SamuelBLupowitz

I understand just what you mean, Dan. The feelings just sort of creep up on you sometimes. It's an unfair universe we live in. All the more reason to share with each other, and make it as good as we can for one another, while we're here. I learned a lot of that from my friend before he passed, and since.

I can speak to this. The original dual manual Mojo (after a few firmware updates) and the XT (I own an XT) have some bonus sounds, basic electric piano and transistor organ sounds in three unchangeable configurations: Rhodes on bottom manual with the normal VB3 organ on the top manual (that's the only one I use), Rhodes on bottom manual with a Vox Continental on the top manual, and Wurlitzer on the bottom with a Farfisa on the top manual. Because I don't tend to use Vox or Farfisa organ sounds, I only ever use the Rhodes, which is nothing to write home about but definitely playable. It's not anywhere near the level they got on the Mojo 61 (which also has great Wurli and clav sounds), so when the Classic was announced, a lot of folks were hoping it would be a fully-functional dual manual organ with all of the Mojo 61 bonus sounds as well... But, it's not. Organ only, like the Legend and and Nord C2D. As far as the action goes, I went with the XT over the DMC for that subtle difference in feel, since I'd previously been playing organ on a Nord Electro and wanted a much more Hammond-like experience for myself (both sonically and, to a point, visually, I also don't love the look of the DMC). I do use the Mojo as a MIDI controller and it will often be my only board on a gig, but I was already a Mainstage user, so I can get any sound I want on either manual via my Macbook when I'm not using the built-in organ on the Mojo. The XT has simple button presses that change either manual into MIDI-only mode, sending velocity, so it works well for my workflow. I don't know if the Mojo Classic has those capabilities or not. And even if it does, it might not work quite so simply when trying to trigger sounds from another hardware board, which may or may not have the MIDI flexibility of a laptop rig. Hopefully this helps rather than further complicates! I want to second the above:

That's what I'd been doing with my laptop setup prior to quarantine. Since then I've ripped the whole thing apart and I'm starting from scratch, which was good, because it got so overcomplicated that the suitcase setup was becoming just as messy as having to assemble all the cabling from square one at every gig anyway... My new plan is to build a sort of pedalboard/second tier that will sit directly on top of my Mojo or Nord, straddling the top panel buttons, with the iPad, various USB devices, Seaboard, and small MIDI keyboard all in place and ready to go (I'll set the laptop up on my amp and make sure I have a USB cable that reaches for gigs where the iPad alone won't cut it). We'll see how it goes...

WOOF. Probably not how my therapist would encourage me to deal with band conflicts, but effective nonetheless!

I feel like any helpful worlds I might have are overshadowed by that impeccable song that Steve posted. Wow, what perfect lyrics, over an impeccable arrangement. I really felt it (I think all of us have felt that at one time or another). Might have to pick up the whole record, especially if all the organ playing sounds like that. :wink:

It's funny that you mention Ithaca as the place near you that has EDM; I'm sure that's true, but the DJ scene is so separate from what I do that I don't even think about it. We have a hell of a karaoke scene too, apparently, that rarely crosses over with the live music crew. So here's a purely anecdotal observation, at least based on my weird little town down the road from the OP's: I think the guitar/keyboard clashes that you mention are largely generational. Not that there aren't still those stereotypical personalities or conflicts, but the dominance of the Guitar Hero has been downplayed a lot in popular music since the 90s, and I think it's diminished a lot of the old stereotypes about how the guitarist is equalled only by the singer in coolness and attention-grabbiness, at the expense of other band members. Likewise to bass players -- I'm lucky as someone who plays both keys and bass to play with excellent, thoughtful guitarists, who don't mind letting me really rip even on our most guitar-driven, crunchy music (just as I love to support a long, fiery guitar solo). But also, a lot of the music I play is more oriented in funk, soul, and R&B, which has never been as guitar-first as most rock-with-a-capital-R bands. Other than some popular cover bands, Ithaca doesn't have a ton of straight-ahead rock (our sweeping-generalization targets in the scene are the Dead tribute bands, which, again, skew older, and a whoooole lot of reggae). We also, of course, have a college with a highly-regarded music program, and then an Ivy League school with a music program, and all the resulting professors' families in the community, so we have a higher density of schooled musicians than many places our size. Honestly, when I was in college, if you were looking for a guitarist, you were as likely to find a jazz player as you were one of the open-mic bros (I went to college in the late aughts/early 2010s, so I heard a LOT of Wagon Wheel). An interesting side note, even though my bands are very conscious of making sure all of the instruments fit properly into an arrangement, I've learned which sound engineers in the area we can count on by whether or not they turn up the keyboards enough... you can always hear the horns and guitars, of course. All that said, one of the reasons I've been as active in the local scene as I have is because there aren't many keyboard players, especially when you're looking for someone who is an all-around piano/organ/electromechanicals/synth kind of band player, rather than someone who specializes in jazz/classical piano or Synthesizers for Synth-Driven Music. And as someone else on the thread mentioned, the bedroom-producer folks are much more likely to use keyboards as their vehicle than guitars.

