Coker

I did try different velocity settings. In fairness, I have fairly heavy hands, and I’m not sure how that might have affected the playing. I have no such issue on the two Yamaha boards I own. This was not the Kurzweil grand, it was the sp88 stage piano. I guess the other reason I did not prefer the Kurzweil was that there was two much mysterious “programming” involved. I like to just sit down, select a patch, maybe tweak a parameter or two, and play. It may be that with time I could have set up the Kurzweil to my liking. That being said, I did like the organization of patches on the Kurzweil. If you tweak the parameters of one of the sounds in a patch, then all occurrences of that sound in other patches will also be revised.

I owned an SP88 for awhile and really enjoyed the sounds and most of the keybed. At issue for me was that I couldn’t get beyond a certain attack velocity sound from the APs, if that makes sense. It seemed like the pianos played fine until I tried to get some fff out of them, and then it just seemed like the keys bottomed out when I played hard, with no additional piano attack or volume. My local GC had a MODX8, which to me played beautifully and had great other sounds beyond APs. Organs for me are a little lacking as a lead instrument but work fine for layering. I’m very happy I spent the extra $ for features I never thought I would use, because I have actually found good practical use for several of them. Plus, it’s a fun to use instrument. Good luck on your quest.

I tried one of those adapters with an FC-7 and Kurzweil board. It worked, although the effect was quite nonlinear.

You’re not alone. When my company was experiencing a shortage of programmers back in the 70s, we successfully recruited from a local music college for computer trainees. Something about the brain being wired similarly for music and programming.

Has anyone noticed how setting up Kurzweil boards is much closer to computer programming than other boards?

No problem with my toggles, either. I did consider the issue you raised, but figured as standard switches they would be very easy to replace if there were ever a problem.

What’s the definition of a minor second? Two french horns playing in unison.

This is fun, but if you look at the whole email, which starts, “drumroll please,” and ends with pictures of percussion equipment, you might infer that the announcement is more about drums than keyboards.

Looks like my 35 year old Quick-loc bench, butt indentations and all!

Dave, I solved your grasping problem by attaching two self-adhesive textured pads, each about 4x6 inches, to the YC where my hands go to carry it from the bag to the stand. One pad wraps around the bottom edge in the back at about two octaves above middle C, and the other wraps around the bottom edge in the front about two octaves below middle C. This has worked remarkably well.

Vistaprint is a great source of signs, cards, and everything else.

The wattage listed is probably the maximum draw, which might occur only when powering up. Simply now powering each piece of equipment up simultaneously (such as when you turn on a power strip with everything plugged into it) would drastically reduce maximum current draw. Also, as discussed in at least one other thread, speaker wattage can be grossly larger than current drawn by the electronics. For example, the ZXA1 specifications show power input at 0.6 amps at 115 v; 115 x 0.6 = 69 watts vs 800 w claimed speaker power. Best to add up all the amps listed for each unit and see if that’s well under a 15 amp circuit.

Is there any distortion with the Bossas when you play the piano?

We’ve all had this discussion before about the audience not hearing the stereo. But some of us feel like we play better, maybe more inspired, when we hear the sounds in stereo. They sound more like “the album.”

If it has to be loud, I put the speakers next to the ends of my keyboard, then aim them in until I get enough sound to hear my self. I also try to position myself in the back, sometimes turned, so the band can hear the speakers.

Dave, we all appreciate how you are keeping the market for CP88s liquid. If you keep buying and selling them, you’re going to have to get a retail license!

I am usually sitting next to the drummer’s ride cymbal. My ears are ringing long after the music stops.

Try Syntaur

I have the “stock” $1200 per pair Costco aids from 3 years ago. Piano through them is distorted, so I must use a different program that cuts the highs and overall volume. Other than that, they have worked well, and the Costco folks are great. I would definitely test a new pair listening to your instrument or music in general somehow before buying.

But, all seriousness aside, the OP has gotten excited about the super locrian mode, and I’m in his camp. I didn’t know what it was called, but using that C#m maj7 (as I think of it) over a C7 for jazz melodies is a beautiful thing, and fingering fits my hand very well for some reason.

I prefer the catatonic mode.

I use one of these when I need to send a vocalist through my PAs with the keys. Instead of Velcro, I have a thin square of steel taped to the top of my keyboard and use an old speaker magnet to “glue” the mixer down (the mixer is also magnetic). It will not move until I pull it off to pack it away. And, no, the giant magnet does not affect the sound.

I had exactly the same problem with a Kurzweil SP6 5 years ago. Changed expression pedal and the problem went away.

As I get older, I have to start thinking ahead…

The Roland that they sell at Costco (FP1?) is really sweet, with a great action and piano sounds. I think they are running a sale at $550.