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Esteemed doctors of the KSS arts...prescribe me some retail therapy


plawren53202

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So I have just been kind of down in the dumps lately. Early stages of midlife crisis maybe? Don't know, doesn't matter. Just uninspired musically. Was uninspired photographically (my other hobby) until just recently when I got a new lens (Canon 135L). That thing is a portrait monster, and breathed a little new life into my photography.

 

Hoping for the same thing musically...here's your assignment. You can see my current lineup in my sig below. Let's set a tentative budget of $500 (I did just buy the lens, after all). I have no idea what I want. At all. :confused: Just that it be something KSS related. That's where I am asking for your collective wisdom. And I prefer hardware rather than a new soft synth or something similar. I stare at a computer screen all day at work, and I stare at a computer screen when editing my photos. I am trying to free myself from the slavery of the computer screen.

 

I will say, I thought I had a Triton LE lined up from my local CL...I was pretty excited about that. I got a weird/creepy vibe from the guy's email and initial phone conversation though, and now the guy has disappeared off the planet. Bummer b/c I think I would have had some fun with the Triton.

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$500, eh? Hmmm.


I see you play guitar... May I humbly suggest a microKORG?
:D:badump:

 

You, sir, caused me to chuckle. Which is a big deal right now. Kudos.

 

I do think I will respectfully decline on the microKORG. If only to avoid the "guitar guy" stigma. But thanks for the laugh.

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You have an SH-201, so I hesitate to recommend another VA, BUT you might look at maybe a used Virus or Supernova? I suppose it depends on what kind of music you like to make. Are you bread-n-butter sounds? Do you like to make teh SQUOOOOOONK sounds? Or maybe you need some rhythm, in which case maybe a Maschine might be called for.

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You all jest about the squoooonk sounds. For a few troubled minutes while I was looking at local CL a couple of days ago, I thought, maybe the chuggah chuggah chuggah is what I need to pull me out of doldrums and a Mesa Dual Rec is in order. :facepalm: That didn't last too long.

 

I had forgotten about that new Casio. I may give some vids a listen tonight. Thanks for reminding me.

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I'm not seeing any 88-key contraptions in your sig so I'm gonna throw you a curve ball. While you are checking out that Casio Synth, also try out the new Casio Privias. Maybe a PX-350 or PX-150. Don't know what your background in keyboards is (have you taken piano lessons in the past?) but having a standalone real-sounding, real-feeling piano that you could even put in another room and just sit and connect to could offer a new journey for you musically. And if you never had any lessons before, that is something else to consider and the Privia may be just the tool you need. Just my thought.

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another option is to go to a live concert, play, art gallery, movie ideally with a great score, see a dj, I dunno just whatever ur into. treat the wife/fam

 

that kinda ish gets my creative juices flowing more that gear

 

then again, the suggestion of a stand alone piano either as a keyboard or accoustic can be a great aid for song writting in general in all sorts of genres

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Midinut and gregwar, thanks for the suggestions. By way of background, I took approx. 5 years of piano when I was younger (8-13). Actually learned the piano long before guitar. I am by no means a "great" piano player. However, I will say that one of the reasons I was excited about the Triton LE deal that apparently fell through with creepy CL disappearing guy is because I was excited about getting some better (at least what I think will be better) pianos, EPs, organs etc. than my MM6. For instance, the pianos in the MM6 are just alright. I was kind of looking forward to some with a little different flavor.

 

I would love to get out and see a good concert, movie, art etc. I have found that to be a great source of new inspiration in the past. Unfortunately, the ridiculous demands of my job right now don't allow me any free time other than what I trade sleep for, i.e., like midnight to 2 am. At least a new piece of gear is just as capable of being played at 2 am as it is at 7 pm. I think the work thing is a large part of my funk right now.

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The Triton would not give you better pianos than the MM6, I can pretty much guarantee you that. The action would also be pretty bad like the one on the MM6.

 

For that amount of money, get yourself an Alesis Fusion 6HD and you'll have better pianos and better everything else.

 

Or a MiniBrute. Maybe it's the knobs and sliders along with an analog sound, that will get your inspiration back.

 

Also, hopefully your job situation isn't long term. If it is, you need a better job... there's no amount of money that is worth just watching your live waste away.

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Casio XW-P1 or Korg Microstation

 

As an owner of the microSTATION, I don't wish it upon anyone trying to get away from staring at computer screens. Even if you have experience with previous Korg workstations, it requires a great deal of patience doing any kind of programming without using the editor since there are no shift functions whatsoever for navagating the menus. Even doing something simple liking changing the effects or arp on a preset turns the menus into a game of Pac-Man. Sounds great for the price, but brings a whole new meaning to the word workstation. :badump:

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better pianos, EPs, organs etc. than my MM6.

 

Getting better "bread and butter" sounds at $500 is more of a tall order than just getting a new, creative fun toy to play with. Quality pianos and organs are the "holy grails" of what many players look for, and it's hard to get something great at either one of those things for $500, much less something great for both. I guess the best budget b&b board at the moment is probably the Korg PS60.

 

One more general suggestion, though, is that you might want to look into the possibility of driving an iPad from one of your existing boards. There's a lot of fun stuff you can do with that, quite cheaply, and with its touchscreen interface and convenient accessible-while-playing form factor, it doesn't really have the feel of "using a computer."

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Why not buy a MPC1000? It will get you away from the computer and to me there is nothing funnier than sequencing a track real fast on a MPC. More synths equals more sounds which is great but, then you have to mess with monitor and mouse to slowly sequence a track. MPCs are fast and fun to use. I've been using them for years and never get tired of them.

 

:thu:

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Ok everyone, thanks for all the suggestions very much. And the verdict is in...none of the above. I randomly happened to find a guy on local CL who is selling a Blofeld (desktop) for $325, so that is the winner. I had a brief go with one a couple of years back, when I first started really getting into synths. Sold it because something else I thought I wanted more came along.

 

I remember thinking it was a really solid piece of gear, but I probably didn't know enough back then to really honestly evaluate it and whether it fit my needs (probably still don't). I am looking forward to giving it a second, honest workout. At the least, even though I already have what is technically a VA (the SH 201), from what I remember the Blofeld is going to be quite different from anything in the current lineup.

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