From marca@arobas.net Wed Feb 05 17:17:46 2003
Subject:Re: Ideal home rig

My two cents.

From an albeit limited professional experience but greater home
experience I would suggest forgetting about home sound system and going
along with whatever amp (musical instrument type) you can afford in the
short run. I started with my home sound system for 3 months and can say
that that type of sound is absolutely not recommended for the organ.
Very particularly the digital distortion on a BX3 is simply crap, more
akin to steam. With present cheap Fender electronic bass amp, it is
still not up to par but at the least listenable. At worst it crackles
after 18 or so (also dependent on preset: G-3at 80 sounds like Babe
Ruth's The Mexican :-)), but it doesn't puff or whatever it did before.
The upper ranges of the organ are also affected more positively although
it is obviously not a substitute for a Leslie or a Motion Sound (since I
don't wanted a behemot in my appartment either). The bass is also
stronger although I'd say the improvement here is not as critical. You
can live with weak bass if you don't gig with others or do stage. And
your neighbours are also greatful. Mushy mid-bass (first 2 octaves) is
more problematic with my BX-3 but I haven't found an anwser to that one
yet. It certainly better than it used to be.

As someone said in a past thread last Autumn (think it was Bruce
Wahler), the organ appendices are more akin to sound modification than
sound reproduction. And I can now certainly understand it better now. A
home sound system is (to me) simply NOT suitable, no matter if you have
Martin-Logan's with Audio Research. It's probably even worse then. You
definitely need resonances, distortion, tubes, etc. to lift up the sound
so to speak.

Marc Azar

Deke The Geek a écrit:

> > So, what would you do to jump-start the sound quality of my home set-
> > up?
>
> Amplification:
>
> I get good results at home with an el cheapo home audio amp and a pair of
> bookshelf speakers that go down to around 50 Hz. The leslie sim really
> is a
> lot better in stereo. I will add a subwoofer to mine the next time I
> see one
> on sale. BTW, I just picked up some KLH 125 watt bookshelf speakers
> with 8"
> woofers for $9.99 apiece at Best Buy last week. If you like the sound you
> get from your headphones, you will like the transparent sound of a home
> stereo... just make sure the speakers are decent quality. The home
> audio amp
> won't be as loud as a Mackie SRM-450, nor will it likely handle nearly as
> much power, but to get stereo out of those Mackies you'll definitely spend
> at least $1100 for the speakers alone.
>
> Keys:
>
> I would highly suggest a second keyboard to use simply as a MIDI
> controller
> for the lower manual... having a second manual really adds to the playing
> experience and gives you more dynamics. Even a 61 key Casio (w/ MIDI out)
> would do, so pick one according to your budget.
>
> Do you have the expression pedal for the Korg? IMO this is an integral
> part
> of any organ rig.
>
> Also, I don't know what your computer status is, but desktop PC's that are
> capable of producing low latency sound are getting cheaper and cheaper to
> build. If you were to build a PC for your music space, you could use
> it for
> other things, too. And it could host things like B4, emagic's EVP73,
> etc. It
> would be cool for layering and experimentation.
>
> Mixer:
>
> This is another optional piece, but a decent Behringer 6 or 8 channel
> mixer
> will only cost about $60-80. If you do choose to buy a lower keyboard, and
> it happens to have internal sounds, you can control which sounds come
> out of
> the speakers from this mixer. Also, virtually all the mixers on the market
> have at least a 3 band EQ. I personally couldn't imagine performing or
> practicing without mine.
>
> Deke The Geek
>
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