Your Latest Purchase (music related)

[Zydecat]

Yamaha YC73 with case - So far I'm really liking it!

[Al Quinn]

I did my first gig with the YC73 alone a few weeks ago. It’s the first keyboard I’ve enjoyed playing both piano and organ on. I think Yamaha’s designed a very good hybrid action. Of course it’s a compromise, but I like the choices they made. I was distraught about the lack of high trigger for organ but it didn’t bother me on the gig.
 

Here’s a video with some piano and organ from the gig. I’m so happy with this purchase!

 

 

[Outkaster]

18 hours ago, Al Quinn said:

I did my first gig with the YC73 alone a few weeks ago. It’s the first keyboard I’ve enjoyed playing both piano and organ on. I think Yamaha’s designed a very good hybrid action. Of course it’s a compromise, but I like the choices they made. I was distraught about the lack of high trigger for organ but it didn’t bother me on the gig.
 

Here’s a video with some piano and organ from the gig. I’m so happy with this purchase!

 

 

 Great playing man.  Wow.

[Justin Havu]

Traded my MS-20 Mini for a PC88MX.  I found myself not using the MS20 as much as I probably anticipated back when I bought it.  Besides, if I ever needed that sound, I have three different VSTi clones.

[brenner13]

Just spent $127 on cables to connect things to my new $35 six-channel stereo mixer.

[GovernorSilver]

Tascam DR-40X

 

I'll be attending a 3-day event in which some great musos are scheduled to both teach and perform.  So this will be for recording any classes I attend.

[jazzpiano88]

On 4/28/2023 at 4:15 PM, Al Quinn said:

I did my first gig with the YC73 alone a few weeks ago. It’s the first keyboard I’ve enjoyed playing both piano and organ on. I think Yamaha’s designed a very good hybrid action. Of course it’s a compromise, but I like the choices they made. I was distraught about the lack of high trigger for organ but it didn’t bother me on the gig.
 

Here’s a video with some piano and organ from the gig. I’m so happy with this purchase!

 

 

 

Sounds great Al!  

 

I've always thought I needed a separate piano slab and organ (CP300 and SK1 or CP4 and SK1).  Should I be re-thinking this?

 

Any thoughts on YC73 vs YC88?  I'm thinking I'd be good with the YC88 because I MIDI my SK1 to the CP300 and do a lot of organ comping and soloing and layering without any playing that require a non-weighted action (smears and squabbles).  

[Al Quinn]

Thanks Outkaster and JazzPiano88! 

 

13 hours ago, JazzPiano88 said:

I've always thought I needed a separate piano slab and organ (CP300 and SK1 or CP4 and SK1).  Should I be re-thinking this?

 

I think it depends on how determined you are to gig with one keyboard rather than two. When I'm in NY I use two keyboards: SK Pro 61 and YC73. My gear and car are both ground level so it's very easy to load and unload my car. When I'm in Florida my gear is two stories up from the car so I'm determined to get by with one keyboard. But, determination alone won't win the day -- the YC73 had to work well for piano and organ. And fortunately it did!

[David Emm]

https://klevgrand.com/products/speldosa

 

Klevgrand's Speldosa – Wintergatan Music Box

 

A whopping $5.99. It does its one job beautifully. The main tone is everything my other sampled options are not. One of the four is a backwards version, of all things. The display has tines that produce a sliding dot when played. Playing chords or arps is hypnotic. In the backwards mode, the dots start at the bottom of the display and slide UP. An excellent specialty tool.

[brenner13]

Speldosa is beautifully simple and produces a wonderfully pure tone. Much fun to add tasteful effects to. I absolutely love this app.

[Outkaster]

On 4/29/2023 at 11:36 PM, Al Quinn said:

Thanks Outkaster and JazzPiano88! 

 

 

I think it depends on how determined you are to gig with one keyboard rather than two. When I'm in NY I use two keyboards: SK Pro 61 and YC73. My gear and car are both ground level so it's very easy to load and unload my car. When I'm in Florida my gear is two stories up from the car so I'm determined to get by with one keyboard. But, determination alone won't win the day -- the YC73 had to work well for piano and organ. And fortunately it did!

I just had two friends one here in NYS and a buddy in NJ purchase this.  I think the YC series is starting to get traction.

[Michael Wright]

Medium duty slipover case from Thomann in Germany.

