What are some fun music instruments when travelling?

[Stabby]

Thanks for the suggestions. I need something small and battery-powered to play on the bus/train.

 

Thinking of a Zoom RT233 or Boss DR3 drum computer now. The Boss sounds a little better but it lasts only 5 hours on 6 batteries while the Zoom lasts for 8 hours on 4 batteries. Not yet sure which one to get.

[lerber3]

an akai usb wind controller + lappy

 

Akai EWI + headphones... very fun, and you can sit in if you find a jam w/ PA. It's got 7 octaves, basic effects, and about 100 patches. Very easy to pick up and play basic melodies or improvisations.

 

 

...and a transpose feature.

[Mediterranean]

This instrument is built into me. I have no choice but transport it with me everywhere I go, lol.

 

[video=youtube;tGErn-0PDzI]

[Plink Floyd]

Akai EWI

I'd like to try one of those sometime.

 

 

This guy makes it look pretty easy. I suspect he has more than just a lappy, though...

 

[video=youtube;kOEF7f2HGoE]

[Plink Floyd]

I want a Hammond Melodica.

Those are expensive, as melodicas go.

 

Black AX-1s are hard to come by, too. And no, you can't have mine.

[DJ RAZZ]

Never mind I want that AKAI as well. I want, I want, I want!!!!

[zzzxtreme]

if cost is no concern, akai ewi with built-in sound module looks fun - ewi4000s

but I wonder if you could blow it like a recorder, or do u have to blow it like a flute/sax which I find will give me the angelina jolie lips?

[Plink Floyd]

I'm sure you don't have to buzz a reed or chomp down hard on anything. I had one of those Casio digital saxes, and it was very sensitive to small amounts of air.

 

The EWI manual says

 

- Sensors detect breath intensity and mouthpiece pressure for responsive control of the pitch, tone, and volume, with no danger of forming Angelina Jolie lips

 

- Touch plates easily control Pitch Bend or Glide easily while Octave Shift rollers enable you to shift over an eight-octave range

 

- Analog-modeling synthesizer with 2 VCOs and 2 VCFs inside

 

- Equipped with an internal sound module and internal effects such as Reverb, Delay, and Chorus

 

- No custom grillz, but it swangs from a strap

[johnmoorejohn]

 

Akai Synthstation 25 running Nanostudio. You need either an iPod touch or iPhone.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89k-SSXTYXA

 

 

[EerieDreamZ]

I use my laptop, with an Akai LPK-25, Qy 100, and loaded samples. There is enough sketchbook creativity to keep me busy on the longest of flights :)P

[ChristianRock]

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I need something small and battery-powered to play on the bus/train. Thinking of a Zoom RT233 or Boss DR3 drum computer now. The Boss sounds a little better but it lasts only 5 hours on 6 batteries while the Zoom lasts for 8 hours on 4 batteries. Not yet sure which one to get.

 

 

Get rechargeable batteries so you can just get the one you like best! Life's too short for compromising...

 

Speaking of which, I think I might want to sell my DR-5... I haven't used it in at least 10 years, but it still works!

[mpegsucks]

- kazoo

- jews harp

- spoons

- comb with wax paper

- blade of glass

- skin flute

[gregwar]

that Autoharp is bangin' I like do alternate tunings, dissonance, etc

 

q chord by Suzuki I think ?

 

lappi, logic, caps lock keyboard held me over on lots of trips

 

ideally noise canceling headphones

[pogo97]

here's an old thread of iPhone apps--maybe something there

[Suilebhain]

Download the demo for Absynth.

[lerber3]

re: Akai EWI...

