Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    action is subjective.
    
    saw in Keyboard mag. This and the Cheeta kbd Id like to try.
    
    Where are these??????
    
    ron
    

    Hmmm. Isn't $2250 a tad steep for a controller??
    
    dp

    Re: .1
    
    How about Italy????
    
    

    I've decided that rather than wait for the ultimate controller,
    I'll just go with the KX88 (I have one on order from LaSalle, $1495),
    which has a piano-like action I felt very comfortable with.
    
    From what I could learn in an hour at the store, it has a very adequate
    but not extravagant midi implementation.  When the midi implementation
    proves too restrictive, I'll probably purchase the midi processor which
    most fits my need at the time.  Thus I'm able to decouple keyboard feel
    from midi implementation and get the best of both worlds. 
    
    Guido
    
                                                             

    Well, after three and a half months of waiting, I finally got an
    Elka MK-88.  (I think some Sicilian was napping on it when the ship
    pulled out).
    
    In brief, I'm very pleased.  Some points:
    
        1) The action is quite piano-like.
        2) The after-touch and release velocity are easy to control.
        3) Preset editing is, for the most part, very intuitive.
        4) The MIDI control options are extreme.
        5) The workmanship seems to be excellent (I was worried that
           it would be like an Alfa Romeo--expensive simply BECAUSE
           it's Italian)
        6) I carried it 150 yards under my own power. (It's ``light'').
    
    Anybody in the greater Maynard area that wants to try it out can
    send me a message, or give me a call.
    
    Steph     
    

    Steph,

    I got one the MK55 a while ago and the one thing I haven't figured out
    is how to define one of the sliders to allow continous patch change.

    What I'd like to do is to use the slider to "scroll" through patches
    on some expander.

    The documentation I have doesn't seem to say much.

    Zayed

    Doubt that Steph will say much.  He left the company a few months ago.
    If you look in topic 3 (I think), you should be able to find his USENET
    mail address. 

-b

	I think  it can be done.  Assign the slider to FREE E and
	setup FREE E in hex as C# []. I got this from the manual.

			Barry

    That is correct.
    
    Unfortunately, it sends the patch changes ``like'' continuous
    controller messages, which means it will send the entire range 
    that you cover with the slider (or as many as MIDI bandwidth
    will allow).
    
    The problem with this is only apparent if you use it to control
    slow/dumb equipment.  For example:  I tried to use this feature to select
    patches for my DSP-128, but the DSP tracked the movement of the
    controller at about 1 patch per 2 seconds, so it turned out to be
    much slower than using the up-down buttons directly.
    
    Obviously, the right thing to do in the receiving module is to apply
    only the last program change which has been received and flush
    everything else, but...
    
    Steph
    

    WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?

    How'd you do that?  I thought U wuz in Chicago.

{meltdown}

    My influence reaches remote places.
    
    Actually, I'm here for several weeks in my old group.
    
    Steph

    Thanks for the info. I only got time to check the manual yesterday and
    couldn't find any reference to this. Talking of manuals, the one that
    came with my MK55 is obviously a draft: photocopies of typed
    instructions with some parts crossed out and corrected by hand (!).

    Does this sound like what you got because if not I'll try to get in
    touch with Elka to get something decent.

    Zayed

	The manual  that  came  with  my  MK55  is a high quality
	printed  manual.  Sounds like you should contact ELKA for
	one.

		BArry

    Well, at least the photographing was ``high quality''.  I found
    the type-setting and layout offensive, and the organization
    and content even worse!
    
    It is enough to eventually figure out the features, but I certainly
    wouldn't call it great.
    
    The worst part is the eight lines that they dedicate to the SYSEX
    protocol.  They don't tell you whats in the dumps, and furthermore,
    the proto they describe doesn't even work.  At least it doesn't work
    on mine,  have you tried  getting your MK to do a full bank dump?
    
    Steph
    

	Did I say the manual contents was great? I just said what
	it  looked  like.   If you read the thing through you can
	figure  out  whats  going  on, buts it leaves a lot to be
	desired.

	As for SysEx, that is a bit of fun.  Every thing works as
	described in the manual.  I can dump and load any section
	of  the  MK55  memory.  I had to decode the format of the
	messages the hard way, took a couple of nights.

	The first  thing to notice is that each byte of the SysEx
	data holds only 4 bits of info.  You need to convert from
	this 4-bits/byte into a more useful 8-bits/byte then look
	at  the  contents.   Having  done that the data make more
	sense.

