GRollins

Sounds like a fun score. Take it and run. Free stuff is always a turn-on. I got the Fatar keybed that I use in the MIDI controller that I built as part of a free Kurzweil K2500 (sadly the Kurzweil was not repairable). I also got a Rode mic for free off Craig's List. The battery connectors were corroded, but since it could also run off of phantom power, I was good to go even if the contacts didn't clean up. I cleaned them, but never have gotten around to trying a battery since it works just fine powered off my board. As part of the mic lot I also got several other things, including an effects pedal that I sold for the better part of a hundred bucks, so that paid for my gas money and then some. Grey

I, for one, never imagined my musical heroes dying of cancer. Drugs? Fast cars? The occasional plane crash or jealous husband? Sure. But cancer? Now we've got Covid and it just adds another measure of the mundane to our losses. How and why should we be dying of some confounded germ? That's not...I dunno...it's just not a "rock 'n roll" death, you know? Grey

Actually, they do...it's called the Behringer Model D. Granted it's 3U, not 1 or 2, but it works and works well. Grey

I like things with knobs I can touch and cables I can trace when something goes wrong. There are limits as to how many things you can cram on a portable-sized screen, but if you've got hardware, it's all there at your fingertips, all the time. Grey

Desperation, pure and simple... It's not that I want to play keys, it's that there's no one else in this area who hears the music in their heads that I hear...or indeed, anything remotely like it. I started buying keyboard instruments as compositional tools so I could flesh out the stuff I write. Then GAS set in, dammit, and for an instrument that doesn't come naturally to me. Rick Wakeman, where are you? I still can't play worth a damn, but I have fun with it and I've succeeded in my original goal--at least partly--and my music is more complete sounding. Should I ever be so fortunate as to find a real keyboard player, I'll have parts sketched in that they can elaborate on and fill out. In the meantime, it's as I tell my wife, regarding my sanity: "It's cheaper than going to a shrink." Grey

I didn't find the girl's reaction to Jethro Tull particularly illuminating. She didn't say anything that I found helpful or insightful and I didn't even find her mugging for the camera all that amusing. Given the fact that YouTube will now inundate me with similar videos for the foreseeable future, it probably wasn't worth it. Grey

This popped up on my YouTube suggestion list the other day, but I didn't watch it. Now that it's come up here I gave it a shot. Really, other than complaining about his right hand technique, she seems rather complimentary of his playing. Considering that he was self-taught and used a lot of unorthodox fingerings, I expected a lot of criticism about that, but she said nary a word. It may be a matter of perspective from the camera angle, but it appeared that the pinky finger on Ian's right hand is shorter than I would expect. Whether that's actually the case or not, I do not know. I love Jethro Tull and still listen to their music. On the way home from work one night, I heard an interview with some record company bigwig--don't remember who it was, as this was years ago. He said that every big band had a unique style that had been imitated by other bands. He went on to list Led Zeppelin and their imitators, the Stones, the Dead, etc. etc. etc. All but two. Only two. Santana and Jethro Tull. He said that those two bands were unique and that there had never been a successful attempt to copy their sounds. (For what it's worth, I love a lot of Santana's stuff, too--don't know if there's a link there or not.) I haven't listened to the PFM video yet--need to move on with my day--but I seem to recall that a band by that name (or something similar, I may be misremembering) played at the August Jam back in '74. I later read that they had been discovered by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. For whatever reason, they never took off. I'll try to listen to that one later today. Grey

I don't know about Guitar Center, but when I ordered my Model D via Musician's Friend (same company as Guitar Center), after a month or two had passed in backorder status they sent a note asking if I wanted to cancel my order or stay in line. I said I wanted to stay on the list. It worked. I got my D. Grey

Oh, and another point...do not assume for a moment that because you haven't found yourself to be hacked today that you're safe. The people who truly mean harm crack the safeguards ahead of time, then sit patiently...waiting...waiting...for the right moment... Don't say you weren't warned. Grey

