Benjy King Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 This summer I'm going out for a dozen dates with my band from the 80's. I had originally put a Kurzweil PC2X on the backline rider. I was just informed it has no data card ability. I would, of course, like to be able to show up, stick in a card and off we go with my setup. So.... What should I ask for instead? I want (all the usual suspects) 88 weighted keys. Good piano, Rhodes, etc. and hopefully a 'useable organ'!?!? Please advise! Thanks in advance. Benjy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverDragonSoun Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 The Yamaha S90ES Begin the day with a friendly voice A companion, unobtrusive - Rush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 If you're going to be taking a laptop on the road with you, bring a USB-to-MIDI adaptor, backup the Sysex data of the PC2X you have locally, then just blow that down to the one(s) you're using on the road (you can use Windows Media Player for something this simple). A heck of a lot easier than trying to adapt to a new board (presumably you asked for the PC2X because you were somewhat familiar with it?). That being said, yeah, the S90ES would serve you well as a substitute. Can I ask whether the band you're referring to is Scandal? If so, any chance of a Toronto show? Perhaps as close as Buffalo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delirium Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 The Yamaha S90ES p.s. but you'll need a limo for that board, it refuses to drive cheap cars... ♫♫♫ motif XS6, RD700GX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magic8ball Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 I also agree that the Yamaha S90Es would be a good choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjy King Posted May 12, 2007 Author Share Posted May 12, 2007 Scandal it is. No shows in Toronto or the Buffalo area as of yet. Benjy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 Scandal it is. No shows in Toronto or the Buffalo area as of yet. Well, keep us apprised of dates... it'd be great to catch you guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 Benjy, The Yamaha is great for everything BUT organ. That's a pretty big weak point for me. Are you going out with just one board to cover everything? Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 FP7 accepts a thumb drive and has great piano, Rhodes and organ. Harry was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 800 of Harry's solo piano arrangements and tutorials at https://www.patreon.com/HarryLikas These arrangements are for teaching solo piano chording using Harry's 2+2 harmony method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 FP7 accepts a thumb drive and has great piano, Rhodes and organ. The likelihood of getting an FP7 from a backline supplier is somewhere between slim and none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverDragonSoun Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 Benjy, The Yamaha is great for everything BUT organ. That's a pretty big weak point for me. Are you going out with just one board to cover everything? Benjy, I'm sure your aware that sound preference as well as action are personal preferences. I like the FP7 alot and do agree that the organs are better than the S90ES. I think the S90ES are average but you have a decent amount of editing power to make them good to very good IMO. If you are using just one board, than the S90ES will offer you alot more overall. If you have a chance, maybe try and demo them both and see which one you like best since so many of things were are discussing are subjective to each persons perspective. Begin the day with a friendly voice A companion, unobtrusive - Rush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanker. Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 Sounds like a job for a Nord Stage, but again, I would wonder if it would be readily available from backline companies. I think that Sven's notion of being able to do a Sysex dump for whatever the keyboard would be is one to think seriously about. A ROMpler is just a polyphonic turntable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delirium Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 S90ES will offer you alot more overall. of course. This is a synth, don't look at presets only. You can get great organ as well from it. And it takes memory stick either. ♫♫♫ motif XS6, RD700GX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 You can get great organ as well from it. But not great leslie. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 You can get great organ as well from it. But not great leslie. True... but Benjy asked for "usable organ", and he's covering 80's material (when we used DX7's and Prophet 5's to create organ tones, and said "good enough"... remember those days? ). Worse comes to worse, if the Leslie is that important, it's a heck of a lot easier to get a Leslie on the rider, or add a CX-3 or XK-3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 Yeah, he didn't make it clear if he needed one board to cover everything or if he could afford to specialize. From what I saw on the Reunited show, he had at least two boards (was that top one an Ion?) Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeNZ Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 The PC2 and PC1 are really, really good for 80s music and classic rock. They are just stuffed full of presets and setups designed to emulate not only the keyboards of the time but also particular recordings, especially the optional Classic Keys ROM. Add the KFM soundbank to get real DX7 type FM synthesis under the hood and you are set with the classic DX EP, plus those FM organs that you used to fake the B3 on back in the day. I was playing the DX7 EP preset last night, and it really barks when you dig into the lower octaves - its got big B@LL5. ROMPLER versions of the sound are so tame in comparison. Makes me remember why everyone was so excited about it at the time Loading from a laptop is easy if you have one. The new PC3 has (will have?) an SD card slot. Just a shame it isn't out yet. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjy King Posted May 15, 2007 Author Share Posted May 15, 2007 Thanks for the feedback, guys. I'm only using one keyboard. Really not that much synth stuff, at least on the first two records. Patty's solo records have a lot more 'cheese'...but I'm not going there. On the first album we cut all the tracks live as a band. I played a 9' Yamaha in the same room as the band. I used my Synergy for all of the synth parts. So...on this gig I'll play some piano, piano w/pad, Rhodes on a song or two and some organ. We played a few dates last fall and I had the PC2X on the gig. I know it has an entire tone-wheel section but I never had time at sound check to figure it out. I just need to line up those half-dozen sounds and be able to go to them on the fly. I'm also playing guitar on this tour! Now that's gonna' be fun. Benjy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmymio Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 I own and love the S90ES but I agree that the organs leave something to be desired. I do a lot of left hand bass and have many splits programmed. I recently had a gig (kicking bass) across the country and the band chose a particular sound company because they promised to get me an S90ES. Needless to say the day before the gig they called and said it was no longer available and "what else would I like"? I think availability should be a huge factor in making this choice. Thing like the K2500 and all versions of the Triton seem to be readily available. Nord Stage? You must be kidding, unless you are doing huge budget shows in major metro areas. And no matter what you are guaranteed, expect the unexpected. I can't tell you how many times I've arrived at some venue only to hear "this one's supposed to: be better than/have more sounds than/sound exactly the same as/etc. the one you asked for" JP 1935 Mason & Hamlin Model A Korg Kronos 2 73 Nord Electro 6D 61 Yam S90ES Rhodes Stage 73 (1972) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjy Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Can't add much to this topic, although I agree that the s90 (haven't played the ES) is wonderfully fantastic save the merely "very good" organs. I'm just marveling that there's another Benjy who plays keys AND spells it right -- and for some reason I never knew that there was a Benjy among the wondrous bands of the 80s. Rock on, fellow Benjy! "I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals; I'm a vegetarian because I hate plants." -A. Whitney Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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