Montage M: It’s official

Posted on October 9, 2023 by pj

Yamaha Montage M documentation is now on-line: Quick Guide, Operation Manual and Data List.

The M8x is really hefty. Weight M8x: 28.1 kg (61 lbs. 15 oz.); M7 Weight: 17.6 kg (38 lbs., 13 oz.); M6 weight: 15.3 kg (33 lbs., 12 oz.)

Basic specs are confirmed as to keyboard type (M8x only is GEX with PAT; M6 and M7 are FSX).

AWM2 polyphony is 256 (max); FM-X is 128 (max) and AN-X is 16 (max). Preset wave memory is 10GB (when converted to 16-bit linear format. User wave memory is 3.7GB.

Main display is 7″ TFT Color Wide VGA LCD touch screen, 512 x 64 Full-dot LCD.

I think you can read the rest on line. 🙂 The product pages are up, too.

Pianos galore: CFX, C7, Nashville C3, CF3, S6, S700, Imperial, Hamburg Grand, U1 Upright, Felt. This instrument will give the Stage CP its own competition.

Drawbar waveforms look the same. However! Montage M has a new rotary speaker effect type: VCM ROTARY SPEAKER CLASSIC, VCM ROTARY SPEAKER, OVERDRIVE, VCM ROTARY SPEAKER STUDIO. There is now a “Rotary Speaker Block”. Its effect parameters differ from the old ROTARY SPEAKER 1 and ROTARY SPEAKER2. Do we dare allow ourselves optimism?! 🙂 I’ll be looking for an effects routing diagram as this new block is listed at the same level as the Master Effect Block.

Montage M8x: $4,999 USD (MSRP), Montage M7: $4,499 (MSRP), Montage M6: $3,999 (MSRP).

Montage M8x: $4,500 USD (MAP), Montage M7: $4,000 (MAP), Montage M6: $3,500 (MAP).

Expanded Softsynth Plugin (E.S.P.) — Montage M sound in your DAW — Coming in 2024. Looks like we will have to wait for E.S.P.

AN-X engine:

Three Oscillators with 5 waveforms (Saw 1, Saw2, Triangle, Square and Sine) and Noise Generator
Two filters with 10 filter types
Pulse width modulation
Oscillator Self Sync
Ring modulation, FM, and wave shaper
Amp EG with drive
LFO for both amplitude and filter
Voltage drift and aging settings to simulate vintage synth behavior

Yamaha P-525 digital piano announced

Posted on October 5, 2023 by pj

As predicted, the Yamaha portable digital piano line has a new flagship — the Yamaha P-525 — replacing the popular P-515.

Lucky for all of us, the price has not gone up. USA MAP is $1,600 USD ($2,000 MSRP). It is already appearing on retailer sites for pre-order.

The P-525 web page is up. Here are the improvements over the P-515 and a few extra highlights (for the impatient):

GrandTouch-S wooden (white) keys
Grand Expression Modeling
Registration memories
Bluetooth audio
USB to HOST (MIDI and audio)
Amplification: 2 x (20W + 6W)
Speakers: 2 x (Oval (12cm x 6 cm) + 2.5 cm (dome))
Sound Boost and adjustable EQ

A number of features carry over from the P-515: CFX and Bösendorfer Imperial featured pianos, binaural sampling (CFX only), VRM, and half damper pedal. The P-525 amplifiers got a small bump.

The big change is the GrandTouch-S keybed, replacing the NWX keybed. I really liked playing the P-515’s NWX. Here’s hoping that the P-525 has the same non-fatiguing action and key-to-sound connection. [I’m dying to try it.]

Giggers will truly welcome the registration memories and adjustable EQ. Now you’ll be able to store panel settings in the piano itself without resorting to the Yamaha Smart Pianist app. Nothing against Smart Pianist, but a tablet (or phone) is yet another thing to carry and set-up at the job.

The P-525 brought over the XG sound set and drum kits (480 voices and 18 drum/SFX kits). These are mainly used for MIDI file playback, but feel free to dip in. The P-525 adds four new effect types for specific voices (and cannot be selected by the Voice menu):

VCM EQ 501
CompDistortion
VintagePhaserStereo
StereoOverdrive

The new effect types bring the P-525 closer to CP88 territory although the P-525 still lacks several important stage piano features (zones, front panel gizmos to control effects in real time, etc., etc.)

