SamuelBLupowitz

Three of us on now if you're looking for company, Steve! (or anyone, for that matter.)

Awesome, I was just thinking about trying to kick-start one of these as well. I"d love to see some of your faces, especially since I"m coming back from a crazy couple of weeks â family visits, unearthing that Hammond, laptop death, my first gig since March, and, uh, getting sick earlier this week and waiting in terror for Covid test results (negative, thank god). Let"s talk with great fervor about keyboard BS! I can also jump in this afternoon/early evening (east coast US).

And that, my friends, is the difference between a normal person... and a keyboard player!

Unlimited beverage of your choice on me for more of these stories.

Picked up OB-Xd early in quarantine, and it fast became one of my most-used software synthesizers, just in time for me to do synth overdubs on a few folks" quarantine projects! My 2014 MacBook just bit the dust, but as soon as it"s replaced, I will be giving 2.0 a spin without a doubt.

Wow, what a project. And what a relief to know that historic instrument wasn"t lost to the world.

What"s this forum for if not to take you all on the journey with me? My wife assented to doing the move 'myself' when I told her the helpers I had picked out, specifically the drummer, but she made quite clear she did not want to be there to watch it happen, or hear about how it went down after. That reminds me a little bit of what it was like moving our piano into our old apartment. The ice on the stairs in particular was what made me think 'we will pay professionals for this service from now on.'

Same here. I think we borrowed that ending from the Gov"t Mule live cover.

I must say, I'm looking forward to getting mine, as well (haven't received a shipping confirmation yet, but I ordered a little longer after the initial announcement). Even with the handful of small gigs I have right now, it's (theoretically) going to simplify my life a lot. Let us know when you get it, Rod!

VICTORY. After struggling to find a mover who was willing to handle it, three pals and I got the Leslie and the A100 down to the ground floor today, which was satisfying, but scary, and required some improvisation. The Leslie was a cinch, but the organ was the real puzzle, as expected. The dollies made lifting it a lot easier, but the one on the top-facing side wound up catching on the stairs a couple of times since the angle was so steep, and even though it was strapped on tight near the manuals, the bottom of the dolly started pulling away from the organ (gulp). Then, to get it around the corner at the bottom of the stairs, we had to set the whole thing on its side, rotate it, and ease it down to its normal position, all while avoiding resting it on some copper pipe conveniently situated directly opposite the stairwell at the entry to the next room. Hopefully we didn't rattle the innards around too much, but it seemed okay, and I guess that's why we're taking it straight to the tech, yeah? My drummer was the real hero of the day; he used to be a mover and he really took charge of the situation. We love to joke about 'em, but they're invaluable, eh? :wink: Now I've just got to get the trailer there (looking like early next week), load everything up (just one step down from the front porch, definitely manageable with two people on the dollies), and get it to my guy! I'll keep everyone posted.

If it will brew my coffee while I play, I'll add it to my Sweetwater wishlist!

And all but the prechorus of No Quarter!

George, you're in Syracuse these days? You ever play in the area? I mean, not right now, but under Normal Circumstances? You're not that far from me, and now that I've seen you play, I would definitely make the trip to catch you in person.

Is the action on this digital piano reparable, and is it worth fixing? If not... what do you do with a DOA hunk of plastic, metal, and electronics? [video:youtube] Context: my parents just came to visit, to celebrate my wife's 30th birthday and to see our house for the first time. Because of the pandemic and such, it's the first time we've seen them since the holidays, so we were thrilled to get together. That's why they could deliver us a bunch of junk from my childhood, and my wife didn't react by murdering them both with a hatchet. One of the items they dropped off was my very first gigging keyboard, the mighty Suzuki SS-100 stage piano. Yes, I know, many of you are already seething with jealousy that you couldn't start your performing careers with this legendary beast atop your X-stand. Not only did the owner of the local music store sell it to a 13-year-old in 2002 by showing off its extremely passable "Jump" patch sample, but with its many sounds at my disposal and its chunky plastic weighted hammer action at my fingertips, I could perform both the air raid siren from "Miami 2017" and the helicopter from "Goodnight Saigon." So suffice to say, I don't have much emotional or financial investment in getting this thing working again, which is why I felt comfortable taking it apart and seeing what was going on when it became clear that a good 79 of the 88 keys did not spring back up after being played. As you can see in the video above, it looks like the springs are shot? If that means I have to go in there and replace every single one, the hell with it, and I doubt very much it's worth paying someone to do it, too. But my hope was I could donate it to a school or community center, and if the keys don't work that's off the table. What do I do with it if it's junk? Does it go in the garbage? Can any of this be salvaged for anything? I've never had to dump something like this before. And yes, I have very little personal experience in repair and electronics, beyond nagging forgetful local techs and one time shorting out my Wurlitzer while "fixing" it, so I'm hoping some folks here can at least chime in on whether diving deeper will be worth my time, or if I should back out and dispose of the remains somehow. EDIT: I did find a somewhat popular thread elsewhere about this very same problem, and apparently it's not actually that difficult to fix... but the Extremely Helpful Video that everyone talks about is no longer on YouTube. Does look like someone figured out how to fix the same (?) problem though... [video:youtube]

