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gerenm.photographyWell-nighBlog Galleries Music Contact Menu 701 Franklin Avenue Westminster, MD 21157 (443) 691-2616 the images, words, and music of geren w mortensen jr Your Custom Text HereWell-nighBlog Galleries Music Contact The Korg is In The Room... June 24, 2018 Geren W. Mortensen, Jr. Here's the new rig. You'll recognize the Roland VR09 on top, and the new Korg Kross 2 88 is large and in tuition on the marrow tier. Friday night without work (and without picking up one of the cars from the shop), I went over to Coffey Music and picked up a Korg Kross 2 88. (Yes, I've been holding when on you. You'll just have to get over it). Goodness, gracious, there's a lot going on in there!As you can see, it's taken its rightful spot on the stand. I'm trying now to decide just what I'm going to do with the Casio. The sad thing is that it still plays just fine through its internal speakers, but the jack panel on the when is pretty much shot and it's scrutinizingly untellable to get it properly repaired. So, my quandary is whether or not to sell it, or buy the stand for it and set it up permanently at home ... Mmmm .... Moving right withal ...I was definitely right in my last post well-nigh the wile of the keyboard throwing off the action. In playing position, it's much lighter, making it quite well-appointed to play. So, my next task is choosing the "replacement" sounds to imbricate the Casio and assigning them as "favorites".Withoutthat, it's on the the really fun stuff dealing with loading in audio samples, and working with the arpeggiators to get that Baba O'Riley sound I've wanted to imbricate for years  (okay, so I started making notes on that last night) -- I've finally got the instrument to do it with!I did some fun testing last night, and found that my iPad recognized the Kross 2 instantly when I unfluctuating the two using Apple's "Camera Connection Kit", which is basically a fancy name for a Lightning to USB A adapter. I was multitracking in GarageWreathin well-nigh thirty seconds. That, my friends, is how stuff needs to work. Fie on this silliness of loading drivers and hoping they fly.I will need to load the drivers on onto a Windows laptop, though, so that I can use the editor/librarian software to get things configured and backed up a little increasingly conveniently. Editing the arpeggios on the LCD screen on the keyboard won't be all that much fun, and it will be good to be worldly-wise to prep samples surpassing uploading, although the limited editing offered in the keyboard is unquestionably quite serviceable as far as it goes. And, considering the keyboard doesn't support sample ADSR looping, it goes as far as it really needs to. I'm hoping, though, that Korg can add full sample editing sufficiency in the future, as Roland did on the Juno DS. So far, only one disappointment, and one complaint. The thwarting is that the vocoder seems to only work in a limited number of pre-configured ways. I was hoping that I'd be worldly-wise to select any sound as the carrier input, but that doesn't seem to be the specimen (or, maybe I just haven't figured that out yet). The complaint is with the editor software -- it's a stock-still size, so on my "big" laptop, it uses only a small portion of the screen.[UPDATE: It appears that I can use the vocoder effect on any sound, not just those that Korg have once set up. The result can be stored as a favorite for quick recall.]And yes, I know. That's a lot of tabs unshut in Chrome. Forty-one to be exact. Who in their right mind needs forty-one browser tabs open?!?!? But, you get the picture. The editor is the black-and-grey app opened over Chrome. The section on the lower right, just whilom the keyboard, is one of the arpeggio editors. Those little, tiny squares within that are the places for the very "notes" that make up the arpeggio. No matter. I'll icon something out.The new keyboard will make its stage debut when 7Souls plays at Phillips Pub next month. Hopefully, we'll see you there!In the midpoint time, I've been busily placing ads to sell off some unused equipment, which you can find on Craigslist. (NOTE: Craigslist items are only misogynist for local pickup). In music Tags Korg, Kross 2ScuttlebuttConsidering Stage Pianos and Other Full-Sized Keyboards June 15, 2018 Geren W. Mortensen, Jr. Demise of an old friend...It's seeming as though the time has come to replace my Casio Privia