Review of Chase CCG400C Classical Guitar Gigbag

I bought this gigbag for my Valencia VC104ebk. This softcase is really value for money. The material used and how the bag was built is of good quality and standard. Here's the specifications of this gigbag.

Features:

- subtle integrated reflective integration (reflectorised)
- comfortable foam mesh carrying handle
- additional grab handle on the back
- no.8 two-way zipper (heavy duty)
- built-in polyester bridge, headstock and strap-pin protector
- soft, non-scratch, quilted nylon interior lining
- A4 music pouch with zippered accessory pocket
- ergonomically designed mesh lumbar support
- 15 mm soft padding
- luggage grade 600D polyester
- number of compartments (4)

Internal Dimensions:

Length:  102 cm
Width:    41.5 cm
Depth:    10 cm

M-Audio Keystudio vs Evolution MK249C2 MIDI keyboard

This is a comparison of two 49-key USB MiDi keyboards that I own. The Evolution MK249C2, which I bought 8 years ago from carboot sale and I fought for this MiDi keyboard. It was £20 but I bargained it to £10 and the guy selling it wouldn't so we agreed at £15. No USB lead and/or software when I bought it and I was new with MIDI keyboard that time so I really don't know what to do with it apart from I know I will make use of it for recording. Oh the other thing was, the power button is playing up. I had to clean it with WD40. I used Audacity when I first tried this keyboard and Mixcraft.  Until, I got a proper software, which is EnergyXT and then in recent years Garageband.

The other MIDI keyboard is the M-Audio KeyStudio which is also 49 keys was given to me on my 40th birthday this year. It came with a lead. Looks neat. No problem whatsoever.

I can't detail much about MIDI keyboards because Im not an expert on this. But I will state here the obvious like the Evolution MK249C2 has got LED screen and got lots of knobs and buttons from effects, transpose, tuning, assignable buttons, effects, expression, etc. Also it has sustain pedal input, MIDI output, power input and the USB connectivity.

The M-Audio has less buttons, in fact only three; one for edit and two for octave (+/-). Then the slide bar for volume and the pitch bend and modulation which Evolution MK249C2 got. It only has USB connectivity and sustain pedal input. Although it has less buttons, it has almost the same function with the other one. I've looked online for the manual and it says that when you press the Edit button, you can activate certain programs by pressing the black keys for example to transpose and other functionality.

When I tried both keyboards using Garageband, the sustain pedal worked but when I tried it using EnergyXT software on a laptop, the sustain pedal is not working. I mean the program doesn't allow it.

It's very difficult to choose which program is the best because on Garageband, apart from limited choices, the sound quality is so realistic and the speed is very good. On the other hand, EnergyXT got lovely electric piano and strings and a lot more trance program to choose from. But then no sustain and a slow speed and not so good sound quality than Garageband.

Just hear for yourself the difference.

M-Audio KeyStudio MIDI Keyboard using Garageband

Evolution MK249C MIDI keyboard using EnergyXT

Valencia vc104ebk Unboxing and quick review

Valencia 4/4 black electro classical nylon guitar vc104ebk retail price £149 bought £71 on eBay from Ebony and Ivory Ltd. Well packed. Double boxed with bubble wrap and plastic plus two balls to cushion the Valencia box itself. Guitar is inside Valencia labelled box and wrapped and well protected inside.

Out of the box, upon quick viscual check, it really looks good. Then I immediately opened the battery compartment and put the battery in. Then, after tuning the guitar, played a little and it sounded very good.

This time a thorough inspection: The headstock and body are done beautifully especially the gloss finish. However, the neck has sharp edges, the frets got visible glue stain or marks and looks  cheap. The worst part is that it’s got a spot/scratch on the fretboard as shown on the video. Apart from that, it rather sound very good unplugged.

It's night time, so I had to get my ZoomG1xOn pedal and plugged this electro-classical using bypass mode and then plugged my headphones. I put it on bypass mode. It sounded superb pluuged in. It has built in tuners where you can adjust pitch. 3 band eq with presence and phaser. The builtin phaser though doesn't have any control apart from a button to press on and off. So you won't really hear a very distinct phaser sound but you can feel that when you press the button there's a change to the sound but not prominent and you can't adjust or alter it. I did try the guitar using a patch that has got reverb on in my Zoom G1xOn and it's beautiful especially turning the builtin phaser effects on from the guitar. Also I tried it on the Acoustic Simulation patch of Zoom G1xOn and it changed the character of the guitar, it's more crisp and it's like a pro guitar, the one you would use for gigs and stage performances. I think this could be a very good recording guitar or a project guitar for a certain song, album or music that you experiment.

