eric

Answering your Vent question first, before further digression on Blue Collar Man... I was using a Mini Vent in my rehearsal rig for a few years. Yes, it has two presets. I always had the pedal stashed away and wasn't actively changing those presets. So I just decided which sound was my favorite and left it there. Sort of the same way I use my gig Ventilator and current rehearsal Vent II units (I have a few). I just dial in my optimal Leslie setting, then I "set it and forget it." Any sort of tweaks to drive it harder would come from my Nord and the Vent stays the same. Small digression on Blue Collar Man...here's the demo I made several months ago to share with Nord people.

Not to digress too far into Nord (LOL)...there are definitely a lot of edits you can tweak on the NS3 in particular to make its internal organ/sim combo really sound great. I recall sharing some edits here or maybe on the Nord User Forum. I still find the Vent is a little bit better, and it is super fun to have this option as a separate output altogether. One of my more recent discoveries is running one panel of NS3 organ through Vent, with the other panel running through internal sim. I was learning the Styx song Blue Collar Man, that has a really heavy overdriven organ that sounds like a braked Leslie (or no Leslie) and I made a Program that has a bit of both happening. Really big, heavy stuff.

The Nord haters will start coming at me for sure. LOL. I have been very happy with Nord organs coupled with the Ventilator. I've used NS2, NE5, and NS3 with Vent and Vent II. The Nord is far from a "purist" clone, though it does so much in addition to organ that I find it to be a really great option for the gigs I do. I am very happy with the organ sound I get from it. If you want to hear a bit, here's a clip from a session where I think the Nord organ shines nicely. I'm switching between a clav and organ part here.

What's even more surreal is how niche some of these scams are becoming. I follow a number of vintage and electromechanical keyboard groups on Facebook. Over the past months there has been a surge of FS postings that look like honest to goodness items that someone is selling for their grandma or whatever. Nice Hammonds and Leslies for $600, Wurlies for $1k, etc. Always the seller just joined the group that day and has a very vague profile. People start asking questions about it and pretty soon thereafter the admin has deleted the fake ads. This happens often enough that I'm sure some scams are happening. There are a TON of fake/copy ads all over Facebook for just about anything. If you like a particular thing, suddenly you'll be served up all kinds of ads for "buy this shirt with a picture of your favorite band" but it's just some reseller or fraudulent ad.

Read the manual. It explains how to configure the Vent II for different types of remote switches, depending on what you want to do.

I think that the MODX7 and NE6 is more than enough to get what you need, without needing to debate these other options. If you were trying to slim down to a single keyboard, I would absolutely recommend a Nord Stage 3 or 4, which could do all the things you need. However, the NE6 has you covered very well for pianos, drawbar organ, sample loading...and the MODX7 can do pretty much all the rest. I'd spend time working on how to maximize the current rig vs. spending time (and money) on trying to replace things. My $.02.

I'm very content with my live rig these days and haven't been trying to change much about it. Aside from a longer-running project to integrate a Roland XV-3080 rack synth to augment my very capable Nord Stage 3. I'm currently convinced that I can do anything with the Nord Stage 3, LOL. As for other gear in my rig, I'd LOVE to see a single space rack mount Neo Ventilator Pro, taking a nod from the Dynacord CLS-222. I mean, I'm ok with strapping my 13 year old original Vent onto a rack shelf. I keep thinking how much cooler it would be to have it in a true rack mount box, with visible Leslie speed, added knobs/features, expanded output options, etc. I think my use case is too much of a niche one and less likely to happen. The only other thing I wish for is more options for modern rack synths. I'm so content using a single board in my rig and have definitely spent time over the past 3+ decades wrangling rack mount rigs. If there were some kind of modern version of whatever that thing was called (Muse Receptor?) but housing reliable versions of current synths...I'd be very interested. I think the Muse product withered away some years ago.

I met my future wife at a young age, when I was extremely active in an original touring band that was playing 15-20 nights a month. Plus I was working two other jobs to help pay for college. She got to know me and love me at nearly the peak of my time commitments, when I was barely having time to sleep. Things slowed down a bit after college years and getting married, settling into routines, yet I was still touring and very busy balancing this with a day job. My bandmates at the time were also doing a similar thing, until the time came to make a decision about scrapping our day jobs and going on the road completely full time. I'd argue that gigging 15-20 nights a month was pretty close to full time, in any event. Around this time is when we started to have a family and I was torn between going on the road and being a family man. We learned that we were expecting TWINS and that helped me get clarity on what I'd need to choose in this journey called life. I decided to give my notice to the touring band and gradually phased myself out of it over about a year, playing fewer gigs over time and still going to the studio sessions and being connected. I then took about three years off completely from playing in bands to help raise my kids at a young age. Zero regrets with this decision. Once the kids got a bit older, I started to get the itch to play and I was getting lots of calls. I joined a couple of pick up bands for a few shows and then found a great wedding and corporate business band that was building up a roster of playing 6-8x per month, playing mostly well-paying gigs that were within a 1-2 hour proximity of home. This worked pretty well at the time. I kept getting sucked into smaller projects and I had a hard time saying no, so I extended myself to playing in 2-3 other bands at the same time, just because I was hungry to play and was in demand. I ultimately had to make another decision to cut out the extra bands and focus on just the main band. This all played out well. My wife has always been a fan of my bands and she still loves to come to the reunion shows from my former touring group. She's never been a true "groupie," though she has a lot of awareness for what happens on the road and I've been a very good partner through all of this with fidelity as my top priority. I've found that in some of my more recent bands with musicians that didn't devote their 20s into 30s on the road, that the spouses tend to descend upon all the shows as it's a novelty to them...and there also may be thoughts of "let me keep an eye on my person in this crazy dive bar"...my wife is way past all of that and doesn't really care too much for following me around in various cover bands nowadays. TLDR: I've made some good choices over the years that have given me the ability to balance my musical endeavors and my family.

