Howdy all!
I found this message board about a month ago. I just recently went forward and purchased a used XP-60; after researching synths in its price range and a little over, I determined that it was the most ideal synth for me. Goodness, I know it's kind of a bit of a marketing ploy by Roland to get you to keep spending more money on them, but those expansion boards are really great. I currently own the Orchestral I, Special FX and the Techno expansion boards.

I'm still very much in the beginning of exploring and learning about this grand piece of equipment, but was wondering if you guys have any suggested reading (other than the manual, which I am taking the care to read) to help me get a good understanding of what this synth is capable of and how I can eventually fully utilize it.
Also, are there any sites that helped you guys in creating interesting synthesized music? I'll be using this board for a lot of applications, but it would be really incredible to be able to utilize it for music in the vein of, well, I guess it's known as "Trip-Hop", but basically stuff like Olive. Also, Joe Satriani's ENGINES OF CREATION is the album that got me to realize just how cool synths and electronic music can be.

Also, do any of you have any music you've created with your XPs/JVs/XVs on the net? It would be really interesting to hear what you guys have done with these wicked instruments.

Well, I look forward to learning more from you guys and hopefully becoming a useful participant on these boards. Thanks for your time :-)

--bluesboy2003

Hi!
Welcome to the BIG club of XP Users ! Good choice!!
On my homepage www.stalker-online.de.vu you can hear some of my songs (Realplayer!). All of them are realized by using the XP80, at a few songs You can hear the Yamaha SY35 as well. But the page is written in german... . First the intro page appears. There You click on the left side of the pic in the middle (a strange pic, a little bit like a skull with keyboards as eyes named Stalker). Then You come to a selection of link-pics. There click on "Die Musik" (has nothing to do with die, in german "die" means "the"!). OK, then You are at the right page: every linked name is a song. Choose the later songs like "Urban Love". It's all no triphop or so, more some kind of film music without films.

Hi

Welcome to this board, and congratulations with your new synth! Good choice as Stalker said!

The XP-60 is a great synth, I have one of those myself... The expansions are also great, but expensive.

Roland has made some documents that may be useful to you:
http://www.rolandus.com/SUPPORT/DOCS/SUPNOTES.HTM

I found these useful for learning some of the basics of the instrument, sequencing, creating patches etc.

Good luck.

Stig

Howdy,
I use an XP-80 almost exclusively. I've expanded with the Orchestra II, keys of the 60s 70s, bass and drums, and the discontinued dance card. I've made everything from big band jazz, to country, oldies, R&B, hiphop, and Latin. I don't have a way to get it on the net however.
I hope you enjoy creating sounds, as this is where the XP units really shine. I love creating sounds, and downloading patches from the net. I sometimes wonder why Roland didn't create some of these sounds. The sounds they provide in the user banks are pretty boring, I've erased way over half of them with sounds I've made or downloaded.

Thanks for the replies, guys! It's a pleasure to meet you.

Stalker: I checked out quite a few of your clips--very cool. What will your soundtrack be used for?

stigf: Yeah, I've been to that link. There are a bunch of links for XP-50 users and two for XP-60, and I guess two more for the XP-80 users. Are the docs for the XP-50 applicable to the 60 as well?

FAEbGBD: How is that discontinued Dance board? I've seen it go for over $250 on eBay. There must be SOMETHING about it other than the mystique about Roland getting sued by the company that helped them make it. Also, you should check out www.digitalsoundplanet.com and look at their free Quartz AudioMaster software. If you have a soundcard and a stereo cord with two male jacks, well, you're set to extract your audio from your XP and put it onto your computer. It also features an MP3 compression codec.

Also, any of you guys know what the ill fated Li'l Chips site was about? I've seen it mentioned in old posts on various sites. What exactly was it/was on it? Thanks again!

I was looking to do that. In fact, I downloaded that Quartz program a couple months ago. My computer is not that good however. Others on this forum know that I'm completely blind. My sound card is very temperamental when it comes to running my speech software and audio equipment simultaneously. I need to upgrade soon, but haven't got to it yet.

The dance card is pretty cool. It has enough grooves and sounds to satisfy my needs. I have only a passing interest, so it works for me. A small group of hiphop, acid jazz, techno, and house loops it just what I wanted. Enough to add some cool elements to my songs without going hard core.
One thing I don't like is that the grooves aren't very editable, (IS that a word?) Some of them have various whistles and bells in them that I'd like to edit out, but it can't be done, so I must live with it or not use the groove. There is a nice variety of drum sounds though so I can make pretty good rhythms without the loops they provide.

