Jump to content
Please subscribe to MPN’s YouTube Channel!

3rdAct

Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    383

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by 3rdAct

    OT: This one goes to 1 (million miles from Earth, that is)

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Update on Webb telescope -- it's almost in position and everything going according to plan so far

     

    Webb update

     

    Quote

    Ground teams plan to fire Webb’s thrusters at 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24 to insert the space telescope into orbit around the Sun at the second Lagrange point, or L2, its intended destination, nearly 1 million miles from Earth. This mid-course correction burn has long been planned for approximately 29 days after launch. This week, the mission operations team selected the target date and time for the burn. Engineers also finished remotely moving Webb’s mirror segments out of their launch positions to begin the months-long process of aligning the telescope’s optics.

     

    Kurzweil PC4

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I'm trying to be patient but I dislike being told target dates three times only to find after I contacted them that "now we are seeing X". If the damn date is "I don't know" then tell me that, don't give me concrete dates and then "whoops" when I contact you.

    I experienced exactly the same situation with my PC4, and then all of a sudden it was in, a few weeks earlier than the latest date they had given me. Apparently the dates are given to GC by Kurzweil. The thing that kept me holding on, besides liking this keyboard, was that I was told that I was on the list for one of the units in the next scheduled shipment, not on some extended waiting list.

    The http to https thing

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I"ve had some problems connecting too, which is, of course, only a very minor inconvenience. Somewhat more of a bummer is that, even though it doesn"t connect on my end, it marks everything as 'read,' forcing me to scroll through the threads to find the new posts when I am finally able to connect.

    Way OT: unsolicited text messages

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Starting with one of the more recent iOS updates, iPhone has a feature called "silence unknown callers." Calls from unknown numbers do not ring, but do go to voicemail. The phone rings if anyone on your contacts list calls. It works well, and anyone that is legitimately trying to contact you will leave a voicemail, while most robot callers do not.

    Your Latest Purchase (music related)

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I'm having it delivered to the store avoiding any potential problems with shipping damage or theft. I can also return it directly to the store if I don't like it for some reason.

    Yeah, there are definitely some huge advantages to buying musical instruments from brick-and-mortar companies. I once ordered a keyboard that was supposed to be shipped directly to GC but it got lost along the way. The shipping company suspected foul play and contacted me as they were trying to find where to assign blame. Once I told them (and they confirmed) that the shipment was never supposed to come directly to me, they were able to immediately move on...

    Kurzweil PC4

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I did a little research to try to find a gig bag for my PC4-7 (though the manufacturers" websites often make it impossible to determine the inner dimensions, outer dimensions and/or weight of their cases!).

     

    I ended up finding and buying the Kaces 'Luxe Series Keyboard Bag, 61/76 Key' (KB4715). It cost me only a little over $100.

     

    KB4715

     

    The case's interior dimensions are listed as: 47" x 15" x 5.5'

    The PC4-7 is listed as 46.54â³ x 14.07â³ x 4.24â³

     

    I just received the case and it"s a really nice fit for the keyboard. The interior straps are not ideally placed for the PC4-7. The one on the right works well, but the one on the left lays across the control section (with the sliders).

     

    The case looks pretty nice and has some foam padding for minor bumps. There is roughly an extra inch in height and I might put some extra foam on top of the keyboard for added protection of the controls. I weighed the case and it came in at only about 4.5 lbs.

     

    Looks like it"ll work out well!

    Kurzweil pc4-7 I've tried, but I think I'll get rid if it

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    For electric pianos, I was not terribly impressed with the included Rhodes, though it wasn't bad; it just never played right using my preferred piano velocity curve (Piano Touch). I found an EXCELLENT Rhodes MKII sampleset from Purgatory Creek (aka burningbusch here on our forum) that he has available for free. That is an incredibly good Rhodes soundset and blows away every other keyboard I've owned or played. And it's free and fits in the PC4 flash memory. He also has multiple other electro-mechanical libraries for other EP's etc on the site that are paid, which I also have. But in all honesty when I need a Rhodes, I use the MKII programs. Absolutely awesome. I highly recommend you check those out.

