Wrapping up my online chat with Jon:
> > I personally wonder if the advent of the CS-80V will
>> bring poly AT keyboards back in any form.
>>
>
>Interesting thought regarding the CS-80V. It's been more than a few
>years since that
>'jinxed' keyboard - certainly everybody is long over that by
>now...and the compnay
>remains in name only...
Well, the trick is to find reliably unjinxed keyboards out there,
which may be tricky. When they fail, they fail big, and they're hard
to fix. I put a flea in the ear of a major synth manufacturer today,
but who knows if it'll get anywhere...
>The point being was not the technical implementation of Poly AT vs.
>Release Vel but
>rather the similarity in that both are expressive controller
>features for which is there has
>never been much demand :-(
Ah, understood. It's a pity, too, as relvel is hard to use but very
lovely on things like string patches to articulate individual note
releases. My U-50 sends it, my Xpander groks it, all is good.
> > Using a computer to operate arpeggiation on stage in a live
>environment? I'd
> > rather drink beet juice. I want solid firmware arpeggiation
>control inside my
>> live synth, right there, no computer.
>
>Right - and I suspect MANY (such as Ed for example ;-) agree with
>you but there's
>nothing stopping a user from mapping the knobs in his little Evolution/MIDIMAN
>controller to his iBook with Cubase or what not.
No, there isn't. I just find the arrangement a trifle inelegant. I
suspect that some hard work with software in a live situation will
either cure me of the doubts or cure me of trying to use software in
a live situation. :)
> > I'm actually looking for a VFX or VFXsd for this very reason, primarily for
>> poly AT use.
>
>Good luck - always liked that keyboard. Still wish I'd bought one
>when they were new
>instead of the Korg I ended up with.
They're out there if you're patient. The trick, as I said, is finding
one that works.
>Again, the current trend is toward softsynths and plug-ins - and
>this is NOT for
>everybody, granted - but the approach resembles modular synthesis
>(pick and choose
>plug-in!) with the A/D converter of your choice (or what your budget
>allows :-)
That's true. Now if it were only as immediate and crash-free as a
real analog modular...
>and the cost of Access gear is prohibitive too...and that V-Synth
>from Roland is a little
>pricey too. Sheesh.
Yes, but that seems to be a case of getting what one pays for. I have
a very dear friend in the UK who does gear reviews for their
magazines. He is very hard to impress, but is absolutely...kess ka
say?...over the moon about the V-Synth. Says it's the best synth he's
ever used and loves it to pieces.
> > If anyone wishes to conclude that I'm an old curmudgeon who's simply never
>> happy with anything, they're free to.
>
>Nope, don't think that - just trying to point out some alternatives :-)
Alternatives and possibilities are good things. One has to keep
hoping and keep trying... and do one's darnedest to make music in the
meantime with what one has. It's almost embarrassing how little truly
new gear I have in my rig nowadays; for all I complain about waffling
about ideas and new tech, I have two drum machines that are under two
years old and that's it... my Nord Micro is now three or four years
in my studio, and everything else is six years or more. Sometimes
MUCH more.
mike
--
"If at first you don't succeed, try another sewer!" (the thief)
====================================================================
Mike Metlay ∗ ATOMIC CITY ∗ PO Box 17083 ∗ Boulder CO 80308-0083 USA
metlay@... ∗ 1-800-924-ATOM ∗
http://www.atomiccity.com