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MPN Gear Chat: Ian Benhamou/The Musical Box


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Ian Benhamou, keyboardist for the extraordinary Genesis tribute band The Musical Box, gives us a guided tour of the extensive rig he's using to faithfully recreate the iconic sounds of Tony Banks for the West Coast US leg of TMB's 2019 Genesis Extravaganza Part 2.

 

[video:youtube]

 

dB

 

 

 

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:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

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Wow, that was amazing. Incredible attention to detail utilizing combinations of vintage gear and current technology. I can only imagine the hours and hours put into programming/configuring the keys for those tunes, let alone learning the parts. Very proud and humbled to have you here among us. Thanks for that Dave, and rock on Ian!

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

- George Bernard Shaw

 

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"How many bands get to encore with SUPPER'S READY?!"

...not to mention even being able to play it (and nail it to the wall) in the first place. :idk::freak::love:

 

I love it. Thanks for sharing!

Delighted to have the opportunity. Huge thanks to brother Ian for making it possible. :like:

 

dB

 

 

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

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. Huge thanks to brother Ian for making it possible. :like:

 

fantastic job, dB. (love the shirt, BTW)

 

Ian is a way major cool dude, we are fortunate to have him as part of this forum. Not many dudes who tour internationally are as humble as him.

Looking forward to hanging out with you again in the swamp next spring, Brother Ian. :cheers:

 

:nopity:
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Wow, that was amazing. Incredible attention to detail utilizing combinations of vintage gear and current technology. I can only imagine the hours and hours put into programming/configuring the keys for those tunes, let alone learning the parts. Very proud and humbled to have you here among us. Thanks for that Dave, and rock on Ian!

 

Well said, this video is humbling to say the least. Awesome playing and programming of beautiful gear. Thanks to all three people involved (whoever was holding the camera!)

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The mapping of the Kurzweil is eye opening -- especially to someone (like me) who has never programmed a keyboard. I would have assumed there's no way to simultaneously play those organ and piano parts. Wrong!

I have a Shine On You Crazy Diamond Multi for my Kurz that works similarly.

 

I hold the G min string pad -1st inversion, with octaved G - but the stacked bass program's G is mapped to/triggered by the Bb I'm holding as part of the string pad chord, not the low G; then, I can change to the Cmin chord - 3rd inversion, with octaved G again - without really changing my hand position...and the bass note is now triggered by the C, even though the lowest note I'm playing is still a G.

 

What Ian is doing is obviously more involved...but the same basic idea.

 

dB

 

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

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The mapping of the Kurzweil is eye opening -- especially to someone (like me) who has never programmed a keyboard. I would have assumed there's no way to simultaneously play those organ and piano parts. Wrong!

I have a Shine On You Crazy Diamond Multi for my Kurz that works similarly.

 

I hold the G min string pad -1st inversion, with octaved G - but the stacked bass program's G is mapped to/triggered by the Bb I'm holding as part of the string pad chord, not the low G; then, I can change to the Cmin chord - 3rd inversion, with octaved G again - without really changing my hand position...and the bass note is now triggered by the C, even though the lowest note I'm playing is still a G.

 

What Ian is doing is obviously more involved...but the same basic idea.

 

dB

Yes -- and I imagine such techniques would be essential to reproducing the studio recordings of bands such as Pink Floyd and Genesis.

 

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Thanks guys!! It was an honour to be asked to do this and to have dB run the interview made it that much more special!

 

Just as a side note, since this was a one-off 6 date leg of the tour we didn"t have all of our gear, only the essentials. So that isn"t my complete rig.

 

Anyhow, it"s been great meeting many of the cool dudes on this forum on the tours. I hope to meet more of you along the way. Shoot me a PM if you"re interested in coming to any of our shows.

 

Cheers.

Ian Benhamou

Keyboards/Guitar/Vocals

 

[url:https://www.facebook.com/OfficialTheMusicalBox/]The Musical Box[/url]

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You need more gear Ian! :laugh::crazy:

 

Hoping to catch Ian and his rig in the UK next year to compare notes!

Yes - encoring with Suppers Ready certainly whips the fans into a frenzy!

 

BTW The Pianet N and T are quite different - the N uses an electrostatic pickup and the T electromagnetic.

In the N reeds are plucked by electrostatic pick-ups and leather and foam pads, in the T, reeds are plucked by silicone rubber pads.

They don't sound the same at all

Yamaha CP70B;Roland XP30/AXSynth/Fantom/FA76/XR;Hammond XK3C SK2; Korg Kronos 73;ProSoloist Rack+; ARP ProSoloist; Mellotron M4000D; GEM Promega2; Hohner Pianet N, Roland V-Grand,Voyager XL, RMI
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BTW The Pianet N and T are quite different - the N uses an electrostatic pickup and the T electromagnetic.

