BassTractor

On the EDM forum Gearslutz, they love the Novation Bass Station II for its fantastic sound and great flexibility. Personally, I hate its keybed. Other recommended options: Arturia MicroBrute (the MiniBrute reportedly has quality issues) DSI Mopho Moog Minitaur Moog Slim Phatty Novation Super Bass Station Vermona Mono Lancet

I smell. I run like a girl. I wear gay clothes. But demn you, Mark! What a way to talk about fellow human beings of good will! Those gay clothes are [b]not weird[/b], fer cryin' out loud! I agree that us keyboardists are initially not used or trained to think like team players, or our place in a mix, but what's wrong with people who, upon starting in a band, don't quickly reorientate and change their playing? Also, what's wrong with bands where all these types of issues aren't talked through and solved routinely? The stories I read on BC are mindblowing, and I can't escape the impression people just dive into songs headlessly, wthout caring about the songs even.

Aye. Especially at this price point it may seem like the recipe for a crash: not interesting enough for pro players, and too expensive for the ones who're used to entering notes into sequencers through mini-keys, especially if people really believe that Behringer will soon come out with an Odyssey with full size keys, preset memories, advanced MIDI and three different filters at half that price. (FWIW, I'm not amongst those who believe this, and Uli Behringer has worded his texts around the theme very carefully - in such a way that one is led to believe it, but without him actually having expressed it.)

Here's an update: Korg will reveal the new ARP Odyssey officially on January 22 - presumably at NAMM. After that, it will be available to shops within 30 days. Functionality is roughly as described earlier, with duophonic capacity and all three different filters (one per Odyssey generation) available, as well as a Drive function (said to be a switch only - not a knob) Sadly (to my mind at least) they have decided on a compact build with short sliders and reduced size keys (they say "narrow" keys, but pictures seem to show mini-keys. Three colour schemes are available, but initially it's like this (in the US) : First, independent shops get the black/orange one (like a Mk. III) Then Guitar Center gets the black/gold one (like a Mk. II) Finally, Sweetwater gets the whiteface (like a Mk. I) US RRP is $999. Have no info yet about the European market. Will investigate.

Out: Bongo 4-HH In: Stingray 4-H Lesson learned: two Bongos and two Stingrays is better than three Bongos and one Stingray, but less good than three Bongos and two Stingrays.

Normally, I'd keep concentrated on Yamaha for electronic pianos (and have a look at Roland as well and totally forget Orla), because of everything you mention except weight maybe, and because of their legendary longevity, but... The new lead free solder mentioned in another thread may mean the legendary longevity is no more. At any rate, Yamaha seems to still be very good, and most probably a safe bet. However, in addition to the Yamahas, the Kawai ES7 might just be a dark horse in this market segment, and a viable alternative. I've tried out a range of Kawais lately, and must say I was initially positively surprised - especially by the keybed and "fake ivory" key feel, which incidentally is offered by other brands as well on some models. Have not done a thorough test yet. Another possible dark horse within your budget is the Korg SV-1. It's lauded, but I have no personal experience with it.

Depending on budget, and what you really want from the keybed ("semi-weighted" normally means the keys are not weighted at all, which might be exactly what you're after - or not), IMHO the M-Audio keybeds are not too bad. http://www.gear4music.com/Keyboards-and-Pianos/M-Audio-Keystation-88-USB-Controller/ZNM http://www.amazon.co.uk/M-Audio-9900-40832-00-Keystation-88es/dp/B0006676A0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1419265424&sr=8-2&keywords=audio+88es

For me, it's mostly about Vivid and Time's Up as well as about Vernon Reid. Without his, IMNTHO, extremely musical shredding, the band would be some sort of 24-7 Spyz, and far less interesting to me. The gig I attended in Oslo in '93 still stands as one of the best gigs (for me) I've been to. That said, Stain, Collideøscope and The Chair in the Doorway each provided me with some joy, but far from as much as the two aforementioned, and I'll probably not buy Shade.

Aye. I understood that, and was just expressing one way to (partly) understand some factories' reluctance to enter the custom market altogether. Once they've made that decision they'll normally not engage in any discussion about the reasonability of SOME requests. For them, "no custom shop" then means "no custom shop".

I don't get this. You don't want a SLO neck. You want a FAS neck! (Sorry for the bad pun. Couldn't resist.) Other than that, I can somewhat understand that they don't wanna make you a bass like that. In every stage of the path from before the production until it's in your hands, it has to be treated and tracked as one special individual, which takes both time and an administrative system. Also, to keep a certain price level, often factories are dependent on making a certain amount of each and every possible configuration (though of course in exactly your case this is a somewhat moot point - but it still points at a reason for factories being generally reluctant). Distributing kayaks in Norway, I've had some factories do custom orders for us, while others refused. For me as an importer it has given great joy in the process with the custom-customer, whilst also being a pain in the butt especially on the occasions when something went wring (yes, something went wring when I wrote that), and the custom product suddenly had to be sold to someone else, this demanding the need for a new page to be made on the website specifically for it, whilst most of my customers would already know the regular offerings, and they would not even visit the website but just pick up the phone and ask for what they knew existed. Also, in my personal experience, it's become a given that ANY custom order will be changed by the customer once every two weeks until the moment of production. Generally, it's a time thief of the first order.

Don't forget that second-hand cabs give you Old Cab Day. I have that a lot.

You could also try Gearslutz: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-electronic-music-production/ , but be aware there are very many very knowledgeable people there who, overtly simply put, are very unfriendly. That said, there's always someone there who'll know the answer and who'll treat you with friendliness.

