artdob

My highlights here

My NAMM highlights-

Which store in LA has the 2700? I would like to play it too as I’m considering this one. So hard to find quality boards to try before purchase these days.

Not a synth, but would like to see an emulation of the Gibson G-101 combo organ (if one is out there, point me to it). Also the EML 101 please.

Big sky essential for my DX7

Model D - big knob version. Would also go for the EML 101 too.

Super - didn't realize it was such a small install. Will give it a go. Thanks for the advice keyboard tribe.

Ah, memories. I remember drooling over this beast at Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood in the late 70s. I can still remember that point in time - on the other side of the street from the current location. In the keyboard room - this Oberheim beast, the Yamaha CS80 in front of the sidewalk window, Arp Omni, 2600 and Odyssey in the house, a Roland small modular rig (forget the model number), Fender Rhodes, and a bunch of other goodies. A golden age of keyboards. And now for about $100 bucks, I can recreate that crazy synth I could once only dream about?? Are you kidding me? I'm in.

Is it possible? I'm on a MacBook. Went to download the trial version today, but it seems that can only be installed on the main hard drive. Even with a 4TB SSD, I am pushing the limits of space, so moving everything I can music production related to an external SSD. Is the non-trial version of Pianoteq installable on an external drive or limited to the computer's primary drive?

My two cents as a player of the baroque instruments. Harpsichords did not have two manuals for the purpose of volume. Rather, there would typically be a different registration on each keyboard. The bottom keyboard might employ just am 8" string set or perhaps 8" and 4" for a thicker sound. The upper manual would employ an alternate registration, different than the bottom manual, perhaps 8" only or 4" only, or the addition of a buff or lute stop. Listen to a harpsichord recording of Bach"s Italian Concerto as an example, particularly the second movement. The Igor Kipnis recording 'Harpsichord"s Greatest Hits' provides a wealth of examples of the registration possibilities on that instrument. On the pipe organ, from the time of the Baroque masters such as Bach and Buxtehude, each manual would employ a different registration, including a third registration on the pedalboard. This would allow for contrapuntal performances with independent sounds from each manual and pedals. The upper (swell) manual might include a solo stop such as trumpet or oboe to play a solo line over a registration of flutes or principals on the lower (great) manual; or string (organ nomenclature) on the swell as contrast to flutes on the great. Just a couple of many many possibilities. Perhaps best to listen to examples. Couperin"s Mass for the Convents provides a spectacular example of complementary registrations on the organ. I use the Hauptwerk program with my Hammond XK5 (along with a 32 note pedalboard) to transport me to the classical world when I"m not otherwise spinning the Leslie and the modern Hammond sound. Pull up some YouTubes of pipe organists or harpsichordists for an additional perspective. I suppose it all began with the great baroque instrument makers and the composers who took advantage of the phenomenal instruments. We are the beneficiaries of these designs.

I stumbled upon the Call Me video about two months ago and was hooked. Went through a deep dive of every Wanderley album recently that is hosted on Amazon Music. A great style.

Dance class accompanist - one of the most enjoyable fulfilling gigs I"ve ever had. Back in my college days. Getting paid to improvise. Priceless.

Pretty flexible on budget - just looking for the right combination of weight, sound quality - price is less a consideration (to a point). Also now pondering if I just buy a powered amp to pair with my Ashley mixer, or go with a new powered mixer which may provide more flexibility as the Ashley only has 1/4 inputs I believe - fine for keys, but if I want to engage a vocalist on occasion, XLRs might be nice to have.

Super response Nathanael - thanks!

I fall in the category of having sold equipment (amps, speakers) that I find sure would be useful to have today. Presently without any amp or speakers setup (have typically relied on house systems) and looking to do some duo/trio small club gigs. Main board will likely be my Hammond XK5 for these, and on occasion digital piano. Browsing the forums, the consensus seems to be to stay away from dedicated keyboard amplifiers. So in looking at either a powered or passive speaker setup (two speakers), what would y'all recommend? Interested in thoughts on speaker size too - 12 inch versus 15 inch (or other) - knowing that I'll be holding up bass parts on the Hammond. Also looking for something that won't break my back to transport and move.

I use the Korg PlugKey. Midi out from the keyboard to midi in on the PlugKey. Then 1/4 inch cables from PlugKey to a mixer. For me, its been simple and reliable. Not sure if those with latency issues mentioned elsewhere here are using older iPads. Mine is probably three years old, no latency issues.

Have been using Korg Module as of late for everything on gigs. Fully loaded. Extremely stable and reliable. Have had stability issues with other ios apps.

