Monthly Archives: January 2019

Winter NAMM 2019: Korg get spiffed

Posted on by

spiff, verb, make someone or some thing attractive, tidy or stylish

By now, you’ve heard and seen the Korg Kronos SE (Special Edition) with the new love it or hate it paint job. I hope it looks better in person than its pictures! The Kronos SE adds the Italian piano which first appeared in the Korg Grandstage.

It also adds a sound library from Kurt Ader (KApro). The KAPro library includes orchestral strings, brass, woodwinds and choir. That’s a boost for the Kronos; I felt that Kronos orchestral instruments were somethat flat, lacking the expressiveness of Yamaha’s high-end offerings.

Korg also spiffed up the Krome. The Krome EX workstation increases PCM storage to 4GBytes. New samples include a refreshed piano, so-called “ethnic instruments,” and EDM synths and drum kits. [I guess a sound is “ethnic” only if it comes from someone else’s musical culture. Country western music is ethnic. 🙂 ]

Expected USA prices for Korg EX are: $1,049.99 (61 key), $1,249.99 (73 key) and $1,649.99 (88 key). Current models (non-EX) are heavily discounted to clear room for the EX. If you dig vanilla Krome, you can get a good deal right now.

As other punters have noted, Korg needs to get its groove on to compete with the new Yamaha MODX. The EX spiff buys time while Korg prepare a more substantial response.

Even the baby of the Korg family has gotten a new paint job: the Korg Kross Special Edition. There are four color choices: grey-orange, grey-blue, grey-red and grey-green. [Click image to enlarge.]

Now, this is color! These colors convey fun! I especially like the grey-blue. Damn, that looks nice. Also, be on the lookout for the Korg KROSS 2-61 pure white limited edition.

BTW, the term “spiff” in retail-speak is slang for a sales bonus. Often, manufacturers (or employer) directly pay a bonus to a salesperson for selling a specific product. Beware pushy salespeople!

Take a tour of the Krome and Kronos architecture.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Yamaha CP73 and CP88: Da manuals

Posted on by

The Yamaha CP73 and CP88 Owner’s Manual (PDF) and Supplementary Manual (PDF) are now on-line at the CP products download page.

The Supplementary Manual has a compact list of CP voices, including the new voices added in OS Version 1.10.

All right, all right, you’re wondering about the organ voices:

     # Name            CC#
    -- --------------  ---
    01 Bright Bars     33
    02 Click Organ     34
    03 Draw Organ 1    35
    04 All Bars Out    36
    05 Draw Organ 2    37
    06 60s Combo       38
    07 Compact         39
    08 Panther         40
    09 Pipe Organ 1    41
    10 Pipe Organ 2    42

These look like voices that are copped from the Motif/Montage. It’s a little disappointing to not have drawbar control and so forth. I’m not sure what “CC#” means in this context.

The “other” voice category is quite limited, too:

     # Name            CC#
    -- --------------  ---
    01 Syn Lead 1      50
    02 Syn Lead 2      51
    03 Syn Bass        52
    04 E.Bass          53
    05 A.Bass          54
    06 Steel Gt        55
    07 Clean Gt        56
    08 Syn Brass       57

Forget woodwinds and acoustic brass. Forget voice editing. All you get is attack and release parameters to tweeze in the Sub section. You’ll need to buy a synth.

I think the CP73/CP88 are the “pro” version of Reface CP. Surely, their design was influenced by the immediacy of the Reface CP front panel — very intuitive and easy to change effects while playing. The CP73/CP88 are stage pianos. They are “bottom boards” in need of a “top board” for woodwinds, brass, lead, organ and all of the other stuff multi-keyboardists need to cover. The “other” voices are just enough to cover the odd non-piano part at a gig.

The CP73/CP88 have master keyboard capability with four zones. All of the usual configuration parameters are provided including bank select(s) and program change.

