issue16

EMUSIC-L Digest                                      Volume 59, Issue 16

This issue's topics:
	
	Advice on digital pianos (2 messages)
	GK-2 (3 messages)
	MIDI Guitar (4 messages)
	Oberheim Matrix 6 (3 messages)
	PSR-600 sequences OR PSR-600 Users.
	Roland U-20 problems
	SESSION 8 (2 messages)
	Software or DIskettes for Yamaha PSR-600
	Software or Diskettes with software for YAMAHA PSR-600
	WhatIsIt! Akai 612 professional. (fwd)
	WhatIsIt! Akai AX60 professional. (2 messages)

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Date:         Fri, 3 Dec 1993 20:04:31 -0500
From:         David Silva 
Subject:      Advice on digital pianos

I hope somewhere the right place to ask this.
My wife has recently taken up the piano and we are looking to buy a
digital machine.

She just wants good sound and a full keyboard and can do without all the
bells and whistles. We live in New York city and ther are a lot of stores
selling lots of pianos.
Is there a good reason to buy a Yamaha instead of a Kawai or a Technics?
What kind of warranty support can one find outside of New York City?
Can a decent digital piano be found for under $1500?
The wooden key assembly and lead weights on the Kawai is pretty
impressive, does it hold up well.

Please Help
Send email to dsilva@panix.com

Thanx

------------------------------
Date:         Mon, 13 Dec 1993 22:03:20 PST
From:         "John M. Stokes" 
Subject:      Re: Advice on digital pianos

I'm more into synths than digital pianos, but having used a large number of
Kawai eps, I can difinitively say, " DON'T BUY (a new) ONE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

If you can find a Kawai made before 1991, it might be worth it, but all the
ones made afterword have a different tone generator and sound terrible.

Hope this helps.

-Joh
JOHN that is
Stokesj@biola.edu

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Date:         Sat, 18 Dec 1993 18:17:36 -0900
From:         JASON B OHLER 
Subject:      GK-2

Folks-
Is this a good place to ask questions about midi equipment problems?

If this is not the right place, I would appreciate it very much if you
would email me and tell me what discussion groups exist in this area.

If this is the right place, then:

I am having a problem getting a Roland GK-2 guitar synthesiver driver
(the pickup that slides under the strings near the bridge)
to pick up the high e string on my guitar.  I have followed the
installation directions, brought in semi-professional help in the area and
the best I can manage is to give the high e string the greatest amount of
sensitivity and the other strings the least...and even this does not work
very well.  I have shimmed  up the pickup beneath the high e as far as I
can, which helped some.

This will be my second unit- the first was faulty.  Does the GK-2
have a bad name?  When I checked around, most people felt fairly
confident in Roland equipment.  When I tried the GK-2 in the store, it
tracked all strings great, so I am wondering if I have another
faulty driver.  I am using the GK-2 in conjunction with the Roland GR-1
guitar synthesizer, which seems to be working fine.

Thanks in advance for the input.

Jason Ohler
jfjbo@alaska.bitnet, or jfjbo@acad1.alaska.edu

------------------------------
Date:         Mon, 20 Dec 1993 04:09:49 GMT
From:         Robert Davy 
Subject:      Re: GK-2

: I am having a problem getting a Roland GK-2 guitar synthesiver driver
: (the pickup that slides under the strings near the bridge)
: to pick up the high e string on my guitar.  I have followed the
: installation directions, brought in semi-professional help in the area and
: the best I can manage is to give the high e string the greatest amount of
: sensitivity and the other strings the least...and even this does not work
: very well.  I have shimmed  up the pickup beneath the high e as far as I
: can, which helped some.

I assume you are having sensitivity problems?
I have a GK-2 and I can get a very wide variation in sensitivity by
adjusting the pickup height. I have installed mine with screws which
makes this process much easier. I think my pickup is closer than
recommended, especially for the treble strings.
One thing I have noticed is that the treble strings are more sensitive
to a downstroke than an upstroke.
What about the string height at the brigdge, maybe you could play
around with that. Also I suspect that string guage has a bearing. I
have always used 9's but someone once told me that you should have at
least 10's.
What about experimenting with sideways position of the pickup?

Just some ideas...

Robert

------------------------------
Date:         Wed, 22 Dec 1993 18:19:40 GMT
From:         Benjamin Littenberg 
Subject:      Re: GK-2

In article 
JASON B OHLER  writes:

> Does the GK-2
> have a bad name?

I don't know about reputation, but mine has worked flawlessly for three
years hooked up to a GR-50 synth module.  I get such good tracking that
I never notice it!  The strings are quite heavy - 11 or 12 on the high
E I think.