The Keyboard Corner: come for the education and camaraderie, stay for the gear-induced PTSD support group.

Few things make me happier than recording a bunch of vocalists around one omni mic. I want to sound like CSN! My band mates often respond 'yeah, but wouldn"t it be nice to be able to mix it later?' I pick my battles... I"m a big fan of the Roswell Delphos, and I use both its cardioid and omni patterns. I usually default to cardioid, though, so maybe I should try it in omni on some 'directional' sources too...

I"ve loved DIY analog reverb solutions for a long time, ever since tracking my first solo album at a home studio where the owner (the father of a college friend) has built and wired up an old-school echo chamber off the live room. I"ve used tiled hallways and stairwells to great effect (no pun intended) as vocal and guitar reverbs. In my new house, the plumbing access panels we"ve had to cut mean there"s a pretty direct line from the studio to the upstairs bathroom. It is giving me ideas... EDIT: I actually found an interview with my friend"s dad, the studio owner. His book Studio Stories is a great read.

Depending on how long we have to quarantine in the US, I may need to consider this for my next recording project...

Maybe they're playing in the pit for a production of Company, and they're really married to the original 70s orchestration?

Excited to read more about your experience with this board, and also strangely feeling like I need to cut back on fatty foods in my diet. :wink:

I started reading this eagerly, even though I really, really shouldn't even think about buying any keyboards for awhile.

Nice to know that this forum continues to be on the cutting edge of technology.

As a fellow upstate-of-NYC New Yorker, this is the thing that has put me off gigging even as outdoor venues open (and I should say that my county has one of the lowest infection rates in the state). There"s a lot of lip service being paid to social distancing and six feet and wearing your mask (unless you"re at your table or picnic blanket where you"re eating and drinking!), but it just takes a little bit of inattentiveness to the logistics to elevate the risk level beyond comfort. I"ve taken comfort from interviews with epidemiologists where they describe just how difficult it is to transmit this virus in an outdoor environment. When I went to see some friends" first live gig since quarantine began at the local brewery last weekend, that was the only thing that made me feel comfortable at all. Once you start getting food and drink in people, even the cautious ones (and I count myself and my wife in this number) start to let our guard down. We were glad to have gone out and seen people and live music... so, so glad. But afterwards we said 'nope, not ready for that yet.' The venue asked our band if we could fill in this past Friday, and after a group discussion, we declined. It"s a challenging time. I"ve been feeling tremendously grateful to have moved into a new home in a friendly but secluded neighborhood, with lots of space to create music and have a few friends gather outdoors at a safe distance. I hope your infection concerns are relieved soon, and that any future gigs you may have handle the staging and crowd dispersal more cautiously.

I think this whole thread is much ado about... never mind.

They filmed a full production with the original cast back in 2016, but it had only been used for press reel and some footage for a documentary until they released the full production on Disney+ today. My wife and I watched it tonight -- we saw most of the original cast in previews, saw a touring production in Philly last year, and have listened to the cast album many times, but let me tell you, as timely and important as that show felt five years ago, I was not emotionally prepared for how it was going to land with me given the state of things in 2020. Hey, sorry I missed the message about the hang! I spent most of my day off in the home studio, cranking out a whole track from scratch, playing all the instruments (including drums!) for the first time. I'll share it tomorrow. And I'll look forward to catching up with you lot soon.