The P-525 adds a few voices that make use of the new, voice-specific effect types:

Dance Grand (AP)
Old School Pf (AP)
Auto Pan EP (EP)
Dyno E.Piano (EP)

I noted inconsistencies in the MSB/LSB/PC numbers between the P-515 and P-525 (Data List PDF). I don’t know if these differences are significant. Perhaps Yamaha need to proofread the MIDI voice assignments? One PDF claims “1-128” numbering and the other PDF claims “0-127” numbering WRT program change numbers.

Also predicted, Yamaha have a new, portable triple pedal unit, the FC35. The FC35 plugs into the P-525 triple pedal port. The FC35 is compatible with other Yamaha digital pianos which implement the triple pedal port (e.g., DGX-670 and P-225). The FC35 retails for $100.

I’m going to call it a night and will take a close look at the Owner’s Manual tomorrow. Start browsing for deals on the P-515, if the 525 doesn’t float your boat!

Update (after a good night’s sleep)

I didn’t catch it last night, but the P-525 has an updated speaker box. Yamaha claim:

We also made significant improvements to the speaker boxes. Flared bass reflex ports and proprietary sound-absorbing tubes substantially reduce wind noise, vibration noise, and other excess noise, which helps to deliver a higher quality of sound.

The P-525 is also the first digital piano equipped with an FIR filter, which makes fine adjustments to the phase of the sound. This allows your audience to hear a naturally pleasing sound as you play.

I don’t think they’re lyin’ because I have not seen the FIR filter touted in other Yamaha digital piano blurbs.

The FIR filter is a digital crossover between the mid-range woofer and the tweeter. I haven’t reviewed it yet, but I’ve been playing through a Yamaha Stagepas 100BTR, which features a digital FIR crossover filter. It’s good stuff.

The P-525 adopts the registration memory scheme which should be familiar to Yamaha arranger people. The software engineers overloaded the “Piano Room” button with a REGIST operation, i.e., press and hold the button for registration operations. Use the arrow buttons to navigate to a bank, then press a (voice) button to select a registration within a bank. The bad news here is holding the REGIST button while hitting a second button to execute the selection. This would be an awkward gesture if you’re trying to change registration while playing.

The P-525 has a 3-band Master EQ (low, mid and high). You can select from three EQ presets or create your own USER setting. The Master EQ setting is saved in a registration along with a bunch of other important panel settings. Check the manual.

There is only one thing to bust Yamaha’s chops. The feature overview video demo claims “542 attractive voices.” The number is incorrect: 44 panel voices plus 480 XG voices is 524. Further, the 480 XG voices are really intended for MIDI file playback. There are some usable XG voices, but the entire lot of them smells like the 1990s. I laud the new AP/EP voices (and DSP effects), but C’mon man!

I have played the P-515 several times since my initial review. Each time, the P-515 left me favorably impressed. If the GrandTouch-S action is non-fatiguing and playable, the P-525 should be everybody’s serious candidate. You will get most of the benefits of a full-blown CLP in a quasi-portable package — $2,000 USD (street) for a slab, stand, bench and pedal unit. That’s excellent value.

Yamaha CSP Gen 2 digital pianos

Posted on July 13, 2023 by pj

Yamaha are on a tear. In recent months, they have announced major additions to their digital piano product lines:

That is an impressive list of new product announcements. Clearly, Yamaha’s engineering and manufacturing teams were quite busy during the pandemic and global slow-down.

Yamaha have not yet updated all of its regional Web sites. If you can’t find the new Piaggero models on the USA site, check the European site.

Yesterday, Yamaha announced the second generation CSP series 200 digital pianos! I’m awaiting a P-515 successor — shouldn’t be long now that Yamaha have updated virtually every other digital piano offering.

Yamaha are reinventing the home digital piano. Yeah, every manufacturer offers a range of models from value-oriented entry pianos to mid-life crisis parlor toys. 🙂 The Yamaha CSP series are an interesting take on home players. The CSP front panel has exactly one button — the ubiquitous Yamaha FUNCTION button. The button is a minimalist’s gateway to the internal functions within, if you want them.

