http://www.music123.com/Freehand-Systems-MusicPad-ProPlus-i423075.music

Price for V4 is now $500 and V3.1 is $400.

My V4 should be arriving Tues and I will have questions about the best way to get leadsheet format music into it. I know scanning will work, but what about creating leadsheet format music directly with music notation software? Is this practical?

http://www.freehandsystems.com/

BTw wasnt this thing $1000.00 a few months ago?

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 10-08-2006).]

I know for sure last year it was > 900.

Glenn

I pretty much always saw it for $1199.

It's still at $1199 direct from Freehand. Wonder what the deal is. Maybe something new coming out.

Lanny. Congratulations ! $500 for v4 is definitely a TERRIFIC deal. I've owned mine for 1-1/2 years and LOVE my Musicpad pro V4 as much as ever, and can't imagine being without one now. Having my nearly my entire fakebook music collection (thousands of songs) stored & organized in this device with the ability to call up any song (or custom playlist) in just a few seconds is invaluable. No more fakebooks, sheetmusic, or notes to drag to gigs and rehearsals. Easy to add score edits etc right on the screen. I still consider the MusicPad Pro v4 (2nd to the keyboard itself) the best musical investment I ever made, and HIGHLY recommend it, especially at $500.

Lanny, if like most music notation program, your software supports output printing, then you'll be able to export & convert it to freehand (.fh) format (via software print driver) so it can be recognized & displayed on the MusicPad Pro. In addition, Freehand support importing from PDF, and standard image formats (PNG, JPG, etc). For optimal results, cropping & sharpening is also recommended.


Scott

Wouldn't know it - I paid $1199 for mine.
Jerry

Scott, Thanks for your reply. Your discussion about the MusicPad on this forum is one of the reasons I have been watching the prices for the past couple of years.

I understand that the MusicPad will import various file types. My real question is being a complete novice with music notation software, is it practical to create lead sheet format music (with large type) from these programs to export to the unit, or is scanning a more efficient operation.

I am also curious about the editing capabilities once imported into the MusicPad. Is it easy to add or change notes, add or change chord symbols, etc.

I am certain much of this will become more clear when I actually have the thing in hand, but your thoughts in the meantime are very much appreciated.

Lanny

Lanny,
Thank you for the info on price drop of Music Pad Pro at Music 123. I live in UK but have ordered one from USA. I know the power input will be 120v instead of 240v (UK). However I recently lived in USA for a some years and have many items that I use via a step up transformer. The price for the Music Pad Pro in UK is approx $1700. Way out of my price bracket but I have just ordered and it comes to $535.95 including shipping (it was free inside USA). I will have to pay 17.5 per cent UK tax (VAT) on that but it still comes out a winner. My hubby didn't realise it but he has just bought my Christmas present.
Hope you enjoy your new toy too.
Cheers
Carol Palfrey

What about your warranty? Will you be covered in the UK if anything goes wrong with the unit?