Scott:

Great review. Thanks for sharing this information with all of us. Non-performers like Hackworth and Rice will probably never need equipment like this but it's great to know it exists and that you are "wringing it out" in real time.

BTW, thanks for your info on the Yamaha Tyros tech people. I will share this info tonight with Mike.

Lynn

Terrific post Scott! Thanks for taking the time to provide such detailed information, which would've been hard to come by otherwise.

Thanks a million Scott,
A great detailed review - I'm getting closer and closer to spending the money to end the "paper shuffle". This may be the answer.
Walt

As much as I'm enthusiastic about the MusicPad Pro in providing my specific music display & performance needs, I need to temper my enthusiasm by saying that it may not be the be the "end all" device for everyone here. Though I appreciate all the terrific things outlined above that it does provide, there are a few important areas which it would benefit from improvement as well. Just in case I didn't stress this before, window navigation via (tapping) the screen with your finger vs stylus, is often not as reliable as I would have expected. When attempting to resize a window, I often have to re-select (tap) the screen several times before finally getting the cursor function to change from a standard select object arrow to enlarge/reduce window size function. Attempting to Scroll thru songs in a window may also require you to tap-select the corner of the Window more than once before it finally changes from select object to scroll function. This hasn't been a very serious problem for me yet because I'm able to (after the 2nd or 3rd tap attempt) get it to finally work, but it's admittedly a little frustrating & worth noting. Freehand advised me that they're working to resolve this issue, and hopefully include it in a future OS update.

Also, keep in mind, that even the best quality scanned & tweaked image on an LCD screen display won't match the look & sharpness of the actual original piece of music printed on paper. There's remains a tradeooff in going paperless, but the advantages (imo) outweigh the disadvantages. I too would have preferred a slimmer & even lighter in weight unit, but considering the fact there is no other digital music display unit currently available out there, the MusicPad Pro provides a niche that I've been longing for for quite a long time, because, like Jim Eshleman, my custom fakesheet binder too has grown too large & unmanagable.

The nice thing about the MusicPad Pro is that Freehand Systems offers a 100% risk free '30 day trial' to allow you to determine for yourself if this device will meet your specific music display needs or not. If any of you guys here decide to order one, please let the folks at Freehand know that I referred you. - Scott

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Scottyee:

What a great post.I didn't know such an item
existed.I suffer now with poor eyesight.
The way you have described it Scott,suggests it would easy on the eyes.
Aslo the tip on playing by ear is good.
I can play most songs by ear,I have needed to learn due to poor eyesight.But I play mostly in the key of CMaj.but if the chord sequence is, as it usually is, THREE chords then the key sig does not matter.But when the chords do not fall into C F G7,then I have to memorise. As I have been a reader for the last 70 years I do get frustrated at times.Have you ever played with nose 6" from the screen?. your hands get in the way.
thanks for the info Scott.
Sincerely.
Joe.

Thanks for taking the time to give us this great information. I love how technology can help me do things better.

I currently scan in sheet music into Sibelius, arrange the piece to my satisfaction, and then print it out, so I am hoping that this will give me a head start in higher quality resolution when I make the move to such a device (it's definitely a question of when rather than whether!).

I regularly have to take two 2" binders with me to church when we discuss what the program will be for any Sunday or special occasion, and I am always looking for workarounds to help me rest my tennis elbow.

I particularly like how it helps you to be so organized, and it will no doubt improve one's professional look compared to using a binder and sheet music.

Thanks again, Scott.



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Graham

Yep, good thread, Scott. Invaluable.

Ideally, here is what I need. I have thought that one of these little digital paperbook things is it. I saw an awesome one for $100 recently.

I need a device that could attach to a mic stand. I play guitar. I also play keys (Poorly... but I do play keys.) I always sing through a mic.

Like tomorrow, I have a gig and I will play guitar/keys and sing. Mostly originals for this gig but also some covers. Some covers I can't remember. I know there will be some people there and I know their fav tunes. But I don't know those songs by heart.

If I had a device that would attach to a mic stand, a few inches below the mic, that could work! Not obtrusive like a big MusicPad or something. Small. My eyes would be only a few inches away.

Problem is, I have no idea if my eyes could focus okay. And, it would have to be so I could advance the page with a footswitch.

For guitar/keys, the device here could suffice. But with guitar only, a small device on a mic stand would be better. A music stand covers so much territory. I would like to be as "open" as possible.

If only I could remember words to everything. But I don't think that's gonna happen.

UPDATE: I'm finding the MusicPad Pro Plus to be an even more useful device than I had previously imagined, especially for rehearsal, arranging, & memorizing songs. For whatever reason, the ability to quickly & conveniently markup the score (utilizing different color pens), erasing notes, lyrics at will, highlighting passages, adding/replacing chords/words etc, For whatever reason, I'm able to memorize even complicated tunes quicker now. Though I'll continue to utilize the MusicPad Pro at gigs for those unfamilar and/or rusty tunes which my brain could benefit from a chord or lyric reminder, I particularly appreciate having all my personally customized song arrangements in 'one device' and all at my finger tips for rehearsing and/or playing, anywhere anytime. The bottom line is that the MusicPad Pro offers a lot MORE than merely acting as a digital Music Viewer on stage. - Scott

Tuesday Morning, Jan 25th Update: For those interested, here's the latest on the MusicPad Pro device that I'm currently auditioning on 30 day trial.

The original unit I received has a slight 'physical positioning' screen alignment problem where the screen is positioned about 1/8" 'below' the top edge of the screen frame of which effectively hides the bottom of the screen 1/8" below the lower frame. I didn't even notice the defect until a friend of my pointed it out. All other features of the unit are fine, but I contacted Freehand Systems and they subsequently sent me a replacement unit. Unfortunately, though the replacement unit's screen alignment is fine, I immediately discovered that this replacement unit doesn't reliably recognize my external 1 GB Lexar USB Jump Flash drive. I called Freehand Systems and they claim there may be a software glitch with the MusicPad's OS which may be causing this. Funny thing is that my original MusicPad Pro recognizes the same Lexar Jump Flash drive fine, yet running the same OS version 3,12. I personally suspect the problem on the replacement unit is a USB 'hardware issue', but the Freehand R&D staff is feverently working on a software fix for this and hope to have a patch by the end of the day. We'll see I suppose. In the meantime, I now have two MusicPad Pro units sitting here in my studio and await Freehand System's reply. I'm really enjoying the MusicPad Pro so hope that Freehand Systems will get this glitch resolved, either via software patch or yet another replacement unit. For now, I'll continue using my original unit sent to me as it works fine except for the minor screen misalignment. Will keep everyone here posted.

Scott

Scott,
Where are the power and USB connectors located? I was wondering if the flash drive sticks out of the case when plugged in or is there a recess for the external memory?
I don't believe that I have seen a picture showing the unit with external memory plugged in.
Walt