FAEbGBD: That's fantastic that despite your blindness you're still digging into music as well as participating in online boards! Man, technology is really awesome. I didn't even know speech recognition software was that advanced yet. Out of curiosity, how are you able to adjust patches on the XP? Do you use some computer software to alter the patches and then import them into the XP? Just curious, because I know the XP doesn't come with speech recognition software... unless I just got a defective one. Hehe. Well, hopefully we can find a way to get that music out on the net. We'll think of something. Thanks for the reply!

------------------

--bluesboy2003

Hi, actually it is not speech recognition. I type everything; no mouse; tabs and arrows and such to manipulate. The speech software simply speaks to me what is on the screen. I don't look at a monitor, I listen to a speech synthesizer.

I actually have a website. I'm a working musician by trade, but not as fulltime as I wish I was. Check my profile for a link to the page if you are interested. There is a song download there, but it is done on a grand piano not a synthe. Actually, there are 3 songs, but 2 are corrupted somehow. Only "Amazing Grace" will work.
I noticed from your profile that you are a student. College or high school?

When I got my Xp, my dad read me the most useful elements from the manual. He was there to explain the layouts of the screens to me. I took notes on my laptop, with instructions for myself as to how to work the arrow keys. For x procedure, push down arrow twice, then right arrow, which will adjust this parameter..
Then, I scanned the entire manual and put it on a floppy so I can check any new feature I wish to learn. Then, I ask someone to explain the screen to me, and I experiment with the arrows and such to figure out how to orient myself. Once this is done, I make a new note of it on the laptop. So I do all my patch editing right from the XP. Also, this discussion board has been priceless.

bluesboy2003:
No, documents about the XP-50 are not normally applicable to the 60, but of course documents for the 80 are, as the XP-60 and XP-80 is the same synth really..

Stig

Thanks, bluesboy2003. I don't know, until now there is no film. But it sounds a little bit like there was one, doesn't it??

FAEbGBD:
Ah, now I get your speech software! LOL, well, that's just as cool to me. I was just curious, because I watched a program on Discovery where they featured some speech recognition software, and one of the engineers said something to the effect of "Basically, we're not anywhere near having quality speech recognition." I didn't think that technology could have advanced extremely rapidly in just a few years, but I was just checking to make sure I wasn't behind the times. That's really wicked that you're using the whole mouse/keyboard interface despite your blindness, and the way you learned how to work your XP--simply astounding! That's really inspiring, and I guess it just goes to show that you really can accomplish anything you want to do if you have the devotion to it.

To answer your question, I'm an undergraduate student (a junior) at the University of Georgia, which is located in Athens, Georgia. I love it here. This is a music-oriented town, and it's pretty diverse. Just this summer I went to see Boubacar Traoré who is a musician from Mali (located in somewhere in Africa). I thought it was wonderful that such a small town could pull in such an obscure (but wonderful) act.

One last thing: your file of "Amazing Grace" was simply fantastic!!!!! I absolutely love that song, and I'm a HUGE jazz fan as well as a closet country fan--I wish those other songs were available for download too! Where did you attend college, and did you receive music training there? Your chops are really great, man! Maybe we can work on getting more of your stuff out and available.

stigf:
After doing my research, I soon came to realize that the XP-60 and the XP-80 are essentially identical with the exception that the 80 features 76 keys and the 60 has 61 keys...oh, and the 80 would run me a couple hundred bucks more. It came down to the fact that the XP-60 had more bang-for-the-buck, so I opted for it. Also, I was really influenced to stick with Roland because I've been HIGHLY satisfied with my BOSS GT-5 Guitar Effects Processor. I knew from the manual for that what I was in for with the XP-60 (or rather, XP-80 manual), so I wasn't at all surprised when 70% of reviews said that the manual was complicated and not particularly helpful (which is a lie--Roland manuals are helpful if excercise patience with them). Anyway, thanks for the answer, as I wasn't sure where the XP-50 (which has been discontinued) fit into the grand scheme of things, and I guess it's a bit different. I just wish Roland had as many support docs for the 80/60 as it does for the 50...or was the 50 so problematic that they HAD to put all those support docs up for it? LOL.

Stalker:
Yeah, man, I thought somebody commissioned you to write a soundtrack for something of theirs. I actually purchased the Orchestral I expansion board because I intend to use the XP to produce the soundtrack to a 3D Animation by one of my friends. I may need your help in the future, since you're already experienced with soundtracks ;-) By the way, where in Germany do you live? I lived in Stuttgart for two years and my parents are now in Darmstadt. I love it over there!