Check out the latest issue of the Yamaha Production Guide, too.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Winter NAMM 2019: Yamaha CP73 and CP88

Posted on by

As I mentioned in my last post, Yamaha have announced two new stage pianos: CP73 and CP88. Features in common are:

  • Three premium grand pianos: CFX, S700 and Bösendorfer Imperial 290
  • Two upright piano Voices: vintage U1 and flagship SU7
  • Five electric pianos for covering all music genres back to the 1970s
  • Yamaha CP OS updates enhance features and add new instrument Voices
  • CP OS v1.1 adds 67 Rd (Bright and Dark), Wide Wr & Yamaha C7 grand piano Voices
  • Dedicated effects and effect controls for each Section (Piano, E Piano and Sub)
  • Master delay, reverb and EQ effects with dedicated realtime controls
  • Soundmondo social sound sharing gives access to thousands of free sounds
  • Seamless Sound Switching: change sounds while holding notes without sound cutoff
  • One-to-one UI for direct sound control during stage or studio performance
  • 2 Ch. USB Audio/MIDI Interface for audio recording and playback & MIDI control
  • Balanced XLR & unbalanced 1⁄4” stereo outputs covers a wide-range of connectivity
  • Four-zone Master Keyboard mode lets you control external hardware and software
  • Dual 1/4″ AUX line inputs connects second keyboards, mobile devices and more

The CP88 has an NW-GH3 keyboard with synthetic ebony and ivory key tops and the CP73 has a balanced hammer 73-note action. The CP88 is 41 pounds while the CP73 is a lighter 28.9 pounds. How much is this going to set ya back? CP88: $2,499.99 and CP73: $1,999.99.

Here’s a link to the official Yamaha demo (no yakking).

Kraft Music has demo videos with no talking and a full demo with Blake Angelos. The Kraft demo shows off the CP73, which looks quite portable! The Sub adds a the usual pads, synths and things, but has its own tricks. In the non-talking demo, Blake shows off a “live looping” type performance at roughly 6:00. And, yes, the CP does B-3. Blake shows off “All Bars Out” starting at 8:30 with rotary speed changes.

As I mentioned earlier, these instruments are built for pros. The acoustic pianos have wide dynamic range — no cheap out sampling. The chassis is sturdy aluminum. Both models provide balanced XLR outputs and internal power supply (no wall wart). The front panel interface is divided into sections: Live Set, acoustic piano, electric piano, sub and master. Each section is enabled by retro toggle switches. If you scan the front panel, there are lots and lots of (dedicated) digital effects. The sub section adds pad/strings, organ, chromatic percussion and other (bass, guitar, etc.). [Wish I knew what else is hiding under “other.”]

The auxiliary inputs do not route through the internal effects. Shame, lost opportunity, but could save hauling a separate mixer to small piano gigs. External audio can be routed through USB into the CP.

A big question is “Are the CP73 and CP88 Nord Stage killers?” Hmmm, no real-time drawbar control and no “mini synth” like the Stage. On the other hand, the CPs have Advanced Mode for creating novel instrument and effect routing (e.g., looping). Yamaha makes excellent, pro digital pianos (stage, studio, or home). So, if piano were my primary instrument, I would definitely have a fly-off between the CP and Stage before putting one on the credit card.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Winter NAMM 2019: Korg and more

Posted on by

Back on the streets at home just in time for Korg to drop its newest products. The details are up on the Korg Web site, so there isn’t a need to deep dive the details here.

The Kog Minilogue brings a smile to my face whenever I play it. Since I don’t have an actual need for it, “play it” means “noodle in the store.” However, it is a constant temptation for an impulse purchase.

Thus, I’m pleased to see a new model: the Korg Minilogue XD. Like its updates to the venerable microKorg, Korg are smart to pursue and extend winners. The XD keeps much of the basics intact. The front panel slider is now a joystick — a good change in my opinion. The XD adds a VPM (Variable Phase Modulation)/FM oscillator allowing two op FM voices. Memory is greatly expanded to 500 locations. And two control voltage (CV) inputs.

Expected street price is $650 USD. (The original model streets for about $520.)

Korg also dropped the Volca Modular. If you want to dip into synthesis, here’s your toy, er, tool: eight modules, 50 patch points, 16-step sequencer, “West Coast” style. Yeah, sure, Korg cut cost. The patch points are printed circuit board (PCB) mounted SIL and DIL connectors which take pin-style patch cables instead of 3.5mm plugs. But, wot did you expect for $200 street?

I have to wonder how the Volca Modular would mate to littleBits synth elements?

Finally, Korg revealed the Volca Drum digital percussion synthesizer. Bang on the drum all day with a 16-step sequencer and MIDI IN. Expected street price is $170 USD. Both Volcas will ship in early 2019.

Piano storm

It’s just rainin’ pianos up in here!

