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cloudburst

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Posts posted by cloudburst

    Wind Controllers

    in Other Instruments

    Posted

    Regarding your Casio wind controller - a DH perhaps? - I think this is what finally started me on sax.

    I'd played bass guitar and trumpet from about 9 years old. But always had wanted to play clarinet or sax (I guess because I'm not an alpha male, so the trumpet didn't suit me). Finally one day in the early 90s, a colleague in work gave me a Casio wind controller to bring home and try over the weekend. That did nothing for me, only to persuade me to go out and buy a real sax - which I did that Saturday morning when I came home the proud owner of a secondhand Yamaha Alto YAS52.

    I taught myself sax by practising 3 hours every night for a couple of years and then ended up playing sax in the Belfast Jazz Orchestra. I think the sax is one of the easiest instruments to play. All of the controls are exactly where you need them to be when you want to 'express' yourself, if that makes sense.

    I'm looking forward to getting some serious time with the WX7.

    And sorry to bore you all with that little bit of reminiscence.

    CB

    Wind Controllers

    in Other Instruments

    Posted

    Do we have any EWI-ists or WX-ists on here?

    I'm a long time sax player and I bought myself a lovely mint (it's a bit mad to be able to call these things vintage) Yamaha WX7. And last night I bought a Yamaha VL70-m tone generator which I haven't yet received.

    Any other BC-ers in this space?

    CB

    SOLD-PLEASE LOCK. Warwick 2004 Bubinga Corvette 5

    in Basses For Sale

    Posted

    [color=#000000][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][b]Serial number:[/b]
    K110285-04[/font][/color]

    [color=#000000][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][b]Article number:[/b]
    1245080000CZBUBOWW [/font][/color]

    [color=#000000][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][b]produced:[/b]
    2004-10-15[/font][/color]

    [color=#000000][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][b]Description:[/b]
    Corvette Standard, 5-string
    Natural Oil finish
    Bubinga body
    Ovangkol neck
    Chrome hardware[/font][/color]

    Casio CZ synths

    in Other Instruments

    Posted · Edited by cloudburst

    [color=#37404E]Regarding my CZ-5000, I had a very productive Sunday afternoon last weekend. Against my better judgement, I repaired a strange problem with the synth, where the left channel would take about 7 minutes to stabilise after power-on.[/color]




    [color=#333333][font=Helvetica, Arial,]When I said mint - I meant mint. It had been sitting in its box since 1986. This is one of those exercises that could easily go very horribly wrong![/font][/color]




    This is the output board. After looking at a schematic, I reckoned that the problem lay with the relay, since it is in the path of both L&R Line-Outs and the Phones output.




    This is a close up of the offending relay with its little cover off. I powered on and realised when I saw the two contacts clicking up after a 2 second delay and clicking down again immediately on power off, that this relay's function is to protect your speakers from the power-on clunk. So my theory was that one contact was for the L channel and one for the R channel, the former possibly being oxidised.




    The relay, deoxidised (using contact cleaner very lightly sprayed on and rubbed lightly between the contact surfaces with a piece of card) and with its little cover back on.




    Back together. Unbelievably, my repair worked perfectly, first time!




    And - strangely enough the piece of card I had selected - purely based on its texture and thickness to apply the contact cleaner - turned out to have been a Thomas Dolby gig ticket. I only realised this afterwards. How appropriate was that? I've spoken with him a couple of times in the past and know he'd just love that!


    CB

    Casio CZ synths

    in Other Instruments

    Posted

    "So easy to play... they're Rocker-Launchers".

    Please tell me I heard that wrongly!?!

    If that's what indeed was said, then would anyone like to buy:
    - A Casio CZ-101 with Casio AC adapter, owners manuals and genuine CZ-101 (silver) carry case, made out of real space-suits
    - A Casio RA-3 (32 patch) RAM cartridge
    - A Casio CZ-5000 (as new condition in original box) with owners manuals and metal stand with Casio sticker made out of real sticky-back plastic
    - A Casio VP-2 volume pedal (as new condition in original box)
    - Supporting CZ reference books

    CB

    Casio CZ synths

    in Other Instruments

    Posted

    Glad to know I'm amongst friends! I'm also quite likely to add a CZ-1 to the collection. I'd be interested to know how the velocity/aftertouch feels and manifests itself and how the overall feel compared to your CZ-500 when you first tried the CZ-1.

    Thanks for the tip on step-1 of the DCO envelope. I'll give it a try.

    CB

    Casio CZ synths

    in Other Instruments

    Posted · Edited by cloudburst

    I've recently discovered how much of a superb underdog the Casio CZ range is in bridging the gap between analogue and digital synths.

    I love the fact that these are soooo good but so few people ever realised. Probably because they expected Casio only made home keyboards.

    I've started a collection and now have a CZ-101 and an absolutely mint CZ-5000 together with a growing list of period Casio accessories.

    Do I need medical attention?

    CB

    Feedback for CamdenRob

    in Feedback

    Posted

    I just bought the aforementioned Warwick $$ 5 from Rob and he was fantastic to deal with. Very relaxed and trusting. Didn't want payment until I received the bass. How cool is that?? Deal with total confidence BCers!

    CB

    Markbass - all made in Indonesia now and heavy?

    in Amps and Cabs

    Posted · Edited by cloudburst

    [quote name='ambient' timestamp='1393200369' post='2377377']
    Seems to be mostly the only people making a fuss are people who don't appear to use Markbass gear anyway, odd :) .
    [/quote]

    I guess those who don't have any Markbass gear and are thinking of a purchase might be more tuned in to what the company are doing with new products than those of us who already own all the Markbass gear we need. Who knows.

    Welcome to the forum Marco - I've got a couple of your combos and absolutely love them. The build quality, portability and sound quality are all I could hope for. Thank you very much for creating them :-)

    CB

    Pino Palladino...once again...how sh*t hot is he?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    [quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1389281303' post='2332314']
    I know and agree! My dig was not at Pino, but at the people on here (and elsewhere) who seem to think that people who play covers/versions are somehow lesser musicians than those who play originals.
    [/quote]

    Yep. I have full respect for Pino's creativity, regardless of whether the song itself is a cover of an old classic. He never seems to copy the existing line.

    For me:
    - Composing a bassline to go with our own material = difficult at times to a) make people want to dance B) come up with both hook and mundane rhythms to keep it interesting while c) setting the right mood for the song's story
    - Copying some great basslines when playing a cover = even more difficult at times to correctly replicate a certain nuanced technique

    My opinion is that you NEED to copy other bassists' work in order to expand your own capabilities. Attempting to cover some songs will require you to develop a tricky technique that your inbuilt 'laziness' gene would avoid using if you were just composing your own bassline.

    CB

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