Thanks, again, for the replies, guys!

Stalker:
I listened to quite a few samples as well. Now you just need to write the movie. Good stuff.

Bluesboy, I was a music major for 2 years at a college in South Dakota where I live. I quit after 2 years because I had the chance to go record my CD in Nashville, which is where that sound sample came from. We're hopefully getting set up to be able to order the CD online from the site, but we're not there yet.
Any of my more professional stuff like that could be made available for download; it's just the simpler stuff I work on at home that I'm not able to make available. The people who operate and put together my site aren't really interested in my half finished stuff and such. On the other hand, I don't want to make my whole CD available for free download either, especially since I'm trying to make a living as a musician.

FAEbGBD: Totally understandable. However, have you considered posting your songs on MP3.com? Especially ones you already have on your site? That way you can at least make some money everytime you get an MP3 play or download. People would dig it. It's a shame we can't hear your "half finished stuff" too.

By the way, can I just call you Rorry, instead of FAEbGBD? It's a lot easier to type.

Thanks a lot, really. But don't turn to much attention to me, this here is bluesboy's topic-Page .
bluesboy2003: I live in Bremen, quite in the north of Germany. I love the sea and wouldn't like to miss it. Unfortunately I've never been in Stuttgart or Darmstadt. At least an american has to tell me about these cities . Have You emigrated, or did Your parents?
By the way: my XP is not expanded at all! I am too avaricious to do that. That synth sounds very good, even when it's just the basic model.

Bluesboy, you haven't given us a link to any of your music. Have you got any? Also, you are an undergrad; what's your major? Music? Are you a guitar player as well as synthe player?

FAEbGBD is a nice jazz chord; that's all. If you would like to call me Rorry, just leave out one of the "r"s. It's only Rory.

Stalker:
Wow, man, Bremen! Since it's so far North, you must be getting about four hours of sunlight a day now! LOL, j/k. It does stay dark for so long up there, though. You have pretty mild weather in Bremen because it's nearby the ocean, don't you?

My father is in the US Military, so he is just stationed in Germany. We didn't immigrate there, although, this is my father's third time there, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind living there for the rest of his life.

And wow, I'm pleasantly surprised you got those sounds out of the onboard XP waveforms! Did you spend a lot of time working with them? I think I'm going to have to really work on some of these patches to get more suitable ones. This was also the case with the BOSS GT-5; for some reason, Roland doesn't allow their employees to spend any time working on the preset patches. I wish they would just give up putting preset patches on their stuff and just leave the room for more user patches. Oh well, I still love the company.

Rory:
Oops! I can't believe I misspelled your name! It's in huge letters on your website! Haha, who's the blind one now?
My major is currently biology. I came into college with the intention of becoming a physician, but I'm under serious reconsideration as to the course of my life. One is that I really don't seem to have the passion to become a doctor, even though I thought I wanted to be one. Another is the fact that the degree to which I get excited by music simply overwhelms the degree to which I'm interested in anything else. I have music in my head all day long; the moment I get bored of listening to my Endocrinology teacher ramble on about the physiological effects of aldosterone, I usually start listening to something in my head. It's somewhat annoying, actually. Oh, well, I take that back--I love music, but it's definitely "distracting" from other matters that I'm supposed to be doing.
Unfortunately, I'm nowhere near as good a player as I am a listener. In fact, sometimes I think I'm horrible. Looking back upon the not quite three years since I started playing guitar, I've come a long way; but definitely more in terms of appreciating and listening to music than being able to play it. Deciding my senior year in high school to go out and pick up a guitar was definitely a huge turning point in my life, and I probably would still be avidly on the track of premedicine.
I was somewhat forced to learn to play piano when I was a young kid, I think maybe, first through third grade, or so. But of course, me being a kid and not knowing how valuable that could have been in the future, I got upset with my teacher and quit piano. I probably got frustrated with practice and/or not being able to play things perfectly. Also, I'm sure it had a bit to do with sight-reading. I have astigmatism, and this becomes wholy apparent when I try to read music. I have difficulty telling whether notes are on a line or above/below it, and if that sharp is on the C note or if it's for the D note, and so on. When I was taking lessons, I would take my assigned songs, play them through once or twice with the sheet music, and then try and play it back from memory because it was much easier and I could execute it at a faster pace than I could read staff lines.
Anyway, after I quit, I didn't have much to do with music except always enjoying listening to it. Long story made short: I was really into Simon & Garfunkel my junior year in high school, and senior year I decided that I loved the sound of Paul Simon's guitar so much that I was going to learn to play one. Three years later I'm now in admiration of guitarists with mad chops and musicality: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Jimi Hendrix, Peter Frampton, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Stanley Jordan, a whole list of players.
Unfortunately I don't have the practice schedule it takes to become one of these guys; and as much as I love them, I don't know if I would ever have what it takes to be in the big leagues and be a real musician. Oh well, that's enough of a life story.
I will say that despite my science oriented path of instruction, I did manage to sneak in a music theory class for non-music majors. It has been the most valuable course I have taken in my entire life. Unfortunately, it ended before we could even get into harmony, so now I have to go about learning that on my own. I was thinking about ordering the Berklee Music College series of harmony workbooks. I wish I could take more classes, but being a non-music major, that's all they'll let me have, and I understand, because the music school wants you to also be taking ear training courses and other cool classes (I'm sure you know).