Recently the OB3 squared - so part of my NAMM exploration was for an improvement on my organ situation. Since selling the OB3, I'm temporarily relying on iPad apps that I midi to one of my keyboards - but a better permanent solution is needed. I spent a LOT of time the Hammond XK5, as well as the Skx. Viscount Legend was also a stop for me. The big readers digest on the YC61, is after spending as much time as I did with the XK5, the Yamaha just sounded like a cheap toy in comparison to a rather respectable instrument. I believe I'll be placing an order for the XK5 this weekend. It just "felt right" to play. It's the priciest and the heaviest of the options, but will likely suit me the best with given the type of music I play, which is organ centric in a big way. Lucky to have access to several real Hammonds in the studio - but now need to step up the game for live gigs. I'm sure the YC61 has its place for certain players - I'm not one of them.

Played this keyboard at NAMM today. Incredibly underwhelmed. This was my biggest disappointment of the show.

Picture attached of the rig - sorry the resolution is a bit blurry. Also have no idea how to actually embed the photo on this forum as some other posts have done. Will try a better description here. The bottom board, Alesis QS1 drives a Roland XV-2020 on the left side. I've used the Roland for piano and electric pianos via additional SRX boards. The output of the Roland goes into input 1 of the pedalboard. Input 1 is only connected to the Strymon Ola (Chorus) and Flint (Tremolo/Reverb). I'll use the Chorus for Rhodes type sounds. I'll engage the tremolo as fitting for Wurli sounds. I have a 1/4 connection on the pedalboard to accept an input from the QS8's sustain jack, so that I can use the fixed sustain pedal on the pedalboard. I had the sustain pedal positioned up higher on the pedalboard so that I can rest my foot on the lower end of the pedalboard. In input 2, I plug in the DX7IIFD. In input 3, I've had an input of the Oberheim OB3 module (which has a midi connection to the DX7II). So via the AB box, it toggles between inputs 2 and 3 so that I either play the DX7 natively, or when on B, it takes the input of the Oberheim organ module. That route (inputs 2/3 - I get to pick one via the AB box), goes to the Mobius, El Capistan, Timeline, Big Sky and Ventilator. As the DX7II is a very dry sounding board with not effects, these options give me options to improve the sound of that board. Mobius is used for occasional phaser on string pads, otherwise the DX7II will get a dose of the BigSky's reverb. I typically used the El Capistan for one Reggae type number. The timeline delay and Neo Vent are used for the Oberheim module - the Vent making an incredible improvement for the OB3. The second photo shows a side view of the pedalboard with the 6 inputs. The singular extra jack takes a feed for one of the foot controllers - which I use to control volume on the top board (DX7II/OB3 module combination). Lastly, I had the folks at West Coast pedalboards create the spacing that you'll see on the rear side of the pedalboard. That allows it to sit over the bottom of an X-stand on which I have the DX7II. I use this pedalboard for gigs and rehearsals. Has helped with setup time for a number of the items that previously were scattered on the floor in a mess under the keyboards. I chose the Strymon pedals as when I was doing research, came across folks noting that they pair well with keyboards. I've had no issues with sound from the Strymon boxes and they have served me well. I just recently sold my OB3 box, and am uncertain about the future of my DX7II. As my rig evolves, will see what happens with the pedalboard. If the DX7Ii gets purchased by someone, the replacement for it will likely be a Hammond XK5 as most of what I play via the DX7II has been the organ box. For the past few months, I've also been favoring piano and EP via Korg Module on my iPad versus the Roland. I would say the piano sound on the XV2020, even though I had the expansion card, was the weak spot of this setup. So far Korg Module has been completely reliable in both rehearsals and gigs. Rig (as I suppose is the same with other folks in the forum), is in an ever evolving state. Hope this expanded description paints a better picture of how I use this pedalboard.

My solution took me to get a custom pedalboard put together by the folks at West Coast Pedalboards. This board is designed to accept three inputs, all stereo. input 1 goes to the Chorus box and Flint (Tremolo/Reverb). I use this to run an 88 key master controller for pianos/electric pianos. The sustain pedal also connects from the pedalboard to the 88-key board Inputs 2 and 3 can be toggled by the custom stereo AB switch I had built by Analog man. The selected board (in my case DX7II and OB3 squared organ), route to everything else on the board. One of the foot controllers I use for volume, the other one I have wired to the El Capistan pedal. This solution finally solved pedal creep and a mess of pedals and cables under my board. (Hope the picture posts as I'm using the attachment manager to try to get a visual here - if not I'll try another update).

As my QS8 is currently in the shop and I await to hear that the keyboard doctor can fix its current ailment, Ive been thinking how fantastic it would be to have an ios app of the Alesis QS sounds including the q card library. Considering how large some other sound libraries are on my iPad, bringing the Alesis library to the iPad would expand my sound palette immensely and somewhat future proof my aging Alesis hardware. Mr. Bryce?

Anyone know if you could play one sound on the S9, say a piano, and via a midi connected keyboard, play another sound (organ) set to another midi channel on a second keyboard, and still have the full keyboard range on both boards? In looking at the manual, I see how something almost like this is possible using the keyboard zone feature, but I wouldnt want to limit the keyboard area for either sound. If someone has done this, would appreciate some info on the setup. Havent found this particular configuration discussed on the internet. Answer will likely drive if I go with S9 or S7 pro.