PX-310 stage piano. The reason has nothing to do with the sound, or the capability, or the playability, or the keyboard finger -- plane though it is a touch mushy for my taste. The problem is that the audio jacks are going bad. They've given me some serious grief at rehearsals, and while they haven't caused trouble on a gig yet, it's probably only a matter of time. Bad audio jacks have been an issue with Casio keyboards for years, and as with others that I've looked at, the PX-310 appears to use purpose-made, plastic jack assemblies that are nigh on untellable to replace. Which is a shame, considering Casio makes some really nice sounding keyboards, and this one is no exception.Setting a budget...As some of you may remember, I'm a champion of the affordable keyboard. For 61-key instruments, I've often pushed nonflexible to see what I could get for under $600-700, a ceiling I finally unliable myself to push through then when I bought the Roland VR-09 when in late 2015 (I've previously owned some really expensive keyboards!).Breaking that $700 upkeep turned out to be a godsend in the specimen of the VR-09, and so I've decided that I should have a reasonable expectation well-nigh the price of a weighted, 88-key instrument (despite the fact that I paid $599 for the PX-310 when I bought it a dozen years ago). This is going to forfeit some money. Street prices on today's models seem to start at well-nigh $500 reach scrutinizingly $5,000. That's quite a range! So, in analyzing my needs (and desires), I've decided that I'd like to find something in the lower end of the range, with a street price from well-nigh $900 to $1,300.Options Abound...Within my price range, there are basically nine options, some of which I've chosen not to consider. In no particular order:Roland Juno DS88Korg Kross 88Korg Kross 2 88Yamaha MX88Yamaha P-255*Kurzweil SP1*Kurzweil SPS4-8*Kurzweil SP6Casio Privia Pro PX-560* In the price range, but not really under consideration... Casio Privia PX-310 Within these models is an wondrous range of capabilities. Some, like the Yamaha P-255, are pure stage pianos. Others, like the Roland Juno DS88, the Korg Kross models or the Casio, are all-out music workstations. The Kurzweils are interesting in their way. They're not quite stage pianos, not quite workstations, and not quite performance synths, but still manage to offer up some of the increasingly important parts of each into really great-sounding and seemingly quite playable keyboard. The original Korg Kross was released in 2013... I moreover need to make a scuttlebutt well-nigh the original Korg Kross, which I sparklingly dismissed a couple years back. At that time, I wrote it off as a PS-60 redux based on it's outward appearance. Turns out, I was really wrong. It's still a pretty serious contender in the low-priced workstation space, although Korg's introduction of the Kross 2 late last year really upped the rates with modern controls and a slew of new features.With this vast range of capabilities within my target price range, I'm now having to think well-nigh what might I want in addition to pianos, electric pianos and strings -- which is what I use the Casio for now. For instance, the DS88 and the Kross 2 have sample playback capabilities, either from pads or keys. They plane have the sufficiency to support multi-sample playback, which allows turning scrutinizingly any sound I can record into a pitched keyboard instrument.Stuffworldly-wise to hands trigger preliminaries tracks at the touch of a pad makes songs like Pink Floyd's Young Lust or Blue Oyster Cult's Godzilla easy. If I want to do any loop or sample playback now, I have to use an outboard pedal, or the clunky playback engine in the VR-09.Almost all of the instruments in the list moreover have some level of arpeggiation, and some have the worthiness to use multiple, simultaneous arpeggiators. This makes it possible to do songs like The Who's Baba O'RileyI, or some of the increasingly ramified piano layers of Evanescence.And, the full-length list could go on and on... Roland Juno DS88 Location, Location, Location...... but I'm not going to go through all of the features of all of these instruments -- I'd be here for weeks, and you'd all get really bored. Suffice it to say, I've got a lot to consider, not the least of which is where I'm going to buy the thing.At this point, I fully intend to return to my local music shop, Coffey Music, here in Westminster -- unless