This is a REALLY cool thread! I must have missed it the first time around. That pedal board from Ben is a work of art! I'd love to hear updates about how it's working and any additional add/modifications since the early days. As for me, I keep just sustain, control, and Leslie switch pedals on my board...I keep the rest of the goodies tucked away in an offstage rack. I have one version for rehearsal and one for gigs.

Tom, I know you're stoked to find a grand piano that will scratch the itch for you. I will pile on with the recommendation that you strongly consider professional moving of the grand piano. I recently needed to move two pianos, and the pros know exactly how to do it with care and minimal risk to your piano having problems after the move. If you can't make it happen with this piano, perhaps you keep looking for a piano in closer proximity if the distance creates a cost barrier. I think there are more pianos out there than many might believe, with families downsizing or moving elderly parents to senior living, not sure what to do with pianos, etc. In any event, best of luck to you on this!

Wow, I remember the days...from about 1999 until 2011 when I was in a wedding/corporate/general business band and using a two keyboard rig for most of that time. I always had a full 88 note stage piano underneath a clonewheel of one kind or another. Early days, it was Roland RD-600 with Hammond XB2 or XK3, then migrated to Yamaha S90 with Nord Electro 2/3, etc. Back when I got my Roland RD-600, I had a custom Anvil style flight case built by a local shop I've used for decades. I had wheels installed with a handle on the other end, so I could drag the case behind me, up and down steps, etc. Also had a pair of handles installed on the top side of the case where the triple latches were hooked, so when it was time to hoist it into the car or up onto a stage, I'd have the ability to use both arms more easily. This same case worked for my Yamaha S90 as the measurements were close enough. I still have the S90 and the case, stashed away in my gear closet. That thing was a BEAST! The keyboards were like 50 lbs approximately and the case easily 30+ lbs, so I was lugging 80+ lbs to 8-10 gigs per month. I was wearing a younger man's clothes at the time, and don't recall it being so bad...however, there's not enough money in the world where I'd want to lug that sort of gear nowadays. I've downsized to using mostly Nord Stage Compact models, and even in an Anvil flight case, the schlep factor is so much easier...and for rehearsals, I use a soft case.

This post makes me worry a bit, as I'm using the original Vent in my live rig since 2011...that's a pretty long time! I've always had it mounted inside a rack using a remote foot switch, so I'm hopeful that this reduces wear and tear on the unit. I have noticed a problem sporadically while playing shows (which is jarring) where my organ channel will freeze up, presumably the Vent has gone into either a locked bypass or almost like a hard braked Leslie situation. I traced it to a bad footswitch on one occasion, and also to a loose connection on the cable going to the Vent. Whenever I have BIG shows, I will reseat the connections in the rack mounted Vent and I always have a backup foot switch on hand. Worst case scenario, I switch my NS3 over to use its internal Leslie simulation, which is halfway decent. Still not quite as good as the Vent. I would reach out to the manufacturer and see if they can help you out with this.

My regular gigging band is primarily '80s covers with some classic and arena rock thrown in for fun, plus a bit of more modern stuff. So far, I've handled all of the duties needed with just a Nord Stage 3. This includes some pretty deep synth and sample work. I picked up a Roland XV-3080 rack that I'm planning to slowly integrate into the rig, simply to give me a bit more horsepower for synth/rompler duties. Those two panels of NS3 synth can get maxed out at times. I also use the NS3 for a few other bands, including my original ska/reggae/pop band reunion shows, which is 80% organ/piano/CP80 and a bit of synth. NS3 works well in my Clash tribute band and a few other smaller pickup gigs. I got a Prophet 6 pre-COVID and had intended to work it into my live rig. It is still hanging out in the home studio and may not make it to the live rig. I've been happy with pushing the limits of a single keyboard rig now for many years.

Sledgehammer's signature shakuhachi riff was definitely played live via Emulator II for the So album. I've seen it done on various Gabriel tours, and it's not simply a track. I think it defines the song, not just the intro but also during the bridge section. It's also super fun to play it! As for the Styx song, definitely agree that's a good one to sample...if you're talking about the sound FX at the intro leading up to the synth bass line. My band had considered that one for a while and I had it all ready to go...then we decided that its expiration date was a little past due for the audiences we serve.

It's not set up for iOS, though I am looking for the source file used to create this .nsmp file for use on Nord instruments. I love playing Sledgehammer! I don't believe there's a way to reverse engineer a Nord sample file, though if you had a Nord instrument you could load it and then resample it. Just an idea. If I find the source file, I will share it. Someone on this forum many years ago sent me an audio sample that may have been the origin of this. https://www.norduserforum.com/nord-stage-forum-f3/sledgehammer-shakuhachi-sample-needed-for-stage-4-t25012.html?hilit=sledgehammer#p172620 EDIT: I poked around a bit more and found this post that may be of assistance for getting a wav file to load into iOS. https://www.norduserforum.com/nord-user-samples-nsmp-nsmp3-nsmp4-files-f14/emulator-1-shakuhaki-t2655-20.html?hilit=Shakuhachi#p69422