Choices!!!!!

[Rob Sherratt]

Hello dtscape,

What I mean is this ...

You and a guitarist and a singer turn up at a wedding reception, where the bride's parents have booked you to play requests. The guests come up to you and say "can you play <Misty> for me?" (or any other song for that matter).

You start playing a piano arrangement from memory, your guitarist joins in and then your vocalist starts singing it. No preparation. No MIDI files. No DAW tracks pre-recorded. No sequencer. Just play the keyboard and improvise and respond to the other band members and to the needs of the audience, from memory.

Until now, I haven't found any softsynth suitable for live playing in this way. MIDI and sound synthesis latency has always been the problem in the past when I've tried doing it on a PC. That's why I have the M3 and Pa2x (for live use) ... as well as a Yamaha N8, Cubase and various DAW plug-ins (for studio composition use).

I do have an open mind and if anyone is playing keyboards live (without pre-recorded MIDI tracks) using a Softsynth, then let me know and I'll try it out.

Regards,
Rob

[Stefanus Wayanartha]

Sorry, may be i've used the wrong words.. but what i meant is the same as what Rob has explained above

i've heard that One-Man-Band software can do real-time auto-accompaniment using VST plugins. but i haven't tried it yet

[carlgoodhines]

Early GENESIS hey!!!! My kinda stuff..... You definately need a good organ sound for that. Prog is what I'm after doing when I return to gigging... ala Jem Godfrey style!!!!!

I'm definately leaning towards the Fantom (much to people on here's dissaproval I'm sure!!!!). A friend of mine owns one but I haven't seen him for some time... I need to try it out... SOON!!!!!!

I was in a band that covered quite a bit of early Genesis (Firth of Fifth, Cinema Show, Los Endos, In That Quiet Earth, Squonk, Afterglow, Dance on a Volcano, etc). With the exception of Dance on a Volcano, I was able to do everything with the G7. I had the Mellotron and 12-string for Dance coming out of my Kurzweil PC3 (which I had just acquired and was trying to find a use for).

Yes, Tony Banks used a lot of organ, but it should be an easy sound to replicate. After he stopped touring with his Hammond, he was using a Prophet-10 for organ sounds. My point is that you don't need a dedicated Hammond clone to play Genesis as Tony didn't rely on the features that make the Hammond sound unique anyway.

I, too was in a band that played nothing but Genesis (Over the Garden Wall/Seconds Out), and later in a band that did a 1-hour Genesis set every night(805), and could've played everything entirely if it weren't for overdubs on the original recordings, on my M3. Only problem is, back then the M-3 was a term used by the military for a bomb or something!
I've loaded my RAM stick with Genesis songs and sounds, and they sound authentic, especially the newer stuff where Tony uses an OASYS and wavestation for a lot of sounds.
I've got the M3 "tron" strings to sound just as effective as my M-Tron plug-in. I've also downloaded mellotron samples from Berklee for other things. So, with the sample function, you really can make either sound just as good as the other, with some tone tweaking!

[dtscape]

Well... I still don't understand the problems people have mentioned on here about accompanying people.... You can still select patches from your midi keyboard if you are working on the fly. If I was doing a wedding(as mentioned on here before) I would setup a bank of patches that I could use for improvising songs (including a piano, elec piano, mellow organ, rock organ, strings, synth pads, lead synth etc.). Its no different to trying to find sounds on a hard synth!!!!

As far as latency goes I have a friend who has had a vast selection of keyboards over the years and many of them workstations of sorts. He swears blind that his Macbook pro and a midi keyboard is THE BEST rig he's ever used. He uses it for many different things.. He currently tours with TOYAH. Also goes to jam sessions where he has no idea what he'll be playing. He can take his rig on a train and not break his back doing so....he runs it at 5.33ms latency!!! If thats not fast enough then I don't know what is!!!!

I have not changed my mind yet.... I have been investigating this for sometime now and I still believe this to be THE BEST way forward....