Casio have been teasing what could be a new stage piano. [I don’t do teasers any more.] Casio also have new CDP models: CDP-S100 and CDP-S350. “CDP” apparently means “Compact Digital Piano.” Both pianos feature new piano samples and the new Casio Scaled Hammer Action II Keyboard. The CDP-S100 and CDP-S350 have estimated street prices of $500 and $675, respectively. [I’m awaiting USA pricing.]

The CDP-S100 is aimed squarely at the cost conscious and portable Yamaha Piaggero series. The S100 has 64-note polyphony, ten voices, reverb/chorus, two built-in speakers, and battery power (six AA batteries). It weighs 10.5kg (23.1 pounds) and is quite slender. The speakers are front-firing a la the Studiologic NUMA Compact 2x.

The CDP-S350 takes a page from the Korg Havian playbook and the Yamaha DGX series by incorporating arranger keyboard features with a high quality piano. Quick specs include 64 note polyphony, 700 voices, 10 user songs, 200 rhythms (AKA “styles”), auto-harmonization, 100 arpeggios, and battery operation. Weight is 10.9kg (24 pounds). The S350 also employs built-in, front-firing speakers.

Yamaha are announcing the new CP73 and CP88 stage pianos, both clearly positioned to compete with Nord on-stage. The CP88 features Natural Wood Graded Hammer (NW-GH) action while the CP73 has 73 equally-weighted keys. Both axes have Yamaha’s best piano sounds: Yamaha CFX and Bösendorfer Imperial grands. Yamaha also got the message from pros: Seamless Sound Switching and XLR balanced outputs.

Taking a close look at the front panel, the new CPs offer three sound sections: acoustic piano, electric piano and “sub” from which one builds splits and layers. There are LIVE SET buttons to quickly change between configurations. Pitch bend and modulation control are through two levers located in the upper left corner of the work surface.

Like Nord, Yamaha are offering “content upgrades.” The first available sound upgrades include Rhodes (“1967 tine piano), Wurli (“reed piano”) and Yamaha C7 “studio” grand piano.

Expect $2,499.99 USD for the CP88 and $1,999.99 for the CP73. I find it interesting that the press release is out of Rellingen, Germany — home of the Genos™ and other Yamaha arranger products. Probably not significant.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Winter NAMM 2019: Interfaces

Posted on by

With 15 days until Winter NAMM 2019, no bombshell products other than unverified rumors on the forums. Here’s a few announced products which will be promoted at Winter NAMM 2019.

Inexpensive audio/MIDI interfaces

Readers of Sound On Sound may covet audio/MIDI interfaces with 4 figure price tags, but it’s the low end of the price spectrum for us punters.

PreSonus have a handsome product in the PreSonus Studio 2|4. Just the facts:

  • Preamps: PreSonus XMAX-L solid-state preamps
  • Sample rate: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, or 192 kHz
  • Resolution: 24-bits
  • ADC dynamic range: 108 dB
  • DAC dynamic range: 108 dB
  • Audio inputs: 2x combo front panel, +48V phantom power
  • Audio out: 2x 1/4″ TRS rear panel
  • MIDI: IN and OUT rear panel
  • Headphone out: 1/4″ TRS rear panel
  • USB: USB-C rear panel
  • Software bundle: Studio One Artist
  • Street: $149.99 USD

Front panel controls include input levels, mix, main and headphone out. One advantage over the Mackie (our next contender) is front panel metering: inputs and main.

Mackie are offering a pair of ONYX Series interfaces: Onyx Artist 1•2 and Onyx Producer 2•2. By way of comparison, specs for the Onyx Producer 2•2 are:

  • Preamps: Mackie Onyx mic preamps
  • Sample rate: Up to 192 kHz
  • Resolution: 24-bits
  • Audio inputs: 2x combo front panel, +48V phantom power
  • Audio out: 2x 1/4″ TRS rear panel
  • MIDI: IN and OUT rear panel
  • Headphone out: 1/4″ TRS front panel
  • USB: USB 2.0 rear panel
  • Software bundle: Traktion T7 plus 16 FX plug-ins
  • Street: $179.99 USD

Mackie claims that they are “built-like a tank.” Given that my old 1202 mixer is still in service, they mean it. Front panel controls include input gain, mix, monitor and headphone levels.

Given the price points and feature set, comparison is irresistable. For the money, I’d go with the PreSonus: USB-C, front panel metering and lower street price. I’ve been using the same trashed out MIDI and audio interfaces for a looong time. Maybe upgrade? The PreSonus does look nice.

