The Keyboard Chronicles

Gigging, Gear and Great Music

Review

How long does it take to set up a Gibraltar keyboard stand?

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Over at the musicplayer.com forums there’s been a discussion around the Gibraltar keyboard stand offerings. Thanks to forumite Tim having a relaxing day, he’s kindly created a video to show the set up time for a Gibraltar stand.

So it seems that once you’ve spent time setting up the memory locks when you first get the components, means setup is only 3-4 minutes and damn that thing looks solid!

Kurzweil PC4 Demo Videos

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Our roundup of some great PC4 demonstration videos

Kurzweil’s PC4 has been out a couple of months now, so we thought it was a great time to round up the best demonstration videos out there. After a few hours of viewing, these are the top 5 we’ve come up with but please do link your favourites in the comments below.

Australia’s Better Music do a great review:
As do Kraft Music…
… and Sweetwater.

I also always enjoy Piano Man Chuck’s reviews:

And finally, this short video comparing the PC4 to the recently released Roland Fantom is useful:

The Crumar Seven: Six Months On

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I’ve owned this beast for six months now: and I’m still in love

Ain’t it pretty?

Back in April when I wrote my review of the Crumar Seven I made it clear I was impressed. Six months on, I’ve spent quite a few hours with it, including a handful of gigs where I’ve had it as my bottom board, with a Yamaha MODX7 sitting on top of it (and yes it sits there pretty nicely).

What are my tips after putting it through its paces?

  1. Definitely carry the seperate pouch for the metal legs separately to the Seven – it makes the Seven an achievable carry and lessens the likelihood of accidental damage to your board.
  2. The legs DO get easier to screw in and out. I had a frustrating 20 minutes the first time I did it, but as you get to know the angle it becomes pretty simple to do.
  3. The road case is not the toughest so take care, although the lid has now been strengthened by Crumar and is sturdier than it used to be.
  4. If you use MainStage, Gig Performer or Camelot, the Crumar Seven happily accepts MIDI messages and I have specific sounds for a dozen or so songs in my setlist.
  5. Be prepared for regular comments from audience members and fellow musicians on how damn good the Seven looks.
  6. Most gigs I get at least a couple of people comment.

Again, read my full review for all the details, but this is a board I plan on playing and gigging with for a long time to come.