Bobby Simons

Lately I've been using a blend of Pianteq Blüthner and the UVI Ravenscroft in roughly equal measure.

A lot of Chris Cornell this weekend. It was one year ago Friday.

Im safe there. My wife could not be less interested in ELP or any of the other prog music I listen to, for that matter.

I still have my Generalmusic Pro 2, which I bought after seeing print ads of both Keith and Russell Ferrante hawking them. Good enough for them, . . . Mine needs some work, I wonder about his.

Thank you. I agree with every word of that. The design flourishes that the shell features can only be described as... unfortunate. Ill be even more petty and wish that the SP6 on the back was not so huge and italic. I am probably more concerned with an instrument's appearance than necessary. I'm a patent draftsman by trade, and often examine designs for a living. This past weekend I pulled my 34 yr old Yamaha KX88 out of a closet; I'm thinking about getting it working again. I muscled it up onto a stand in the studio and then just stared at it. In my mind it is perfection of design, bordering on sculpture. It's feng shui is off the charts. A beauty from every angle, and plays like a dream. I would buy one today. I don't give a damn what it weighs.

I began do this in a group that I play frequently with and could get the set list in advance. . . I already have the songs saved as sets of patches. I'll drag them into the order for that evening and have buttons on the 61-key controller programed for next/last patch and next/last set. I also have a slider that runs from the very first patch of the concert to the last in case I need to jump to something way down the list. For one band's very complex 'Concert' I also programmed next/last patch switching to the first two keys of my 88. People couldn't even tell how I was making the changes, I didn't really have to look. I ended up using these almost exclusively. So I never have to touch the laptop, can read the next song with a glance. In fact, people on my side of the stage could wander over to easily see what's up next instead of squinting at a set list taped to the floor or the top of their amps. I don't even know if this is the best way to do things, it's more of a system that just grew as my needs arose, and has always worked well for me. Take the time to make your assignments, program your patch changes within each tune (aliases are your friend) - you only need to do this once. Now all you have to do is play.

Looks like fun. Used to be, you needed drugs to make stuff sound like that.

Me, neither. A happy user since the very first day of release, 11 years ago.

I despise it for piano playing. I cannot figure out why it's so widely used.

Indeed. That, perched on the SL88 Grand, would make me a happy man.

This seems to be a moveable line in the sand. I've used these converters, nearly always in a situation where I am learning a tune that I don't have, usually to prep for a gig with someone. Even if I do have the recording somewhere, it's usually just easier to grab again when my rig is a laptop, Mainstage and controllers, instead of trying to find it. Then I'll open in a slowdowner if I need to, or loop it in QuickTime. Am I really guilty of something? Sometimes I only need to play the Youtube a couple of times and I'm good to go. Innocent of wrongdoing then? Some time ago, I used a converter to grab the 'hellhound' howls at the beginning of Deep Purple's "Hush" to create a sample. Guilty? Where did THEY get that soundbyte from, for that matter? I'm not building a music library for myself on the cheap. I can live with myself having committed these transgressions, and there'll be no deathbed requests for absolution.

As you may be able to see from my profile pix, I'm still using a QS8.1 as my Mainstage controller, but haven't used the internal sounds in years. I have a second one in a closet in need of some repair, and a pristine QS6.1 right next to it. Between playing two QS8's and a Generalmusic Pro 2 piano (in another closet) over the last couple of decades, the Fatar TP/20 action is second nature for me. (I wish I could find the equivalent in a new instrument.) I also loved that robust synth action on that QS6, hard to find that quality in a present-day 61.

Can you point me to a link for that (Mac version)? I don't see either of those for free. Thanks.

Funny you say that. Not too long ago, in an effort to find somewhere that I could try a SL88 Grand controller, I was routed from 1. Gianni > 2. Bryan Pistone, General Manager, Studiologic USA > and finally 3. Mark Towles, Northeast Sales Manager, American Music & Sound, who I spoke to on the phone. Incredibly, although I live less than an hour from NYC, he was unable to suggest a single place where I could try one. I replied that it seemed my only option was to buy from someone online and return it if not satisfied. He seemed to agree. I found this depressing.

No percussion volume select, I see. Maybe you can go in and edit a preset. At any rate, this seems like a fun little board.

Damn, I guess I'll pass. That makes the cost 3 times what I paid for the VB3 I'd use it on.

Did anyone answer this question, perhaps I missed it?

A 29.99 Behringer USB audio interface, it arrives today. No more pulling my Mainstage rig through the headphone jack, lol. (Although, for over 10 years and three laptops, that has always work just fine for me.)

I have a stand similar to this one: QL-642 One day I realized I could eliminate a connecting bar and screw 'wheel' from the second tier brackets and lower that board right down to the bottom keyboard. I was a happy camper.

https://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0004/036/MI0004036051.jpg?partner=allrovi.com