By minimizing front panel controls, customers aren’t confronted by a panel full of buttons, lights, knobs, sliders and other off-putting (and confusing) gizmos. A player can walk up to a CSP, turn it on and play a decent digital representation of an acoustic piano, both touch and sound. CSPs aren’t stripped down and have all the good stuff like CFX, Bösendorfer Imperial, Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM) and GrandTouch.

A CSP piano really comes alive through the Smart Pianist app. In fact, the Smart Pianist app is required in order to make the most of the CSP’s capabilities. The CSP is designed for people who want to learn piano and have fun doing it. A matrix of LEDs above the keys create a waterfall display showing when and where to strike the keys. Smart Pianist knows the score [pun] and controls all of this. When the player is ready for reading, Smart Pianist displays the score. Thanks to Chord Tracker and other software smarts, Smart Pianist can generate a score from audio. Thus, Smart Pianist and CSP gamify the experience of learning piano.

Play-along is an important aspect of the CSP approach. I don’t know about you, but I have the most fun playing along with other people, a backing track or creating my own backing through auto-accompaniment. Yes, the CSP has auto-accompaniment with a zillion styles.

The new CSP models are CSP-295GP, CSP-295, CSP-275 and CSP-255. Judging from the initial pricing, I expect these models to replace the CSP-150 and CSP-170.

I read through the data list PDF. The new CSPs have more voices and styles than the Yamaha DGX-670. In terms of voices, drum kits, styles and chord recognition, you have all the main elements of a Yamaha mid-level arranger (PSR-SX700 and PSR-SX900). In this respect, the new CSP models are a terrific value and, frankly, I’m jealous! I doubt if the forthcoming P-515 successor will have such outstanding non-piano voices.

If you own an arranger keyboard, you’re already set although you probably don’t have Bösendorfer, GrandTouch, VRM, streaming LED lights or Smart Pianist. You might think that the CSP is lacking for style control buttons and such, but please consider this notion — Yamaha are evolving the CSP and other digital pianos to be “adaptive instruments.” An adaptive instrument follows chords across the entire keyboard (i.e., AI Full Keyboard fingering) and changes style sections depending upon your playing strength and the number of notes you play (i.e., Adaptive Styles). Brilliant! The instrument should and can follow the player instead of the other way around. Who needs buttons?

The Yamaha P-S500 has many features in common with the CSP series including the streaming light note display. The P-S500 puts it all into a quasi-portable form factor. I would jump at the P-S500 except for its Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) keyboard. After playing P-515 (NWX action), I just can’t return to GHS. I need to switch to a for-real Petrof acoustic grand at church and I don’t want to compromise. [Stubborn me!]

I’ve collected links to my remarks about CSP Gen 1, DGX-670, etc.:

Thanks for reading!

Ludlow, VT (7/10/2023)

Posted on July 10, 2023 by pj

My heart and prayers go out to family, friends and other folks in Ludlow, Cavendish, Perkinsville and Weathersfield VT. I just spent several days in Ludlow and the surrounding area.

Today, Ludlow and the region have been devastated by heavy rain and flooding. The area was struck hard by Hurricane Irene (August 2011). The steep canyons channel rain water, which quickly rises to flood level.

I drove Vermont 131 between Ludlow and Perkinsville quite frequently over the last few days. Today, the road is flooded out and blocked in many locations.

Please keep these communities in your prayers and send assistance.

Yamaha CK61™ and CK88™

Posted on March 13, 2023 by pj

Update: Product pages and manuals are now available at Yamaha sites everywhere.

Pre-announcement information is breaking out all over. I recommend the GAK Music CK series video with Luke Juby. It gives a great overview and demonstrates the preset sounds and effects. The CK has sliders, knobs and buttons dedicated to program/effect selection and tweaking (attack, release, cut-off and resonance). The drawbar sliders are short-throw like the Reface YC. The physical controls should reduce menu-diving.

A few interesting tidbits from the video. The CK has the ability to trigger backing tracks from the keyboard. Foot pedal control is assignable. There are four zones for external control and 5-pin MIDI IN and OUT. Split and layer are supported with two split points.