So, what exactly is an FAEbGBD chord? I can't even analyze it, LOL. Looks like some very confused F7 with a G major stacked on top of it. Ugh, my brain hurts just looking at it. Why does jazz have to be so wonderful and yet so difficult. Oh well, I'll just leave the good stuff to you pros. Congratulations if you made it to the end of this post, and thanks for reading.

------------------

--bluesboy2003

Whoops.

"Deciding my senior year in high school to go out and pick up a guitar was definitely a huge turning point in my life, and I probably would still be avidly on the track of premedicine."

should instead read

"and I probably would still be avidly on the track of premedicine if it weren't for starting to play music again."

Sorry.

FAEbGBD is a F(11#)13. F being the root, a 3 Eb 7 G 9 B 11# D 13.

Your difficulties with reading music got me thinking about braille music. There was an individual who was very avid that I learn braille music. Thought it would open up such a new world for me. Well, I learned it, and hated it. I could learn by ear so much faster. The thing with braille music is that it all has to be memorized anyway, unless I could learn to read with my toes or tongue. That was infinitely more challenge than I wanted to undertake, and braille music was discarded.
In college I'd learn all my music by ear from CD or whatever. At private lessons then the professor and I would work out anything I'd misheard.

Ah! Right, the sharped eleventh. I forgot that jazzers like to raise it so that it fits in better (yeah, I know, that's not the technical explanation, but I never learned the why of it). LOL, I'd like to see someone do some braille music "sightreading" (I guess that's what you'd call it). You know, Wes Montgomery, my absolute favorite jazz guitarist, apparently couldn't read music at all, yet he had one of the greatest concepts of melody and harmony I've ever heard. I am constantly in awe of his work. I hope someday I can cultivate my knowledge of music and my physical chops to be able to be able to play the type of music he did. It's a shame he had to go. It seems like that happens to a lot of great musicians. Just as they begin to realize themselves, they get taken off the Earth. Oh well, I guess that's a lesson to us all to appreciate the time that we have.

Hi Bluesboy2003!
Yes, I live quite northern. Now we have sunlight from 8:30 AM to 5 PM. It's enough, in a few month this will change again to more light . But it's fantastic here, although some people do not like it because it's too rough. Bremen is situated on the same degree of latitude like Cape St Charles in Newfoundland. But WE have the advantage of the gulfstream .

Of course, US Army, why didn't I think about it??

I've heard by many people that the internal sounds of the XP would not be too good. I can't find anything wrong, these sounds are great. About 90% of my songs You've heard have been realized with factory presets, I did only change little. The newer songs contain a lot of new sounds that I did find in the net. Now I think the preset sounds in my user bank have decreased to less than 20 out of 128 sounds. There are pretty awesome sounds in the net. I can send You my sysex-file, so You can put these sounds on Your board, too. There are some freeware programs that allow You to play these sysex files via MIDI onto Your synth. I can send You an adress to such an editor software, if You want.

[This message has been edited by Stalker (edited 11-19-2001).]

Stalker: Let me get acquainted with my XP first. Also, I don't have any MIDI cables to hookup my synth to my computer. Do you think those cables are essential? I'll take you up on your offer later. :-)

What up guys I want to make hip hop beats and i use CUBASIS and roland xp 30
what the best way to make the bass should i leave the CLICK on or off and when i play im off sometimes by a note or two how can you set cubasis to ATOMATICLY fix that.
PEACE!

