bitflipper

That's really the key, isn't it - knowing your tools well enough to adapt them to your needs. I'm the same way with my Kronos, having heavily customized it over the past decade to suit my application ('60s-'70s cover band). Unfortunately, I never clicked with the Nord in the same way. I thought the real-time controls would be cool, since the Korg is not easy to modify on the fly. But after nearly 3 years with the Stage, I still find myself turning the wrong knob in the heat of performance and suddenly I've applied a flanger when I meant to kick in a delay. My biggest disappointment is with the Stage's Leslie emulation. It's OK on slow but too warbly on fast. I've got a Neo Ventilator but no longer use it in order to minimize setup time. So even though I had intended to use the NS3 for organ, I do most of that on the Kronos with its superior Leslie sim, often playing on the Nord's keyboard for its faster action. I think I'd need a whole music store's worth of instruments to be truly content, but then I'd need a bigger van. And a couple roadies to lug it all. Well, last night I took the plunge and ordered a Montage, then listed the NS3 on Craigslist at a bargain bin price. My hope is the Montage can suitably take over the Kronos' duties (mostly piano, strings and brass). If it does, then I'll likely add a Hammond XK-5 to the stack. Then surely I'll be happy for my remaining years.

Yeh, it's pretty good, if not $249 good. Is it better than the PSP FETpressor? Honestly, no. But for $30 it does the job.

Well, 30 bucks has a lot to do with it. iirc that's what I paid for it the last time it went on sale.

Thanks so much, Jim! Your insight comes at just the right time for me. Guitar players routinely pick up new axes the way some people casually buy a new pair of shoes. Keyboard players have to be much more prudent. And not just because it's a lot of money (my instrument cases alone each cost more than a nice guitar amp) - each acquisition represents a serious learning commitment. And like Jim says, you don't find out the limitations until later. I, too, bought the NS3 simply because every band on the planet seemed to have one. My decision was cinched when I saw Brit Floyd, a jaw-droppingly good note-perfect Pink Floyd tribute band. All those critical Rick Wright organ, piano and synth parts were credibly reproduced on an NS2. But I'll just say it: Nord synths are over-hyped and overpriced. My now-ancient Korg Kronos bests the Nord by every measure except weight. Its progressively-weighted keys feel more piano-like than anything short of a dedicated digital piano. The piano samples are comparable to anything in my Kontakt collection. It contains 9 synth engines, basically the entire Korg history in one box. Sadly, neither the Korg nor the Nord replicate a Hammond to my satisfaction. I am thinking it's time to go back to Suzuki for that, as the XK-5 seems to have nailed it. At the moment I'm picturing the Montage 7 on the lower tier and the Hammond on top. That combination's eight grand not including flight cases, and the combined resale value of my current instruments is about four grand. A big purchase for a guy living mostly on social security. Arturia, you almost solved all my problems. Please keep trying.

Ditto. I still think back on the bamidi mystery and its sad resolution. If I were to suddenly kick the bucket, I'd hope that craigb might note that bitflipper hasn't posted in awhile, thus leading to the discovery of my rotting corpse slumped over my keyboard. I'm counting on you, Craig.

I have been researching replacements for my NS3, and am seriously considering the Montage M73 (for stage use I prefer 73 over 88 keys, and the 88's polyphonic aftertouch isn't a compelling feature to me). However, there are no retailers here (or anywhere outside of LA, it seems) where I can sit down with one and see if it'll work for me. Every video demonstration is someone playing solo, and I need to assess it in the context of a live band. All those pretty stacked pads are useless to me in a 70's cover band. I need bright, dry pianos, brass and strings that cut through a live mix. Like my old Yamaha MO8. Would like to hear your thoughts on the M8x and why you're thinking it might be a good replacement for the NS4. In the course of my search, I came across Arturia's instrument. The idea is great: a cheap, rugged hardware synth with downloadable VIs. My jeans get tight imagining a keyboard instrument hosting Keyscape! But Arturia's libraries just aren't suitable for a classic rock cover band, and 61 keys are often too few. So sadly, I have crossed this one off my list. Me, too! I bought my Nord specifically because it was light. My current main instrument is a Korg Kronos. It, too, has downloadable VIs, but they are specific to the Korg format and many are feature-reduced versions of their DAW-based equivalents. My biggest complaint is that even though it's the 73-key version it still weighs 82 lbs in its flight case and requires two people to lift it onto the stand. That's a selling point for the Montage - still a beast but about 25 lbs lighter. The Nord has largely been a disappointment. As a sampled-instrument player it leaves a lot to be desired. The pianos are nice-sounding in solo, but not much use in a rock 'n roll band. I mostly use it as a lead instrument, for synth leads. I thought I'd like all the real-time controls more than I actually do, as in the heat of the moment I really don't want to do a lot of fiddling.