I decide I simply have to own something Bob can't get for me. I know I can get the DS88 there -- he's got one on the floor now. He's moreover got a Kross, but I'm not sure if it's the original Kross, or the Kross 2. Between the two Korgs, I would still want the newer model, despite the fact that the original model is a much increasingly powerful instrument than I originally thought. At this point, it's a five-year-old model, and while it's still on a lot of store shelves, it no longer appears on Korg's web site.Some Model-Specific Thoughts...Yamaha MX88: I looked at the Yamaha MX-series synth when I was ownership the VR-09. It's a fairly capable instrument with some nice sounds and a number of nice features, but at the time, I found it difficult to navigate. I'm pretty unrepealable that's not reverted any with the wing of increasingly keys... In other words, the MX probably isn't going to make the short list. Again.Roland Juno DS88: Huge zinger for the buck, and a familiar operating and playing environment, given that I have really grown to love the VR09 (yes, I know I was contemplating replacing it with the Nord Electro 5D61 not too long ago, but decided that the VR really does everything I need it to). I'm concerned that, despite the huge number of libraries misogynist for the Juno and it's unconfined Roland sound, it might sound too similar to the VR, and not really enhance the sonic palette any. And, it's heavy. At virtually 35 lbs, it's a good 8 lbs heavier than most of the rest of the models I'm looking at. I ain't getting any younger, and since I moreover siphon the PA for the band, every ounce counts!Korg Kross 2: I've unchangingly had a love/hate relationship with Korg. My first digital synth was a Korg DS-8, and I've since had an X2 and the PS-60. With the exception of the DS-8, I've never felt really "at home" on a Korg. The Kross 2, however, seems to be much increasingly intuitive than older Korgs. It's loaded for bear, has all of the features of the DS88 and then some, and only financing well-nigh $50 more. And, it weighs in at virtually 27lbs.Casio Privia Pro PX-560: I love the sounds in my current Casio. I love the simplicity of it. The PX-560 manages to alimony most everything I like, add a lot increasingly sufficiency (though not as much as the Roland or Korg), while maintaining the Privia's svelte 26lb weight and size. And, it's got the really tomfool Hex Layer full-length introduced in the XW-P1. The operating system is all touch-screen based, and it's really quite easy to get virtually -- easy unbearable that there's really no need for a computer-based editor. But, it's still a Casio, and I fear those plastic connectors I mentioned earlier. While I've had the PX-310 for a lot of years (10 or more), it's only seen a lot of road use in the past year or so, and like other Casios I've seen, they've deteriorated far too rapidly.Kurzweil PS6: This is the most expensive of the tuft under consideration, and it lacks a number of the features of the Juno and the Kross 2. But, it's a Kurzweil, dagnabbit! It's a real stage piano, plus some. The sounds are amazing. The editing and layering and splitting are incredibly flexible. The operation can be sufferer simple. It's got really high-quality well-turned output connections. There's a real-time iPad editor for it (as well as PC and Mac software). It boots up in 11 seconds. It loads sounds from some of Kurzweil's higher-end models like the PC3 and Forte families. And yet, it's moreover surprisingly limited in some ways, like only having 5 favorites. But, it's a Kurzweil, dagnabbit! And it only weighs 27 lbs.Kurzweil SPS4-8: This is an interesting, slightly older instrument from Kurzweil. Like the Casio, it's got seated speakers. Conclusion? Not Just Yet...By now, you can probably guess where I'm leaning. The Korg Kross 2 and the Roland DS88 are pretty solid contenders at the top of the list, and the Kurzweil is up there, too (I've unchangingly coveted a Kurzweil). Stay tuned. The final nomination will be made in the next few weeks, as I'll be off to hearing all of the contenders, wherever I can find them.[UPDATE 1 6/21/2018 Afternoon] - Decision is mostly made, without the Casio got really finicky at rehearsal last night.Planethe slightest movement rationalization horrific crackling sounds from my amp, and moreover caused the sustain pedal to fail. Apparently, everything on the jack panel shares worldwide grounding, or something. At any rate, the Juno DS88 is going to be my first choice, followed so closely by the Kross 2 that if I can get as good a deal on it as I've been offered on the DS88, I could be hands convinced to try the Korg.