Hi Blusboy2003!
No, I don't think that MIDI cables are essential. I only use them for sound editing. The advantage is that You can chance the sounds You want to change. If You load sounds from disc, ALL Your user sounds will be erased and replaced. With this computer-programme I can send a patch to the place I want to have it and store it there. That's a very big advantage!

Stalker, stigf, FAEbGBD:
Where'd you guys go!? LOL, don't tell me this forum is dying on me.

Hi!
Well, I'm still here. But I wrote the last answer, You know, and when noone else answers I think the discussion is over. Maybe I was wrong?

Things tend to go in spirts around here from time to time. I've been a bit busy of late, plus there seemed to be no moreto discuss. Kinda ran dry for a while I guess.

Everyone is meditating and using Transmit Edit to generate the sysex of whatever they're thinking at the moment, the old direct mind-to-MIDI connection.

"One is that I really don't seem to have the passion to become a doctor, even though I thought I wanted to be one. Another is the fact that the degree to which I get excited by music simply overwhelms the degree to which I'm interested in anything else. I have music in my head all day long; the moment I get bored of listening to my Endocrinology teacher ramble on about the physiological effects of aldosterone, I usually start listening to something in my head." -bluesboy

I read your post and those quotes just hit me. You know...that's exactly how I describe it to my fellow employees at Ford. I don't think there's a moment in my life where I'm not listening to music, whether it be in my head, or on the radio. As I tell my friends at work...that job is just a means to get more musical equipment. It isn't my lifelong dream to work on automobiles, that's for sure! Anyway...it's just the first time I've ever heard anyone explain something that I've felt most of my life. You really hit the nail on the head!

-Tracey

Rory(and others),

I too own an XP-50. This webforum is cool. But you should also check out the www.harmony-central.com user forums which are also cool.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

I am registered there. A senior member as a matter of fact. I got out of there though when the flame wars broke out and every other word had 4 letters that needn't be put together. Found other forums. I still hop on over there on occasion, but mostly to ask guitar and effects questions. It's gotten a lot better over there lately, but I can only be at so many forums, and that one just rubbed me wrong for a while. I only go there now when I have a specific question.

Hi, I'm new here, I just bought a JV-1080 and I own a Kurzweil K2500x as my master keyboard.

Wow, glad to see that people are still posting here (especially you Rory!) I just got back from winter break. Time to get crackin' on my XP-60 again.

Stillme: Wow, I'm sorry that we suffer the same problem, but it's nice to know that there's somebody else out there like that too! ;-)

Hi! I'm a new guy here. I was a live performance Musician for 17 years, and I "semi-retired" from it to focus on my family more. Over the years I've collected a bunch of music equipment and I am now building a Recording studio in my home.
I've been reading all about the XP synths you have been talking about, but I don't know much about them.

Can anyone give me the nickel tour of the XP synth, in terms of what it does best, why it is so popular, etc. I'd love to know more about it.

BTW, I own a JV 880, and a Juno 106, as well as a Roland ep-7.

Thanks,

Bushice

Hi

Bluesboy2003:
I'm still here. I'm just very busy periodically, so I don't get the time to post.. But this forum is NOT dying; actually I think there is a better "tone" herethan ever, and the discussions are meaningful..

Mister Bushice:
There are 5 models in the XP-family of synths: XP-10, 30, 50, 60 and 80. The XP-10 is a beginners GM/GS-synth. The XP-50 is the oldest in the family, it is a workstation like the 60 and 80. It is very popular, but is said to have a less than perfect user-interface. The XP-30 is a non-workstation model in close relation to the 60 and 80. The 60 and 80 are the top models in the family. The difference is that the XP-60 has 61 keys while the XP-80 has 76; other than that they are identical. I own an XP-60.

The XPs strenghts are that they are good at so many types of sounds. They do both emulative and pure electronic sounds well. This is paired with (in my opinion) a good user interface and high build-quality. The synth-engine is VERY powerful compared to that of Korg Triton/Karma.

The weakness of the XPs are that they are very "conservative" in many respects: Few effect-processors, no sampling or analog modelling etc. Because of this, some people find the synths "boring". My opinion is that my XP-60 is a pure PCM synth and workstation. It can not do absolutely everything, but it is good at what it does!

Oh, and one more thing that has made the XP-60/80 so popular is the keyboard itself! It is great!

Stig

Hi!

One more thing:
It seems that almost everbody here have made a living from music? I'm just an amateur. Have just played at home; I started playing keyboard at the age of 7-8 years.. That is actually 20 years ago..