Roland GO:PIANO88

My review of the Roland GO:KEYS is one of the most often viewed articles on this site. It’s a neat inexpensive keyboard and I’ll bet that the GO:PIANO is just as popular, especially with parents who want to get their kids started with a musical instrument.

Roland have extended the GO:PIANO line with an 88-key model — the Roland GO:PIANO88. It’s still quite portable (7kg), does Bluetooth, and runs on (optional) battery power. Roland are pitching this product squarely at the entry home and education markets. Street price is $399.99 USD.

Other GO:PIANO88 specs include: Four tones (piano, EP, organ, strings), reverb, 128 voice polyphony, 2 x 10W amplifier power, 15 x 6 cm speakers, pedal in, headphone out and USB Micro-B for MIDI. GO:PIANO88 also features Amazon Alexa voice control. What would Alexa say to a whinging kid who doesn’t want to practice? 🙂

My chief reservation about the GO:KEYS and GO:PIANO is quality and feel of the keybed. I hope that Roland has made improvements. Roland describe the keys as “Box-shape Keys with velocity.” Definitely not hammer-action.

BTW, what’s up with all of the punctuation characters in product names? Vertical bars? Dots? Colons? Cheesh.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Noted in passing

Posted on by

A recent post about the Venova™ wind instrument reminded me about a few patent applications from last summer.

In addition to technology patents, Yamaha have been actively filing for and obtaining design patents on the physical industrial design of their products. Here are a half-dozen recently awarded design patents:

When I first saw the Venova, I thought, “Man, that looks like the physical manifestation of a virtual VL wind instrument.” Yamaha filed two patent applications for both the Venova and a close cousin: US Patent Application 2018/0254026 and 2018/0190245. If you’re interested in the gory details about the Venova design, dig in.

Ah, physics.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Genos to 60 in 4 seconds

Posted on by

Well, maybe two minutes. 🙂 Let’s say that you want to use Yamaha Genos™ solely as a synthesizer. Here’s a quick start or at least enough to get you familiar enough to get into the Owner’s Manual.

Turn accompaniment off

If you want to use Genos as a synth, I recommend turning the accompaniment features off. Accompaniment is all the AUTO stuff including styles, rhythm pattern and such. Press the ACMP button in the left hand corner of the front panel. If the light is off, accompaniment is off.

Select a new voice

When you power on Genos, you’ll see the HOME screen as shown below. [Click images to enlarge.]

The HOME screen is a top-level view of Genos’ current configuration. From here, you can select a voice for each of Genos’s Parts: LEFT, RIGHT1, RIGHT2, and RIGHT3. (More about this in a second or two.)

Touch the big square button for the CFX Concert Grand. In response, Genos displays the voice selection screen. The Part (RIGHT1) is shown in the upper left corner of the screen. Use the soft buttons on the left hand side of the screen to select a voice category. Then use the tabs (P1, etc.) to navigate through pages and pages of available instruments. Touch the instrument that you want to assign to the Part.

In the example above, I touched the Woodwind button, went to page 3 (P3) and selected the MOR Oboe voice. If you press the nice bright HOME button on the front panel (located just to the right of the screen), Genos will display the HOME screen and you will see the MOR Oboe voice assigned to RIGHT1. Those six bright gateway buttons are the most important shortcuts into the Genos menu system.

Parts is parts

The LEFT, RIGHT1, RIGHT2 and RIGHT3 business is a cut-down form of (Yamaha) synth parts and zones. Unlike a synth where you can create arbitrary keyboard zones, splits and layers, the Yamaha arranger concepts are more limited.

Each of LEFT, RIGHT1, RIGHT2 and RIGHT3 are voice parts which can be turned on and off. There are four voice select buttons and four voice on/off buttons in the lower right hand corner of the front panel. The voice select buttons choose the current Part for editing, etc. The voice on/off buttons turn the voice on and off, letting one add or remove a voice while playing.

LEFT, RIGHT1, RIGHT2 and RIGHT3, from the synth perspective, are also keyboard zones. In terms of voice splits, you can have a single left hand voice (LEFT) and up to three layered right hand voices (RIGHT1, RIGHT2 and RIGHT3). If you’re playing with accompaniment styles, chord recognition is often in the left hand and melody/comping is in the right hand. (This is a gross simplification; Genos has more capability for chord recognition than this.)