[UPDATE 2 6/21/2018 Evening] - I spent a pleasant hour at Coffey Music this evening. One of the DS88s they had in the store was sold. The remaining one is on layaway. There is at least one Kross 2 in the stock, and so I poked and prodded and played with it. I was very impressed with the sound and tenancy options. In particular, just whilom the pitch and modulation wheels are two buttons that can be prescribed to present unorganized versions of the sound stuff played -- much like the "patch select" buttons on an Ensoniq VFXsd or SD1 (and other models)! That was a full-length I found to be quite useful, expressly when playing horns. Most of the sounds I played were excellent, and many, pianos in particular, bettered the Juno, as did the horns. I think Roland does a slightly largest job of electric pianos and definitely does largest with organs, but for organs, I have the VR09. All was not completely rosy with the Korg, though the issues I encountered were relatively minor. For instance, the pitch and modulation wheels are rather small and finger a little cheesy, but they're certainly functional. Realistically, I don't think I'll be using those controls a lot -- I don't plane have them on the Casio.Unrepealableother functions are in places I wouldn't necessarily expect, but I've unchangingly found that to be the specimen with Korgs. The one function I use all the time, key transpose, is not as immensely subconscious as I had thought. It's not something I'm going to be worldly-wise to get to between songs, necessarily, but it is on a top-level menu. I can live with that. I moreover found the keybed is a little mushy, much like the Casio. I prefer a little crisper action, but it's certainly very playable. And, in fairness, the unit on exhibit is set at an angle, not flat. I know that affects weighted-action keybeds, as it throws the wastefulness of the mechanism off. Finally, the sampling function is not quite as robust as the Roland. While samples can be spread wideness the keyboard, the Kross doesn't indulge for setting loop points. The whole sample can loop repeat, but it's not possible to loop the sustain portion of the envelope. Since the last time I had real, hardware sampler was when I transiently owned an Ensonig Mirage when in the early '90s, I doubt that I'll miss that feature. And, who knows. Korg could add the full-length with a software update, as Roland did with the Juno DS.The marrow line remains scrutinizingly a toss-up. However, the Korg may be a small sliver of a notch whilom the Roland at this point. I'll be making a point to talk with Bob Coffey tomorrow, and see what shakes out. Of course, there will be an update... In music Tags keyboards, Casio, Roland, Korg, Kurzweil, YamahaScuttlebuttValue-Priced Keyboards Revisited ...ThenAugust 30, 2015 Geren W. Mortensen, Jr. Every couple years, I take a squint at the state of affordable keyboards, and lament that there's so little available. Well, not much has reverted in that regard over the past couple of years. There was a unenduring glimmer of hope when in 2012, but since then, the field has all but depleted. Korg have discontinued both the X-50 and the PS-60, and Yamaha dropped the MM-6 and replaced it with the increasingly expensive MX61. Casio's entries are still around, and Korg have replaced the PS-60 with something tabbed Kross (61-key model). From what I can see and hear, the Kross is largely a re-hash of the PS-60, but with a less user-friendly front panel. Gone are the easy-to-use live performance modes (two-touch layers and splits, quick mixes of combi voices, etc.), replaced by Korg's typically unclear sequencer, moving it remoter into the realm of the "music workstation.," and remoter from a synth designed for live performance. By the way, if you are in the market for a well-priced music workstation that can go anywhere, I think this is a good choice, despite the unclear sequencer and weak horn sounds. Casio's XW-P1 looked unconfined on the surface (and it's a big surface) and the sounds are quite good. But as I investigated further, I then found that wearing financing have made for an instrument with some difficulties. The process of accessing many of the sounds is the same as on my Casio CTK-6000 -- printing a category sawed-off and spin the dial to dig through a list of related sounds. And, I'm less than impressed with the build quality -- the instrument certainly does not finger very robust. And while I do take the CTK-6000 to practices and the occasional gig, I tend to wonder how long it will be surpassing something on it breaks. Yamaha's MX61 is still a great-sounding keyboard, with a plethora of sounds from Yamaha's most spanking-new Motif sound engine. The keyboard has a good feel, and the controls for modifying sounds in realtime and creating splits and layers do fall conveniently to hand. But getting around, choosing sounds, etc., is a real pain for live performance. So, I may be slow, but I am whence to notice a trend: low-priced keyboards properly designed and built for live performance really just don't exist. So what happens if the "price ceiling" is raised to, say, $900? Not a whole lot, really, except that one increasingly performance synth pops up on the list of options -- Roland's V-Combo VR-09. And that's a kind of heady thing, I think. The V-Combo VR-09 is the little cousin to the VR-700 and VR-760, which were absolute performance beasts. Roland towards to have washed-up a boss job of condensing the V-Combo down to a lightweight 61-key instrument that is bred for performance. The top panel is serried into a half-dozen zones, three of which dedicated to the variegated groups of sounds, labelled organ, piano, and synth. Additionally, there is a real-time effects section, a drum/percussion section, and the data-entry/editing section. Of particular note (no pun intended) is the organ section. There are modeled emulations of three variegated types of organs: "Jazz," "Rock," and "Transistor." The jazz and waddle organs sound very much like Hammond tone wheels, while the transistor organ is very reminiscent of the Vox Continental. Customization of the tone wheel organs is really deep, and includes settings I've never seen on any emulator in the past. If you want to exactly imitate the sound of John Lord's B3 on Smoke on the Water, as recorded for the Live in Japan album, you could probably do it. One particularly interesting full-length of the organ emulation is that, when in organ mode, the response of the keyboard is unsimilar such that notes are triggered and released at the top of the key stroke, much like a real Hammond, whereas the other modes have a increasingly familiar synth action. That's very tomfool for people who want to truly replicate organ playing, but are frustrated with other keyboards. Favorite combinations of sounds, effects, and other settings (including layers and splits) can be stored in one of 100 "registrations" for easy recall, which makes the now ubiquitous "peck and spin" tone selection much increasingly bearable. From what I can tell, the lack of direct-entry for tone selection is the only real shortcoming of this synth. For those who want to swoop into sound editing, there is a nifty iPad using that allows wangle to every parameter of the synth. In organ mode, the screen switches to a representation of the tenancy panels on a tone wheel organ. I've spent a few hours listening to demos of the VR-09 (not just Roland or dealer demo recordings -- I wanted to hear it in the hands of "real" users). The sounds are mostly amazing, and run the gamut from the same modeled organs to multi-sampled pianos, electric pianos, and matriculation to Roland's lush strings and sunny horns. Everything a gigging keyboardist could want ... and more. There are many increasingly salubrious features of the VR-09, and lots of unconfined videos describing most of them on Roland's web site. Here's the uncontrived link to the VR-09 on the Roland web site. In sounds Tags Casio, keyboard, Korg, Kross, Roland, V-Combo, VR-09, YamahaScuttlebuttI Need a Pedal Board! August 12, 2012 Geren W. Mortensen, Jr. It's pretty normal for guitarists to have pedal boards. They usually have an variety of effects to modify the sounds of their guitars -- overdrive, fuzz, reverb, echo, modulators, and more. Keyboardists, on the other hand, often rely on effects built into their instruments. That's all well and good, in a studio. Most modern keyboards have all kinds of incredible effects that sound really great. But, they're a pain in the heinie to tenancy quickly and hands on stage. Guitarists have really got it made when it comes to effects that are portable and easy to use