In the N reeds are plucked by electrostatic pick-ups and leather and foam pads, in the T, reeds are plucked by silicone rubber pads.

They don't sound the same at all

 

Very true! I used a Combo Pianet in the early 70s, which was mostly the same as the N.

 

I found the Combo and the N sound to be more similar to a Wurlitzer EP and to fit rock music better. Many times they sound VERY similar, although the Pianet cannot match the expressivity that the hammer action on the Wurlitzer provides.

 

When they switched to the new models they lost that tone in favor of something more mellow and (dare I say) a bit more Rhodes like.

Moe

---

 

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The mapping of the Kurzweil is eye opening -- especially to someone (like me) who has never programmed a keyboard. I would have assumed there's no way to simultaneously play those organ and piano parts. Wrong!

I have a Shine On You Crazy Diamond Multi for my Kurz that works similarly.

 

I hold the G min string pad -1st inversion, with octaved G - but the stacked bass program's G is mapped to/triggered by the Bb I'm holding as part of the string pad chord, not the low G; then, I can change to the Cmin chord - 3rd inversion, with octaved G again - without really changing my hand position...and the bass note is now triggered by the C, even though the lowest note I'm playing is still a G.

 

What Ian is doing is obviously more involved...but the same basic idea.

 

dB

Yes -- and I imagine such techniques would be essential to reproducing the studio recordings of bands such as Pink Floyd and Genesis.

Funny how we find different ways of dealing with the multitrack problem.

For Ripples I play the piano arpeggio on the lower keyboard of the SK2 and the organ on the upper - don't think you notice the left hand is missing because of the rest of the band parts

Yamaha CP70B;Roland XP30/AXSynth/Fantom/FA76/XR;Hammond XK3C SK2; Korg Kronos 73;ProSoloist Rack+; ARP ProSoloist; Mellotron M4000D; GEM Promega2; Hohner Pianet N, Roland V-Grand,Voyager XL, RMI
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The mapping of the Kurzweil is eye opening -- especially to someone (like me) who has never programmed a keyboard. I would have assumed there's no way to simultaneously play those organ and piano parts. Wrong!

I have a Shine On You Crazy Diamond Multi for my Kurz that works similarly.

 

I hold the G min string pad -1st inversion, with octaved G - but the stacked bass program's G is mapped to/triggered by the Bb I'm holding as part of the string pad chord, not the low G; then, I can change to the Cmin chord - 3rd inversion, with octaved G again - without really changing my hand position...and the bass note is now triggered by the C, even though the lowest note I'm playing is still a G.

 

What Ian is doing is obviously more involved...but the same basic idea.

 

dB

Yes -- and I imagine such techniques would be essential to reproducing the studio recordings of bands such as Pink Floyd and Genesis.

Funny how we find different ways of dealing with the multitrack problem.

For Ripples I play the piano arpeggio on the lower keyboard of the SK2 and the organ on the upper - don't think you notice the left hand is missing because of the rest of the band parts

Yes, that's likely how I would do something like that too! :) It's impressive what people have done to exactly reproduce recordings!

 

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Funny how we find different ways of dealing with the multitrack problem.

For Ripples I play the piano arpeggio on the lower keyboard of the SK2 and the organ on the upper - don't think you notice the left hand is missing because of the rest of the band parts

 

I wholeheartedly disagree. For one thing, the first chorus is without drum and bass, only acoustic guitar strumming and a bit of tambourine, so the left hand is prominent and would definitely be lacking if it weren"t there.

 

Secondly, even when the drums come in for the second chorus, those left hand octaves are a big pet of the sound, just listen to the recording and you could clearly hear both hands playing as well as those organ pads.

 

In the end, it depends on what level of detail you"re going after. If you"re just playing a cover of the song one hand will do, or just piano but no organ. But if you"re trying to recreate a recording with as much attention to detail as an orchestra would performing a great symphony, then those extra details make a huge difference in the sound.

 

Ian Benhamou

Keyboards/Guitar/Vocals

 

[url:https://www.facebook.com/OfficialTheMusicalBox/]The Musical Box[/url]

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Are you saying Tony only went to "cover" his own songs? :laugh:

It's more about the level to which you go to reproduce a track and which version you play - live or studio.

You've gone for studio. I've gone for something half way because I can't add in the organ any other way.

 

I know that Tony didn't do live what you or I do for instance, and missed the organ out completely.

I prefer to add in the organ and sacrifice the left hand.

I'm sure there will be other songs where i do more than you, it's just how it goes and what is physically possible in some cases.

 

Yamaha CP70B;Roland XP30/AXSynth/Fantom/FA76/XR;Hammond XK3C SK2; Korg Kronos 73;ProSoloist Rack+; ARP ProSoloist; Mellotron M4000D; GEM Promega2; Hohner Pianet N, Roland V-Grand,Voyager XL, RMI
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