Yahoo Tuning Groups Ultimate Backup makemicromusic Breath Controllers?

I have been using Yamaha breath controllers since 25 years without bigger problems, all of them since BC1 (with DX7}, since 1993 BC2 and later BC3 with VL1.

In my opinion BC2 was the best one as for mechanic robustness. BC3 is rather fragile, you have to be very careful with that plastic part where pipe is connected, that's critical point. Always use some box with foam inside for BC and remove the pipe after use or you risk broken part. It happened to me, fortunately I could repair it with the help of some metal pipes glued inside and making more solid connection.

Metal parts are sensitive to humidity and sweat, so after some years of daily use there can be oxidation, loss of color and rust, even on small screws. That can be easily cleaned and repaired. Pipe ends on BC2 can be damaged, too - then you have to cut it a little bit and reconnect. Also foam can deteriorate. All this has no effect on perfect function.

There's another possibility where to connect it if you haven't Yamaha or Kurzweil synth with BC input:
If you can get somewhere Yamaha MCS2, buy it without hesitation. It's nice small box, MIDI Control Station, and you can attach BC and two pedal switches and two pedal controllers. It can merge two MIDI inputs, there are pitch bend and modulation wheel, two sliders and three buttons (all programmable), plus 8 switches for sending program changes. There's even new OS for Eprom somewhere on the net, somebody did reverse engineering and added many modern MIDI controllers not available in original version. Perfect companion to BC. Try to download Owner's Manual from Yamaha pages.

Daniel Forro

On Jul 7, 2011, at 10:28 PM, Kalle Aho wrote:

> Hi,
>
> anybody using a breath controller? Googling seems to give Yamaha BC3A
> with Midi Solutions Breath Controller Box as the only currently
> available choice. If you have a BC3A, please tell me if it's any good!
>
> Kalle

🔗Kalle Aho <kalleaho@...>

Thank you very much for the info, Daniel! It surely looks fragile in
the pictures. Good to know it's not a big deal if you are careful.

Kalle

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Daniel Forró <dan.for@...> wrote:
>
> I have been using Yamaha breath controllers since 25 years without
> bigger problems, all of them since BC1 (with DX7}, since 1993 BC2 and
> later BC3 with VL1.
>
> In my opinion BC2 was the best one as for mechanic robustness. BC3 is
> rather fragile, you have to be very careful with that plastic part
> where pipe is connected, that's critical point. Always use some box
> with foam inside for BC and remove the pipe after use or you risk
> broken part. It happened to me, fortunately I could repair it with
> the help of some metal pipes glued inside and making more solid
> connection.
>
> Metal parts are sensitive to humidity and sweat, so after some years
> of daily use there can be oxidation, loss of color and rust, even on
> small screws. That can be easily cleaned and repaired. Pipe ends on
> BC2 can be damaged, too - then you have to cut it a little bit and
> reconnect. Also foam can deteriorate. All this has no effect on
> perfect function.
>
> There's another possibility where to connect it if you haven't Yamaha
> or Kurzweil synth with BC input:
> If you can get somewhere Yamaha MCS2, buy it without hesitation. It's
> nice small box, MIDI Control Station, and you can attach BC and two
> pedal switches and two pedal controllers. It can merge two MIDI
> inputs, there are pitch bend and modulation wheel, two sliders and
> three buttons (all programmable), plus 8 switches for sending program
> changes. There's even new OS for Eprom somewhere on the net, somebody
> did reverse engineering and added many modern MIDI controllers not
> available in original version. Perfect companion to BC. Try to
> download Owner's Manual from Yamaha pages.
>
> Daniel Forro
>
> On Jul 7, 2011, at 10:28 PM, Kalle Aho wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > anybody using a breath controller? Googling seems to give Yamaha BC3A
> > with Midi Solutions Breath Controller Box as the only currently
> > available choice. If you have a BC3A, please tell me if it's any good!
> >
> > Kalle
>

🔗Kalle Aho <kalleaho@...>

Apparently Yamaha has discontinued the BC3A, so it seems that there are
currently no breath controllers available in the market.

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Kalle Aho" <kalleaho@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> anybody using a breath controller? Googling seems to give Yamaha BC3A
> with Midi Solutions Breath Controller Box as the only currently
> available choice. If you have a BC3A, please tell me if it's any good!
>
> Kalle
>

🔗Daniel Forró <dan.for@...>

Yamaha headquarters did many strange if not stupid decisions in the past, difficult to understand. This is another one, if there's no new product.

Then you can try to get it from some shop, maybe they still have some stock...

Or second hand...

Daniel Forro

On Jul 8, 2011, at 6:06 AM, Kalle Aho wrote:

>
>
> Apparently Yamaha has discontinued the BC3A, so it seems that there > are
> currently no breath controllers available in the market.

🔗jlmoriart <JlMoriart@...>

I bought a BC3 to use with my VL70-m, but I never got it to work at all. I don't know if this is a horror story for the breath controller or for the synthesizer, but it *is* a horror story...

John

🔗Daniel Forró <dan.for@...>

It must work. Maybe wrong setting? You have to select BC/WX Breath Mode, and make some settings (pp. 95, 96, eventually 48 and following pages). Also to set properly pots on BC itself...

Daniel Forro

On Jul 9, 2011, at 1:07 PM, jlmoriart wrote:

> I bought a BC3 to use with my VL70-m, but I never got it to work at > all. I don't know if this is a horror story for the breath > controller or for the synthesizer, but it *is* a horror story...
>
> John