[scoopicman]

I told my wife to relax, and that I would be selecting my own birthday gift.  😄  Hologram Microcosm.

 

[The Real MC]

I initially bought this for simple sessions.  Pleasantly surprised that it has a sturdy metal base not all plastic.  Can be powered from USB (using standard mobile phone charger) or external low voltage 12VDC/1.5A (supply not included).  

 

MIDI in/out, USB MIDI, sync in/out, mono pitch CV output (v/oct or v/hz, variable scale), gate output (S-trig or V-trig), mod CV output (MW, AT, or velocity), arpeggiator (with ratcheting), sequencer, sustain pedal, four assignable knobs, DAW transport buttons, master or slave clock USB/MIDI/sync including tap tempo.  

 

Eight polyphonic or monophonic step/real time sequences with divisor, transpose, strum (with chord mode), and swing/gate variations.  

 

Separate app (WIN, OSX) for digging into deep features.  Velocity/aftertouch slimkey are almost full width, but they aren't the tiny minikeys.  This might be a good controller for LH bass at gigs too.

[The Real MC]

On 4/28/2023 at 12:45 PM, Thethirdapple said:

JL Cooper Rev 2: The latest piece of vintage gear… midi patchbays are quickly becoming a questionable obsession!!!

 

 

I have one in my stage system, and two in my studio system.  Very essential items that you can configure w/o a computer.

[yannis D]

After some thought and a lot of valuable advice from folks in here, I purchased a Korg MicroKey Air 61

I was surprised by how good it reacts to my playing and how little the latency is on my Camelot pro in my iPad or the MacBook. Light as a feather too. It sure will have some good use in smaller gigs

 

[DeltaJockey]

I thought I'd share my latest addition. Just couldn't resist 😊

 

My piano has had offspring! Must have been that stage piano I had setup nearby. The rascal!

[Stokely]

It was gonna be a Behringer vc340 vocoder/string machine.

But then I got a bit of assistance from a user group on getting the vocoder on my Modx to work way, way better than it was.  The string machine type sounds the Modx can do without effort.

The line "I can't quit you" definitely applies to the Modx!  I've tried to boot it off my rig but 1) B-3X worked well on an ipad....2) once I programmed my own synth patches and installed "Analog Xperience" the synths sounded WAY better...and now this vocoder!   I wish I'd bought the Montage for the better build quality (which is my main beef with the Modx) but it's been a workhorse for years now and keeps proving me wrong.

[Justin Havu]

1 hour ago, Stokely said:

I wish I'd bought the Montage for the better build quality (which is my main beef with the Modx) but it's been a workhorse for years now and keeps proving me wrong.

 

Yeah, I need the whole PC board for the volume knobs replaced, as I can't solder to save my life.  However, according to Syntaur, Yamaha has them on backorder.  🤬

[DeltaJockey]

9 hours ago, Stokely said:

I wish I'd bought the Montage for the better build quality (which is my main beef with the Modx) but it's been a workhorse for years now and keeps proving me wrong.

I originally bought a MODX8. The build quality was originally the thing that got to me too. The functionality was great, but the plasticness really got to me, and the GHS keybed was giving me problems very early on. I ended up selling it and buying a Montage8. It's built like a tank!

 

I also decided that I like some of the extra features, like 4 channel line outs, and the 8 levels of control surface.

[Jose EB5AGV]

18 hours ago, Stokely said:

It was gonna be a Behringer vc340 vocoder/string machine.

But then I got a bit of assistance from a user group on getting the vocoder on my Modx to work way, way better than it was.  The string machine type sounds the Modx can do without effort.

The line "I can't quit you" definitely applies to the Modx!  I've tried to boot it off my rig but 1) B-3X worked well on an ipad....2) once I programmed my own synth patches and installed "Analog Xperience" the synths sounded WAY better...and now this vocoder!   I wish I'd bought the Montage for the better build quality (which is my main beef with the Modx) but it's been a workhorse for years now and keeps proving me wrong.

 

As I have said in other threads, I have both a Montage 6 and a MODX6+. So your comments about the vocoder, which I have not used but in a short test, makes me very curious. May you, perhaps on a separate thread, elaborate on it?. For sure it will help to lots of us.

 

Thanks!

