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mythias

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Everything posted by mythias

  1. Thanks guys. I have many good options to look into at this point. My rig is still evolving and the $30 basic gig bag I got is going to do the trick for the time being.
  2. obxa: Thanks so much for that link. I am going to buy a 58" version right now. My stand is just about 50 inches but I would rather have some spare room for a few more dollars. I have a gig bag for my Roland A-88 from the same company and was very pleased with its price and construction. If it doesn't work out it was only $30 and I am sure I can find a use for it.
  3. Some great ideas folks, thanks very much. I particularly liked the idea of a golf bag. Being able to roll it around and also use the bag's pockets for things would be nice and they are. Or a hard case. I do not fly or really travel with my gear except in my car to local clubs so I don't need to get too fancy with it but I don't want to have to wrap my arms around it and carry it bodily into the venue if I can help it. I am going to start scrounging my local Goodwill type shops and see what I can come up with.
  4. I've got an Ultimate Support column stand that I have attached my mini-PC, surge protector, and various AC plug blocks and USB cables in a semi-permanent fashion. The easiest way for me to fit all this on the stand was to remove the handle that is used to carry it. I would love to find a big gig bag I could use to safely store and transport this thing. It is about 4 feet high. Does anyone else do something similar and have a good carrying method? I am imaging the aluminum stand working as a heat sink for the power adapters and desktop computers strapped to it. Here is a picture of my stand so you have an idea. Its all attached with velcro and nylon straps. The keyboards and the shelf will be removed for transport.
  5. You could upgrade for free to Windows 10 which does not require an internet connection to operate or sign in. You are already running Windows 7 which is unsupported so you will likely not balk at running 10 which is only supported until 2025.
  6. In response to Docbop, I carry one of my keyboards in a hard guitar case so I use that empty on top of an X-stand as a side table to put my laptop and whatnot on to my left in an L-shape (when stage permits). You may have one of those laying around or already at the gig you could purpose as a table top. Plus it looks musical.
  7. I do this now using an old Korg CX-3 with standard MIDI plugs into a USB MIDI box and into my Windows laptop running Gig Performer and B-3X. I have a rackspace created duplicating the button layout of my Korg so I can control everything in B-3X using the Korg's buttons (at least the ones that are relevant.) Works like a charm. I love the Korg's keybed but the 20 year old software doesn't hold up to B-3X. I do not know if it is different for an ipad due the lack of USB plugs, but what I do is: Korg plugged into USB MIDI box, USD MIDI into Laptop, B-3X sees the MIDI controller as a device, use it to learn the MIDI commands you want for each button and drawbar. Then also have your sound output device plugged in and working. On my laptop I have multiple USB ports so plugging in my MIDI box and my audio interface and my second keyboard for lower manual isn't a problem. It is definitely doable. I love it.
  8. I have similar feelings as some of you about playing guitar on a keyboard never quite sounding authentic, more like someone playing keyboard on a guitar. I have experimented with overdriven Clavinet VST through a software tube amp and a cabinet IR and I do get some nice results. Pianoteq's Clavinet and built-in effects sound very good to my ears. Keyboard chord voicings are completely different than guitar voicings and you can tell when you're not using them right. They are much more spread out than typical tight piano chords though I am sure you guys already know this. Ample guitar sims are detailed enough to not let you play two notes on the same string (unless you override it) for a realistic sound but it does require rethinking of how you play chords. Easier done when practicing a song and planning ahead of time how you will play it opposed to doing it on the fly in a jam or a solo at least initially until I get more experience. Or, I will abandon the idea and stick to a traditional sound. I like the idea of staying true to playing instruments that actually have a keyboard attached, piano, organ, clavinet, rhodes, etc. I also play harmonica and I'd much rather play the real thing than try to replicate it on a keyboard. Same with a guitar, I know how to play it but I don't have the skill or the ability to practice as much as I do with my keyboard and I already have to haul enough gear to gigs without also needing a guitar and possibly another amp. Much easier to practice keyboards in a small apartment with headphones 5 feet away from my wife without bothering her than a guitar. Keyboard rigs seem always to be a work in progress. It is a good thing to have in the toolbox no matter what.