Also you can cover several of the most popular tunes in the Stevie Wonder canon.

I believe the epidemiologists' consensus right now is that you're much more likely to be infected from other people's breath and respiratory droplets than you are from touching surfaces. Certainly, hand sanitizer and/or gloves don't hurt, but I wanted to mention that in case the actual playing of the keyboards was a big concern for you. Absolutely wear a mask, and -- perhaps more importantly -- be prepared to abort the mission if other folks in there aren't wearing masks for any reason. The studies show that the cloth face coverings are much better at preventing droplets (and therefore covid) from getting out into the air than they are at keeping it out of your body once it's floating around, so it's all a numbers and risk aversion game. If everyone's masked, it appears that it's relatively safe, but one defiant person can ruin it for everyone else. Alternate plan: enter Guitar Center in a hazmat suit, and safely recruit for a Devo tribute band.

I received the report and shredded it. You're welcome. Bet it sounded awesome. No one shreds like you Dave. [video:youtube] I was really hoping that this would be a lot worse.

Also, Crumar's new "Eleven" product is intended for that purpose, too, right? It would think it also serves as a preamp... I think it only works with the newer 11-pin Leslies that have their own power supplies, though. Wouldn't work on a vintage model.

I'm sorry, man. This situation we're in has led to some major setbacks and disappointments for so many of us. Here's hoping things turn back in your favor, and your piano is back in your grasp soon.

Jason (Outkaster) drove out to my neck of the woods yesterday to help me get the rig cleaned up a bit, see if he could suss out any additional information about what I'm working with, and bestow upon me some Leslie back panels and his extra set of dollies. Who'd have thought I'd meet forum folks in person for the first time mid-pandemic? As expected, a little cleaner and elbow grease (and a vacuum) made a big difference aesthetically right away. Looks like there might be a few broken drawbar wires and some other odds and ends that need work or replacement, but we'll see what the tech says when I get it there. I think the consensus was it's a 60s Leslie with a replacement '73 slow motor, not sure on the date on the A100. There's been some tinkering with them over the years, which makes sense, since they were gigged pretty heavily. Jason took some more photos; I've attached two here. Now I'm just trying to coordinate some movers or three strong, confident friends (since I have the ROKs now) and my friend with the trailer to get it out of there.

I got really excited when I saw this was out of beta, and the price is reasonable for what it is (and lord knows I love Pianoteq)... but as much as I'd love to fool around with it, I'm not a classical organist and the intermittent moments of doomy pipe organ I play in my rock bands probably don't justify the investment. Would I take it if a software license fell in my lap? Hell yes I would.

"You can hang out in my country all night long!" What a great performance. Thanks for sharing, dB. I saw the installment of this series about Kofi Burbridge and it was wonderful, but tough. Watching Nigel Hall break down and cry was more than I could bear.

To quote Heath Ledger as the Joker: "all it takes is a little push." Hoping to get the goods out of harm's way before anything like that happens.

Jon's got a Korg SV instead of his Vintage Vibe piano -- maybe that's his regular setup in this band so he can cover acoustic piano parts? It's scary how much Allman and Betts look like their fathers.

I sent him an e-mail with some pictures and I am anxiously wondering what the tone of his response will be... Well, if we didn't like to come up with interesting solutions to problems we have no direct access to or responsibility for, we wouldn't hang out on this form.