 

Jose

[Stokely]

I could, not sure it's worth a thread as I didn't do all that much.  I made a copy of the performance "Funky Vocoder" and was pretty much using it with the provided settings.  I think the A/D inputs were already set as the modulator and all the way to "wet".  I was having issues getting a decent signal in from my mic, or so it seemed.  There was a lot of noise and the end result was far from clear.  There's a good Facebook Modx group (this group and the marketplace are the only things I use on Facebook!) and I posted there on the issues I was having, and that's where I got the advice I needed.  

Bottom line, my issue turned out to be that the XLR to 1/4" cable I was using was TRS--it needs to be TS.  Once I got a cable like that, it worked much, much better and sounded as I expected.  I'm using a cheapo 20-dollar Behringer sm58-ish dynamic mic but it provides plenty of clarity.

I'm not as successful so far when it comes to making a new from-scratch vocoding performace, or adding a new part to this one, and having the Vocoder insert work for some reason.   It works, but I also am getting the dry A/D mic sound so I've missed a setting somewhere compared to the part in "Funky Vocoder."  My workaround for wanting to try different sounds is to use the Element(s) on that existing working part.  The type of resulting sound will be influenced a lot by the waveform(s) chosen.

From a practical standpoint, it's great when your existing gear does something you didn't think it could.  From a GAS "I want new stuff!" perspective, just to return the thread to that focus, it's a bit of an anti-climax!

[Sunlight2]

I use the vocoder on MODX for both Mr Blue Sky and California Love. The great thing is you can incorporate it into a Performance using just one Part, leaving the other 7 open. So on Blue Sky, for that moment I just put the Vocoder ONLY on a new scene, muting all the other sounds - strings, Wurli etc. Then when finished hit another scene button and strings are back! The MODX is truly a versatile workhouse. I've had this setup, with a Nord Electro 6 73 for piano and organ underneath for years and it's serving me so well. It could use better ananlog leads of course, and that was what we were all hoping for in MODX+...I keep toying with the Ipad /app route as connectivity is so easy on the MODX, but haven't pulled the trigger yet

[brenner13]

On 5/22/2023 at 8:44 AM, Stokely said:

"Analog Xperience" the synths sounded WAY better...

I also have this library on my MODX7. Easy Sounds thoroughly programs the patches with useful layers, splits, and makes good use of the scenes with tasteful sequences and drum kits with more patches than expected. The samples of vintage analog gear are top notch and great sources for making your own patches, too. Love this guy.

[Stokely]

My big beefs--notably the lack of said beef--was with the poly sounds and leads.  The pads are great right out of the box.

Analog Xperience adds a bunch of good waveforms to use as "oscillators" and a focus on more vintage, classic programming.  I've managed to do some custom patches from the stock waveforms that have more "heft" to them, basically starting from the Elements and keeping things pretty simple.  I try to keep performances to one Part if I can,  it makes combining them with other performances later that much easier.   Iirc there was maybe one--just one--moog-sounding lead that I liked, and I used it as a tweaking point for other lead performances.  In short, the stock performances give a pretty bad impression if you are looking for 70s/80s analog sounds IMO (FM of course is there).

The ipad option is there.  I wowed the band members when jamming on Subdivisions with a poly synth from Zeeon.  Model 15 sounds the best of all my apps but I don't know how to program it--Model D also sounds great for leads.   All that said--if I can get close with the stock sounds I'd rather do that and keep it simpler.

I'd love the Montage 8 but I'd prefer a 7 octave version, and for a live keyboard 62 pounds (which would be probably 85+ with a case) is too much.

Anyway didn't mean to derail.

[Dave Keys]

I’ve broken the habit of the last 10 years and ordered the Yamaha CP softcase for my CP88. 
I much prefer keeping my boards in hard cases and my Gator ATA Slim XL case has been brilliant for the RD700 and this CP88, but I need to take care of my back and shedding a few kilos of weight should help me do so.

[Leroy C]

[LarsHarner2]

Presonus Eris 5 BT monitors; had $72 credit from my CK 61 purchase from MF/GC. Driving poiint was I needed a pair where the second connected to the first one so that I only needed one plug

[RABid]

NI Komplete 14 Collector’s - I always wait until the annual 50% off sale to update Komplete. My Maschine MKii is excited to get new food. Installing it on a brand new M2 Mac Mini so I am going to install everything I can in NI Kontrol format.

[Leroy C]