From m.zyla@verizon.net Sat Jul 29 13:19:56 2006
Subject:Re: Soft Synths and Samplers

When I was using my Receptor live, I was really satisfied, no, ecstatic,
about the sound my NI Elektric Piano and the Scarbee Keyboard FX. However,
in my case, I found myself spending an inordinable amount of time with my
face buried in manuals and looking at the screen on my iBook. So much time
that I wasn't actually playing my keyboards and learning tunes. And more
importantly, not being or wanting to spend time with my family. My wife
used to call them Receptor weekends. So I had to make a difficult and
frustrating decision about my gear.

One thing that turned me towards the physical instrument was that I could
never get any satisfaction using NI B4II and the drawbar interface live or
in the studio. Having a meat and potatoes kind of multi setup was crucial
to my musical needs. Even using my Speakeasy preamp, the B4II was always
not giving me the sound I wanted without a lot of issues.

In the end, I made a decision to purchase on of the Speakeasy MKIIIs and use
a Hammond XK-1 with my Yamaha SE90S. For the moment, I can easily live with
the electromechanical keyboard patches the SE90S can provide and I've been
getting my hands dirty learning the use the PLG-1AN analog expansion board
in the Yamaha as well. I'm learning the Yamaha Studio Manager program and
the voice editors. Being able to just focus on a smaller amount of software
app paths works way better for me.

Eventually, I will most likely get the new Nord Stage Combo, which basically
is the Stage version in an Electro 73 box. A less expensive avenue is a
Kurzweil PC2R with a Classic Keys expansion board. I had a PC2X a few years
back and still miss some of their vintage programs.

That's my story...

mark
>> Is one method "easier" to use? Also hard to say. There's a lot of
>> programming and reading manuals to get the most out of a Receptor,
>> but the same can be said of the Fantom. Both have a stingy UI when
>> used in "gig mode," and really need to be tweaked back at home, in
>> front of a screen with a real keyboard.
>>
>> I'm not knocking the Receptor, because it's a cool product with a
>> great niche to fill. It's WAY more rugged and reliable than any
>> laptop, plus it doesn't LOOK like a computer, so some drunk a**hole
>> in the audience isn't going to take a crack at stealing it some
>> night during a break. I'm just pointing out that there are a few
>> different ways to get to the same place. In my case, the cost was
>> even a little lower: I got the expansion for free, and I already
>> had