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Irena
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Posts posted by Irena
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Louis is a great keyboardist as well--rhythmically amazing, and very tasty. Early pandemic I started transcribing snippets of his clav and synthbass playing to try and get some of it in my hands. (I wish I could say I have...) He's humble and articulate in interviews too. I can't think of a more interesting musician working right now.
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Lots of good suggestions here. You've said you don't need anything super-accurate, so I'll pile on some of the other posts that favor listenability. On that topic, I personally find Genelec's to be among the most fatiguing monitors I've ever worked with, esp in untreated rooms. If I were stretching towards the top end of your range, for an all-purpose home setup like yours I'd consider the Neumann KH120's (the first, less expensive version without the DSP room correction, which doesn't seem necessary for your situation) over options like the 8030's that sit around that price point.
On the low end of that range, I am a big fan of the iLoud MTM's--list price $800 for the pair, and they go on sale for $600/pr every three months or so. They are accurate enough for nearfield mixing, tons of fun for playing keys at home, and easy enough on the ears to double as sweet desktop speakers for prerecorded music. Years ago I tried swapping them out for a very tony pair of Genelec 8330's at 3x the price, and (heresy alert...) ended up going back to the iLoud's as my nearfields.
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4 hours ago, K K said:
Most surprising synth I ever saw in a music store in the 1980s was one like below. "Painting on the wall" variation with big knobs, possibly used to teach synthesis.
Wish I had money to buy it back then as they are extremely rare, I would have sold it for a little fortune. 
Ha, my brain went straight to the "Giant MS-20" as well when I saw the topic title. You are exactly right about it being developed as a teaching tool. Alex Ball did a great feature on it recently that's a fun watch, and offers the tantalizing revelation that Korg occasionally produced upon request the even bigger and rarer Giant Giant MS-20!
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Many great suggestions. For some spicy/outside fare, I'd add Dave Liebman's "A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody"
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I stumbled across Fishman a few months ago in this unfortunately-titled Louis Cole video and was really impressed. (Fishman plays in “Version 1”, though “Version 2” is also worth a watch for Logan Kane’s spectacular bass playing.) Amazing to see that Metheny has already snapped him up. While it’s hard for me to watch anyone playing keys on early PMG tunes other than (sigh…), Chris Fishman seems like a great choice.
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I don't think you'll go wrong with any of the tried-and-true options listed. I've bounced around between Beyer 880's/990's, Senn HD280's and workhorse AKG 240 variations and been happy with all of them. A few years ago I treated myself to AKG 702's during an early pandemic price dip and adore them. They are by far the most comfortable and nicest sounding set of cans I've ever owned, and still under $300 last time I checked.
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By historical standards of what qualifies as a great keyboard department, the 34th St Sam Ash may not be shock-and-awe comprehensive, but I'd still say it's a step up from the average metro-area Guitar Center Fantom/Motif/etc. displays. When something splashy like the Moog One or OB-X8 comes out, Sam Ash on 34th reliably gets one on the floor and set up for a test drive. Ditto on niche brands like the Hydra, which they had in stock and demo-able days after its release. Sam Ash is still worth a trip if you're in NYC on that side of town.
Agreed with the posts on B&H's keyboard department, but I'll add that they are one of the few places in the U.S. outside of Fort Wayne with a legit studio monitor room with models on display beyond budget nearfields. You're not going to find spendy mains in there, but B&H will usually have models up to and including high-end midfields like Genelec 8340's, Neumann O310's, etc. The room is usually locked, and you'll likely need to wait a bit for someone to help you, but if you're thinking about dropping serious coin on high-end monitors, B&H can be a great resource.
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A real improvement. And the presets he's bundled with it are a nice surprise; upon first audition it seems like there may be a few keepers. Thanks very much for the link.
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On 6/23/2023 at 7:22 PM, o0Ampy0o said:
The first example has a great groove to it. Do you really think it has been used "in literally 1000's of songs"? Can anyone name a few?
More than just a few songs, and in fact an entire genre. Jungle/D&B rests on the Amen break as its foundation. Jungle producers start by cutting their teeth on intricate Amen beats in the the same way a developing bop player would shed Rhythm changes. There are dozens of instructional videos on YT that walk through rudimentary Amen edits.
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https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1236US--standtastic-1236us-wire-utility-shelf-36-inch
Standtastic used to make a 48" as well, though they are getting harder to find.