  9. Has anyone had experience trying to use any of the Ample guitars in a live setting? They are great for working with MIDI and taking your time choosing the articulations and picking styles and whatnot but what if I want to be able to play some realistic sounding crunchy rhythm using their Les Paul? I'm not fooling myself into thinking I am going to sound as good as a real guitar but it might be good enough for a cover band in a small club for a couple of songs. I have played the Les Paul and the Peregrine Falcon and both sound really good. Lots of nice amp and speaker / microphone combinations to try out. One thing I wish they had was some built-in effects like tremolo or wah. I would be happy to hear both positive and negative experiences people have had with this or other guitar VSTs.
  10. Great, thanks. I have TDR Nova dynamic EQ / Multiband compressor to try out in my VST chain as long as it doesn't introduce too much latency. I will check it out. It would make a nice addition to my global effects chain. I have used it on bass guitar recordings to great benefit.
  11. Can you go into any more detail about how you use the multiband compressor to improve the sound of a clonewheel organ? I am curious to try it out and to see how other people are getting results. Which frequency ranges are you compressing?
  12. I was listening to versions of a new song we are adding to our set list, Lay Down Sally by Eric Clapton. Most of the versions I heard had rhythm guitar as well as either an EP or a piano. One version I found on Just One Night has a clavinet playing the rhythm keys part I am pretty sure Sounds pretty good too. I wonder why Clapton made that choice on that certain album.
  13. Thanks for all the replies. I am not going to give specific songs to get recommendations for I was mainly looking for general non-specific advice of which there has been plenty and I really appreciate it. I have had luck using organ for the rhythm parts on some ZZ Top songs like Waiting For The Bus and I Thank You. Organ does a great job on Hendrix's Fire. We play Jesus Just Left Chicago and Fool For Your Stockings by ZZ Top also and I use a clean Rhodes sound for the rhythm parts but I think the clavinet could do a good job on those songs. Strings sound like strings and not reeds or tines.
  14. I play keys and harmonica in a pretty standard classic rock and blues cover band along with a lead guitar player. I have had luck playing organ, electric piano, and acoustic piano as well as play harmonica and finding something that sounds nice and fits in the song, particularly the organ. Something I would like to do is add some more instruments to my toolbox like a clavinet VST. What I don't want to do is try to shoehorn it in somewhere it doesn't belong. I can play rhythm guitar parts pretty well using an organ or a lightly distorted electric piano but seeing someone like Lachy Doley burn it up with his whammy clav it inspires me to want to learn how to fit that instrument in somewhere. The main question I would like to ask is: does anyone have a cover song they play where they have played a clavinet instead of a rhythm guitar (or other instrument) and it really fits well, or a style of song or particular instrument it emulates well? This is a weird question but maybe it will spark some conversation. I don't want to use it just to make myself happy but because it is the best tool for the job for a particular song, rather than always fall back on my organ. So many of the songs I love to play don't have keyboard parts so we have to make up our own as we all know.
  15. Thanks so much for all the replies. My first instinct was amplified / distorted Rhodes / Wurli so I think that is what I am going to go for. I love the way it sounds. When you dig into those low notes they really growl and you can back off and clean it right up. My Yamaha MO8 has a passable amped wurli sound in it that I can tweak to taste. I appreciated the tips about voicings.
  16. I am in a 4-piece band with a lead guitarist, bass, drums and myself on keyboards. We do modern blues and classic rock covers, stuff like Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Allman Brothers, Hendrix, etc. My go-to instruments are organ, piano and electric piano on pretty much every song. Songs with keys parts on them already are easy enough to cover but what do you tend to do when you need to learn a song that only has guitars in the original recordings? Organ sounds great along with Hendrix and SRV and ZZ Top kind of stuff. My best example is Cinnamon Girl. We want to do this song with the same rock feel as the original. My first instinct is to try to replicate an amplified guitar style sound with a distorted electric piano. What would other people tend to use when accompanying a lead guitar on Cinnamon Girl or similar guitar only song? Would you try to replicate a guitar with a percussive piano-style instrument or do something completely different that fits in a different way?
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