Overall, this guitar is very good. If only they put more effort to that neck. A little more on quality assurance or last check before sending the guitar.

Here's the sound of the guitar:

Unboxing Chase CSP-01 universal sustain pedal

Chase CSP-01 Universal Sustain Pedal with polarity switch.  This Classic-Style Pedal Works With Casio, Yamaha And Any Other Keyboard Or Digital Piano. Also the 1/4 inch plug is an angle one so it's neat and convenient to use and the lead or cable is 6 feet long. The polarity switch is very handy because you got options when using the pedal on different keyboards as well as different computer software or program.

First hand experience, it's very responsive. It feels durable. Lightweight to carry. In short, a reliable and functioning sustain pedal.

Here's the test:

Unboxing of Cobra Case for 49-key keyboard

Ordered this gigbag for my MIDI keyboards because I got two at the moment both 49-keys and almost the same size with slight difference in terms of thickness and length. Also I needed a case for the keyboard because I got an upcoming gig, which is going to be a regular gig if Im lucky.

The bag is constructed nice plus there's two-year warranty with this bag.

Dimension: 870 x 330 x 100mm

Lots of compartments. Like for your adapter, cables and for music sheet. Even a laptop or iPad can fit in one of the compartments.

Overall, very good material and looks professional. Happy with my purchase.

MIDI keyboard to iPad problem solved

First thing's first, you will need a MIDI keyboard. It doesn't matter what brand, size and features it's got as long as you have a working MIDI keyboard. I got two MIDI keyboards. One is Evolution MK249C which I bought from carboot sale 8 years ago. Then just recently on my 40th birthday, our friends Mark and Chris gave us this M-Audio KeyStudio MIDI keyboard. I will do a comparison of the two keyboards in the near future. The other thing that you will need is an iPad or iPhone. Because we will be using Garageband for our MIDI keyboard. Now, the last thing that you will be needing and it's the most important one, the adapter. I thought I can buy any as long as it's the right pins for the ipad/iphone and convert to USB but I was wrong. There are specifics to it.

Right, let's take my phone and ipad as an example. Im using iPhone 7 and iPad Pro. Both uses lightning connectivity or jack. So I would need a lightning to USB adapter. Went to nearest Apple store, asked around, some staff are very helpful but there's one guy who's a bit snobbish. Went to him to pay actually but he was busy talking to his radio and then after he finished talking or reporting something he went back straight to his iPad and did'nt say a word to me. So I looked for another person and this time a young lady. She was very helpful. Because when I told her about the plan of buying that lightning to USB camera adapter that I will be using it for my MIDI keyboard, she already mentioned to me that there are some issues that they encounter. She said that it might not work because it depends on what sort of MIDI keyboard Im using. So I asked her if I can return the product if it won't work and she said yes, there's 14-day return policy. All I need is the receipt and the product as well as the box.

Went home and tried the lightning to USB camera adapter and it didn't work. It says the device uses too much power. I tried looking around for a solution. Good thing my other MIDI keyboard (Evolution MK249C) got a power input. So, I tried looking for a suitable power supply. It says 9-12 volts. The only problem now is the polarity. I tried my Zoom G1xOn adaptor because it's 9 volts but it didn't work. So I looked for my old Digitech multieffects power supply and it worked on that one. Connect it to my ipad and iphone and it worked. But I wasn't satisfied, I thought that I really wanted the ipad/iphone to work without plugging my MIDI keyboard to a power supply. So I can also use my M-Audio KeyStudio because this MIDI keyboard doesn't have a power input. Good thing, my good friend Creed on YouTube, saw one of my post about the lightning splitter for my iTrack pocket that didn't work, and he mentioned to me to buy a lightning to USB 3 camera adapter with the power port. Because he had similar problem. That's when I decided to return and change my light to USB adapter.

After I changed it, it was perfect. No need for power supply and it work for my iPad and iPhone as well as to both of my MIDI keyboards, the Evolution MK249C and M-Audio KeyStudio. Im very happy now.

Note: Always buy original apple accessories to avoid incompatibility issues. But also buy the right accessory.