Good luck

------------------------------
Date:         Fri, 10 Dec 1993 11:08:41 EST
From:         Bill Fox 
Subject:      MIDI Guitar

I forget who originally posted this:
> On another topic, does anyone know anything about MIDI guitar interfaces.
> I have a twelve string acoustic and a six string electric and am desperately
> in need of any information someone might have on this topic. I know of only
> the Roland GK-2 pickup ($350) and the nessesary GR-1 Guitar Synth ($1995)
> which is required to run the GK-2. What is the quality like on this system
> and are there any other systems out there. Even with those list prices what
> is a reasonable amount to pay. I hear that I may have to buy a six string
> acoustic if I want to run this system with acoustic guitar rather than
> electric.Anyone know if this is the case?

I have the GK-1/GM-70 combination.  No internal sounds, the GM-70 was
designed as a controller only.  Then came the GK-2/GR-50 which is like
what I have with a D-110.  It tracks better on the internal synth engine
because there is no extra delay to first generate a MIDI message.  But if
you use it to drive an external synth, you gain back that extra delay.
The third generation is the current GK-2/GR-1 which adds foot pedals and
an internal sequencer.  (I am unfamiliar with non-Roland guitar/MIDI
interfaces.)  All these three systems work with acoustic (steel string
only) and electric guitars - six strings only.  Al DiMeola uses one of
these systems, the GR-50, I believe.  He has GK-2 pickups mounted on
both acoustic and electric guitars.  I've seen him use both live.  But
he has technicians tweek everything to his playing style.  You and I
have to do our own tweeking and, in my case, that means not only the
GM-70 but also any synth that I drive from it.  I should have waited for
the GR-1 to come out.  Hope this helps.

Bill Fox

------------------------------
Date:         Sat, 11 Dec 1993 00:35:19 GMT
From:         Benjamin Littenberg 
Subject:      Re: MIDI Guitar

I have used a GR-50 for years now and have a generally good report to
offer.  I have rarely had trouble with tracking or slow response and I
like the things I can do musically with it.  Of import: each new
instrument you try (piano, drums, pads, space men in heat, etc.)
requires different technique.  This is especially true if you are doing
imitative synthesis.  Real saxaphones don't play chords.

My pickup is mounted on a mediocre solid body electric.  My local
dealer has some experience and is reluctant to mount it on my Gibson
ES330 thin hollow body.  Apparently, it is harder to get the setup
right on hollows.  Just recently, my GR-50 developed some sort of
communications failure and is back at the factory.  So, I'm out of
business for a few weeks.  :-(

------------------------------
Date:         Sat, 11 Dec 1993 09:45:58 EST
From:         David Lunney 
Subject:      Re: MIDI Guitar

Does anybody make a MIDI interface that will work on a *classical*
guitar?  I am looking for something that is accurate, fast, and
cheap that doesn't require major surgery on my instrument.

                                 Thanks.
                                 David Lunney

------------------------------
Date:         Sat, 11 Dec 1993 21:55:41 -0400
From:         "ANDREW G. YOUNGER" 
Subject:      Re: MIDI Guitar

Does anyone know if there is a MIDI interface usable on a 12-string acoustic?
Is it better to use the system on an electric or on a acoustic instrument?
Do you need the GR-1 to use the GR-50? Obviously you need the GK-2
Is the SR-GR1-01 expansion board (or other boards) worth while?
What kind of surgery is required to mount the GK-2 pickup and what kind of
damage (drilling, etc.) is necessary?

There's my contribution to 20-questions.

The reason that I originally asked the question on MIDI guitar was that I
 directa choir here in Nova Scotia, Canada (two choirs) and recently I went to
 see
an Irish folk band play and they used the Roland system. The results, being
 ableto patch and everything were great. I wanted one right away.
I use both an electric and an acoustic with my personal performances as well as
with the choirs I direct, however I would have to invest in an acoustic six
to use it on that.
Speaking of which would Ibe right in thinking that if I put a pick up oneach
 guitar (oops) I could use both through the same GR-1 or GR-50?

One last thing for now, does this kind of system allow for interface with
things such as the Sound Canvas, a Sequencer, and other such things? What
exactly IS THE ROLE OF THE PICK-UP AND THE GR-1 and GR-50? Are the sequencers
or what are they?

Well, thatnks for everyones help, opinions and advice.
Feel free to contact me directly.
Thanks
Andrew Younger

AYOUNGER@ac.dal.ca

"Where do we go from here?"
 - Marillion 1987 (White Russian)

------------------------------
Date:         Mon, 13 Dec 1993 10:57:18 -0800
From:         David Chandler 
Subject:      Oberheim Matrix 6

 --  Ow!  --
I had a flakey ground short out my Matrix 6, and it's running $250 to get
a chip replaced... Does anyone out there have the original dox/specs for
this thing?  I've always thought it was a mono-timbral synth, but the
other day I met somebody who was sure it is multi-timbral!  All this time!
I've never found any hidden functions...