Here are Yamaha CK88™ specifications:

88 keys, weighted GHS keyboard, initial touch
Tone Generator: AWM2 and AWM for Organ Flutes
128 voices of polyphony
Integrated Effects, Master EQ
363 Voices, 160 Live Set Sounds (80 preset)
Pitch Bend and Modulation Wheel
Nine Organ Footage Sliders, three Part Volume Sliders, eleven control Knobs
Built-in amplifiers (2 ✗ 6 W) and speakers (2 ✗ (12cm ✗ 6cm)); Can be switched off
Battery powered operation (eight AA alkaline or Ni-MH batteries) or AC adaptor
Monochrome LCD display (128 x 64 dots)
Stereo Line Output: 6.3 mm mono phone jack x2
Stereo Input: 6.3 mm mono phone jack x2
Stereo Phones Output: 6.3 mm stereo phone jack
Two connectors for Footswitches or Foot controllers
MIDI [IN]/[OUT] 5-pin DIN
USB [TO DEVICE] to connect USB memory sticks
USB [TO HOST] to connect to PCs, USB-Audio-Interface function (two stereo channels from PC to CK, two stereo channels from CK to PC)
Bluetooth connectivity to play back audio from a Bluetooth device
Dimensions (W x D x H): 1,333 mm × 354 mm × 148 mm
Weight: 13.1 kg (28.9 pounds)
Included accessories: Owner’s Manual, AC adaptor (PA-150B)
Optional accessories: Footswitches and Foot controllers (FC3A, FC4A, FC5, FC7), Soft Case SC-DE88, Music Rest YMR-03

The CK61 weighs 5.6kg (12.3 pounds) and has a new synth action keybed (the FSB action borrowed from the PSR SX line).

Sounds like an entry-level keyboard for price-sensitive customers. I anticipated a battery power option, but the in-built amplification (2 ✗ 6W) and speakers are unexpected. Given the entry-level spec, I suspect that SWX09 is the internal host/tone generator engine.

The CK is a “poor man’s” combination of Reface YC and Reface CP. Or, stated another way, CK is someone’s dream combination of Reface YC and Reface CP with full-size controls. A lot of people pined for a combined organ/EP Reface with a full-sized keybed. They got it. 🙂

363 voices aren’t many. I expect to see promotion reading “363 voices from the acclaimed Montage, YC stage organ and CP stage piano.” This smacks of the way a few new voices were lifted from Motif and built into the ill-fated MM series. I expect recycled effects from MODX, etc. and CK will not include the new, improved YC rotary speaker algorithm.

We’ll need to hear more details, of course. I don’t think the CK directly replaces the MX series. A lot hinges on its DAW/VI integration which is an MX strong point. The MX88 weighs 13.9kg, so the CK88 (13.1kg) does not have a weight advantage over MX88. CK61 weighs 5.6 kg, not much less than MODX6. Based on weight alone, I don’t have much reason to spurn my MODX6 for CK61.

If you own an MODX, I don’t think you’re going to be green with G.A.S. The extra sliders are nice, but MODX (MODX+) is so much more. The CK series should appeal to the weekend warrior with a family on a tight budget. CK61 MSRP is $1,249 USD and MAP is $999; CK88 MSRP is $1,899 and MAP is $1,499. Yamaha got the CK61 MAP under the psychological $1,000 barrier.

The pictures are fuzzy. We’ll know more and have better pictures after the official product announcement tomorrow when Yamaha releases high res assets.

Flight tracking: Lake Huron incident

Posted on February 13, 2023 by pj

Of course, I’m interested in learning more about the recent aerial incidents over North America. I hope the U.S. and Canadian governments release more information and images, soon. Surely, someone had a camera. 🙂

Recovery in Alaska and Yukon will be difficult. The objects are relatively small, the weather has been bad and the days are short (about six hours of daylight).

Flightradar24 has been a good resource along with ADS-B Exchange. Here are a few screen snaps of the Lake Huron incident (February 12, 2023).

USAF KC-135T over Lake Huron (February 12, 2023)

The U.S. has flown a variety of aircraft, especially tankers. Tankers have aircrew who have a lot of experience operating in commercial airspace. Tankers are well-suited for the job, i.e., relatively slow. Plus, their avionics have been upgraded for multiple roles including Link 16 and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). Link 16 assists information fusion for military and civilian decision makers.