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A few years back I remember seeing this piano for sale. Too far for me to drive to try it, but it piqued my interest and I found a few posts from piano rebuilders singing the praises of WNG's composite components' performance and maintainability,
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Since Surface Pros have entered the discussion, I'll add the Asus ROG rigs to the mix, which often seem to be overlooked here. All of them have gamer-spec Ryzen or Intel "H" CPU's that crush any Surface's capabilities for hosting a bunch of thirsty VST's. The Flow Z13 is their tablet model, and be configured up to a 12900H CPU (insane for a tablet), and the Flow X13 and X16 are similar setups in a 2-in-1 format. I've been hesitant to pull the trigger on one, both because of the price (though still arguably a much better value than a Surface), and because I worry about heat management in something so compact running with that much processing power. Instead I've been using Asus' slightly bulkier G14 that has the same beefy CPU config, and feels a little more solid. It lacks a touchscreen, so I run live with a ultrathin 15" touchscreen display (much slimmer than Viewsonic's models) that I picked up for under $200, and the display rests solidly on a controller keyboard.
In addition to ticking the boxes on power, ports, etc., I've found this setup gives me (maybe irrational) peace of mind knowing that the single-point-of-failure brains of the operation are a few feet removed from the action, with the comparatively cheap remote touchscreen display feeling more or less like a tablet.
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This looks like the lineup from Decoy (pretty sure they're jamming on the last track from that album), with Darryl Jones on bass before he hooked up with Sting. Likely '84. From the footage I've seen, it seems like any and every posh Oberheim poly was fair game for Miles in the mid 80's. I think he may have, er, accessorized with a Matrix-12 at one point too.
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I'd add Native Instruments A61 to the list. Barebones features compared to some others in this price range, but If you don't need much beyond some knobs and a solid keybed, I've found it to be one of the best <$300 options for build quality and playability.
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I'm guessing you're really going to love it. The manual is solid, but a few things I wish I'd paid more attention to in my first hours with it:
- The "TREASURE TROVE" bank in the preset browser. It's easy to miss in the third party preset folder, and has quite a bit beyond what's offered in the other banks.
- DSP consumption. Diva's infamous for this and owns up to its name. While I knew that much, I didn't really sweat the "Accuracy" parameter when I first started creating Diva sounds for DAW projects. What I didn't count on was that I would like Diva so much that I would be reaching for many of my patches live, and often several at once. Result: major glitching. I've since gone back and remedied that with "Lite" versions of go-to poly patches that run at lower rendering quality, but it's been tedious. (Note: even at lower quality Diva still sounds great.) Given your intention to use it live, you might consider keeping an eye on DSP resources and benchmark your rig as you go so that you can dial in that Accuracy parameter as you build up your sounds.
- If using Windows: This may be fixed now, but back around the time I was first setting Diva up the VST3 version had some bugginess with learning CC controllers. The consensus in the forums I visited was to use VST2 instead, and that's worked fine for me.
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And there's this:
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2 hours ago, Stokely said:
Any thoughts on the various products that supposedly help you mix better (as if you are in front of speakers) while on phones? I haven't really looked into this idea that much, but I've seen various products that are related to this (slate vsx, sienna etc). I spend most of my time on headphones mainly due to the fact that my room needs help sound-wise. Reason I'm asking is that the "Realphone" products are on sale right now:
https://www.dsoniq.com/shop
As they say on their technology page, in very simple terms it's "headphone frequency response correction". I know some products (IK and others) have microphones that you purchase with the software.I've test-driven a few of these. You might want to check out Goodhertz' CanOpener, which has a 30-day free trial, and provides a pretty good idea of how these things work and what they sound like. Goodhertz rarely offers deals on their cult-ish greatest hits (esp Vulf Compressor), but might do something interesting for BF.
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2 hours ago, tonybanksfan said:
Not sure these have enough bass for me. The other thing is I’d like a more encompassing sound than a small sweet spot, don’t want to have to place things in the perfect place to get a satisfactory result.
If I have a party, or even other musicians over to jam then I’ve gotta have something more substantial I think.I think you're right about that. The MTMs' bass is surprisingly good for their size and their ARC software helps with placement, but they wouldn't begin to fill even a small room and wouldn't be a good choice for jamming with others.
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4 hours ago, Al Coda said:
Try to listen to a pair of IK Multimedia iLoud MTM ...
Not really cheap, but in opposite to relative expensive studio monitors, you might not have to wrap your head around position in room and acoustic damping too much.
I´ve seen a small studio mixing on these w/ good audible results too,- at least for my ears.
Available with or without bundled "Studio Max" software.
A.C.
I've been using iLoud MTM'a for this very application for the past few years. Very tight sweetspot even by nearfield standards, but they sound great when you're positioned correctly, and for my ears are less fatiguing for playing and sound design than many of the more expensive/more exacting monitors out there. Definitely worth a listen if they're within your budget. Btw--they tend to go on sale 3-4x per year across all retailers for $100 off MSRP--i.e., $299/each.
