llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Sun Jun 15, 2025 7:55 pm Yall are way ahead of me with keys, so fair warning:

I bought a big 88-key Arturia Keylab Essential for my Yamaha CP and Moog Subsequent and its pretty great, at least compared to the minikeys. I can’t play either, but the difference in playing those instruments with vs without is significant.
***
Plus, used keyboards… kinda gross in a way that I haven’t found guitars to be? Maybe its the texture or just that I’m used to cleaning guitars.

you're quite right on both. I thought I was fine with minikeys until I tried to play something my spouse wrote on a full sized board, and now for some things I've written I can't go back. When we were looking for a synth I thought I knew what felt fine and my spouse (an actual piano player) was picking up on all kinds of things in a music store I hadn't considered.
Since then we now have a Prophet Rev2 and a Pro3 and they keys/action are so smooth and nice.
That said I still really like how Arturia keys feel

I bought the Rev2 used, and yuck.

Yeah I think the essential are mostly just controllers without sequencing and cv control for connections to modular stuff. Just midi. It's actually exactly what I need for my main full sized controller I use to connect to reaper and drive vst. The keystep 37 is great because one of the things I do with it is sync all my little desktop synths so the analog sync out is handy. They all seem pretty great quality.

Yeah, I used (need to start playing again) my little keystep to augment my MS-20 mini as well as control my iPad synths. I've got the MS-20 on a little monitor stand and the keystep slides under it when not in use. I use the little sq-1 sequencer with the MS-20 also, but the two workflows for the sequencers are rather different and best for different moods.

But it was really good for the iPad stuff. I'd have a stack bottom to top, keystep, MS-20, iPad and sq-1 sequencer. Very compact set up. Unfortunately a few years back an iOS update completely fucked hardwired midi support. I really put those apple support assholes through their paces with a few calls lasting a few hours each over the course of a year. Thing is, those jerks are not allowed by corporate to ever say apple made a mistake. They kept trying to say it was my fault or all the hardware manufacturers or whatever. Korg, Arturia, Alesis, all of them were very cooperative and aware of the problem--it was an apple problem. Anyway, I told the tech support supervisor that implying that the keyboards don't work with the iPad because midi, the format, is now out of date is like telling me that should it stop working with my wireless router it is because wifi suddenly went out of date. I guess the galaxy revolves around apple hq as well. Anyway, after a year and a half and many updates later, I gave up.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 11:42 am The Spectra C610

Gah, thanks for this rundown. (Just seeing this now.) Been curious about it.

Bubber wrote: Wed Jun 18, 2025 5:57 pm

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 11:42 am The Spectra C610

Gah, thanks for this rundown. (Just seeing this now.) Been curious about it.

I wonder how they vary over the ages. I got a 70's one, and I've always wanted a second.

airloom wrote: Wed Jun 18, 2025 11:01 pm

Bubber wrote: Wed Jun 18, 2025 5:57 pm

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 11:42 am The Spectra C610

Gah, thanks for this rundown. (Just seeing this now.) Been curious about it.

I wonder how they vary over the ages. I got a 70's one, and I've always wanted a second.

I’m curious as well and its hard to get a straight answer as not that many people have actually had them in their hands, so there’s a lot of conjecture going around.

To follow up, I’ve sold a ton of stuff to justify getting the two new C610s and also added two STX600s 500 series complimeter pres to use for extra channels when tracking. I haven’t tried to push the STX600 that much but its much more ‘normal’ sounding, kind of idiot proof. I think the STX600 always either amplifies the mic signal to line level or else stays at line level. With the 610 you can use as preamp, line level, or after a mic and before a preamp if you want.

Still wondering if I should have gotten two of the plain 500-series preamps instead, and I will one day but there’s always tomorrow. I barely have the threshold light blinking on the little complimiters or 610 when tracking and I’m not sure what kind of effect the subtle peak limiting will have if used on all the mics on a whole track. I can’t see it being a problem unless I fuck it up, but we’ll see.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Thu Jun 19, 2025 11:19 am

airloom wrote: Wed Jun 18, 2025 11:01 pm

Bubber wrote: Wed Jun 18, 2025 5:57 pm

Gah, thanks for this rundown. (Just seeing this now.) Been curious about it.

I wonder how they vary over the ages. I got a 70's one, and I've always wanted a second.

I’m curious as well and its hard to get a straight answer as not that many people have actually had them in their hands, so there’s a lot of conjecture going around.

To follow up, I’ve sold a ton of stuff to justify getting the two new C610s and also added two STX600s 500 series complimeter pres to use for extra channels when tracking. I haven’t tried to push the STX600 that much but its much more ‘normal’ sounding, kind of idiot proof. I think the STX600 always either amplifies the mic signal to line level or else stays at line level. With the 610 you can use as preamp, line level, or after a mic and before a preamp if you want.

Still wondering if I should have gotten two of the plain 500-series preamps instead, and I will one day but there’s always tomorrow. I barely have the threshold light blinking on the little complimiters or 610 when tracking and I’m not sure what kind of effect the subtle peak limiting will have if used on all the mics on a whole track. I can’t see it being a problem unless I fuck it up, but we’ll see.

I guess I'm always subtly peak limiting some way or another.

Looks like the Hippie Sandwich is back on the menu, boys.
Just had my tech install a set of Gemini Ultra Ceramics that so happened to show up on their Reverb page. I was hoping to get a set of the Bean-styles so that the HS would more like a Travis Bean, but I remember having a really good time with a buddy’s Peavey Patriot that had a set of the Super Ferrites in them and the Ultra Ceramics are their version of ‘em, so when the set got on Reverb I snagged ‘em when payday hit.

They sound killer. Maybe a touch brighter than the MFD pups (my beloved) that I have on my ASAT and Tele copy, but it definitely does not lack on the low-end. This weird 80s Japanese-style/fake Travis Bean/fake Ric/fake DC Special hybrid rides again!

This is probably my last gear purchase for a while as I’m gonna be tied up with moving apartments in a few weeks.

Anyway guess I got some Mustangs to sell.

Hotone Ampero II: I have a Stomp and love it, but wanted to step up to the Ampero 2 for the extra footswitch, built in expression pedal and the balanced out addition doesn't hurt either.

Unlike the Stomp, the footawitches are on a slight angle, which I find more comfortable. The Stomp is designed to be on a pedalboard, whereas the Ampero II is great on the floor. Having the extra button is really nice, I use it to switch between expression pedals 1 and 2. 1 is used for delay feedback, and 2 is for the clock, and I've synced all my modulation and delay to it. I like the volume knob on the Stomp better, it's a clear 0 - 100 output volume from left to right. On the Ampero, its continuous and adds a meter to the screen. However, you can switch between the balanced/unbalanced out and the headphone out for separate control, but it seems like overkill and I'd rather just have one simple knob with a notch so I know quickly where the volume should be, especially when using it with my amp vs my computer.

I love that the screen is just a little bit bigger.

I thought maybe I'd sell the Stomp, but I like it too much to part with it.

defendyachtrock wrote: Fri Jun 20, 2025 7:36 pm Looks like the Hippie Sandwich is back on the menu, boys.

Yes! Those pickups look awesome.

I've got Gemini Goldfoils in a couple guitars and they're terrific. Really nice sounding pickups and they look cool af.