe combine, maybe use a portion of each etc - so I used to have to recopy by hand after a number of changes. This digital graphics tool has liberated my creative songwriting process. I understand many don't write music this way - but someone may.
Also I've specified things about copyrighting as I understand them. If I have some misinformation, someone please enlighten us.
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I have 8 songs I want to copyright. I have PDF's of each one (***I've notated the songs with a graphics app - Goodnotes 5 - on my iPad Pro with my Apple Pencil 2 and a Paperlike screen film ***).
So, following a tip from someone on this forum, I created 2 files: Songwriting2020PDFs.PDF and SongwritingJuly2020LowResMono.mp3 (the mp3 is 128 bit). The songs appear in alphabetic sequence - scanned and audio recorded.
The tutorial I watched:
From watching the tutorial, I understand the 2 types of copyright that could apply to me: SR (sound recording) and PA (performing arts). The SR would apply if I had a finished, mixed, and mastered recording. As I understand anyway. The PA should apply to me because I have a visual graphic (scanned PDF files of my notated music) AND a rough mono recording with each unique portion of the composed song, represented once.
But what occurred to me (I'm all ready to upload my 2 files described above) is that I haven't specified each SONG TITLE. I hadn't thought about this until I was ready to execute the process of copyrighting. Where would this be specified ?
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Along the lines of circular vs vertical faders. I'm using Garageband. When I was setting my panning levels, I had difficulty with fine-turning (note: turning NOT tuning) - getting the knob setting exactly where I wanted it. I thought that maybe Apple in their design wisdom maybe had something like say CTRL + SHIFT and UP or DOWN arrow to turn knobs in a granular fashion. I found none.
Are there slider plug-ins for Garageband ? I read that it's an upgrade to Logic Pro. Actually, being the novice that I am, I could probably be content with a combination of keys allowing for fine turning.
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I just designed a song to motivate myself to multi track record. And it's worked. I wrote a bluesy 2 part harmony melody - a lot of Eb 4 (above middle C) and F 4 . Problem is that it's hitting the top of my usable vocal range. So I'm forced to do a vibrato if I'm holding the note.
I recorded a piano bass (left hand) with rhythm chords (right hand) - trying not to be too busy and leaving room for some percussion and maybe some guitar (what I think of as) punches. But I had to work and do punch in recordings to fix spots where I muffed a lyric or a pitch. After all that work - my vocals are set - unless I detect a screw up. The fun will be freely inserting some percussion and some guitar - having left some space for trying things.
Kuru. You mentioned Monk. He had a knack for finding nooks and crannies in harmonies and rhythms. I have a personal theory that Monk's sweet spot was around 1957-1960. Coltrane played with Monk maybe in '57 for something like 8 months. My thought about them is that they were an idea pairing - Coltrane with his "sheets of sound" playing just about everything juxtaposed against Monk's halting funky syncopations. I have a thing for juxtapositions. But if you haven't heard them together....
But now I'm wondering what I might do sound wise with the vocals. Some distortion or something. I recorded the piano w/Rode NT4 XY and voice with a BLUE Baby Bottle bottle. The piano was recorded L 9oclock R 3 oclock and the vocal tracks straight up.
This is indeed forcing me to learn.
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I want to try doing some percussion comping. I have a bodhran Irish drum and some other hand drums. Maybe I'll play 8 or 12 bars with some fundamental lower frequency drums and try editing - copying and pasting. Then drop different things on them.
I have a couple of Latin Playboy CD's. Mitchell Froom , David Hidalgo , Louis Perez. They seem to play with sonics. I'll dig them up and listen to them.
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So I know the current law is - yes, you can copyright melodies, but the question is should we be able to do that? Is it fair to copyright a musical phrase/motif? We can't copyright short phrases in a languages; for example I can't copyright the title of this thread. But melodies are treated differently (if they are recorded or written down).
You've probably heard about Damien Riehl, who mathematically created every melody possible within 2 measures/1 octave - and then saved it to disk, effectively copyrighting all of it. He's hoping another lawyer might use it in a copyright defense case to help break current copyright law. (
)Then there's this US$2 app (Piano Motif) that can generate melodies/motifs - and it's pretty decent at doing it. (audio demos on Soundcloud)
So how long do you think before this all starts to break copyright law in the courts? Is there still a larger over-riding reason to be able to copyright melodies or should it be like languages where we are not allowed to copyright short phrase/motifs?
Anyway food for thought during the lockdown/quarantine.
It seems to me that the length of the "melody' should be a large factor. These 2 measure melodies. Were they 4 beats per measure - I assume. Should someone be able to copyright only 8 pitches without regard for a melodic rhythm. That would be a major (or minor scale). And I think anything qualifying as a scale would continue without change of direction for those 8 notes. But copyrighting just 8 notes - weak. And then there's the hamonic bed/cushion (is that a term?) that the melody sits in.
Anyway it seems to me the bar has been lowered.
But like i said I'm now happy with my solution. Obviously, a newer model iPhone might also give you better sound options if you find the Casio sounds unacceptable. Action is always subjective but I find the CTS-300 much better than the typical department store consumer stuff and actually better than some dedicated MIDI controllers. And for the price, it's built pretty solidly and has that nifty handle.
I got to make a video with Craig!
in Craig Anderton's Sound, Studio, and Stage
Posted
Again, my compliments on the review. And I think 61 keys is perfect. Keep the unnecessary weight down.
I picked up my new Casio CT-S300 today. 8 pounds with batteries. I sat on the sofa with it on my lap playing and singing several songs. I see this niche trend as a rich vein to be mined. Of course I predicted Tracy Uhlman would be as big as Lucille Ball back in the '80's.
What excites me is to wonder what Yamaha must/should be designing. Lap keys (I coined a term?) could be a terrific new thing. I'm thinking of some sort of lap "table" with curves for the (human) legs to sit in - with a skid resistant mat for the keyboard to sit on. It could have speakers, but also a 1/4 inch and Bluetooth and whatever else. Someone could sit in an armless folding chair - and busk. I have this fantasy on a projected road trip from Orlando to Santa Fe. I have no idea what the local laws would be. But one can dream.
Oh, and it would (should) be adequate for sitting in with a band, should the opportunity happen.
Now the Casio CTS 300 is fine for sitting on a pillow on a motel room bed. That's what I bought it for (and it has that really cool handle). But I had to indulge my vision of a larger brother to the Yamaha Reface.