Art-0252

Incredible playing as always @Reezekeys! In both examples I preferred Pianoteq before I knew which it was, and I think the reason for that is the same reason that I have gravitated towards Pianoteq when practicing in the studio over the last 6 months or so: The dynamics of playing are going to be naturally more expressive with modeling because you essentially have 127 velocity layers ( limited only by the midi resolution of your controller). I love the C7 in Keyscape, and I think to my ears it sounds slightly richer than the Yc5 model in Pianoteq, but when I play PT it feels alive under my fingers in a way that no digital piano ever has to me. The ability to dig in and hear the nuance of dynamics just makes it so enjoyable to play imo, but of course YMMV. Modartt hit it out of the park by bringing this to iOS. I hope their investment pays off for them because I know it is costly to enter the iOS ecosystem, and the pricing paradigm of iOS leads to challenges others on this thread have already talked about. Having this on my iPhone for no additional cost to the desktop license of PT8 I already had blows my mind and gets me thinking about the exciting new possibilities for a lightweight jam rig when i don't want to haul my heavier more expensive keyboards to something like a patio blues Jam or basement rehearsal. PT + B3x + a synth app like Tal-uno-lx + a lightweight keyboard with a usb audio interface (ie mx61 or modx6) would be a pretty sweet lightweight setup!

Coming back to this thread just to voice my appreciation for @SamuelBLupowitz and this thread because it introduced me to Theo's solo work! I have been obsessed with "Modern Johnny Sings: Songs in the Age of Vibe" the last few days and agree that Paradini's playing is like nothing I've ever heard before! The piano solo on 'The Death of Us' is so virtuosic and yet so tastefully right in the pocket, it blew my mind!

My travel keys for messing around in ableton or practicing short licks has always been either my reface CP or a keystep. Both fit nicely in my suitcase or the reface case and allow me to pack a small sustain pedal too. If I want something really compact just for note entry or playing with synths vsts, I also love my Keith McMillen K-board for it's flat and durable but surprisingly playable keys.

Love my sl mk2, as @uhoh7 said above, the Fatar Tp/9s is the same awesome synth keybed that's on high end synths like the OB-6 and MiniMoog re-issues I think.

PSA : Native Instruments is also doing a 25$ off coupon with the code HOLIDAYGIFT2022_USD , To my surprise they allowed this to apply to already discounted items like Isotope's NEOVERB which is discounted to $25 down from 100. tldr; You can use that code to get NEOVERB for free right now

Requires Kontakt 7 I think, but can be run in the free Kontakt Player 7

Yep, it's only of the only NI apps that is natively compatible on Apple Silicon.

This is something I've been thinking about as well. The price of gas in my state makes driving to a blues jam 30 minutes away a more costly endeavor than it used to be. Similarly, I've been known to drive up to a few hours to get a great deal on a piece of CL or FbMarketplace music gear , but if the drive costs $100+ in addition to my time going there and back...how much am I really saving? Yep, between this and the stage of life my family is in, I think I probably won't be buying any more big ticket items in the near future. Good thing I have some great instruments to gig and practice with because it might be approaching a time where a lot of folks have to financially hunker down to compensate for inflation and cost of living.

This is exactly the VST Macbook air I've been waiting for. Using Magsafe means there are now 2 usb ports free for Midi controllers/audio interfaces without using a hub, and I already love the performance of my m1 Mac mini.

That white 200a is so clean! 😗

Hey Joe, do you mind telling us what the final cost was? There's no price on their site...

Am I missing something about the price differences between Thomann and Sweetwater/GuitarCenter ? IF Nord would allow Thomann to ship to the USA , you could get a Nord Electro 6D almost $800 cheaper even after shipping and import duty! If Nord is increasing prices to compensate for material costs etc, why is that the case? Similarly, how is that I can get a Moog Matriarch ( made in Asheville, NC) delivered for hundreds cheaper from Germany than in the same country it’s made in??