I recently was given copies of moog taurus (`73) pedals and mini moog
schematics, had fun cleaning out my friend's taurus pedals he'd recently
found in someone's garage.  Spiders, feathers, the works... The highlight
was seeing that the date that the circuit board had been assembled was
written in pencil: 12/2/73 -- exactly 20 years before...

David Chandler                       chandler@nethost.multnomah.lib.or.us

------------------------------
Date:         Mon, 13 Dec 1993 18:14:13 -0500
From:         not Robert 
Subject:      Re: Oberheim Matrix 6

> I had a flakey ground short out my Matrix 6, and it's running $250 to get
> a chip replaced... Does anyone out there have the original dox/specs for
> this thing?  I've always thought it was a mono-timbral synth, but the
> other day I met somebody who was sure it is multi-timbral!  All this time!
> I've never found any hidden functions...

never used the split mode?!  2 different sounds at once -- each through
it's own output... and with its own MIDI channel, no less!  i love my matrix

> I recently was given copies of moog taurus (`73) pedals and mini moog
> schematics, had fun cleaning out my friend's taurus pedals he'd recently
> found in someone's garage.  Spiders, feathers, the works... The highlight
> was seeing that the date that the circuit board had been assembled was
> written in pencil: 12/2/73 -- exactly 20 years before...

man, i was cleaning out a rogue it and, too was full of spider webs and
roach parts... moogs just seem to attract vermin... :-(
--

------------------------------
Date:         Fri, 17 Dec 1993 16:54:45 +1030
From:         Geoff Peters 
Subject:      Re: Oberheim Matrix 6

>> I recently was given copies of moog taurus (`73) pedals and mini moog
>> schematics, had fun cleaning out my friend's taurus pedals he'd recently
>> found in someone's garage.  Spiders, feathers, the works... The highlight
>> was seeing that the date that the circuit board had been assembled was
>> written in pencil: 12/2/73 -- exactly 20 years before...

>man, i was cleaning out a rogue it and, too was full of spider webs and
>roach parts... moogs just seem to attract vermin... :-(

It was interesting reading in 'Keyboard' a while back about the efforts to
rejuvenate Keith Emerson's Series 3 monster-beast which had been sitting
out in the snow behind his barn/studio for several years. Not many
inhabitants, and after letting it dry out, they powered it up and it let
loose with this almighty squawk! :)

As to your copies of the schematics - over in Analog Heaven we're putting
together a pool of user guides, tech manuals & schematics. Care to
contribute? If you can't scan, I'll send you some cash to photocopy the
ccts. and mail them to me, if that makes it easier.


Geoffrey

------------------------------
Date:         Tue, 7 Dec 1993 15:30:00 EST
From:         Pedro Hernando Rozo Mora 
Subject:      PSR-600 sequences OR PSR-600 Users.

Hello, friends

I have a Yamaha PSR 600 this keyboard have a drive of 3 1/2" compatible with dos
(PC'S), work anyone on this keyboard in other place ??????

I'm Enginner Systems (Computer Science), and i study piano and electric guitar,
i have to work in this keyboard, for compose latin music, i want to find
anyone what work in this keyboard.

This keyboard work with MIDI IN AND OUT (not thru), but i haven't MIDI interface
now (is very expensive), have other way for work seriously ???
Yamaha corporation distribute software for this keyboard ????

I can't communicate for FTP, can you help me ??? send me a example of how can i
communicate with FTP places, please (COMMADS) ??

Thanks,

I live in Santafe de Bogota (COLOMBIA), if you need me for something, here is.

Pedro Rozo

BITNET :   PROZO@iteccol

------------------------------
Date:         Wed, 22 Dec 1993 14:21:46 -0600
From:         Jeff Wheeler 
Subject:      Roland U-20 problems

I am having a problem with my U-20 which I've had for about 3 years. Many
of the keys are beginning to "die". It started with the F#7 first, then
all the G notes started going. If I really pound the key it will sound,
but of course the performance suffers slightly (insert big hee-hee-hee here).
I'm sure that its just probably dirty connections inside.
Since I am no longer under warranty, is it a fairly safe and easy
operation to open the keyboard up and locate the contacts and clean them
myself without doing any damage or loosing any memory? Or should make the
sacrifice  of being without my master keyboard for a week or two and pay
whatever it takes to have it repaired?