This has been my go-to FET-type compressor ever since my previous favorite went iLok and then tricked me into a "free upgrade" to surreptitiously install the Pace driver.

I was a fan of the video game ("game" singular, since FO4 was the only one I liked) and am looking forward to seeing the adaptation. But not enough to give Amazon permission to dip into my checking account every month for all eternity. Some will say "just sign up for the free trial and then cancel". Nah, I am still scarred by my AOL experience 30 years ago. No corporate entity is getting my routing number ever again.

My transition back into popular culture was kickstarted by a heart attack. It's the kind of event that makes you step back, and if not completely rethink one's priorities at least encourages them to be resequenced. Necessity dictated that the flipping of bits would remain my primary means of paying the bills, but music shot up the list with a bullet. It was the return to live performance - a regular Friday-Saturday gig at a Chinese restaurant - that forced me to become reacquainted with the Top 40. In particular, Tom Petty's Refugee gave me hope that maybe pop music wasn't dead yet.

Correct. Still haven't. I didn't just abandon popular music in the '80s and '90s, but popular entertainment in general. I skipped gated reverbs, hackysacks, RotoToms, big hair, MTV and the DX7. Instead, I embraced old music. By "old" I mean 18th and 19th centuries.

Cool! Perhaps my reservations are unwarranted then. Assuming, of course, that promise exists somewhere in writing.

My feeling exactly. Even if you buy a "Perpetual" license and buy an extra SSD so you can download every library, should the company later decide that it was a bad idea and shut down their server, you lose it all. Not only are the libraries gone, you'll never be able to rework (or finish) any project you've used them in. Still, there's an awful lot of high-grade content in there for 200 bucks. Most of those libraries cost more than that individually.

Danny Elfman has long been one of my favorite composers. He can do epic and he can do silly with equal aplomb. Sometimes, both at the same time. I knew he could sing and I knew that, like Hans Zimmer, he'd been in a pop band back in the day. But that was about it. I had shut pop music out of my consciousness throughout the 80's so as to focus on being a serious workaholic cubicle-dwelling technogeek working up to my first heart attack. On a whim I pulled up this concert video of his old band. I am embarrassed to say I had no idea such brilliant creativity was happening in the 80's. Nor that apparently Eugene Levy seems to have been his bass player.

I expect you're not looking to spend money, but since you're discovering the possibilities of modulated filters we should at least mention the GOAT: FabFilter Volcano 3. This one takes the concept about as far as one can imagine. And it's compatible with any DAW.

No, Tutorials isn't a new forum. I keep forgetting it exists, too. No worries about being lost, though; will move this to the more appropriate Coffee House, the Miscellaneous backstop catch-all bin. btw, Canopus gave the correct answer to the query.

Yes, it's specific to the instrument. And condolences, but it's also a "yes" to "am I royally screwed?", as it's an unsupported product. It's not all bad news, though. The TTS-1 is based on Sound Canvas so if it's a General MIDI synth you're after, you've got one.

Glad to be of service, Craig. If we ever meet in person, I'll tell you how I met my wife...not a story for public consumption, albeit music-related.

Back in the 70's I answered an ad for a keyboard player that sounded promising, as they advertised themselves as a 6-piece working band with immediate gigs. I showed up on a Thursday for rehearsal, and was informed that we'd be heading out the following Sunday for three weeks in Montana. OK, I thought, I'm a quick learner, I can do this. Then on Friday I learned that the entire band had quit the previous week, leaving only the drummer as the "band". Not a good sign. But I needed the money. On Monday, our first night of six in Bozeman, I found out the drummer was a meth head who kept a loaded gun next to his bass drum out of paranoia. After a six nights it came time to get paid. That's when I was told that the drummer was paying himself double what any of us were getting, because he owned the PA and the two vans, and we shouldn't complain because it was still more money than we'd ever seen. (It wasn't) The next week, in Billings, things got weird(er). The drummer, now in the throes of methamphetamine withdrawal, would periodically stop playing mid-song and stare at his feet. The second night there, the bass player had a nervous breakdown in the middle of a set and crumpled to the stage. Turned out she couldn't stand the drummer and was there only because he was her landlord and had threatened her with eviction. On the third night, the guitarist got so frustrated he threw his vintage Les Paul onto the dance floor and walked off. I contacted the bar owner and told him we wouldn't be able to finish the week. He was cool and said he had a local band he could call in. Next day, the drummer loaded up the trucks and left - without me and without the guitarist. We were left behind in Billings with our gear (including my 400 lb organ and Leslie). We had just enough money from the previous week's gig for the motel and airfare home. I had to pay a moving company to return my organ. Lesson learned, I thought. But the lessons weren't done yet. A month later I got a letter from the musicians' union fining me $100 for "quitting without notice". I sent them my union card with explicit instructions as to where they might place it. Fortunately, the Supreme Court had just ruled that nobody could be coerced into joining a union, so every musician quit the union at once. The musicians' union had been just a mob-affiliated shakedown racket anyway. In short order the only union members left were the Seattle Symphony. Sorry for the long story, but reading Shane's account got me angry all over again. And this was not my worst band experience.