 

 

I'm sure you don't have to buzz a reed or chomp down hard on anything. I had one of those Casio digital saxes, and it was very sensitive to small amounts of air. The EWI manual says - Sensors detect breath intensity and mouthpiece pressure for responsive control of the pitch, tone, and volume, with no danger of forming Angelina Jolie lips - Touch plates easily control Pitch Bend or Glide easily while Octave Shift rollers enable you to shift over an eight-octave range - Analog-modeling synthesizer with 2 VCOs and 2 VCFs inside - Equipped with an internal sound module and internal effects such as Reverb, Delay, and Chorus - No custom grillz, but it swangs from a strap

 

 

The EWI is easier to blow than a recorder, but the fingering is like a sax or clarinet... it is impossible to fluff a note, and it doesn't take a lot of wind... the 'transpose' feature helps you put things into easy keys while your learning. This helps a lot if you jam with guitarists (who like to play in the sharp keys)... keys with flats are much easier to think/finger than keys with sharps.

 

If you bite the mouthpiece rhythmicalliy it creates vibrato... your thumb on the bottom of the instrument controls pitch bend, octave select, and portamento.

 

This is a GREAT instrument to take on your bike, backpack, or play on the bus/train/plane.

 

It is also very cool for your sense of melody, as you can only play one note at a time, but you can really get a lot of mileage out of each note. I'm still about a million miles from being a wind player, but I enjoy my EWI and occasionally leave the keys at home for a super light-weight rig.

 

edit... one of the more challenging things for me, as a keyboard player, is playing lines that start with a low note and move up. Moving from high to low is easy, as you are dropping your fingers onto the pads like a keyboard. Going the other way, you have to lift your fingers off the pads... very different than playing a keyboard.

[Plink Floyd]

 

the fingering is like a sax or clarinet... It is also very cool for your sense of melody, as you can only play one note at a time, but you can really get a lot of mileage out of each note. I'm still about a million miles from being a wind player, but I enjoy my EWI and occasionally leave the keys at home for a super light-weight rig.

Which EWI do you have, L3? I play keys and woodwinds, and I've been gassing for a something like this ever since the first Yamaha ones came out. The Yams have always been expensive, but the EWI USB model is pretty affordable.

 

I'm guessing that you can change the fingering scheme to emulate different instruments, or even use a unique streamlined fingering pattern made up just for the controller (even the cheapy Casio digihorn I had offered that). If you weren't transitioning from another wind instrument that you were very comfortable with, I can see the advantage of the simplified fingering scheme. Theoretically that should enable you to really rip on monophonic leads because you never have to reposition your fingers or fool around with those 'pinky clusters' of keys which I can't remember the name of.

 

And yeah, having the extra modulation inputs of breath velocity and lip pressure adds very much to the expressiveness of your playing. Just like a real woodwind.

 

But if you already play keys but not winds, I'm not sure it's worth the effort to learn a new gizmo. Unless you're like me and just like new gizmos.

[KingVidiot]

 

iPad2. buncha free synths, pianios, guitars, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc

 

 

Good stuff, plus a digi recorder for later sampling/ layering at home since multitasking is an issue. Some apps multitask well, but you have to experiment.

 

Or use a mixer with kaossilator, miniKP, ds10, monotron...

 

I once had a micro studio setup in a hotel room on the bed. It was a fun experiment.

Based around an edirol battery mixer I had a ds10, kaossilator + miniKP, dr202, qy100 + ineko, and a portable guitar + pandora's box. Quite a fun little session and all the crap fit in a backpack. I recorded different parts to an iPod classic + belkin tunetalk and remixed them later.

 

I recently got a tenori-on and it's excellent, but even cooler as a sequencer for the studio than a standalone device. The Suzuki q-chord looks cool, but might get tedious on a trip.

 

I have an rt-223 and for the price and size it's cool, but the kits are pretty limited. I wish the pads would midi out... Grrr.

 

If you're not sold on an iPad the qy70 or qy100 is a pretty functional studio on its own. The tiny polyphonic keyboard is surprisingly functional. The filter is adjustable, and the sound palette is decent. I hooked up my kenton spin doctor to control the filter cutoff/resonance and fx/volumes in real time. Since it's a sequencer you aren't stuck with the sounds. You can always dump the sequences for further editing when you get home.

[zoink]

NI Maschine w/ 15" PowerBook is by far my favorite portable instrument, especially now that Maschine hosts VSTs.