    MMM - Do parameters in the Purgatory Creek Rhodes MKII map pretty well to the PC4's controls?

    haha, NOTHING maps very well to the PC4 controllers without a lot of work :D

    As they are out of the box, you get control over reverb, chorus, phaser, distortion, and key-off. Both slider and button (button just turns it on or off, slider controls the amount). So they do more or less.

    OK, thanks, sounds like a good start anyway...

    Kurzweil pc4-7 I've tried, but I think I'll get rid if it

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    For electric pianos, I was not terribly impressed with the included Rhodes, though it wasn't bad; it just never played right using my preferred piano velocity curve (Piano Touch). I found an EXCELLENT Rhodes MKII sampleset from Purgatory Creek (aka burningbusch here on our forum) that he has available for free. That is an incredibly good Rhodes soundset and blows away every other keyboard I've owned or played. And it's free and fits in the PC4 flash memory. He also has multiple other electro-mechanical libraries for other EP's etc on the site that are paid, which I also have. But in all honesty when I need a Rhodes, I use the MKII programs. Absolutely awesome. I highly recommend you check those out.

     

    MMM - Do parameters in the Purgatory Creek Rhodes MKII map pretty well to the PC4's controls?

    Random Thoughts and One-Offs

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    A Beatles portrait - $120

    Lego Beatles portrait

    Inspired by the iconic portraits included in the Beatles" famous White Album, this new LEGO® building experience invites you to create one of four detailed wall art portraits of your favorite Beatle,

    That"s actually pretty cool.

    It seems a lot for what it is, but depending on the space you"re putting it in, it is actually pretty cool 'art" to display!

    Yeah, Lego seems to have some of the world's most creative people working there!

    Kurzweil releases PC4-7 and SP6-7

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    The SP6-7 is newer but I"d definitely take the SP6 (88).

    Both have Medeli actions, both have been criticized for being noisy, but I like the 88 action (in the PC4).

    BTW, now that I've had the PC4-7 for a couple of weeks, I'm absolutely loving the action, at least for Piano and organ playing. Haven't done enough with it yet to evaluate the AT for guitars and synths.

    I also just received my PC4-7 a couple of weeks ago -- supply chain must have opened up then. And I too am enjoying the action for playing piano, more than I expected, actually. I find it much better than the Electro 5D for piano playing. It seems to be good for organ too, but, since it doesn't have waterfall keys, it takes a little adjustment for palm smears and the like

    Nord Stage 3 compact

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I use an Electro 5D, which (I think) has the same action, and it works okay for me for most rock, blues, pop etc. piano parts. A client recently asked if we could play "In My Life" at a private party, so I had to quickly learn the "harpsichord" part. I got it down pretty well and told the band I was good to go, but when we played the song through at our one and only practice before the gig, I could not play the solo at all! :o:blush:. The problem was that, when I learned the part, I used a piano, and the band practice was the first time I tried playing the solo on the 5D. It felt like I had weights on each finger. I then quickly crammed in some time with the solo on the 5D and did a barely passable job at the gig. Bottom line: if I had to frequently play more intricate, fast piano parts, I'll use a different keyboard.

    Cover or Me

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Although politics sometimes leaks through on some threads, this forum is far, far better than most 'communities' on the web. Indeed, the fact that so much useful information is exchanged here highlights the benefits realized by communities that forgo politics and look for common ground. And keyboards make a great common ground!

    Looking to simplify things

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    The closest thing I've come to doing all that in two lightweight boards is something like a Casio PX5S + Nord Stage 3 Compact. Even that has its limitations (you're not going to get Yamaha-quality acoustic instrument emulations, for example, and the synth isn't my favorite to work with), but it ain't a bad rig at all.

    I followed a very similar path, with a Yamaha P-121 on the bottom and Electro 5D on top. The Compact Stage 3 is much better, but more than I needed. I would also prefer the keybed on the E5D (and presumably the CS3) to be more Hammond-like in the two board setup. On the other hand, I think the keybed is a decent compromise when used as a single board.

×
×
  • Create New...