This isn't going to appeal to many people or possibly any people on the list. I am going overseas soon and can't take my tron or piano with me. I had wondered about a portable keyboard and after Frank Stickle suggested a Microkorg I bought one.
I am extremely happy with it, it is great value for money but it's a bit too good to risk on the trip. I have a very old Yamaha PSS 270 which will fit in my main suitcase and let's face it who would care if it got crushed in transit? ( my wife and family would be relieved ) I have messed about with it for a few hours but I don't think I can face a couple of months with it.
I will have access to family computers for a lot of the visit so I am going to take a USB memory stick with 2 programs on it, both of which are free.
One is madtracker: http://www.madtrack er.org/download. php
and the over is nanotron: http://www.kvraudio .com/get/ 1462.html
Madtracker supports VSTs and it is easy to install the nanotron vst into it. It can be played from the keyboard of the computer and you can also compose loops if you can be bothered to work out how to do it. For $70 you could add a Korg Nano usb midi controller,and have something fairly playable. It comes with an M1 emulator which I quite like
Admittedly the nanotron samples ( flute , choir and strings) are looped and I think the tron they were sampled from was pretty sick at the time but I have heard worse.
An alternative VST host would be FL Studio but the demo verison is a lot bigger, you can't save projects but you can record from the keyboard, which you can't with madtracker and you can export to mp3.
So there you go, is that a mellotron in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?
Mark
PS I had thought that the 4 note polyphony on the Microkorg might be a bit limiting but when playing chord progressions and inversions it can be an advantage, as you play the 5th note the 1st note stops and you can get quite a tron like effect without damaging your tapes
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