History Of The Piano

3/07/2012

Mighty Bright Sight Reader AC Adapter Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)You have to match the adapter with the specific light series. This means that Gold Crest series 12000, 36000, 37000 or 38000 are the appropriate lights for this particular adapter. This is a regulated AC adapter with an output of 4.8V. Perhaps the previous reviewer did not match up the adapter to the specific light as mine worked perfectly.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Mighty Bright Sight Reader AC Adapter

For use with Mighty Bright Sight Reader.

Get 20% OFF

Click here for more information about Mighty Bright Sight Reader AC Adapter

Nord Lead 2X 49-Key Virtual Analog Modeling Synthesizer (AMS-NL2X) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am a professional musician and music teacher with a graduate degree in Music. I have owned numerous synths over 3 decades and my Nord 2X is by far the best synth I have ever owned. If you are looking for a great synth for solo work, this is the one to get.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Nord Lead 2X 49-Key Virtual Analog Modeling Synthesizer (AMS-NL2X)

The original Nord Lead 2 is among the most popular synthesizers ever built. Debuting in 1995, the first Nord Lead virtual analog synthesizer took the music world by storm. It instantly became an industry standard and takes a place among the most revered classic synthesizers. Its warm analog sound coupled with cutting-edge digital technology moved the Nord Lead into a 'leading" position in the synthesizer community. Musicians from all over the world loved its simplicity, intuitive design, and its musicality and expression offered with the virtual analog concept.The Nord Lead 2 improved upon the original Nord Lead, including expanded polyphony. A decade later, the Nord Lead, and its descendant the Nord Lead 2, are still among the most popular synths ever built. The Nord Lead 2X features all the characteristics of its predecessor, and incorporates many new features as well. The 'in your face" sound of the Nord Lead 2X has been enhanced with 24-bit D/A converters. The preset memory houses 7 x 99 factory Programs, 3 x 100 factory performances, and 7 x 10 Percussion Kits. Additionally, the user banks give you room to store your own sounds - 3 x 99 Programs, 3 x 100 Performances, and 3 x 10 Percussion Kits. The polyphony has been upgraded to 20 voices as well.The Nord Lead 2X is compatible with the Nord Lead 2, so you can transfer your custom sounds directly via MIDI. The Nord Lead 2X preserves all the essential parts of the Nord Lead 2, including the user fast and easy interface and its characteristic sound. The Nord Lead 2X continues the tradition of Nord's unique method of sound generation. Mathematical simulations of the signals generated by analog oscillators are the basis for the incredible sound that speaks for itself. People know Nord by its sound, and the Nord Lead 2X gives you that certain quality that is unmistakable!The compact and smart design of the Nord Lead 2X makes it equally perfect for live performance and for production studio work. With 26 knobs and 27 buttons - all sending MIDI controller data - the Nord Lead 2X communicates with every piece of MIDI gear in your setup.Virtual analog brings the technology and physical control together, recreating the warm, thick sound of analog synths without the overheating or tuning deficiencies. Modern technology allows the knobs to not only digitally manipulate the internal sound, but also send MIDI information to be captured in a sequencer or change a parameter on another MIDI-enabled device.The Nord Lead 2 also offers the Nord Pitch Stick, so you can create your own vibrato, much like a guitarist or violinist, without the 'dimple" resting place other pitch benders use. The 'dead zone" has been conquered! The ergonomic handling adds another dimension to your performance.A special Velocity Programming section can be controlled by the Modulation Wheel, making it possible to continuously morph between parameter settings. This feature is a musically expressive tool that allows you to shape your sound in realtime.In the studio, the Nord Lead 2X offers real time MIDI recording of knob settings and special 'MIDI patches" to recreate many of the effects produced by external patching on traditional units.Get 4 synths in one - there are four parts which are directly accessible from the front panel. This makes it possible to instantly create layers with up to four different sounds, where each separate sound in the layer can easily be edited in real time. Each sound can have its own independent output. Make up super patches in the Performance section. Create monster basses and mega pads.49-Key keyboard.