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So sorry about the theft. I'll cast another vote for 10" drivers over 12" for your application. Crisper and tighter, and capable of covering many rooms provided the audience isn't expecting shock-and-awe thump (wouldn't think so given your genres/instrumentation.)
If something like K10's or DXR10's aren't cutting it for your venues, I'd be surprised if the 12's will make enough of a difference to clear the bar. At that point rather than picking up a pair of mid-tier subs, I'd consider investing in one high-quality beast--e.g., JBL SRX, or better yet a Bassboss if I could find a great deal on one. There are different schools of thought on that, but dollar-for-dollar/pound-for-pound, in most rooms I'd favor one great well-placed sub over two meh subs for live keyboards.
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I would bet there's something to Al Coda’s point re: long-term effects of performing standing in elaborate footwear (paging Gene Simmons, Elton John, and everyone who ever played with George Clinton…) As I understand it, this was a big issue for Sheila E, who after so many years standing at the timbales in 4” heels had to take a few years off to work through some painful back issues.
A stiletto like those referenced here would feel precarious to me for intricate pedaling (ditto for driving—I don’t even try). But to the OP question, raising my heel pivot point with a less deadly 2-3” heel does feel pretty good. Even moreso when playing in a seated position with an expression pedal, where I’ve found things like busy wah pedaling and fast manual tremolos are a little easier with my heel raised a bit. In fact, a few years ago I sloppily attached a 2” block to the rear underside of an FC7, and use that pedal sometimes at home when I’m in just socks. Anyone else found that to be an ergonomic hack?
For me the bigger issue with heels like hers is leg clearance under the piano case. These gals look to be little more than 5’ tall, and so is Lady Gaga who often plays seated with crazy sculptural footwear. I have long legs, and heels above 3” wedge my knee up against the underside of most pianos. This is less of an issue with stage pianos that have been raised a few inches on dollies, but shoes like hers would never work with these tibias (tibiae?). At times I've wondered how tall male pianists have contended with this—e.g., did Van Cliburn ever run into this issue and need to adjust his body position?
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I'd echo others' lukewarm responses, but I occasionally hit 1-20 in a key other than C, and usually in some sort of rhythmic variation. Sometimes I'll start on a different scale degree to give it a modal character; that obviously doesn't change the finger mechanics of the exercise, but thinking of it as C Dorian rather than Bb Major helps my brain and ears and makes the time spent seem more productive. I often run it as well over the ascending melodic minor scale, again starting on different scale degrees--e.g., MM7 to marinate in the altered / Super locrian mode. I've tried it on half-whole/whole-half diminished scales as well, but that's sheer misery.
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Wow--great additional info. Thank you. I've read some of those GEM boards have poly AT, but never knew any of them used a TP/8S action. The S2 Turbo you describe sounds like a dream 61-key controller. Congrats.
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This thread has some discussion around fingering.
19 hours ago, JamPro said:The good news? There are only three of these scales. The half-whole scale in C has the same notes as the half-whole scale in Eb, Gb, and A (all belong to the same mode). The half-whole scale in B has the same notes as the half-whole scale in D, F, and Ab (all belong to the same mode). And The half-whole scale in Bb has the same notes as the half-whole scale in Db, E, and G (all belong to the same mode). In practice, I practice all 12 half-whole scales, because I want to immediately know the associated half-whole scale for any dominant chords. I end up ignoring the whole-half scale, because it really is just a half-whole scale.
This is a great point to keep in mind. Some discussion on fingering for the three scales here.
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Wish I had money to buy it back then as they are extremely rare, I would have sold it for a little fortune. 
MIDIBoard headed my way
in The Keyboard Corner
Posted
There's also the matter of whether it's the Japanese or US version which is clearly noted on the rear panel tag ("Made in ..."). The Japanese version is considered by some as more desirable for its Suzuki action (I am squarely in that camp), though I can't say whether that results in any sort of meaningful market premium for your purposes. I'm not exactly sure how the US vs. Japan question lines up with KK's V1/V2/V3 categorization, but I've seen some discussion forums over the years that hit on that, along with the "short board vs. long board" question, with the long logic board being more desirable for the firmware upgrades. Again, not sure how any of that impacts the actual clearing price; my hunch is not much-- in my experience most MB owners aren't aware of these nuances. For whatever it's worth, over the past 2-3 years I've seen Midiboards advertised at between $700-$1200 depending on condition. Best of luck.