Here's something maybe we can all agree on: just bring back the days when every club would provide a B3. (But what if you need it to control a VST? :wink:)

So does at least oine of my Andromedae. dB looks like you already have 2 customers. Make that three! There are fewer and fewer good techs under an hour's drive from me (when I found out the the owner of a studio I've been tracking at refurbished the house Wurlitzer himself, I came on a little too strong asking if he charged an hourly rate for repairs in addition to tracking). I would be much more relaxed to know of another trustworthy keyboard tech I could turn to without having to get my gear to NYC.

At a recent driveway jam I attended, the next door neighbor was literally assaulting a piano soundboard with a sledgehammer. I do not know why. But I can only hope the end result is something like this.

Dwin, take this with a grain of salt, since it may not work with the type of bass sound you"re chasing (you said your band is classic rock and country, so you probably don"t want filtery funk analog synth bass, more of a 'I can"t believe it"s not bass guitar' vibe). But the free, open-source OB-Xd VST has low-note priority by default, and should work on whatever kind of laptop you"re running. You could download it and see if you can dial in a bass patch that doesn"t feel too much like a Rush concert. I wish I could say that any of my gear purchases over the years contributed to our recent home purchase, but if anything they probably slowed the process by a few years...

All sounds reasonable, dB. I really appreciated your help picking out and purchasing my Mojo XT, so I'm glad I got in under the wire there. It is nice to have a trustworthy intermediary. We're lucky to have you at the helm.

That didn't strike me as such a divisive artist to have playing steadily, but I suppose chicken tender day starts to feel like a bit of a downer after a few rounds of "Mother," "Cold Turkey," and "Woman is the N****r of the World." *Ahem* and there's the segue to... I do agree that there is a separation between music, lyrics, and cultural trappings, but I also feel that sometimes those things become inextricable depending on context. There's nothing inherently racist about "Gimme Three Steps," but if you play it with a Confederate flag draped behind you, it does send a different message, and speak to a different audience, than the racially-integrated Allmans playing a jazz-influenced 11-minute instrumental. You know, a lot of us now associate Ride of the Valkyries with the Vietnam war because of Apocalypse Now, rather than it suggesting Nazi sypathies -- but for some people, they might not be able to listen to Wagner without thinking about his support of the Nazis. And then there's the purely musical version, without cultural context: some people just can't bear to listen to Wagner. I wouldn't really categorize Tom Petty's music as Southern Rock, but the band's Gainesville roots and some of the iconography and subject matter surrounding the Southern Accents album led to Tom having to denounce Confederate symbols and ideology onstage. I always thought Tom Petty was one of the good ones; he stuck up for the underdog, famously didn't back down (no pun intended) to intimidation, but was willing to admit his mistakes, too. That strength and that vulnerability were present in his music. I miss him.

Just a clarifying note, and it seems from your post that you have this figured out, but it bears repeating: these different organ models (the Mojo has 22, I believe) affect the overall quality and timbre of the instrument, but are completely separate from any drawbar, chorus, or percussion settings. It's sort of like selecting from a Yamaha grand, or a Steinway grand, or an Ivers & Pond upright. But then you still have the same tonal adjustments to work with (I can't really think of a piano corollary to that because acoustic pianos don't really have on-the-fly tonal controls the way an organ does). So if you set the drawbars (or save a preset) to 888800000, that will sound slightly different on model '30 than model '50 than model '70. But that's a much subtler change in character than if you then change your drawbar registration to 888888888. Sorry if that's adding more confusion rather than clarity, just want to make sure you know what you're dealing with. Dual manual clonewheels are marketed to a much smaller, more specialized group of players than, say, a Nord Electro; consequently they tend to be more "digital recreations of the analog instrument with all its quirks plus some modern conveniences" rather than "let's take a popular vintage sound and put it in a keyboard designed for the contemporary digital musician."

Back when we were all still on campus pre-covid, the music department at Cornell would give monthly organ concerts in the chapel across the quad from my office (including some really silly, fun Halloween concerts). I got to be a really big fan of the instrument. I also was lucky enough to be able to use it to overdub a couple of parts on my band's last record (a proggy song cycle that was just begging for it). Even though I was basically playing big doomy pads, it was a highlight of my recording career.