Get 19% OFF

Click here for more information about Nord Lead 2X 49-Key Virtual Analog Modeling Synthesizer (AMS-NL2X)

3/06/2012

Musician's Gear 49-Key Keyboard Gig Bag Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought the Musicians Gear 61-Key Keyboard Gig Bag from Amazon/Musicians friend. Looks like the 49 is the same exact case, just a little smaller to accomodate a 49 keyboard case. For the money you can't beat it. You also can't beat the bag, and I mean that literally. It has about a half inch of foam, protected by a nicely rugged material that is sure to wear and stand up to a lot of abuse for a long time.
I was perplexed when trying to decide which bag to get, wondering just how much protection they each had. Since I bought this from the picture, it was hard to figure out. So someone else in this position would like to know, that if you plan on transporting your 49 key keyboard occassionally, it is great for that. If I was a roady, with frequent gigs, I would be looking for a hardshell case, with a thick foam interior to really do the job.
Since this case is thick fabric, and a half inch of foam, it will prevent your keyboard from getting scraped up transporting it around, and will be forgiving when you give it a light bump, but for serious protection, you need a hardshell case with thick foam.
I don't want you to misunderstand me, I love this gig bag. It is exactly what I need, and the price is almost too good to be true. You can't beat it. The side has a larger pouch that will fit a laptop or some gear, like your footpedals. There is a smaller pouch sewed onto the outside of the laptop pouch so to speak, you could put a foot pedal in there, maybe two.
I couldn't see the more expensive bags being made out of better material, but I could see a lot thicker foam, to protect the keyboard against banging into a door jamb for example.
Nice case for the money. Built strong out of nice material, but the foam is a little thinner then would be required to better protect your keyboard against serious bumps. For my needs, I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Musician's Gear 49-Key Keyboard Gig Bag

This Keyboard Gig Bag from Musician's Gear fits 49-note boards and has an outer covering of heavy-duty 440D twill nylon to lock out dirt and spills. Inside, foam padding absorbs the bumps of normal handling. Edges and handles are made of thick parachute webbing for extra strength and durability. The electronic keyboard bag has a carry handle, shoulder strap, and double jumbo zippers. 36" x 5" x 14".

Get 50% OFF

Click here for more information about Musician's Gear 49-Key Keyboard Gig Bag

Casio CTK-2000-STAD 61-Key Digital Music Keyboard Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Hello spiritual family,
This instrument was played using many sounds and recorded. I then went far away (downstairs) and turned the instrument down low before doing so. This is how I test the quality of the truthfullnes of the note and tones from far away. I heard all the notes I played and the tone sounded very much the same. If it were any quieter I only would not hear it, I mean its excellently clear from far away and a joy to any one that is in the other room (perhaps). This instrument might have been $200, but now it is only $99.00. New ahl sound technology. If you can find it for lower its even a better deal. It has synthesizer sounds like voice 306 too. Reverb can be put up to ten and its very noticeable,even from a far distance. And it has a piano style not shown in the picture! The pants of the keys can be seen the lower shelf if cut and it looks like a wooden piano from the over all view.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Casio CTK-2000-STAD 61-Key Digital Music Keyboard

The ability to play a musical instrument has been associated with enhancing cognitive potential. It helps stimulate creativity and is lots of fun. With the Casio CTK-2000 music keyboard it's easy to untap your potential. Using Casio's Step-up Lesson system, songs are divided into short, easy-to-master phrases making it easy for just about anyone to learn to play. After you master a phrase you advance to the next one. With this new lesson function, you keep building up your collection of mastered phrases and soon you are able to play the entire song. If the keyboard senses you are having problems, it will help you by calling out finger numbers in a simulated human voice. It features an easy-to-play keyboard with an appearance resembling that of an acoustic piano. Your lesson score appears on the display screen. All built-in AHL tones, including piano and acoustic instrument tones, now sound better than ever before! 48-tone maximum polyphony provides plenty of margin to minimize the chance of notes being dropped when tones are layered and when playing with Auto Accompaniment. Sample a sound and you can play it on the keyboard! You can create sound effects for a party or other events, or use sounds to compose music. The potential for fun is virtually unlimited! Sample sound from an audio device plugged into the Audio In jack (You can sample a favorite phrase from a track on a digital audio player, a drum sound, a person's voice, the sound of a pet, or just about any other sound you want)! After you've mastered the keyboard, you can move towards creating and editing your own music. A USB port allows you to transfer your music to a Windows or Mac computer (running optional software). 110 Song Bank tunes, including 20 Exercise phrasesOne Touch Preset (150 presets)Digital Effects -Reverb (10 types)Rhythm / Song Bank ControllerMetronomeMusical Information System (LCD) MIDI GM level 1 compatib

Click here for more information about Casio CTK-2000-STAD 61-Key Digital Music Keyboard