Before I made the choice to buy after the takeover, it had been mentioned several times on BC that Fender have already shown to take the Genz Benz warranties seriously, so I felt confident enough. Also, they are seen as well-built. This too was an aspect for me.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1416044711' post='2606328'] Why not buy an electric piano. I have a Yamaha p35 and the piano voices are way better than any upright for the same money. Never needs maintaining . You could pick one up for that sort of money [/quote] Reportedly, a new problem has turned up re electronic instruments: the modern lead free solder which is said to diminish life span to an expected 10 years, roughly, as resoldering all the cold joints after 10 years is said to be not viable. I'm currently trying to investigate this, as well as other pros and cons with different systems, but am not done yet. For the time being it's worrying though. In comparance, my Roland electronic piano from the mid eighties is still going strong after almost 30 years.

[quote name='Marsy' timestamp='1415455650' post='2600525'] I've been playing it through my ashdown 115 combo (solid state) here at home and it sounds great. But when your slamming a subby square wave or sawtooth into it, it sounds like the speaker is struggling a bit. Although maybe it isn't.. I suppose that is just the nature of 'that sound' ?? [/quote] Hard to judge from a distance, but I'd think that it is indeed possible the speaker "struggles" (as in just responding to the changing voltage and not being able to deliver the exact "square" or "sawtooth" that the amp tries to put through it. That said, the distortion can well come from the amp as well or from its lack of contorl over the speaker, and an amp will normally not be able to put out exact squares or sawtooths (sawteeth). Then again, neither can the synth itself, so all of this is just a matter of degrees - in several meanings of the word. [quote name='Marsy' timestamp='1415455650' post='2600525'] Maybe tubes aren't the way to go for bass synth and I should consider purchasing another solid state head or a better PA.. [/quote] It's not the tubes that make the difference, but the design of the amp as well as its control over a load. My concern has to do with the SVT-CL possibly being similar to the old SVT. Tube amps can be made to stellarly high Hi-Fi specs, despite the output transformers.

Having tried a synth on a 70s SVT with two 810s, I'd say: approach with care. Before buying anything: have you tried the synth through the amp at all? (-15 dB indeed, and [b]synth volume at 0 to start with[/b])? It is very likely to sound horrible, due to both voltage/impedance mismatch and the SVT's transient and frequency response characteristics. The much loved Ampeg sound is all about the stuff that is the "opposite" of what synths are about - as it were. I don't think your cabs are in danger though, as long as you approach with care. As there is a difference in sound between the amp's distortion and the cabs farting out, it's not so that any distortion you hear is necessarily the latter. In case you're unaware, the latter is what you hear when a boy racer drives through your street.

Cool stuff! Thanks for posting this. Has anyone tried charging the Luminlay dots using a strongish photographic flash? IMS some glow-in-the-dark substances are more easily/deeply charged with a flash than other substances, but in general, I have rather good experiences with the method. However, the OP seems to indicate one must use a special blue light (LED?), so a flash may be out of the question.

Just to be sure: are there deviations from standard tuning in these songs? There exists a phenomenon that is not Tullio where people will get nausea and/or dizziness when being "overfed" with frequencies that are not part of the scale. I forgot the scientific name. BTW I'm not trying to make a bad joke here. It has been studied and it does have a scientific name. I just can't remember it. Twas 35 years ago. No, that scientific name is not "Country & Western", goddemmit!

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1414342534' post='2588431'] What are the handles like? Maybe it's those that people hate ;-) [/quote]

For me it comes down to: - Do you feel the need to tell people their stuff is inferior? - Do you look down on people for liking music that you deem inferior? - Do you try to like stuff you do not really like - just because you think it has higher status and can be used as a self image booster even before you try to spread the notion to other people? - RhysP's point about portraying an image about yourself. Those things are what make snobbery for me. Knowing about superior or inferior music is not. Some stuff simply is inferior. Worded seemingly more positively: some stuff simply is better than some other stuff. IMO there is no way that a reality can exist where this is not true. The question is just how we relate to this truth, and right away it becomes a question in the realm of social psychology - not a question of formal discourse.

[quote name='spinynorman' timestamp='1414281830' post='2587923'] [/quote] OK, so YOU noticed. Well done!

Without understanding exactly what a "snob" is in this thread: I was the worst snob on planet Earth. Unsurpassed. Unequaled. In '63 i tried to explain the grown-ups exactly how and why they should really not listen to "She Loves You", and should rather concentrate on Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. Later I would annoy my parents with my new classical, electronic music (f.ex. André Boucourechliev - who has even heard about the poor guy?) playing on the living room stereo. Not that it was all bad, mind! This annoyance rather soonishly landed me a nice stereo set of my own AS WELL AS a set of headphones! However, by '68 I started to stealthily and guiltily listen to other music. Then The Nice happened, as well as Love Sculpture and Ekseption, all of them covering classical themes mind, and there was no return. I had this rule: the best music is the music you can hear most often without getting bored or annoyed with it. Bach was good. These days, there are no rules, and there is no musical style I know of that I don't have in my collection, and like a lot. I even love Southern Mercan C&W fer cryin' out loud! Some examples: J-pop, especially Kanjani8, the Spice Girls, the first Postman Pat album... I think I made my point.

RIP Jack. I'm gutted.

I don't know the answer, and am a noob, but FWIW I found the VU in my MAG300 head to work perfectly like expected, whilst the VU in my Little Bastard is all over the place and seems like a gimmick to me.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1414161967' post='2586605'] played a solo with Todd Rundgren, misheard what he said when I asked what the key was [/quote] You Brits are just way too polite, and I'm gutted to see that even Todd thinks the first note is the key. I'd have thought better of him. Kudos to you for not reverting to physical violence.