I would have to agree about the extreme registers not sounding that nice. But for that matter, I don't really love the tone of the extreme registers of any acoustic piano I've ever played either.

FWIW I much prefer the tone of my 88 key mk1 Rhodes to the 73 key Mk1 in the local studio I frequent. I'm learning that so much of the Rhodes tone is determined by the EQ knobs on the preamp or amp you're using....

This is what turned me off the most! I thought it would at least have that incredible buttery smooth synth action the Jupiter X has!

I use the same thing for my NS3C, came here to recommend it! Harbor Freight runs coupons all the time so it's easy to get on the cheap and works great with the Nord Soft Case inside as padding ( with all the foam removed).

This YT tour of JP30's pedal board has been a source of ideas to me, especially since he uses his for his Mk1 Rhodes with a Retroflyer ( and I already copied that 😁). Pricey, but super versatile and high quality.

Don't know price range but Arturia Keystep 37 immediately comes to mind as checking all those boxes.

All of these arguments are predicated on the idea that either build quality/action or features MUST be compromised by the manufacturer. That very well may be the case, but the fact that companies like Modal can put a really nice synth keybed like the Fatar Tp9s in their sub 1k synths paired with a solid metal build quality, makes me wonder....Cynical as I am about these things I think it's more along the lines of "Let's compromise some of the functionality AND some of the build quality on our mid-tier models so that either the features OR the action could potentially persuade someone to spend more money on the flagship depending on what's the sticking point for them." I'm with Stokely in that if the Montage was a little less expensive I would have certainly purchased it instead of a MODX ( which I sold because the action and build quality bothered me so much).

Unfortunately I think those are scam listings, I've seen similar ones in cities across the country ( often identical listings). I made the mistake of starting a correspondence with one of those listing posters in my area once, and it quickly turned to "Send me the money with Paypal and then I'll ship it" .....Yeah, no 😑

I too buy instruments almost exclusively used on CL or Reverb, but I've noticed a huge drop in variety and quality of what's listed around me in the last year or so. I think it's because as prices soar, less people buy things like Nords new, and then consequently there are far less available on the used market.

@Morrissey To your point, at least with a Vintage Vibe, it will still be just as relevant 10 years from now as it is now. And if you ever needed to resell it, there wouldn't be a VV2 EX that makes it's resale value drop 😅 But I'm kind of like @Stokely, Anything above about 2.5k prices me out ( and even for that I'd have to sell most of my current gear). As much as I'd like to have keyboards worth more than my car....it's not always a smart financial decision 😬

I saw on a Facebook Group that the price of the Nord Stage 3 had increased yet again on Monday. Sure enough, I check major retailers in the US like Sweetwater and the price is now a whopping $5300.00 for the 88 key model and $4200.00 for the 73 key Compact model!! I LOVE my Nord Stage 3 Compact, and it would be the last keyboard I would sell or get rid of, but I got mine used back when they were only going for about $3400 new, and if it died there's no way I could/would pay the current prices to replace it! For the NS3 88, they were already exorbitantly expensive instruments at the old price, but now are approaching the same price category as a brand new Vintage Vibe! I know Nord isn't the only brand to raise prices of existing products to compensate for all the increased costs of doing business, but they're one of the most noticeable increases. Do you think this increase in gear costs will deflate at some point?

Was literally watching the Grammys almost exclusively in hopes that Jon Batiste would win and to see him perform. Incredible pianist, musician, and person. If you haven't checked out his recent albums, you should!

Unfortunately I have to echo the experiences above. Had an SL88 with the same keybed as the 73 and sold it pretty quickly despite loving the price, build quality, and features. The action is just slow, clacky (I could always hear it over my studio monitors unless I was wearing headphones), and I really disliked playing it for piano or ep parts. Shame though, cause I absolutely loved the magnetic rail system that held my laptop. I wish keyboards like my CP88 had that as an attachment!