Reminds me of the Larry the Cable Guy joke: Sushi, that ain't bad. Take it home and fry it up, tastes like fish!

I dunno. The thought of hanging out with a bunch of vegetarians...how many times a day can one proudly proclaim their devotion to veganism, especially when everybody else is already one themselves? Anybody up for a band dedicated to bacon burgers? I'm thinking "Slaughterhouse Five" if it's a quintet.

Well it just keeps getting worse more interesting. We had rehearsal on Thursday and the pressure was taking its toll on our singer, who's married to the drummer. She and the guitarist let a trivial disagreement bloom into a big argument and he left in a huff, never to return. This is unusual for us, as we all generally get along really well. So yesterday we brought in a new guitarist and spent 4 hours working with him with the goal of deciding whether or not to cancel this week's gig, too. It's a good gig and we don't want to lose it - scenic location on a river, lively audiences and a decent-sounding room where we get to use our own PA. To everyone's delight, the new fellow really stepped up to the challenge. It looks like we'll go ahead with next Saturday's gig, even if it's with a somewhat truncated repertoire. The drummer has new drugs that are greatly alleviating his treatment's side effects. We're rehearsing again today and will get in at least one more session before Saturday. For my part, I am doing my best to project confidence that it won't be a train wreck. But there's a bit of a strain relief coming on Tuesday. I'm going up to Bellingham to see Penn & Teller, treating my daughter and granddaughter who haven't seen them live before. And since I'm not the one driving, it will be a pharmaceutically-enhanced evening for me. Brownies!

Back in the mid-70's I'd been shopping for an electric piano and had settled on a Roland product, mainly because it was only $400. That was nearly half my monthly day-job income at the time, but I'd managed to put aside just that amount out of a summer's worth of gigging. The week I was going to go down to Guitar Center to score it, my buddy - the band's guitarist - asked me for a loan. His old girlfriend was coming for a visit, and he wanted to show her a good time. The deal he proposed was that rather than paying cash for the EP, I'd instead finance it and give the money to him. He'd then make the payments for me. True to his word, he did make the $40 monthly payments - for exactly 10 months. Unfortunately, that left a balance of $150 due to interest. He claimed he'd satisfied his part of the bargain. That led to a falling-out that nearly killed the band and kept hard feelings going for a long time. In the end he agreed to keep making the payments until the bank said it was done, and we remain close friends to this day. But I've never forgotten the lesson I learned: don't lend friends money. That's why, when my current bassist needed a Sansamp, I just bought one without discussing it with him and gifted it to him on his birthday. That's why, when our former guitarist needed a new amp, I just bought it with the understanding that he'd buy it from me someday. Still waiting on that, but if any of us could ever become wealthy rock stars it would be him.

Back in the day it used to be an ongoing joke that a band would break up as soon as they ordered business cards. It was more often the case that band members just got sick of each other after enough time on the road. Or it'd be a fight over a girl. Or someone insisting on doing their original song that everybody else hated. Such trivial reasons to give up. And I just bought a new PA, too. I reckon I've got about 90 more gigs to go before I break even on that one. Can't go solo - I need at least one other bandmate to help move the bass bins.

Our drummer is undergoing radiation therapy for cancer, and the side effects are proving too much for him. We've cancelled Saturday's gig and will probably have to cancel everything else on the calendar. I am seriously bummed. Most would say "just get another drummer", but it doesn't work like that. Even though this band focuses on vocals and vocal harmony and exploits that as a differentiator from other bar bands, what keeps me going is tightness. I remember seeing Tower of Power in the 70's, at a bar long-time Seattle residents will remember, the old Aquarius Tavern. I sat there slack-jawed, unable to comprehend how a band could be so tight, especially with so many players onstage at once. Some day, I thought, I'll be in a band like that. Well, it's taken 50 years, but I'm finally in a band like that. And it's the drummer who's the glue that makes that happen. No band can ever be tighter than its drummer. My buddy Mark is a frickin' machine when it comes to precision, be it rock-solid tempos or never missing a cue. He truly is the glue.

If that's true, grab it quick. Excels at uber-squashing. [EDIT] Just checked and it's $149. My guess is they were adjusting (read:raising) prices and mibby just caught them mid-edit.