 

 

 

 

I've had the QY70 and QY100 for a long time, and they're both a lot of fun though they go through batteries pretty quickly.

 

 

 

 

Another old favorite is the Boss DR-202. Nice little drum machine that also does bass lines and has onboard multi-effects, runs on batteries, and has a bank of realtime control knobs for remixing and tweaking. Fun, cheap, and highly underrated.

 

 

 

 

I have quite a few music apps on my iPod touch, but I have to say they're not as fun as real hardware. Small touch screens just aren't as responsive or easy to use as real knobs and buttons, though I'm sure the ipad by virtue of its size alone is a lot better than the touch. I have a bunch of Izotope drum machine programs, and they're pretty good.

 

 

 

 

Speaking of the Ipod touch, the Akai Synthstation 25 is also a fun and versatile little synth and groove/drum machine. I got a good deal on the controller, which also makes a nice portable two octave USB controller with mod wheel and pitch bend.

 

 

 

 

And last, the Korg DS10+ is pretty nice. It has some neat routing options and better polyphony/timbrality than the original version, though the sequencer is rather limited. With a Nintendo DSi XL, you get big view and touch screens, and battery life is excellent.

 

 

[DJ RAZZ]

I have always wanted to try a DS-10+ that looks like it would be good fun for some brief amusement.

[VanHalen]

What are some fun music instruments when travelling?

 

I love to have my wife play the skin flute for me when we are traveling. She can blow a mean skin flute!

 

[lerber3]

Which EWI do you have, L3? I play keys and woodwinds, and I've been gassing for a something like this ever since the first Yamaha ones came out. The Yams have always been expensive, but the EWI USB model is pretty affordable. I'm guessing that you can change the fingering scheme to emulate different instruments, or even use a unique streamlined fingering pattern made up just for the controller (even the cheapy Casio digihorn I had offered that). If you weren't transitioning from another wind instrument that you were very comfortable with, I can see the advantage of the simplified fingering scheme. Theoretically that should enable you to really rip on monophonic leads because you never have to reposition your fingers or fool around with those 'pinky clusters' of keys which I can't remember the name of. And yeah, having the extra modulation inputs of breath velocity and lip pressure adds very much to the expressiveness of your playing. Just like a real woodwind. But if you already play keys but not winds, I'm not sure it's worth the effort to learn a new gizmo. Unless you're like me and just like new gizmos.

 

 

The only wind I had ever played was a recorder in elementary school... so I don't really know any other fingering. Fingering is sax-like according to EWI docs, I don't know about other fingerings, but I'm sure a real sax can't flatten/sharpen any note using the pinky dealies. Probably the only new trick for a real wind player is learning to change octaves with thumb wheels... but with some practice you can rip a seven octave scales in every key.

 

The built-in voices are OK, but you can buy waaaay better ones on-line at patchmanmusic.

 

I was a bit musically plateaued a few years back, so I stopped playing keys for about six months and focused on learning EWI. It really helped me to think melodically with no possibility of chords. I still suck, but I can sight-read jazz heads, play all the scales, improvise leads in a few (thank you transpose button).

 

... and yes, I've played it on the bus and in the woods and on a boat and in a box and with a fox and here and there... I played it everywhere.

[pogo97]

on a train? would could you on a train?

[liliththekitten]

the DR-202 is great fun. I loved mine. Should have had better synth sounds, better outputs, better screen and the pads should have lit up. Think they weren't velocity sensitive either. (and the SP-202 didnt respond to velocity over midi) But it was dirt cheap, like $350 when it came out and much cheaper on sale or used and battery life was better than the QY. Knobs were great fun too. Wish they'd made a DR-303.

 

QY70 has suprisingly useful sounds!

 

deffo get a DSi or DSi XL for the DS-10+. Most or all of the upgraded program's improvements are not available on a DS Lite or Phat plus the newer DS's have better sound outputs. My DS Lite is pretty terrible.

[Plink Floyd]

on a train? would could you on a train?

I think playing an EWI with headphones on a train would earn you funny looks. Doing it on a plane would probably involve uncomfortable scrutiny from the air marshal.