Tankers are the most visible on Flightradar24 or ADS-B Exchange. The first track above is a KC135T (shout out to Pittsburgh ANG) following the unidentified object. Its path is similar to what I observed during the Chinese balloon incident. They squawk loud and clear for civilian ATC. Fighter jets? No. That’s why the FAA issues a temporary flight restriction (TFR) or ground stop when fast movers are operating. If you want to catch fighters, try ADS-C Exchange or DIY (if you have line of sight).

USAF E-3 AWACS near Lake Huron (February 12, 2023)

In addition to tankers, the U.S. has launched a variety of ISR aircraft. The Lake Huron incident was monitored by an E-3 AWACS (Sentry). None of these aircraft are strangers to people monitoring the airspace near Ukraine!

U.S. Coast Guard HC-130J over Lake Huron (February 13, 2023)

After action is recovery. The HC-130J Super Hercules is the tool for the job. Aircrew are trained for low-level night operations and can drop illumination flares. The avionics suite is extensive including night vision. It’s dark up there in the Yukon and Prudhoe Bay. The HC-130J can conduct air-to-air helicopter refueling, too. An USAF HC-130 was observed over the Prudhoe Bay incident (February 10, 2023).

Let’s give the professionals a chance to do their jobs. Hopefully, more information will be quickly forthcoming. In the meantime, read my posts about do-it-yourself ADS-B monitoring. 🙂

Brief flight over the region of interest (Lake Huron, February 13, 2023)

[Update] Canada’s turn! Looking at the Lake Huron depth chart, the object may be under 300+ feet of water. This will not be an easy recovery.

SDR flight tracking with ADS-B

Posted on May 19, 2022 by pj

Watching ADS-B “flight radar” has been cheap entertainment and a window into the larger world.

ADS-B, in case you didn’t know, is an alternative means for tracking aircraft. (“ADS-B” stands for “Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast”. Who came up with that acronym?) Aircraft carry an ADS-B transmitter which broadcasts identification and positional information. Aircraft are identified by a 24-bit ICAO address and (optional) call sign. In the case of commercial aircraft, the call sign is typically the airline and flight number. Position is determined by on-board GPS and altimeter data. So, the aircraft is telling ADS-B receivers where it is.

ADS-B is bi-directional, too. In some regions, aircraft may receive temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) and notices to airmen (NOTAMs), for example.

ADS-B data links operate at 1090MHz or 978MHz. 978MHz frequency reduces message congestion on 1090MHz. ADS-B on 1090 is essentially a modified Mode S transponder.

Since ADS-B operates on such high (UHF) frequencies, it is a line-of-sight system. If you have an ADS-B receiver, it will receive only aircraft in sight of the antenna (assuming sufficient signal strength). Because all ADS-B reception is local, web sites like Flight Radar 24 and ADS-B Exchange aggregate ADS-B data from receivers around the world and display current data on a map. That’s how they create the illusion of being global.

The airspace in eastern Europe has been especially interesting. The Ukraine war zone is dark as one might expect for contested — and dangerous — airspace. Occasionally you will see an aircraft fly into Ukraine and immediately kill it’s ADS-B transmission. Conversely, a pilot forgets to turn off ADS-B and you might spot a fighter near the border! Other popular aircraft for trackers include NATO AWACS, drones, tankers and cargo planes.

Let’s say you want to track aircraft in your own nearby airspace. If you have a software-defined radio (SDR) receiver, you’re most of the way there. I have successfully tracked flights in the northern Seattle area using both an RTL SDR Blog V3 radio and a nooelec Nano 2+ SDR. Comparing the two, the RTL SDR blog radio seems to have a wider range and is more responsive than the nooelec Nano 2+.

In addition to a receiver, you need an antenna. I used the bundled antennas which came with the receivers. The nooelec is a vertical whip antenna set to a 1090MHz full wave, 27.5cm. The RTL SDR antenna is a vertical dipole where each element is set to a half-wave. The difference in range may be due to the different antennas. Unfortunately, I don’t have the right coax adapters to mix and match. (Maybe after the next Amazon order.)

ADS-B radio signals are vertically polarized so get those antennas straight up and down!

Finally, the keyword in software-defined radio is “software.” You’ll need a program to tune the receiver, demodulate the ADS-B signal and display the ADS-B data (in either a table or on a map).

