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Reviews (2)
19 Jul, 2016
Good manuals for Virtual Pipe Organ (VPO) setups
1 of 1 found this helpful I have ordered two M-Audio Keystation 61es MIDI keyboards (controllers). These keyboards make no sound of their own, but plug into a computer via USB (traditional MIDI connection is also usable) to control DAW software. In my case, I am using these for the software GrandOrgue, a virtual pipe organ software. They work well, and the software detects them very easily. When I can't get to a real organ to practice, these at least give me the ability to work on manuals at home or on the road. Some people have removed the internals of these and mounted them into keystacks that they have built to AGO standards. I do plan to do this eventually, but for now, I'll deal with 4" instead of 2" between manuals stacking them directly on top of each other.
Each keyboard also has a modulation wheel and a pitch bend. I have been able to map the modulation wheels to the virtual swell pedal, crescendo pedal, and choir pedal on the GrandOrgue software, and have been able to also assign the volume sliders to those pedals. So each keyboard gives 2 possibilities to control the pedals. I have also successfully been able to map the modulation wheels when I need to control a toggle function on the software, such as a piston or tab switch.
The "semi weighted" keys does approximate the resistance I feel in some of the pipe organs I play, but it is not an exact match. I have not found that to be a hindrance. What I practice on these, I can easily play on the real organs I play.
All in all, these are nearly the ideal keyboards to build a makeshift practice setup using software like GrandOrgue or Hauptwerk. All in all, I'm very happy with the two I have purchased, and hope to acquire at least 5 (for a four manual VPO and one for practicing while on the road).
11 Jul, 2017
Great when you can't wear a watch
1 of 1 found this helpful I normally use a Fitbit Blaze, and my wife uses a Fitbit Charge. Those activity trackers are great, monitoring heartrate along with steps, which gives great information about calorie burn and sleep.
However, there are times when you just cannot wear a watch, or when you have another watch that you want to wear instead of the Fitbit. That's where the Fitbit Zip comes in. No, it won't monitor your heart rate, it would track your flights of stairs or monitor your sleep. But when you can't wear a watch, the Fitbit Zip WILL let you at least track your steps and sync to the Fitbit app on your phone.
I recommend it for any occasion where you cannot wear a Fitbit watch.
The smartphone app does allow you to sync both a watch and the Fitbit Zip to the same app, allowing you to switch back and forth as needed.
Unfortunately, without all the smart features of the watch it is easier for it to register false steps, and you won't get all the extra perks of the watches, but we have found it to be better than using the default step counter on a smartphone (easy to set down and forget to carry).
It is also nice not having to worry about charging the battery every couple days!
Pros: Long battery life, great for counting steps when you can't wear a Fitbit Watch, Syncs with the smartphone app
Cons: No monitoring of the heart rate, a little easier to register false steps.