I used to work in a mainframe computer center. We also had network stuff. Everything had passwords. Everything. I counted one time and there were something like four or five dozen userid/password combinations that I had to remember. Clearly impossible, especially when you consider that I had all my personal stuff as well; the better part of another hundred accounts' worth. My solution? A Word doc file (nowadays I use Libre Office) where I could keep all that plus associated notes for each site. High tech? Nope. By design. The problem with password programs is that you're one hack away from losing absolutely everything. NEVER EVER, EVER fall for the "Oh, we use best industry practices..." or "We use one million bit encryption!" or "We're the most security conscious people on the planet." Ever. So what do I do for security? I'm a pack rat. I've got my last four PCs. I keep sensitive stuff like that on an old, air-gapped PC with double backups. Yes, I sometimes have to prise my lazy butt up out of my chair if I don't remember something. Tough toenails. 1) I need the exercise to maintain my youthful, slender charm. (ahem) 2) I sleep better at night, knowing that I have control of my info. Grey Addendum #1: I repeat, NEVER assume that you're safe just because someone tells you how good a job they're doing. EVER. Gawd, the tales I could tell you from work about nitwits doing the dumbest things, then solemnly assuring everyone that everything was tight. Don't buy it. Addendum #2: Last fall my personal email password was hacked. 14 characters. "Strong," by any metric. Pass phrase that verged on totally random to anyone but me...and yet someone broke it. Why anyone would expend the effort on po', little ol' me, I dasn't know, but they did. If I, as an official nobody, am worth that much effort then imagine the bounty that would result from going through the backdoor (and there's ALWAYS a backdoor) to one of the password programs. Addendum #3: Don't say I didn't warn you...

Somewhere back a year or so ago, someone posted a history/documentary of the Dave Smith stuff. I don't care for the current product--too fizzy sounding for me--but the older stuff was a different bag. It turned out that the fork in the road (to my ears) was the Prophet 5. With that in mind I've been watching this thread with interest. Fate sometimes throws me a wounded item that I can repair, like that Kurzweil K2500. Granted, that one went sideways, but I have to say that the keybed made a dandy MIDI controller once I built a pretty chassis for it out of some red oak and black cherry...which reminds me, I ought to post a picture or two now that we have the ability to upload pictures to KC. I'd like to thank those who helped with that project again. You eased my path considerably and I've had a lot of fun with the keyboard since then. Grey

Hell, no one has even mentioned the ARP 2600--it was supposed to be released this month. What with the virus and all, it'll probably be next year before it's out. Grey

"Insert Media Tag," eh? Okay...I'll give it a whirl. This one sounds somewhat Pink Floyd-ish to me: [video:youtube] Grey

How do you guys make the videos show up that way? All I see is a button for adding a link, then it gives you a place to add a title. Grey

Okay, so he's Polish(?), and maybe not from Middle Earth after all (no guarantees there), but I'm liking some of what I'm hearing. I'm still searching through some of the other things he's done, but these two I like very much. Others...not so much. He seems to be rather eclectic, to say the least. His name is Józef Skrzek and he totes around a rather battered Minimoog that dates back to the Third Age of Middle Earth, combining it with pretty much anything that's got keys, and some things that don't. He plays harmonica in one video, while simultaneously playing grand piano with his left hand--not your ordinary combination. The two links above are more along the lines of standard prog. I've got to move on to other things, but I think I'm going to spend some time this evening checking out this guy's catalog. Grey

One of us needs to move closer to the other... Grey

Take it from a bass player...you play like that and people jump in your shit, telling you that you play "too many notes." Bands where you can stretch out as a bass player are rarer than hen's teeth. Grey

HEY! I resemble that remark! Okay, for those of us who weren't here last time or the time before, or whatever, what is this? If you're talking cameras, I don't have one. Microphones? I've got a screaming blue million. If we're just typing here, I can cover that easily. If you guys & gals get a sense of the rhythms I use when I'm speaking, my printed comments will make a lot more sense because I write exactly the same way I speak...pauses and all... Grey

Being an analog design guy, I don't keep a lot of digital parts around. That said, I've got a couple of bins where I keep the odd bits-and-bytes kind of thing. I looked. No 74C906. Sorry. Grey

I never trust that a link will be there when I go back for it. If it's important, I print out a hard copy so that it's under my control. Coincidentally, I made a cursory attempt to go through some of my old links in Firefox earlier this week. Roughly...oh, let's call it 20-25% gave 404 Errors...and that includes some large, well-organized, well-funded entities such as the BBC. Yes, I have hard copies of the stuff that matters the most, but still...never trust the web to be there. Grey

Short the market. It's a pretty safe bet that the stock market's going to be heading lower for a while. You could short oil, but that move's pretty much over, at least for the near term contract. Grey