After seeing a positive review on the RTL SDR blog, I decided to try SDRangel on Windows 10. SDRangel has come a long way since I first took a look. SDRangel is set up differently than programs like AirSpy SDR# (SDR-sharp). To my point of view, SDR# and other programs like it are intended mainly for voice (audio) signal modes. They make great receivers for wide band FM, narrow band FM and AM. You’re on your own when it comes to digital modes like ADS-B. The SDR# signal processing chain is already set up like a radio and is pretty much ready to go after installation and launch.

ADS-B via SDRangel (north Puget Sound/Seattle area)

SDRangel, on the other hand, requires a little bit of knowledge about the processing signal chain. First you create a workspace to hold the signal chain. Then you create a receiver to tune in a signal. Finally, you create one or more “channels” where each channel is a demodulator. SDRangel provides a wide range of demodulators (plug-ins), one of which is ADS-B.

I recommend trying an audio mode first, just to learn your way around SDRangel. I tuned in a local National Weather Service (NWS) station on 162.55MHz narrow band FM (NBFM) using the NBFM demodulator (plug-in). The NWS station is 24/7 and is fairly strong. None the less, I needed to raise the RF gain and turn off the squelch in order to hear anything. Not the same “out of the box” experience as SDR#.

Once set up, though, turning to ADS-B was a snap. I created a new workspace and put a receiver (tuned to 1090MHz) and ADS-B demodulator into it. I needed to increase the SDR sampling rate to 2,000,000 (hint: set the decimation factor to 1). If you don’t up the sampling rate, you’ll get a red warning message and no ADS-B data.

With this set-up, I can track flights in the north Puget Sound area. The antenna is indoors (house rules), but it will still see quite a few flights between the Sound to the west and the Cascade mountains to the east. I compared the SDRangel output with Flight Radar 24 and was satisfied. Because I was receiving on 1090MHz only, I am missing flights on 978MHz. More experiments to do one day. 🙂

RTL-SDR: Earth ground are easy

Posted on April 4, 2022 by pj

If you’re into software defined radio and you’re looking for better HF reception, invest time in your antenna system and grounding.

I don’t have the space to string a dipole, so I’m working with a simple (random) long wire antenna. The long wire antenna is connected to an RTL-SDR receiver through a Nooelec Balun Nine One and a short length of coaxial cable. The long wire is connected to the antenna input on the balun.

Unfortunately, my early experiments with grounding did not work out very well. I tried connecting the balun ground port to various cold water pipes in the house. I do not recommend using house ground. House ground merely adds a mess o’noise to the original signal — bad, bad, bad. Thus, I left the balun ground unconnected and pressed on.

With the start of the war against Ukraine, I began monitoring HF, again, just to hear what I can hear on the left coast of North America. If you are interested in Europe and Ukraine specifically, I recommend the Wide-band Web SDR at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. Aside from radio access, there is an active chat area. Twente gets you much closer to the action.

Counterpoise

Counterpoise is a fancy name for wires or cables that substitute for an earth ground.

If you cannot connect to an earth ground, you should consider adding a counterpoise to your long wire antenna. Sounds like work, but it’s simple! Just connect another long wire to the ground side of the balun. String the counterpoise in the opposite physical direction of the long wire antenna. Done.

Consistent with my usual sleazy methods, I grabbed a 25 foot length of bell wire, twisted the pair at both ends, and connected one end to the balun ground. This quick and dirty counterpoise was good enough for +3dB or so in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as measured by Airspy SDR-Sharp.

A weeder?

My studio window is about 15 feet above ground, so it made sense to drop the bell wire out of the window and connect it to earth.

Really? A garden weeder for an earth ground rod!

A good earth ground typically consists of 4 to 8 feet of grounding rod buried in the earth. I know there are drain pipes located in the ground beneath my window and frankly, planting 4 feet (8 feet!) of rod sounds like too much work. So, I grabbed a garden weeder — yes, a garden tool — and stuck it in the ground. Then I wrapped the end of the bell wire around the weeder.

This quick and literally dirty solution was good for about +12dB (or more) improvement in the SNR.

Metal edging stake

I didn’t want to expose the weeder to good old Pacific Northwest wet weather and found a cheap, simple substitute — a galvanized metal edging stake. Normally, one uses edging stakes in the garden. However, they are inexpensive and expose more surface area to the earth than a weeder. 🙂

I upgraded the bell wire to 16 gauge primary wire. Unfortunately, the primary wire makes it more difficult to close the sliding window into my studio. The bell wire is flatter and mushable.

