--- In yamahacs80@..., marzzz@a... wrote:
In a message dated 9/30/04 10:06:37 PM, david@t... writes:
So, what about the MIDIBoard? I haven't seen one in many years and
don't remember the feel. How does it compare to the CS-80? Even
better - anyone using one to control the CS80v program? Does it
respond like the real thing? They pop up on eBay once in a while,
so I'm wondering if one would be worth going after.
How best to put this? F#%@^%@ing YES!!!!! Now that I have secured
mine, I can
let out the secret: Short of actually owning a mint CS-80, the Kurz
MidiBoard
is simply the absolutely best implementation of controlling Poly AT
ever
made. The piano touch is good- not quite as good as an A-80 (which I
feel was one
of the best, even better than many boards that came after it) but the
MidiBoard has that same spongy "give" that makes it easy to control
Poly AT, even if
you are using your 5th digit to bring out one note.
The only caveat is that the MidiBoard was made for a number of
years- there
were three OS revisions, and you DEFINITELY want the latest, 3.0; It
is nearly
impossible to update early versions. In addition, the actual keyboard
mechanism was changed late in its run, to a "Suzuki" piano action
which was a vast
improvement over the original. I can give you more details privately
if you want.
I am using it to control the CS-80V (as well as various softsynths,
and a
PolyEvolver) and to say I love it is an understatement! The CS-80V
does a
"decent" job of emulating a real CS-80, but of course it pales in
direct comparison.
Still, it is good enough for me.....the MidiBoard does an excellent
job of
interacting with the CS-80V software to really make it respond to
playing
technique. The only major bummer is that the virtual ribbon
(controlled by pitch
wheel in the software) does not drive the oscillators down to zero
like the real
thing. It has been suggested to fix this in the next software revision.
Marshall,
thanks for the great info! Any idea on serial number ranges for the
later MIDIBoards with the Suzuki action? Also, regarding CS80V not
getting the ribbon right: I complained about that when it first came
out. I just asked Xavier again, and he said that version 1.2 has a
linear option for the ribbon!!! I haven't been able to try it since
the demo version is still at 1.1. If you're a registered owner,
please give it a try and report. Here's the info he sent me:
Here are the link for the version 1.2 of the CS-80V. The ribbon
controller has been updated : you can select the position "cs >linear".
In that way, the ribbon modulate teh frequency in linear, as the
original. The first clic of the mouse set the zero point. This zero
point is updated to the middle after a while. In that way, the
keybord pitch bend still works correctly.
ftp://test_area@.../cs80v_1.2_test/cs80v_1_2.sit
ftp://test_area@.../cs80v_1.2_test/CS-80V_1.2_win_setup.exe
Pass word if needed: berlioz
David