	If you  want to know the details of the SysEx take a look
	at  the  C  source  code  of a GLIB module to support the
	MK55. MARVIN::DISK$OWL:[SCOTT.GLIB]ELKAMK55.C.

		BArry

    Ok.  Thanks for the decode.  (Mine still doesn't dump correctly,
    though.  Maybe a ROM version or some-such).
    
    Steph

	If you  have  PC  I  have  tools  for  investgating  MIDI
	problems.   I  just  turned  my  MK55  on to find out the
	version number.  But I don't see one on power up, guess I
	need know what keys to hold down before turning the power
	on.

	If you  mail  me  details  of  the SysEx messages you are
	sending  to the MK88 I will confirm that they are work on
	my MK55.

			BArry

If this topic moved on to another note after 1988, please bear with me as this
is the first time I have accessed this conference in nearly three years.  I
only dipped into it because I am desparate to find a way to get ahold of an
Elka controller to try it again before foolishly plunging for the Roland A80.

I tried the Elka MK88 at Wurlitzer in Boston in January 1989.  I had gone in
to try the long-awaited Kawai that had finally arrived, which I was EXTREMELY
disappointed in.  The salesperson then pointed me to the Elka and I fell in
love!  This is the first controller I have tried that I had no criticisms of.
And the case is real nice and convenient too!

The drawback is that they only had a demo and weren't sure if they could order
one.  Since I thought at the time I was going to be moving to Seattle very
shortly (this long-range plan has now been pushed back by at least a year),
I forgot about it until recently.

A few months ago, I went back and they had the MK55 but not the MK88.  The
MK55 is ultra-cheap but doesn't do anything, apparantly.  That REALLY is OK
with me if it's easy to get an add-on box later that does more of the real
MIDI work, since I primarily need a controller for my year-old D550
synthesiser module that had been sitting up on the north shore to use
at band rehearsals with the Yamaha Pf85 (or one of those models).

But I didn't like the feel of the MK55 as well.  I can't remember the number
of keys either, but 77 is fine with me (63 is not).  Though I prefer 88.  Not
sure if it comes with the special case either.

Anyway, I recently tried the Roland A80, which Wurlie's sells for $2000 and
Daddy's sells for $2400.  It's OK, but workmanship is real important to me
too.  I want something that will last.  I suspect the Elka is built to last
more than the Roland is, though from a strictly technological point of view I
have been VERY impressed by Roland's recent moves (while Yamaha seems to be
rusting, er, RESTING, on its laurels...).

I have a fair amount of money to spend in the next few months, but must
carefully prioritise.  Since I want to upgrade to a larger celtic harp, which
may set me back upwards of $2K, I want to make sure that there really is a
keyboard controller out there that's worth the bucks before I splurge on
ANYTHING.  The only equipment I'm DEFINITELY settled on is the new R8 drum
machine from Roland, and probably the QUADverb MIDI effects from Alessis.
I can wait a bit on stuff like the U110 (for traditional keyboard sounds)
or a sampler.

Does anyone know where I could try the Elka MK88 again to refresh my memory?
Wurlie's can't get them anymore, or won't carry them.  I'm not even sure they
still have the MK55.


				Mark

    Can't help you much with the Elka, Mark - but I just got done playing
    lots of controllers (including the A80 - see the last 5 or so entries
    in topic 2030), and wouldn't recommend the A80 to anyone.  Aside from
    the SYSEX features, I thought the thing was more hype than anything.
    (The touch stunk.) 

    Depending on what the Elka goes for, you be just as well off getting a
    Kurzweil MIDIboard ... they're supposedly going for less than $1800
    now.  And they play wonderfully.  (DIR/KEY=MIDIBOARD for more info.)

-b

It turns out I made a slight error.  It was not the MK55 that I tried a few
months ago.  It is the Fatar Studio88, which is supposedly the same hardare
(and case) as the Elka MK88 but without additional MIDI features.  Apparantly,
Elka is an electronics company and does the add-on features for their own
model, and Fatar is an Italian piano manufacturer.

The Studio88 is still carried at Wurlitzer in Boston, for $895.  I'm going to
try it again this week and make a decision.  Keyboard feel is all-important
to me.  If I have to, I'll add a MIDI expander box later.  Chances are I won't
need that many MIDI features right away, since I'm more into playing than
programming.


				Mark