One lesson I've learned through all this: cover the equipment when not in use.
Thanks in advance, Jeff

------------------------------
Date:         Thu, 9 Dec 1993 19:21:09 GMT
From:         Max D'Ambrosio 
Subject:      SESSION 8

I there anybody out there that owns one ?! I am thinking about getting one,
but I would like to get some feedback on it or suggestions on similar gear you
guys might prefer to the session 8 !

If you prefer send me an e-mail !!

Thank you

Max

------------------------------
Date:         Fri, 10 Dec 1993 14:50:09 -0500
From:         Biff Padiduwitz 
Subject:      Re: SESSION 8

I have one. This should probably be on SYNTH-L. It works superbly as
an 8-track digital recorder and beats the pants off tape for editing
and getting from point to point. It is very limited in DSP functions
(EQ is about all you get), but is a full-function digital mixing
console as well as recorder. The Keyboard Magazine review of last
July will give you the full picture. Since the review they have
fixed Keyboard's only complaint which was back-up to DAT, now
fully implemented. I'd be glad to discuss it's quirks in e-mail.
One problem is that the hard-disk is noisy. Not only the fan and
spin, but when recording the head goes into a rhythmic cycle. You
only get 8 feet of cable for seperating the computer mechanisms
from the I/O rack.

Bill Scott
WScott@acs.wooster.edu

------------------------------
Date:         Mon, 6 Dec 1993 17:08:28 GMT
From:         Philip Jones 
Subject:      Software or DIskettes for Yamaha PSR-600

Hi Pedro

Re your mail about software for Yamaha-PSR600
I have looked through various ftp sites and can't find anything suitable for
 your keyboard. Maybe someone else can find something????!!!!

Not a lot of people tend to write software that loads into a yamaha keyboard
via its disk drive, even if it possible which I doubt. As far as patches are
concerned I don't kno of any. Does anyone else !?!

If you can play standard MIDI files then a number of ftp sites have these, if
that's what you want. Try ucsd.edu in /midi/scores or for a more extensive
list try louie.udel.edu in /pub/midi/BertsGreatestHits for loads of files.

Have fun - if you want more software you might have to buy a new synth -
paradoxically :)

------------------------------
Date:         Mon, 6 Dec 1993 08:41:00 EST
From:         Pedro Hernando Rozo Mora 
Subject:      Software or Diskettes with software for YAMAHA PSR-600

I have a Keyboard Yamaha PSR-600, this keyboard have a drive of 3 1/2", the form
at of this drive is compatible with DOS (PC'S).

Where can i have software for my Keyboard ???

Original, or way TCP/IP ??

I'm Colombian, and I think to work in latin rithms (Salsa, merengue, cumbia, etc
),  i'm interesated to hav sequences of this rithms for my key
I'm Colombian, and I think to work in latin rithms (Salsa, merengue, cumbia, etc
),  i'm interesated to hav sequences of this rithms for my keyboard.

thanks.

Pedro Rozo
iteccol@prozo

------------------------------
Date:         Thu, 30 Dec 1993 13:56:00 PST
From:         "Rossi, John" 
Subject:      Re: WhatIsIt! Akai 612 professional. (fwd)

>QUestion here:  I read a long time ago that the 612 was basically an
>Electro-Harmonix 16Second Delay that had been somewhat modified and
>repackaged by AKAI.  Can anyone confirm this?

Actually, the 612 was a Porche 911 that had been somewhat modified and
repackaged by AKAI.

John

------------------------------
Date:         Mon, 27 Dec 1993 14:57:04 -0800
From:         "Michael A. Dalton ADP OPuS" 
Subject:      WhatIsIt! Akai AX60 professional.

Hi all, okay, used equipment "info quest" number
six jillion. Anyway, can anyone fill me in with
info about an Akai AX60? I have seen one recently
and it appears that there was a sampler that
plugged into it. Was it specific, or will any ol
Akai sampler do? Is the unit polyphonic, are there
sounds "inside" or only sampled sounds useable
thus requiring the sampler. Or, is it really a
synth that also happens to sample, and lastly,
whats the thing worth! Thanks MUCH!
--
+---------------------------------------------+--------------------------------+
| Michael A. Dalton    miked@plaza.ds.adp.com | "What I say to you, I say to   |
| CIS 71410,2624  Voice: (503) 294-4200 x2541 |  everyone: Watch!" -Mark 13:17 |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

------------------------------
Date:         Tue, 28 Dec 1993 08:46:37 -0800
From:         metlay 
Subject:      Re: WhatIsIt! Akai AX60 professional.

>Hi all, okay, used equipment "info quest" number
>six jillion. Anyway, can anyone fill me in with

Not on EMUSIC-L, thanks. I'm replying to this message
on SYNTH-L, where it belongs.

metlay

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End of the EMUSIC-L Digest
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