Well, I'm not actually a newbie on this forum, but I can introduce myself anyway..
As I mentioned, I am not a professional musician.. I am an engineer working with maps, surveying, geographical information systems etc.

I live in the northern part of Norway, at almost 70 degrees north.. Someone mentioned here the short days in Bremen; well we have not seen the sun here since late november, and it will be below the horizon until the end of this month..

Stig

Hi!

I'm no professional either. I'm studying to become an engineer in "Betriebstechnik" (to create the technical interior of buildings and do the maintenance). Before that I was a plumber for four years.
The music takes place only as a hobby, but it would be nice to earn some money with it.

All right, Stig, You have won. Compared to You I am living in Africa . But Bluesboy is living quite southern, so I thought I would live in the north.
But one thing: I'm some kind of a norwegian, too. Nine month before I was born my parents were on holiday with a chartered 25 feet boat. One night they anchored in the Oslofjord, and it was a cold night... . No Joke, this is the truth!

Greetings
Nils

Stig,

Thanks for the info on the XP, that's just what I was looking for!

I have a pretty good equipment setup although some of it is older. I have an 8 Track Tascam Portastudio, the three aforementioned synths, as well as a dual 31 band Graphic EQ, a two channel compressor/limiter, an SPX90II Effects box, a variety of footpedal effects, an electric guitar, a bass, and several acoustic guitars and amps. I am using an Old Mac Classic computer with EZvision software to record and edit all of the electronic parts. I debated buying a new computer or using my Windows PC, but when I pulled the old Mac out of the closet where it has been gathering dust and fired it up, I swear it runs faster and smoother than my hotshot Windows Machine! The software is simple, easy to use, and provides full editing features, including easy on screen note manipulation for placement, duration, and intensity. I'm not a great Keyboard player -I'm OK, so when I have any complex parts I need those editing facilities!!

I'm in the process of hooking all this stuff up together. I have a 32 point patch bay, but I need to buy some more good cables. with all those wires it is much too confusing to figure out what goes where!

As a side note, my Main Keyboard is the Roland EP-7. It has 76 weighted, touch sensitive keys, 5 built in sounds (Digital & Electric Pianos, Vibraphone, Organ & Strings), and it has reverb and chorus, as well as the ability to record up to four song segments, including overdubs, and tempo control. I bought it because I wanted the feel of a real piano, it was not expensive, and with its midi capability I figured I could access any sounds I want. It was a good purchase, I think. Not fancy, but rugged and stable.

BTW, I live in Southern California, about an hour from San Diego up in the foothills. Right now it is our "winter", but the only way you can really tell that is by the snow caps on the distant mountains! Day time temps are between 65 - 80, and at night between 40-50. I don't think I could go without the sun for 3 months!

Take Care,

Bushice

Hey Bushice, what acoustics do you have and what do you like? I'm in the market for a very good acoustic. I'm just using my Dad's Ovation for now, but I don't like the rounded backs, and it sounds good plugged in but not just acoustic.
I've tried some of the expensive Taylors and honestly don't like them much. I think I've come to the opinion that I don't want a cutaway. That just robs too much sound. Do you have any thoughts as to a nice acoustic-electric that I might look into that has no cutaway? Or maybe I'll just need to buy a nice acoustic and put electronics in it myself. What think you? I know this is such a matter of opinion, but I'm just looking for ideas.

Stalker:
Wow, so you are almost norwegian then? Not bad!

I just HAD to comment it when you mentioned the short days and everything.. I would not say you are living in Africa compared to me, but you are FAR south all right..

Me, I'm just waiting for the sun to return... Did you know that a big part of the population here suffer from various sleep-problems, depressions etc due to the lack of daylight in winter??

Stig

No, I like it, too!

No, problem, it was just a joke. But people who are living in northern countries are very patriotic. Not only for the country, for the north! Even here ( ) it is so. In Schleswig-Holstein there is a big Viking-Cult. Schleswig was, 1000 Years ago, the important Viking-Town "Haithabu". A very historical place, but nearly everything has been destroyed.

Yes, I've heard about that. It is said that the north of Norway, northern Sweden and northern Finland have a high suicide rate as well.

But I think this darkness can be used very well for composing atmospheric music. Or not?

Here in Bremerhaven the sun is behind the fog today... . No big advantage of living southern... .

