In the Netherlands my keyboard retailer has a really nice, new looking KN7000 occasion:
http://www.keyboard-centrum.nl for the address

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Bought my 1st 7K when they first hit the market.... I had owned/played the 1K, 3K, 5K and 6K.... This Feb. I bought Jim Laing's 7K for my gig board and back up. Still have the 6K as well....
My feeling is that surely one will last as long as I do!
The other day at my gig, a friend who is a great piano player, about 13 years my senior, wanted to know where she could get one like my 7K.... She has heard me play the 6K as well. Her comment was, "I have never heard a better arranger KB"...

AUDREY.... When you reach a point of comfort with that T-3, will you give us a comparitive opinion on that machine and the 7K?

ROGER.... The Bank View button is most likely to wear out first on my boards....I use it to store all my tweaked rhythms/registrations.... use it frequently as I turn pages and select just the right rhythm to play to.....

I would love to know how others use the Panel Memory banks????

Elizabeth..

I cannot imagine doing without my 2 7K's....

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I now have two 7K’s and a KN2600. I think they will outlast me.

Elizabeth, I load a new setup for every song. Most of my setups are available to me via the Favorite Songs menu. If I don’t have it there, I load by number for the SD memory location. I have the SD memory location noted on each song sheet. It takes less than 5 seconds to load a completely new setup for each song. I normally only use panel memory Bank A but sometimes use more panel memories than 8 and spill over into bank B. Don’t recall ever needing more than 16 panel memory setups for a song. As I play the song, I use foot pedals to move from panel memory to panel memory, almost always moving up to the next memory location. What this all means is that I almost never press any of the panel memory or bank buttons when I am playing. I do it all with foot switches. I do use the buttons when I am creating a song setup.

This also means that I don’t need or use Custom Memory for song setups and really don’t need more than banks A, B, and C of the panel memories.

Panel Memory -- I arrange all of my songs using the Sequencer and I use the Panel Memory banks to record any and every change I make in the sequencing of my arrangements (which includes: tempo, Rhythm and Variations, and Sound selections.

I can usually contain these changes into Bank A but sometimes have to go into Bank B.

Of course, the arrangement automatically calls up the proper Panel Memory from Part 5 of the sequencer.

I couldn't do without the Panel Memory Banks.

Larry Gosmeyer

Interesting “THE HOPEFULLY A LONG LIFE” post has changed to how I use my keyboard --- different but also nice.

How a person uses the registrations and favorites depends on what am they are trying to accomplish. Not to long ago my aim was to have quick access to the next song I wanted to play, I knew that too much time between songs is a no, no, when you are playing for a group of people the time between song can be harmful. I needed to search my list of songs and go to it as quickly as possible.

My Method:
1-Fill all 13 banks with a set up.
2-I used Banks A,B, and C for Big Band setups. I used “Normal and not “Extended”
3-Bank A for a Big Band medium sound like ballads and light jazz.
4-Bank B for Strong Big Band for songs like, In the Mood and A Train.
5-Bank C for a Latin Band -- All 8 Banks were filled with Latin type of instruments.
Banks 1 through 10 were set to Expanded memory. It is here that I stored song setups. That gave me quick access to 70 to a 80 song titles and their setups. 10 Banks each having 8 memory locations. Some times I used more than one memory location for a song.

I kept banks A, B, and C the same. Instrument sounds stayed the same -- Only the registrations changed.
I load once from the SD and have the tree different bands which -- they used when I selected one style and wanted many variations in volume and instrumentation.
That left me 70 to 80 songs to choose from. I would the Bank View to scan through while I was playing a song – ready to press one button and instantly change the mood and song.
Each SD load not only included the above but they were also created for occasion and the desire of the people I was playing for. A nursing Home normally has different wants and desires than a Country Club. I use one that was created for Contemporary music. Some of the SD loads included ethnic and patriotic music.

I am no longer playing jobs so my needs have changed so the set ups I have been using are not important any longer. Now I am playing just for my own enjoyment.

John C.

Hi all,

It's good to see some stimulating discussion on the various ways we set up our keyboards. I'm sure we may learn a thing or two from others who use different methods than we do.

The bank view button is the most used button on my keyboard. I have a different dance style stored in each bank.

1. Banks 1-10 + A,B,C contain all of my standard dance styles. Memories 1-8 each contain a different registration. (Expanded Mode) These are saved to an SD card with the PANEL MEMORY set to ALL.

