Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    Here it is folks, the official, easy to find, easy to remember note for
    everyone to ask that age old question "What _____ should I buy?" If
    you're a newcomer to synths, samplers, sequencers and drum machines
    this is the place to get your feet wet. Once you get a feel for
    "what's out there" you can check out appropriate note and continue
    your question in a more specific topic.
    
    Attention new noters: Even though this note will get old and you might
    think it won't get any attention, post your questions here. NOTES has 
    a feature called "next unseen" which guarantees all notes get equal 
    exposure regardless of age.
    
    Attention veterans: Let's not rathole this. Advise, caveats and
    pointers can help newcomers alot.
    
    COMMUSIC is getting too big to continue allowing notes that are
    variations on the same theme. Please cooperate and post your questions
    here.
    
    Edd Cote
    COMMUSIC Co-mod
    

Note 2840.0              Electronic Grand Piano Required              No replies
PAVONE::NOLAN "Chris"                                66 lines   7-FEB-1992 05:09
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    PROLOQUE:
      Yes, I have looked at  just about all of the notes with the keyword
      Piano, but unfortunately none of them are more recent than early 1990
      Have people stopped using keywords?
    
      I did not find the information I wanted.
    
    DISCLAIMER:
      I am TOTALLY ignorant of electronic piano or keyboard instruments.
      I am looking for the model numbers, makes etc to go look at.
    
      Having reviewed other notes, I understand that Roland, Kurzweil, 
      Yamaha and maybe Technics are the brands I should be looking at
      What about Korg?
    
    BACKGROUND:
      I do not play even a single note of piano. This is a request for my
      wife who is a professional classical concert pianist who performs
      internationally.
    
      We live in Italy in an appartment. One of our neighbours does not 
      like classical piano and has complained about the amount of practice
      that she does (8-10 hours a day!) on her grand piano.
    
      So we need to find an alternative soundless means of practice, since
      the number of hours per day practice cannot be reduced before
      recitals and orchestra performances.
    
    REQUIREMENTS:
     PRIMARY:
      1. electric piano keyboard, with full 88 weighted, touch sensitive
         keys, prefereably with long stroke/depth.
      2. sound must be digital sampling NOT syntesized.
      3. must faithfully reproduce an acoustic grand piano sound.
      4. must be self reliant, that is, must not require additional
         amplifiers, stereo equipment, etc to operate. (outputs for 
         reproduction using a standard hi-fi system would be a plus.)
      5. silent mode: be able to use the keyboard without generating
         external sound. Must be able to use with headphones in this mode.
      6. must have pedals, at least 2 preferably 3, as on a grand piano.
         Minimum is for a sustaining pedal with the electronic equivalent of
         the non-sustaining 2 pedals.
    
     SECONDARY:
      7. should have an external power supply that drives the unit using DC
         supply (we will need to use it in the USA and in Europe)
    
    OPTIONS:
      8. it would be nice to be able to PROGRAM the sound of the piano to
         emulate specific brands of grand piano via alternate digital samples
         e.g. reading digital samples from a computer disk, for Steinway,
         Falcone, Bosendorfer, etc.
    
    PRICE:
      willing to pay up to about $8,000, (absolutely <$10,000)
    
    I need advice on what brands, models, makes, etc. of electronic piano
    I should be looking at.
    
    As I said earlier, none of the information in the previous notes is up
    to date. I would like to know what new devices have been made available
    during the last 12-24 months, or that might be coming up in the next 6
    months.
    
    Thanks in advance for any help
    chris.

2 Qs

Q1:

What mixer should I buy ?

I need:  
	at least two mic inputs
	at least two stereo effects sends
	at least 12 inputs total
	price is a factor
	will be used for recording and performance

What if I didn't need the mic inputs ?

Q2:

What reverb should I buy ?

I need a *good* sounding reverb for use as the main reverb box for
the above mentioned mixer.  Also as always, price is a factor.

Q2a: Which reverbs can take a mono input and generate a stereo output ?