Excellent. Grey

Seems to me--as has been pointed out several times--that the title of the thread said "tell me [...] why you don't dig." So...I answered and gave specific reasons 'why,' rather than just a generic, pablum "it's not my thing." If you want a thread without the why, then start one and invite her to comment there. I stand by my statements. My daughter (in her teens) might get off on that stuff and would be inherently less critical. I don't see above-average talent. She can hit buttons on time? Seriously, guys? Seriously? Uh...isn't that what musicians do...hit keys/frets/whatever on time? If things have devolved to the point where being able to hit a key on time is a remarkable skill, then...jeez, I dunno what to think, but I'd hope that folks had higher standards. Multitasking? There are any number of one man band performers who do much more. There's a Weather Report link in another current thread where Zawinul is playing percussion (not well lit, but I think it's bongos between two of his keyboards) at the same time as keys. Emerson and Wakeman played multiple keyboards at the same time, all the time adjusting knobs and stuff. I've seen any number of players who would play and bridge over to the pitch or mod wheels with their pinky finger and do both simultaneously. I just...I just...sorry, I just don't see this "multitasking" thing at all. Pretty? She's nice enough looking, but my local Hooters can do better on an off night. I like attractive women as much as any guy, but I like looks in addition to ability--not instead of. Let me ask you this: Since several people have commented on her looks. If she was ugly as homemade sin, would you still think as highly of her abilities? Just shooting from the hip, I'd guess that at least some would (if they were to answer truthfully) have to say no. Tell you what, since there seems to be a disconnect between the title of the thread and the content therein, plus the fact that some people appear to be taking it personally that others are pointing out that the emperor (empress?) has no clothes, I'll bow out and leave those who feel that she's the greatest thing since sliced bread to have their say unopposed. The web is full of conversations that have gone astray due to people not being to hear other peoples' tone of voice. Emojis were an attempt to address the problem, but I don't use them because they're just as likely to be misinterpreted as words. On my end, I'm not 'speaking' harshly, but others are taking it that way because I'm not...um...fawning over the girl. If I was wild over her people would take it in stride, but because I'm not impressed, they're taking it as an attack on their opinions. It'll be easier for everyone if I leave the thread rather than get into some sort of more serious conflict. Grey

About the click count: One question I'd want to consider regarding the number of views is...who's doing the viewing? I'd be willing to bet that there's a very, very high percentage of adolescent girls doing the clicking. Not an age group known for their critical acumen. Grey

Count me among the unimpressed. I made it all the way through, but in hindsight I wish I'd bailed out earlier so as to save more time for the rest of my life. Thoughts: 1) I don't see that what's she's doing is all that difficult. Rick Wakeman does three times as much without breaking a sweat. Hell, I've seen dozens of average bar bands with keyboardists who "multitask" more than she does. I mean, really folks...she barely even plays two-handed. For that matter, I could probably work up a fair facsimile of that tune if I tried hard enough--and I can't even play keyboards all that well. The vocals would be hard for me as my voice is a wreck--had laryngitis a while back and my voice has never recovered. Besides, I'm not the kind who throws in a little faux-emotive "uh" every ten seconds. Dammit, if I'm going to fake an orgasm, I'm going to go full tilt boogie and give it the "When Harry Met Sally" treatment. If the woman at the next table doesn't say, "I'll have what he's having..." when I'm done, it won't be for lack of effort on my part. 2) The music isn't to my taste, but she seems to be more or less in line with the kind of music my daughter favors: Overly emotive, yet with no depth to the emotion. It's a false front; she's acting, and not even acting all that well. She's pretending she's in a music video...oh, wait, she is in a music video, only it's a cheesy imitation of Selena Gomez or somebody. Go ask my daughter, she'll be able to tell you who this girl is imitating. 3) There's Lindsey Stirling, for instance. My kids went gaga over her last year or the year before. It's the same sort of thing. Sorta pretty girl. Sorta decent musical ability, but certainly nothing to write home about. And yet...people get all kinds of overwhelmed. Stirling clearly has better production values on her videos, but setting that aside it's really pretty much the same sort of thing...just mediocre talent garnering more attention than it's worth. You asked why I don't dig the stuff? Honestly, I feel that the there are probably a hundred girls in my town who could do as well or better. Why some people gain momentum and others with more talent don't is a mystery we've all pondered from time to time. The girl in the video just ain't all that special in my view. Grey