2. I also have a number of A,B,C Banks containing lesser used dance styles. Memories 1-8 each contain a different registration. (Expanded Mode) These are saved to an SD card with the PANEL MEMORY set to 3 BANK.

This way i always have my standard dance styles loaded & when i need to load the other styles, the standard ones are unaffected.

The foot switch idea would not work with me as i never progress from PM1 through to PM8 & back again. I like to select the PM that suits the part of the tune/dance at the time.

I was hoping for a lot more than 13 Banks on the KN7 but it was'nt to be. For me, a keyboard with unlimited banks would save some loading.

"This Posting" has pleasantly brightened up the TECHNICS forum.

Regards,
Alan

All these great responses are exactly what I wanted.... glad I asked though sorry I did not start a new thread....

BOB H... I can understand how using foot switches would save wear and tear on the PM button... I have them though I do not use them...will think about that....

JOHN C.... Sounds like you use the PM very much like I do....

Wish I could refer back to the thread while writing this post.... My forgetter works a lot better than my rememberer...

A BIG THANKS to all of you...

Elizabeth....

Elizabeth, John and Alan, I find this very informative. You folks use your keyboards the same way that I used to use the KN5000. The KN5000 took “forever” to load from disk and I used every trick I could think of, to work with what was already in the keyboard. And, you could play for an hour or so without loading a new setup. But, there are many limitations when you work that way.

The SD card has made loading times so quick that you can access the SD card as fast as you can change panel memory banks. This lets you use as many changes in registration as you wish, including rhythms, voicing, and tempo, as you play each song. You can “flavor” the rhythm and voicing so that it is unique to the song you are playing. And, you have almost unlimited changes that you can set up for a single song. It is not just a rumba or waltz; it is designed specifically for the song you are playing. And, you have almost unlimited memory locations in which you can put those registrations.

As an example, if you use Favorite Songs with the KN7000, you have 40 banks of 9 songs that you can set up. That’s 360 song selections that you can select with each selection containing a TOTAL keyboard setup. If a song isn’t in those 360 locations you can load by SD memory location number almost as fast. So, while you are finishing a song, you can press the SD button, then the FAVORITE SONGS button and you are ready to press a single button to setup the next song when you have finished the song you are playing. You are ready to play the next song in about two seconds. It takes about five seconds if you load by number.

In addition, if you still want to play with a “bank” type setup, you can put your Big Band, or Latin, or whatever setting you would have put in a panel memory bank in a Favorite Song location and access that setup much faster than changing banks at the panel memories.

This is an interesting subject and I hope other folks will add their input re how they use the KN7000.

BOB H....

Thanks for this latest post too! This offers a more detailed explanation of what you mentioned above... I was about to ask for more detail...guess you read my mind??

I have started a couple of new topics that hopefully will keep this ball rolling all by itself...

Appologies for stealing this thread though I am glad I did!!

Elizabeth

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Before keyboards and technology entered, my band; Drums, bass, keyboard, sax and myself on guitar and vocal, used “Sets”. They were 5 to 6 songs that seem to blend together – followed by another set with was Latin, Rock or Disco. We did not always play all the songs in each set.

Ex. New York, New York to Leroy Brown to a T42 Cha Cha – to a ballad ect. So we were thinking sets not song. I gave a lot of time to the order of these songs. The biggest problem was trying to remember what was on a list of 600-700 songs, and then deciding. Because I have always allowed my inner feelings to decide I needed to see the list. One or two songs always stood out. I must add in those days we memorized most of the songs so all we needed was a song tittle. If I tried that today there would be large periods of silence. (Smile)

The KN7 bank view gave me that shopping option. Scan through the banks while playing and then press a button. Every SD load offered another 60 to 104 songs, depending how you used A,B and C banks. My set up started with the KN5000 and was upgraded with each new keyboard. When the KN7 came the method was part of me, second nature. I do have a bit of advice –Get a method – stay with it – refine it over a period of time and you will have something special. If it is not great you will know in a short time.

I have no comment about Bob’s method because I have never gone in that direction, it may be a better way to go -- ??? Don’t know.

WHAT IS MISSING HERE IS WHAT IS THE KEYBOARD BEING USED FOR – JOBS, CHURCH, NURSING HOMES, CONDO PARTIES --ECT --
THAT FACTOR CHANGES SO MUCH.

Hey, this is fun – talking about our favorite instrument, John C.