Greetings
Nils

I have 3:

Ibanez Performance 6 string
Yamaha 12 string
Yamaha FG 345 6 string

My fave is the yamaha 6 string. I've never played a guitar with smoother action. Everyone who picks it up says the same thing - how easy it is on the fingers. It has a really nice, warm sound, too, and has aged well. I bought it new about 22 years ago (actually my parents got it for me when I was a young teen!), but I've taken great care of it. It was worth about $300 American dollars back then.

The Ibanez is about a $280-300 guitar. Very nice sound, different from the Yamaha. Not as smooth, but warm, and I bought it on sale for around 180 bucks 10 years ago from a music store that was going out of business.

The 12 String is also very nice, but the action is a little hard. It's about 18 years old, and has a nice full sound.

All 3 of them are full body wooden guitars. I had a thinline pickup installed in the Yamaha 6 string. It cost me $120 bucks to have it installed, but it was worth it. Very nice pick-up for live performance, it is volume sensitive, it's glued under the bridge and you plug into it at the lower strap holder with a standard 1/4 inch plug, so there are no wires visible or in the way. You are better off live-miking an acoustic in the studio, though, so you get that great ambient sound the guitar creates. Pick ups on acoustics in a studio recording setting don't usually deliver that full wooden sound you want.

I'm not a real collector or anything, I bought all my guitars based on how they felt to play, how they sounded, and opinions of others. Before you buy, go to shops and play a lot of them, and I suggest you spend a little more on a guitar rather than less, because the quality of the components used will be better, and the guitar will be more durable. I don't know how many times I've heard people who spend $100-140 bucks on a guitar, and 2-3 years later the neck is warping, or they can't keep it in tune anymore. I've never had those problems. Unless you are a real beginner and not sure if you really want to play, spend a little more cash, and get a good one. Check out use instruments, as sometimes people who inherit guitars from parents or relatives, or who just don't play anymore will sell them cheap. You can get good deals from that, but it takes time and effort.

I could have spent $600 to $1200 on a guitar if I had wanted to, but I found some affordable guitars that sound good, play well, and are road-durable. Can't ask for much more than that.

Bushice

Bushice:
Pleasure to meet you. I'm Chris. I've just recently been getting back to playing with my XP-60 after being home for a few weeks at winter break. BTW, check out that link I have above for some recording software by Digital Sound Planet called "Quartz Audio Master"--it's really powerful and free (for 4 tracks, and cheap to add more, especially when compared to Pro Tools or Logic).

Stalker, Stigf, Rory: Hey, you all posted again! I promise I'll get cracking on my XP-60. Hey, I just figured out how to play the intro to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" (okay, so it may not be a respectable song, but for someone who's forgotten all his piano lessons as a kid and is just sitting down to a keyboard in the first few months, I'm pretty proud of myself--LOL) See ya guys!

I've been playing guitar for about 18 years. i have 3 nice electrics, and now I'm looking for 1 really nice acoustic. I was planning on about $2,000. I'm a very serious guitarist. But, if I can find a sweet guitar for cheaper, I'll buy it. I am not the kind of guy who spends mucho dollar just to show off what an expensive instrument I've got, but I do need serious quality stuff. I'll probably buy a cheaper one as well for on stage anyway, because I'm not bringing a $2000 guitar to a live gig. So, the guitars you mentioned I'll surely look into as well. I'm not really in the loop when it comes to acoustics, but I'll know what I need when I hear it.

Wow, You'll certainly be able to get something very nice for $2,000. You might even look into a custom made job, suited to your hand size, and with what ever wood you want. There was a luthier in a town I lived in about 10 years back who made some very nice customs of his own design for $1,500.

In Todays Market, my Yamaha 6 would run about $600-700, I figured. Every once in a while I drop into a music store and play the 1,000-1,500 acoustics, and none of them have ever stood up to my yamaha in terms of tone and playability for the price.
It's good to keep in mind that it's not always more $$$ that matters.

Bushice

Rory:
For a gig worthy guitar, check out some Takamines--my friend has one that I'm really jealous of; a very full tone for a great price.

For a more pricey guitar, check out Larivees--they're made in Canada. They have a really distinct tone to them--almost trebly, but still warm. Then of course there are always Martin guitars (approved by Eric Johnson and Eric Clapton, if that's worth anything). Only thing is that Martins have pretty flat fretboard radii, and there have been rumors that their quality has been declining over the past ten years.

Whatever you do, I really think instead of buying an acoustic electric, you should really invest in a straight acoustic and just mic it into a PA at your gigs. You could pick up your own Shure SM57 (or is it SM58, I forget) mic at as good or better a price as for electronics to make the acoustic an acoustic-electric.