[dtscape]

It's been a while.... and no movement yet!!!!! I had an offer of a Fantom G7 from Jem Godfrey. Unfortunately I missed the opportunity... it was an amazing price as well I was just a bit too slow!!!! Bugger!!! .
My position has changed slightly as I am looking to return to playing later this year/early next year. Also I won't be selling my pa after all (I could earn more by keeping it).
I'm looking at modyfying my current rig by selling the 01/W, Roland D50 and Yamaha DX7. Then purchasing either a Fantom G7 or an X7. The X7 is probably a better choice for me as I will be able to afford it !!! lol
An X7 will be a nice bottom keyboard with my Triton on top... Nice balance I think

As much as I love the Korg sound I feel that purchasing the M3 would be like owning a slightly more advanced Triton, with a few more functions but similar soundset. I haven't purchased a new Roland for years so I hope it will be a refreshing change........

[dtscape]

Ok... I've got my hands on a Roland Fantom X7. It's lovely to have a larger keyboard area to play with. As much as some of the functions on it are very clever I still, wait for it. feel something is missing...........


IT'S NOT A KORG!!!!!!!

I hate to admit it but I'm struggling with the preset and user settings... It's so frustrating having to save an edited patch/performance (I much prefer the term Combi!!!!) to the user area. It seems so long winded!!!The sounds are very nice but they lack that punch that the korg sounds have...

So my thoughts are.... Sell the X7 (I know I've only had it a short while but I miss the Korg!!!) and purchase an M3 Xpanded.

Now my question is... Will the M3 Xpanded(with Radias or without?) cover the functions I use on a Roland D50(some organs, synth patches) and my Korg 01/Wfd(used mainly for lead sounds, J stick wah guitar(A64... I love this patch) and sequencer)?

I should imagine it will, and more.

I'd also like to know how much ram space you have if you load only the EX-USB-PCM03? As I am looking to use samples a lot in future programming.

Also how long does it take to load, say, 256mb of samples?

Thank you in advance for your help.

[dtscape]

Sorry.. just discovered that I would have 261mb space if I only load EX-USB-PCM03.


So how long will it take to load 256mb of samples?

[Rob Sherratt]

how long will it take to load 256mb of samples

It depends which samples are being loaded. My M3 XPanded is configured to auto-load the EXPCM01, 02, 03 and 04 sample sets because I use mixtures from each of them in my own Combis. That corresponds to about 220 Mb of factory samples being loaded, leaving me with 92 Mb free.

The M3 takes 2 minutes 20 secs from power on before it is ready to play with those samples loaded. The time includes OS load and start up time.

It does take a lot longer to load user samples since a different load algorithm and file format is used for user samples. I don't know the timing since at the moment I am only using sounds and combis based on the factory ROM and EX-PCM sample sets. When I tried loading user samples a couple of times, I think it was about 1 minute 30 secs for 100 Mb.

Best regards,
Rob

[dtscape]

That's good to hear.... Since having the Fantom X I've been more and more concerned with the speed element. The Fantom takes about 10min to load 200 odd mb of samples... So the M3 is looking very promising.

Would it be beneficial, in your opinion(that's anyone reading this btw), to use either the 01/Wfd or the Triton Classic (which I get the feeling the M3 would make redundent anyway!!!But I can't be sure )along side the M3?

[_joe_]

I just read this whole thread, funny how things change, you were actually keen on the roland and you were defending it, actually being picky on 2 3 sounds, wanting a change, how you got lost, changed again... and again, tried this and that, heard this and that, and finally made a choice, and you're not happy with it.

Reminds me of my M3 purchase (a month ago), i was about to go crazy. i even spent 2 weeks, just to decide on whether to get the 61 or 88 version, ended up getting the 61 and i dont regret it.

You will always have smth missing, i miss the kurzweil piano and fuller sound, but again, i can sample it (it's already sampled on space4keys), and i got the package, so that's 1 point i solved, i miss the weighted keys. but again i always imagine myself taking the 88 wherever i go, i'll die.

if you want to choose a WS for the sounds in it, the Korg is the most flexible and versatile instrument i ever put my hands on. i have some patches from omnisphere i would love to put on the M3, can anyone point me on any good reference. but that's just another example that you dont get a workstation for it's samples. just make it "yours" and the M3 excels in that category

regards