    MIDIVerb II's are a pretty good cost/performance tradeoff. I also
    love my Roland DEP-5, but they're harder to find...
    
    MVIIs should be able to be had for <$250...
    
    Well under.
    
    Edd

re:MVIIs

I'll bet that MVIIs can be had for less than $200. 

I bought mine (from Daddy's no less) for $180 and
that was over a year ago.

IMHO MVII's are just about the best bang for
the buck.

Re: Other verbs

If all you need is reverb, check out a Microverb II. It's
1/2 rack and I'm sure can be found for $100 or less. 

Note that both the MVII and Microverb II  are presets
only. No programmability.

>What mixer should I buy ?

MACKIE DESIGN  has an 8-channel mixer that can be had for less than $400.
Clean and has 3 mike inputs and phantom power. Check out the Mackie note.

Kris..(who uses a Mackie 1604)

    re: .-1
    
    Actually Mackie calls it a 12 channel mixer, even though 8 of these
    "channels" are really just 4 stereo channels (Gee, sounds like an 8
    channel mixer to me...).  It's the model 1202, FWIW.
    
    Greg

Re: .9

Actually, the Mackie 1202 has *four* mike preamps, not three.  It's
a real nice mixer.  It's very quiet.

-Hal Laurent

    Amiga and synth integration - I have a 1Mb Amiga and am planning to buy
    a synth (probably Korg 01/W - better suggestions welcome). 
    
    I'd appreciate any info about sequencers, samplers, sound cards, for
    the Amiga, and ways I can integrate these with a MIDI synth.
    
    Has anyone been to NAMM and seen anything new for Amiga there?
    
    Hi from NZ,
    
    David

I just answered your note 2175 (or somesuch), which was a little less clear
about what you're looking for. There's been *lots* of discussion concerning
folks' favorite sequencers for the Amiga- a DIR/TITLE=AMIGA should turn them
up, I warrant. Or extract the full directory listing from note 2.

There's been not quite so much concerning MIDI interfaces and samplers, but I
think that HYDRA::AMIGA_V2 is a better source of that info, as it's quite Amiga-
specific.

Bob

    Hello,
    
    I am a little bit new in this domain, so could someone help me to be a
    little more "intelligent":
    
    - What is  MIDI ? (In some words)
    - What Sound Blaster Card do I have to buy and where to have the best
    deal, and why ? Someone told me about the Sound Blaster Pro card but
    why ?
    
    
    
    Thanks in advance	Pascal
    
    
    LEMAN::RIESEN
    DOLE::RIESEN

    MIDI is a communication protocol that lets compliant devices "talk"
    to each other. It's not unlike RS-232 in function...
    
    Edd

    MIDI is musical instrument digital interface.
    
    The messasges are not sounds but commands, status, and data for
    performance like this note down, this note up...
    
    A keyboard, or software, or something else can transit MIDI, other
    devices interpret MIDI commands and make sound out of them. (ie sound
    generators)
    
    The opposite direction sound to MIDI is what a sampler does.

    What a sampler does is *not* sound-to-MIDI.   Sound-to-MIDI is very
    difficult in the general case, and mostly a laboratory curiosity
    today.  The MIDI Microphones are the exception, and they have
    several limitations.

    Did I just write that?

    I apologize.

    A sampler converts analog audio to bits, some books also call this a
    digital waveform.  Theoretically, a short sample can become a "patch"
    of a individual sound on sound generator. MIDI data is note data, not
    sound data.

	I'm basically a guitarist who's picked up playing keyboards.  I	have
	a Casio CT-655 (5 octaves, decent PCM piano sample, non-velocity
	sensitive keys) that I'd like to use as a controller for a "box
	containing good sampled sounds".  Forgive the poor terminology!

	Q1:  Is it possible to connect the Casio's MIDI-out to something
	     like the Roland Sound Canvas.

	Q2:  Could you recommend other (perhaps less expensive) boxes?
	     My main criteria are (1) good acoustic grand samples and
	     (2) the ability to load samples from manufacturer-supplied
	     ROM cards or disks.

	Thanks much,

	/ravi