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Subject: Re: [AN1x-list] Keyboard Weirdness (a little OT)

From: Bruce Wahler <bruce@...>
Date: 2001-07-14

Ed,

Even in the organ world, a dual-manual design is becoming very rare. Too
few buyers, therefore, too costly to develop (per unit), and too risky,
sales-wise. I still think it's a great idea, but you won't get me
investing money into its production.

BTW, I applied for work at Moog Music when they were located outside
Buffalo, NY (in 1977), and the receptionist and HR people pronounced it,
"mowg". I think Bob Moog does, too, based on an interview he did in
Keyboard back in 1974-75.

At 12:26 a 7/14/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>Now Bruce, you've got me thinking weird again---
>
>The only dual manual synth that I remember reading about was one of the
>Sequential Prophets (maybe the 10). Otherwise I don't know if this has been
>attempted in the last 20 years, excepting maybe a couple of the B-3 clones,
>but these are organ emulators, and not meant to be synths.
>
>I subscribed to the Analogue Heaven group a while back and was asked to go
>nuts with the rest of the group and brainstorm on a new analog synth design
>by an associate of Dr. Robert Moog (pronounced like LOON, GOOF, or KOOK --
>does anyone realize how many times he's sold off the name "moog"? And have
>you ever read interviews where he gets angry for "somebody using his name"?
>But I digress....) Anyway, nobody requested a dual manual keyboard. This
>would be a VERY COOL feature, don't you agree? If set up like a B-3 or a
>real organ where one hand could reach 2 sounds at once - this would be
>awesome. Look Bruce and the rest of you, I've got a few old beer cans
>sitting around, and maybe some baseball cards I could auction on Ebay to get
>some of the initial capital to start a new synth company. We could like,
>uh, rule the synth world man. But again I digress.
>
>It seems to be impossible to get 2 synths close enough vertically to get the
>dual manual effect. Even if you could adjust the stand somehow, it is
>impossible to see the display on the lower synth or reach it's buttons.
>
>Meanwhile, has anyone found out why the piano keyboard is designed with
>skinny black keys and wider white ones, and furthermore who determined how
>fat each type would be?
>
>Ed Edwards
>Leader: Ezekiel's Wheel »»»»Retro-Progressive Rock««««
><http://www.untiedmusic.com/ezekiel>http://www.untiedmusic.com/ezekiel
>http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/227/ezekiels_wheel.html
>°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°
>°·.·°·.·°·.·°·.·°
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Bruce Wahler" <bruce@...>
>To: <AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com>
>Sent: Friday, July 13, 2001 6:23 PM
>Subject: Re: [AN1x-list] Keyboard Weirdness (a little OT)
>
>
> > Elson,
> >
> > Actually, this whole mess started because I watched a lesson tape of one
>of
> > my favorite Hammond players, the late Jack McDuff, where he was
> > demonstrating a technique where he played an open chord on the upper
> > keyboard with a soft tone, then held his hand steady and graced down to
>the
> > same notes on the lower keyboard, which had a much brighter tone
> > setting. If performed quickly (and accurately), the overall effect is
> > similar to using a wah-wah or Mu-tron device.
> >
> > On a Hammond B-3, with two keyboards only about an inch or so apart,
> > height-wise, it's a reasonable technique to master. On a pair of modern
> > keyboards, though, it's difficult to get the two sets of keys close
> > together, and so the result can actually be a sprained finger! After
>doing
> > my best to angle the AN1x above my Fatar, I still wasn't getting the
> > desired results. That's when I noticed that the High Cs on the two
> > keyboards didn't quite line up -- and the rest, as they say, is history
>...
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > -BW
> >
> > --
> > Bruce Wahler
> > Design Consultant
> > Ashby Solutions"
> > www.ashbysolutions.com
> > CloneWheel Support Group moderator
> > 978.386.7389 voice
> > 978.964.0547 fax
> > bruce@...
> >
> > At 02:54 p 7/13/2001 -0700, you wrote:
> > >At 11:04 AM 7/13/01 -0400, Bruce Wahler wrote:
> > > >For those who like to keep score:
> > > >
> > > >Yamaha AN1x 32.50"
> > > >KORG 01/W Pro 32.50"
> > > >Roland XP50 32.88"
> > > >Roland HP-3500s 33.00"
> > >
> > >Hey, it's not the size that counts but...
> >
> >
> > Community email addresses:
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> >
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> >
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> >
> >
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> >
> >
>
>
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>
>
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Regards,

-BW

--
Bruce Wahler
Design Consultant
Ashby Solutions"
www.ashbysolutions.com
CloneWheel Support Group moderator
978.386.7389 voice
978.964.0547 fax
bruce@...