The screen shot below shows one of my orchestral splits. There is a cello in the left hand and there is an oboe plus flute layer in the right hand.

Ordinarily, the the split point is middle C. If you want to change the split point (and other aspects of the key layout), press the MENU gateway button on the front panel. Genos displays a page of buttons that lets you tweak tempo, transpose, MIDI, split point and fingering, and just about everything else which is Genos.

Touch the Split & Fingering button and Genos displays the screen giving control over the split point.

Press the arrow buttons to move the split point(s) around. Or, press and hold one of the three soft buttons on the left hand side of the screen. While holding one of those buttons, press the desired split point on the keyboard.

A word of caution — watch out for the RIGHT3 split point. Genos offers a little more flexibility for the RIGHT3 zone than the simple scenario that I’ve described here. Please see the Owner’s Manual page 49 for more details. Sometimes the RIGHT3 setting causes confusion. (Why don’t I hear…?)

How to remember settings

Now that you have a voice set-up, you’ll want to remember it. Genos remembers such things in registrations. A registration is a memory location that remembers all sorts of fun stuff: the current voices, the current style, tempo, MIXER settings, etc. The Owner’s Manual Chapter 7 goes into registrations in detail.

To save the current configuration, press the MEMORY button on the front panel. Then press one of the ten numbered registration buttons. The current configuration will be saved to that location (button).

Even though it’s beyond the scope of a two minute introduction, the ten registrations taken together constitute a registration bank. Genos can save and recall banks. I strongly recommend saving the entire bank to either the Genos internal memory or to a USB flash drive. Otherwise, it’s all to easy to lose your work by overwriting a button!

Extra credit

Keen eyed readers probably noticed the words “MIXER settings.” Yep, Genos has an on-screen mixer for balancing levels and other tweaks. Press the soft Mixer button at the bottom of the HOME screen to see more. BTW, when I use Genos as a synth, I set the STYLE level to zero in the MIXER. I’m paranoid and don’t want any unintended and unwanted auto accompaniment triggered when I’m playing Genos purely as a synth.

If you don’t want to deal with the MIXER, then grab those sliders and knobs! The LIVE CONTROL screen shows the currently assigned knob and slider parameters. The OLED display switches between slider and knob values whenever a slider or knob is moved. Use the KNOB ASSIGN and SLIDER ASSIGN front panel buttons to flip through parameter groups. The groups are configurable, but that is way beyond extra credit.

The Voice Part Setup screen is another way to tweak. Press the front panel VOICE gateway button. Genos displays the Voice Part Setup screen (below).

Here, you can turn Parts (voices) on and off, set levels, set pan, change the octave range, and change the DSP effect assigned to the voice. Peek and poke away!

Copyright &copy 2019 Paul J. Drongowski

Zoom Q2n-4K: Wow!

Posted on by

January 2nd and I’ve started my Web-scrape in advance of Winter NAMM 2019 (24-27 January 2019).

I came across a short blurb for the Zoom Q2n-4K Camera for Musicians and all I can say is “Wow!” A lot of this “Wow” comes simply from my awe at the amount of high definition functionality — video and audio — which can be packed into a small package. Oh, yeah, for $199USD:

  • Image Sensor: 1/2.3″ 16 M-flexible CMOS sensor
  • Video resolution: 4K, 1080, 720
  • Audio Formats: WAV: 96 kHz/24-bit, 48 kHz/24-bit, 44.1 kHz/16-bit
  • Display: 1.77″ four-color LCD (160 × 128)
  • Built-in Mic: Fixed 120° XY stereo mic
  • Video out: HDMI micro Type D
  • Power: 2 AA batteries or adapter

If the Q2n-4K was available in the 60s and 70s, you could have shot it to the moon on a robotic lander (issues of radiation hardening and temperature extremes aside). It would have exceeded anything available at the time for resolution, weight and power.

I may have to give the Q2n-4K a try as my trusty Roland Micro-BR is getting long in the tooth. It would make a handy recorder on Sundays when I’d like to record our music ministry in action for self-critique.

Then there is the Zoom H3-vr recorder with 4 built-in mics arranged in an Ambisonic array (below).

Take me to your leader. Take me to your leader.

It’s amazing to see and hear where 60+ years of solid state electronics has gotten us…

Copyright © 2018 Paul J. Drongowski