Yeah, I used a Friend's Tak on this last worship album I've been working on. Nice guitar. I've never played a Larivee, so that's certainly something I'll be doing soon. Martins have been going downhil lately. Well, at least I'd assume they have, because I've played a bunch of them and am seldom impressed, which frustrates me, because my dad had such good things to say about them.

Wow, I feel bad--I misspelled Larrivee. These have been really surprising guitars to me. I hope you get to check one out. If I had the money, I'd be all over one. The website for the company is http://www.larrivee.com/

I guess you could also try looking on eBay for some vintage Martins or what not but...the problem is that it's a guitar that you buy before you hear, and I think we all know that not all guitars (even of the same manufacturer and style) are created equal.

Keep me informed of your accoustic search!

It would be a 57 for guitar miking, but they work the best on electrics.
The real problem with live miking a guitar on stage is you can't move. The radius of sound pick up is so limited, you become a guitar playing statue
on board mics, such as sound hole pick ups or in line mic (like my thin line) are essential for live stuff, and work very well.
Man, I hope it's Ok we have this acoustic guitar talk going on at the synth board


Bushice

LOL, Bushice, just to make it okay with a synth board, we'll add this little plug:

By the way, the acoustic guitar patch on the XP-60 is quite good.

There.

Yeah, good point about not being able to move or you blow your sound, but I mean surely they used to use full=sized mics back in the good ol' days. I mean, take a look at the recordings of Andres Segovia or Charlie Byrd. Also, keep in mind that Rory is blind and probably doesn't do a whole lot of stompin' and dancin' around the stage (if you do, Rory, more power to ya, man!). I'm not familiar with how well guitar-mounted mics have come in terms of sound frequency response, so maybe there just wouldn't be any difference if he used a full-sized mic or a guitar-mounted one. If that's the case, might as well, just get a guitar mounted one.

By the way, Rory, ask around the acoustic guitar forum on guitar.com--I'm sure they'll have some suggestions of some other brands (like Seagulls and such) and they'll have a much better idea of what sounds good and what has good craftsmanship than I would.

Actually, I didn't know he was blind. I'm pretty new here.

The other issue with live miking is the ambient noise. No matter what you do, it will pick up sound from nearby, especially in a noisy club. I imagine Segovia had silence when he played!!!

BTW, I have done that in the past, back in the day when pick-ups were not all that great. I used it to add to the sound, but if you shift the guitar at all the sound and volume changes. Pick ups these days are much improved, and cost about the same as a mike and boom stand.

Bushice

Actually, the acoustic sound on the XP isn't that great, imo. The lower notes sound much better than the high notes if you ask me(which nobody did).
I will never, ever, buy a seagull. The only way I'll play one is if someone gives me one or I get endorsement offers. They sound great, I'll give them that, but they don't hold up well at all. A couple of my good friends have them, or rather, had them. The expensive one kept losing adjustment, many neck and fret problems. The cheap one's electronics were very crackly and poppy if you moved around. Kept coming loose inside the guitar.
Oh well, I'll find something eventually. I'll check out guitar.com and see what people think. I know general information about brands, but very little, almost nothing, about specific models within the brands. This might be an arduous task.

I think going to a music store, picking up an acoustic and playing it to hear how it sounds and how it feels is really the only way to go for you. Everyone has their own opinion about instruments, but when it comes right down to it, it is you who will be playing it, so your opinion is really all that matters. Good luck!

Bushice

I think you're right. I've ben trying to get coordinated with a friend to head to Minneapolis, or maybe Denver, and go guitar hunting. All the stores in my area sell semi-pro stuff at best. I'm needin' the real deal.

I like that black acoustic guitar that Glen Frey used in the Eagles' "Hell Freezes Over" concert. Does anybody knows what brand and model is it? Don Henley was also using it as a drum in one of their song.

Hi all!
I own a Fender Newporter (made in Korea). I love her, but I'm afraid it isn't by far as good as Larrivee. But what about an original one?
Or a Walden?

Greetings
Nils

Check out this thread. You can read up on a bunch of user opinions.
http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26955

What's up guys? Just saying hi; letting you know I'm not dead. How is everyone? Rory, found yourself an acoustic yet?

No. I think I'm waiting a while. I got a friend whose going to give me a nice sum of money to put towards an acoustic for my birthday, which is in April.

Hey Rory,
Man, now that sounds like a good plan!