As to SNR, I’m getting similar results. Unless I get the gumption to drive a grounding rod, this is close enough for rock and roll. (73)

If you would like more help with software-defined radio (SDR), here are links to my earlier posts:

Akai MPK mini play mk3

Posted on January 18, 2022 by pj

Even though Winter NAMM 2022 is postponed (or just outright moved) to June, a few manufacturers are sticking to their release schedule.

Include Akai on the list of schedule keepers.

Akai have revamped the MPK mini play giving it a new front panel layout and a better speaker. The mini-keyboard has been upgraded to Gen-2, too. The new MPK mini play mk3 is slightly larger: 317 x 178 x 58mm versus 312 x 172 x 46mm. No strain, there.

Other specs are largely the same. I would think the mk3 is based on the same mk1 sound engine (probably a Dream Synthesis SAM2635). The speaker is larger and is a welcome change.

I rather like the new layout. The control knobs are larger (?) with a modern appearance. Maybe, possibly, the knob placement may interfere with finger drumming? Internal (initial) control assignments are the same. Styling overall is more “noir.” No visible changes to the arpeggiator.

Thomann indicate price at 129 EURO. Thomann USA have a $124 USD price for USA customers.

If you fancied one before, now you’re spoilt with choice.

More than 100 internal drum and instrument sounds
Gen-2 keyboard with 25 velocity-sensitive mini keys
8 backlit MPC pads with Note Repeat and Full Level function (x2 banks)
4 controls for editing internal sounds or MIDI parameters (x2 banks)
built-in speaker
OLED Display
Pitch / Modulation Joystick
Arpeggiator
Connection for sustain pedal: 1/4inch jack
USB-B Port
Headphone output: 3.5mm jack
Dimensions (W x D x H): 317W x 178D x 58H mm
Weight: 860 g (1.9 pounds)
Software package: Akai Pro MPC Beats, AIR Music Tech Hybrid 3, Mini Grand, Velvet and Melodics learning software with 60 lessons

Roland Micro Cube GX speaker size

Posted on January 5, 2022 by pj

A quick project while booting Windows…

The speaker in the Roland Micro Cube GX is just OK and I think I can do better. Roland specs claim 5 inches (12cm), but folks have tried 5 inch replacement speakers and have found the speaker hole to be too small.

Remove four screws and the grill. Watch out for the sharp edges on the back of the metal grill! The speaker itself is attached by four additional screws. The diagonal distance from screw to screw is about 4 7/8″ inches (12.5cm), give or take. The screw to screw distance along the “square” sides is about 3 3/8″ (8.5cm). The cone diameter is 4 1/4″ (11cm).

I think Roland are being optimistic here. Turns out, there’s nothing in the way of a speaker size standard. Some vendors measure the diagonal distance between screws; some measure the outer frame diameter. Yikes, you get the picture.

The most important measurement here is the cutout diameter, AKA, the speaker hole.

Remove four more screws and gently pull the speaker out. The speaker wires are relatively short, so don’t get too aggressive. The speaker lugs use spade connectors: the red wire needs a 1/4″ lug and the black wire needs a 1/8″ lug. Keep this in mind when going to the hardware store.

The cutout diameter is 4″ (10.4cm). If you bought a 5″ speaker, I can see why it didn’t fit the cutout hole. Argh! Don’t worry about mounting depth in this case — there’s plenty of room. I think I’ll buy a speaker to fit the 4″ cutout and drill new speaker mounting holes, if necessary. Increasing the size of the cutout sounds like a bear.

BTW, the Roland part number is W120FP70-00C. The speaker impedance is 4 ohms.

Taking a quick look through Parts Express, here are some candidates:

I’m looking for cutout size, decent frequency response, and reasonable cost. Why put a $100 speaker in a $120 combo amp? I favor woven fiberglass over paper and suggested use in PA line arrays. Hole alignment doesn’t matter that much. I can always drill new pilot holes.

Just in case you need to know, all of the electronics are on a single printed circuit board just below the top panel. The controls are mounted directly on the PCB (low cost). There are leads from the PCB to the speaker and the battery compartment. Lead length is trimmed quite short and there isn’t much play during disassembly.

Sand, software and sound

Electronics and computing for the fun of it

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