Tom Williams Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 Kudos to Dr. Mike for a great summary, even if I disagree on a couple of minor points. I'm only on my third keytar, but I've been playing 'em for about a quarter century. Technically I am on my fourth keytar: I bought the pre-wireless version of the Alesis at a GC blowout for something like $80 US, tried it for 2 hours, and took it back because I did not like the action. I also wasn't a fan of the 3 octave keyboard length. Roland's AX series does provide a good keyboard length. The last two major ones, the Synth and the Edge, have a full 4 octave keyboard, which is enough to justify using it horizontally in your stack. The Edge comprises their most serious keytar MIDI controller so far, if you don't mind the fact that it looks like it fell off a Klingon Open Mic stage. Oh, and if you don't mind that the programming interface [text redacted by the obscenity and insult police]. Other than those low-priority disagreements, I am with you 100% on your live-performance advice. I would only add "Do something visible and audible with your left hand, so they don't think they're getting half a performance." On the Rolands, this means using the squeezy bar and ribbon controller often enough for the audience to consider it an important part of the instrument. By the way: Most people age 30 or older do not seem to react to keytars as inherently uncool. And after I have played a couple of songs on it, the younger ones are usually converted as well. Quote -Tom Williams {First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devil71 Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 I've had an AX Synth for around 8 years and finally got round to going wireless MIDI after I joined my current covers band about 18 months ago (I use a laptop running Reason for my sounds). It's really changed the dynamic of the band. The guitarist and bassist are both wireless so any or all 3 of us are out on the dance floor / into the audience at various points during the show (size of venue permitting). Cheesy ? Uncool ? Yeah, probably. The punters love it though and it gives us a big advantage over most local bands who just seem to stand there and play without interacting much with the audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devil71 Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 Duplicate post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggypants Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 I want to be as cool as this guy when I grow up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Williams Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 I want to be as cool as this guy when I grow up. Pray that you never grow up then. I was driven away by 0:30. Why's he wiggling it? Does he think he has an Alesis Vortex? Quote -Tom Williams {First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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