3/05/2012

Casio CTK-491 61 Key Full-Size Keyboard Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Feature:
There weren't any features that I really needed that didn't come with this keyboard, except for a power adapter. I like the Casio-chord feature a lot. It's a good way to mess around with chord progressions if you're not quite sure where to go with a song.
Quality:
Much better than I expected. I wanted a low-cost keyboard to write music with. Now I record music with it, and it gives me the lo-fi sound I crave.
Value:
Out of every musical instrument I've ever purchased, this one has been the best value. I play it every day, and, unlike my guitar, there's no sort of upkeep necessary. Just plug and play, my friends.
Desirability:
I mean, it's a Casio. That's kind of retro-chic, right? Ok, it's plastic and gray. What do you expect?
Sound:
I use this keyboard for home recording purposes. I find that most of the tones sound pretty good with a little reverb added, but some of the higher pitches "buzz" a little too much, so I have to apply filters or use other techniques to make it sound a little less "plastic." Otherwise, I'm mostly content with the tones provided, especially Jazz Guitar and Wood Bass. When mixed just right, these tones can sound very organic.
Overall:
It's been two years now. I'm not ready to upgrade any time soon. Between this keyboard and my editing software, I'm good to go.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Casio CTK-491 61 Key Full-Size Keyboard

Features:61 full-size keys.Full size keyboard.12 note polyphonic.100 sound tones and 100 rhythm patterns.Casio chord and fingered chord auto-accompaniment.2 built in speakers and 1/4" line output.Mic input and seperate volume.Headphone jack.MIDI in/out jack.

Click here for more information about Casio CTK-491 61 Key Full-Size Keyboard

Propellerhead Reason Premium Edition Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The pianos are amazing!! I have no need for the bass or drums, but they also sound great. I have been writing music with Reason 2.0 to 3.0 for years and love its intuitive layout and functionality. This premium edition is a GREAT deal for those of you who want some very real sounding piano, bass, and drums. The already included samples with the Reason program itself are also pretty amazing for the price.
For the amount of diversity in sound and effects this program is the easiest programs to learn how to use.
I love it and use it everyday.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Propellerhead Reason Premium Edition

Reason, the award-winning music production environment, has become a standard for sound creation in today's recording studios. Reason Premium Edition features award-winning Reason version 4 together with all four hypersampled ReFills: Reason Drum Kits, Reason Pianos, Abbey Road Keyboards and Reason Electric Bass. Each ReFill comes in both 16- and 24-bit versions. function open_win(URL) { window.open(URL,'_blank','toolbar=no, location=no, directories=no, status=no, menubar=no, scrollbars=yes, resizable=no, copyhistory=yes, width=985, height=469') } Click here to view the Reason 4 Video Trailer Already own a previous version of Reason? Save big and receive the all the benefits when you upgrade your Reason 1.0, 2.0, 2.5 or 3.0 with Reason 4 Upgrade . Reason Drum Kits 2 Reason Drum Kits 2 are a full drum recording session in a Refill. It captures every aspect of the session including the featured drum kits, the room, the drummer, the unique sound of the mics and the outboard gear used in the recording. Reason Pianos Reason Pianos are the perfect piano package: three stunning, highly realistic pianos for Reason's Combinator. These hypersampled pianos were recorded using six sets of microphones from multiple angles. Sophisticated and highly responsive, play them softly or put some weight into it. Abbey Road Keyboards These are the keyboards heard on all those immortal Abbey Road recordings. Recorded on location with the original vintage microphones, preamps, outboard

Get 46% OFF

Click here for more information about Propellerhead Reason Premium Edition

3/04/2012

Planet Waves Tru-Strobe Tuner Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a great strobe tuner. I really expected a plastic meter for the price I payed but I was pleasently surprised when I opened the box. It was "heavy metal." The thing weighs what seems like a couple of pounds and works great. Thanks loads.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Planet Waves Tru-Strobe Tuner

The Tru-Strobe Tuner is an extremely accurate pitch measurement device, perfect for settling intonation, recording and live performances where being in tune is of the utmost importance. The tuner's heavy-duty construction includes a built-in microphone and input jacks for tuning acoustic, as well as electronic instruments. The slightest difference between input frequency and the ideal frequency accumulates over time, and appears as movement on the circular LED interface. Once the movement stops, you are perfectly in tune.•Accurate to +/- .1 cent•Features true strobe tuning(not a simulation)

Get 49% OFF

Click here for more information about Planet Waves Tru-Strobe Tuner