MikeNZ Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Ive just bought a CME UF5 MIDI controller from Music123 for $99 on closeout. I figured it is a cheap way to try out my BC3 breath controller. They have more at this price. Music123 and some other retailers are heavily discounting the CME UF controllers at the moment. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeNZ Posted May 21, 2007 Author Share Posted May 21, 2007 Or should I say HAD the UF5 for $99. I either got the last one or they have been selling fast since they halved their price. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverDragonSoun Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Ive just bought a CME UF5 MIDI controller from Music123 for $99 on closeout. I figured it is a cheap way to try out my BC3 breath controller. They have more at this price. Music123 and some other retailers are heavily discounting the CME UF controllers at the moment. Michael Unfortunately this usually means their being discontinued by the manufacturer or the store is no longer going to carry them so their looking to get rid of them. Begin the day with a friendly voice A companion, unobtrusive - Rush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeNZ Posted May 21, 2007 Author Share Posted May 21, 2007 CME is coming out with a bunch of new controllers, most more expensive then the UF series. I don't know if they are being discontinued, or if CME is just out of stock as they gear up to release new products. It would be a shame for them to disappear - they are great value even at the normal retail price. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjy Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 looks like they're all gone. Bummer. "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...
MikeNZ Posted May 21, 2007 Author Share Posted May 21, 2007 Looks like I lucked out! Plenty of other stores have them at ~$150 for the UF5, and they might drop again if you are patient. The ASX expansion card looks interesting, converting the UF5 into a hardware soft-synth. I'd be very tempted to run the B4000 or MiniMax as a top board to my PC1X. http://www.cme-pro.com/products-list/product-asx.html At ~$200 for a UF6 on closeout, and ~$250(?) street price for the ASX this is a really cheap way of getting a performance soft-synth rig going! Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DafDuc Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Holy CRAP! That is awesome!!!! Maybe I won't buy that Klangbox B4000 after all. Daf (already has a UF-5) I played in an 8 piece horn band. We would often get bored. So...three words: "Tower of Polka." - Calumet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeNZ Posted May 21, 2007 Author Share Posted May 21, 2007 I thought it was discussed in the forum a while ago. According to CME you get the MiniMax, the Creamware B4000, LightWave wavetable synth, and a Vocoder included with the expansion board. It is not a general purpose hardware platform for plugins- the code needs to be ported over. CME seems to have a deal going with Creamware. They plan on selling other plug-ins for ~$50 a piece. As far as I know you can run one plug in at a time. Not sure if you can store several and load them as needed from the board, or if you need to reload them from a PC. They say dynamically loaded which does imply some storage on the card, but I don't know. If they have to be loaded from a PC that limits their usefulness live, but hey, even one of these modules would be a sweet deal at the price. They say they will work with the UF series - hopefully that is ALL UF boards, not just the new ones. How good they are no-one will know until they are released. Hopefully they are as good as the full Creamware versions, and hopefully they keep porting over more Creamware apps. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeNZ Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 The Waldorf Nano synth card is already available for the UF series. $279 from Sweetwater. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Nano/ I really only bought the UF5 to play with my breath controller. Looks like I might have a lot more fun than that! Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jook Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Hey Mike, judging from your login name, you're in New Zealand right? How's the shipping rates from buying from music123.com? I didn't actually realize they were shipping internationally. Being here in Australia, I'm often tempted to buy stuff from the states, but for big items like keyboards, I wasn't sure how practical it is (both in terms of cost and in terms of reliability of postage). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jook Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 And that ASX expansion card is news to me. It's exactly what I want to see happen more with the hardware synths and keyboards coming out, and totally did not expect CME to come up with it. Imagine if they made the plugin format open source and available to 3rd party developers everywhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeNZ Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 Yep, 100% Kiwi! Music123 is the best of the US mail order companies for international. The UF5 was $US32 using airmail, $50 for express mail. So total cost to me in NZ was under $NZ200. Most other mail order companies either do not ship internationally, or will only ship a limited range of products, or use UPS or similar at outrageous prices. Music123 will ship ANYTHING they stock, even if officially they can't sell into your country. Music123 will ship 88 note keyboards to NZ/Aus, for about $US100 I think, using UPS (they have a great deal with UPS). I wouldn't send a big board like that via airmail - pay for the extra service. They are fully insured etc. The only hassle is you will have to pay tax or duty on expensive items, and maybe deal with customs directly for very expensive items. Of course you have to get 240V adaptors - AC/DC ones are easy and cheap, AC/AC are not. I've bought a lot of gear from the US, usually stuff that I can't get locally. Sometimes it is way cheaper than local gear, sometimes not - depends on the make and the local agents. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeNZ Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 The UF expansion interface format is open, that is why Waldorf have an expansion board. The ASX format is specific to that card, and programs need to be specifically ported over, so you can't just load in any old plug in. Hopefully they do all the Creamware plugins, and get some more companies involved too. Who knows what will happen? You never can tell what the next great format will be. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jook Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Thanks for the info Mike! Very glad to hear from someone who has had good experience shopping for gear from all the way over there. I had given up in the past thinking that most places like musiciansfriend (and sweetwater?) just don't bother with international shipping, and it seems to be a hassle for them and for the customer, and I had looked everywhere for evidence of the contrary. Knowing that it's worked out well for you gives me some hope and I'm very tempted to test the waters (so to speak)... And ain't it a drag how expensive gear is on this side of the pacific? I always look at the online prices of overseas gear longingly. Theres so much stuff I would have already bought if I had access to those prices! (congrats on the UF5 buy, that's a steal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeNZ Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 Sweetwater does it for some products, but you have to order by phone. Music123 does it all online. Some gear is really expensive compared to the US, some is not. Depends on the make. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeNZ Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 BAM! Got my UF5 on closeout, now Music123 has the VX controllers in stock. I'm sure I'll be happy with my $99 UF5, instead of the $699 VX5! Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DafDuc Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 The new UF's are less than $100 more than the old ones. Sounds like the old ones might house the new ASX cards, but won't have midi in, which I'd need for my midi pedals to be of value with the B4000. So I'm waiting for the new UF's - my old one can be the lower manual, plus (maybe) I can drop the minimonsta in there too. Best I could find for the old ones was $149 at American Musical Supply. I think there are still some left - I got as far as checkout, then changed my mind... Daf the fickle I played in an 8 piece horn band. We would often get bored. So...three words: "Tower of Polka." - Calumet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeNZ Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 Chances are they will drop a bit in price once the stock runs out. Be careful with the new UF. The specs say 1 MIDI out and a MIDI IN on the expansion, which might mean you can only get MIDI IN by using an expansion card. You may not be able to get a MIDI IN on the UF if you are using the ASX expansion card as there may not be room. The VX has MIDI IN I think. Chances are if you opened up a UF you could solder a MIDI in port somewhere, if you have the skills. If I was desperate I would try it, but I don't do MIDI pedals (I have enough trouble co-ordinating two hands!) Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeNZ Posted May 24, 2007 Author Share Posted May 24, 2007 The UF5 just arrived! 4 days from ordering to arriving in New Zealand. Now that's good service! My wife found it on the doorstep so I had some explaining to do about my latest attack of GAS. Fortunately when I explained that despite the box being VERY large it didn't actually cost a lot I was OK. So the Breath Controller comes out tonight and I'll have a play and see how it works. I might be playing synth for an orchestral concert on Sunday (they need a xylophone part, in addition to my trumpet playing). Maybe I can sneak in some BC stuff... Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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