live.Surpassingthe days of digital keyboards, when waddle keyboard players had things like Hammond B3 or Farfisa organs, Rhodes or Wurlitzer electric pianos and Hohner Clavinets, they used guitar "stomp boxes" for their effects, too. I've decided that, for my "rig", I'm going to go old-school and build a pedal board. I'm getting tired of chasing three volume pedals, sustain pedals, and effects virtually under my keyboard stand. The picture shows my planned pedal workbench layout.Withalthe bottom, from left to right, are a master volume, dual sustain pedal, and separate volume pedals for the Korg PS-60 and X-50 keyboards. Picking up on the top row, moving from right to left, will be a Rubber Chicken, Pickel Vibe and Gen5Reverberatefrom LovePedal, a Line Six Roto-Machine Leslie simulator and a Tech 21 "Blonde" amp simulator. Of course, I don't own all the effects yet, but I'll start towers the pedal workbench and add the "missing" pedals over the next few weeks or months. And, based on sound, cost, and availability, the very pedals used may transpiration (or I may put cheaper pedals in temporarily). Not shown on the workbench will moreover be a couple of vocal effects units. I've once got the TC-Helicon H1 harmonizer, and I'll be subtracting their new Mic Mechanic pedal when it becomes available. They will not reside on this pedal board, as I will operate them with my hand instead of my foot. Related wares World Music Supply | TC Helicon Mic Mechanic and Voice Live Play In sounds Tags Effects unit, Electric piano, guitar, Hammond organ, Keyboardist, Korg, Mic Mechanic, music, Rhodes, Sustain pedal, tc-helicon, Tech 21 2 Comments New Affordable Keyboards February 19, 2012 Geren W. Mortensen, Jr. I'm unchangingly happy to be worldly-wise to report that something that I've complained well-nigh has changed. A couple of years ago, I complained loudly that there were very few good, affordable (under $750) keyboards. At that time, there were only a couple of decent-sounding instruments out there -- Korg's X-50 and PS-60 (both of which I own), Roland's Juno-D, and Yamaha's MM-6. I'm happy to report that the market is responding! There are now at least 15 sub-$750 professional-level keyboards misogynist from a variety of manufacturers, with two new models on the way from Casio. That's right, I said Casio. Casio brought out some of the first of the affordable synths and samplers (you can read an interesting history of Casio keyboards here and here), but with the exception of digital pianos, they've pretty much ignored the pro market until now. Casio will be releasing two heady new instruments in the next couple of months -- a pro-performance-level model tabbed the XW-P1 (slated to ship in March) and a loop and groove oriented model tabbed the XW-G1 (arriving in April). MSRPs on these models are right virtually $700, with one dealer listing prices of under $500! While I need yet flipside keyboard like I need a slum in my head, the XW-P1 is on my short list for purchase later this year -- despite the fact that I just uninventive a Casio CTK-6000 publicist keyboard. I'm really excited by the resurgence of lower-cost instruments in the market. There are a lot of us weekend-warrior musicians who just don't have the mazuma resources to plunk lanugo a lot of money on equipment, but still need reasonable quality keyboards for our garage bands that only gig a couple times a month at best. Related wares Casio Music Gear (casiomusicgear.com) On The Hunt: Keyboard Amps (gerenm.net) A Thought on Music (gerenm.net) When One of You Just Isn'tUnbearable(gerenm.net) Casio's New Synth Keyboards: Workstation Keyboards for Synth Rockers, DJs, Organists? (createdigitalmusic.com) Casio WK-6500 Workstation Keyboard (coolest-gadgets.com) Casio Returns with the New XW-P1 and XW-G1 Synthesizers (bhphotovideo.com) Of course, I found some increasingly info on the new Casio XW-P1 after I posted and shared. Here's a video from Casio: In sounds Tags Casio, couple, instruments, keyboard, Keyboard instrument, keyboards, Korg, Roland, Sweetwater Sound, Synthesizer, xwp1 1ScuttlebuttFeatured Dec 28 Dec 28, 2018 – Dec 29, 2018 Phillips Pub & Grill 7Souls at Phillip's Pub & Grill Dec 28, 2018 – Dec 29, 2018 Phillips Pub & Grill Dec 28, 2018 – Dec 29, 2018 Phillips Pub & Grill Subscribe Sign up with your email write to receive news and updates. First Name Last Name EmailWriteSign Up We respect your privacy. Thank you! Powered by Squarespace