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A thread for the pianists, keyboard and synth players on PFM.

stephen bennett said:
And, from Behringer (maybe!)

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Stephen
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Yes! It'll make up for the one I missed at £300 a few years back. :eek:
 
You get used to it. Don't cellists have to play from bass clefs, tenor clefs, alto clefs and treble clefs? There is a small degree of creating the sound from the piano. Two pianists will make a different sound from the same piano. But it's not as complicated as others. I play the violin and sound production is very complicated and very difficult. Bow speed, bow pressure and the whole relaxation of the bowing arm thing, which is new to me and something that I've been able to transfer to the piano.You can kill the piano sound by being rigid.
 
Some on here may or may not know you have to do your Grade 5 Theory in Music exam, if you then want to do Grade 6 playing, or higher etc. I quite enjoyed learning the theory of it all. Very stimulating for a then 45 year old to ‘go back to school’. Dave, my teacher at the time, was really good at facilitating this learning. He is a whole other story. Fascinating and lovely chap.

Anyway, when I did my Grade 5 theory exam, I went to a local school to take it. @Big Tabs will know the school - Brunt’s at Mansfield. It was a Saturday morning, and I got there in plenty of time. The caretaker directed me to the classroom, and I sat at the back, awaiting other candidates and the invigilator.

Two teenage girls walked in, and immediately asked me if I was the invigilator. I politely responded, much to their amazement. They asked me several questions, including how long I’d be playing etc. They seemed perfectly pleasant. Every time I answered their questions, they both responded with a ‘really?’. They were fascinated I’d started learning at such a late age. Charming.:D

Then a lad walked in, who I’d describe as looking a bit like a young Harry Potter. I’d guess about 14. The girls clearly knew him, as their body language changed for the worse, towards him. He asked me if I was the invigilator, and I again answered. He already started to look down at me a little, and further asked me what exam I was taking. I replied, “Grade 5 theory.” “Oh, I’m doing my Grade 8 theory, today.” His response was very condescending, and the two girls looked at me as if I was going to throttle him, or something. I merely suggested it was good his parents or carers had afforded him the time and support to get to that level, as that wasn’t available to us all at his age. The four of us sat our respective exams.

Anyway, after the exam, I was the last out. The two girls were stood with, I assumed, their mothers. One mother mentioned to boy to me, and that he had been being particularly dismissive to the girls in their music theory class, and thanked me for responding to the boys comments the way I did. All I did was go take an exam. It was sort of a surreal experience, I suppose.

The invigilator looked at me a little quizzically throughout. I found out after she was a pianist, and owned a Sowter or some description.

Anyway, a random story for your amusement.
 
Just found out the Access Virus Ti AU soft synth doesn’t work for Catalina. I use it mainly for live work, so it will be a case of altering any sounds using the MBP which has an earlier, and compatible, OS on it.:rolleyes:
 
Great thread! I've always loved pianos and me and Mrs R both play (she ex Royal College and teaches for a living). We've owned loads of pianos: 2 Steinways, 2 Yamahas, 2 Bechsteins and a Bluthner. I've never seen them as more or less than tools, or no more to be sentimental about that one would a car. When people get too attached to pianos they lose sight of this which is why so many are gutted when they find the much loved family heirloom is actually worthless.

The Steinway upright was lovely...but the guy who bought it liked it so much, he offered me 3 times what I paid for it...so it had to go!

This grand was nice but nothing really special. I bought it to strip, polish and sell...which I did and it made me a few thousand.

Now this one belonged to a student of a colleague who sadly died. It was totally gorgeous. A modern, well looked after Bluthner. But I owned 2 other pianos at the time...and there was too much money tied up in it so off it went. Plus, it had been well used and would have needed a bit of work soon-ish...so another tidy profit!

This Yamaha U3 I found fairly locally. It was horribly out of tune in the bass and I took a big chance on it by paying £2k for a piano that was potentially damaged. All the bass was around a semitone flat - not a good sign for a modern piano! Turned out it was just environment and not having been tuned for 15 years! Once again, the original owner had died but this one had just sat there for years. Once tuned and serviced it was a beast. I love the U3 and at best is possibly my favourite upright. But I did allow this lovely example to go eventually.

This is the current workhorse and I wouldn't be surprised if I keep this indefinitely. For me, the Yamaha C3 is the ultimate professional's machine. Eminently setup-able it can be made into a monster or a kitty depending on the user's preference. A truly superb piano and brilliant value.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
Agree completely Nic, if I had room, a Yamaha C3 would be hard to beat for the money.
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They are fantastic but have to be kept on top of. Some of the best and worst grands I've played have been C3s. For such stable pianos in their tuning, they can go very harsh in tone (hence their reputation for this characteristic). But I definitely stand by my belief that a well sorted C3 is a wonderful thing. Sure, an S6 or Model B will be better, all things being equal, but at what cost?
 
My in-laws have a C3. The local Steinway technician stayed in the village and spent three days sorting it out. Father-in-law is a pianist and a very good accompanist. In his study he has a photo of Menuhin, signed with a note of thanks for his help with the school's students. Luckily he is used to students of all standards so I don't worry about him hearing my playing.
 
Just picked one of these up:
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The idea is that I now have a keyboard permanently connected to the PC so when the muse strikes, I can get going w/out the faff of setting up my usual controller keyboard. As well as a USB controller, you get a GM sound set built in.
 

I'm learning this. Giving it two years. Chopin marks it at 170 BPM or so. The boy's playground broadcast is 120. I've got as far as 80BPM. Already going faster than I can think.
 

New and very much expanded version of Moog’s Animoog iPhone/iPad app. Worth a tenner of anyone’s money IMO (the demo is free, but much of the knobbage is locked-out).
 

A really superb history of Korg from Alex Ball. Quite nostalgic from my perspective, I’ve owned so many (700S, MS10, MS20, Trident, Monopoly) and played so many more. The film gets across just how good the early stuff sounded, very different to Moog etc, but in many ways I think it sounds fresher. I have actually had a good play with a PS3100, I had an option on buying one when I was buying/selling, but it was very expensive for me even at the time, plus didn’t seem to be working quite at 100%, and being so bewilderingly complex I was far from convinced it was a good punt. I hate to think what it would be worth now! The ones that stood out for me in the video were the little 700S and the PolySix. I’d forgotten just how good they sounded despite being quite budget. I wish I’d kept a 700 or 700S, I remember when they could be found for £50!
 
I'm not a keyboardist but I have a Leslie 122 in my messy storage room.

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I was hoping to find a Hammond M3 to go with it, but I don't have anywhere to put them. And I'm not a keyboardist.

Despite not being a keyboardist, I'm really lusting for a Mellotron Micro, just to learn King Crimson's "Starless".

 
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