Bif_ Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 The other thread "GAS Flashback-Digital recorders' prompted this post, but for a very different reason. Around the mid 80's I was all about the one-man band concept. I'd seen an artist using Oberheim's DSX sequencer (pre-midi, and proprietary format). Way out of my price range. At the same time period, I'd been in a 5 piece Christian rock band (during the beginning of the CCM movement). The band had broken up, and not a lot of people that wanted to play the genre, so I decided to buy a Fostex 250 (4 track to cassette, to create my own accompaniment tracks), and a Yamaha RX-15 drum machine to use with my newly purchased DX-7. I knew very little about recording, but optimized my setup by putting drums on a track, bass on a track and two other keyboard parts on the remaining two tracks (all using the DX-7. I played a live part on the DX. My inelegant solution for tracks, was that I mixed the Fostex tracks to standard audio cassettes, one song per cassette. I also purchased an outboard DBX noise reduction unit to minimize hiss since it was all going through a decent PA (Yamaha EM300 and two of those huge Yamaha 2-way 15's they sold at the same time). I sang, and had another male and female vocalist, so three part harmony with recorded tracks and live DX-7 played by myself. I just dug out the Fostex (I'm purging some old possessions) and have listened to a few of the tracks I recorded. I'm amazed at how accurate my timing was considering I played it all live to tape, one track at a time, using only the drum track for timing reference. I'm also amazed at how much mileage I got out of the DX-7's sounds. Funny thing is that I didn't put reverb on anything! (I just didn't know any better.) That setup worked so well since each song was on a separate tape, I could change the order of our songs on the fly. Since the DX was "the keyboard" then, it was musically relevant. At the time it was a great sound and great way to perform. Quote Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Excellent. Gear "limitations" due to features or budget force musicians to use their creativity. It's also a great way to learn different aspects of the process (composition, recording, mixing, etc.). Nowadays, there is still a learning curve with newer gear but it's extremely powerful. Some KB workstations record both MIDI data but also record audio. With computer-based set-ups, it is game set match point. Today, the functionality of that Fostex 250, RX-15 and DX-7 and more sit inside a Kronos or Fantom or laptop. Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokely Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 My friend growing up did all of our songs on a Fostex four-track, not sure it was that model. He got it in '81 or '82 I'd imagine. Oh the bouncing he did You really learn to be creative (as did the Beatles) when you were trying complex tunes with a measly four tracks... That said, having no reverb for keyboards throughout the 80s sucked. I had nice gear but only a keyboard and amp, didn't really know any better as you say...including a JX-10 for the latter half of the 80s and onward, but it just didn't sound "like the record"...when I got to bring stuff into studios that had outboard gear it was amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markyboard Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Around the mid 80's I was all about the one-man band concept. I'd seen an artist using Oberheim's DSX sequencer (pre-midi, and proprietary format). Way out of my price range. At the same time period, I'd been in a 5 piece Christian rock band (during the beginning of the CCM movement). The band had broken up, and not a lot of people that wanted to play the genre, so I decided to buy a Fostex 250 (4 track to cassette, to create my own accompaniment tracks), and a Yamaha RX-15 drum machine to use with my newly purchased DX-7. I knew very little about recording, but optimized my setup by putting drums on a track, bass on a track and two other keyboard parts on the remaining two tracks (all using the DX-7. I played a live part on the DX. My inelegant solution for tracks, was that I mixed the Fostex tracks to standard audio cassettes, one song per cassette. I also purchased an outboard DBX noise reduction unit to minimize hiss since it was all going through a decent PA (Yamaha EM300 and two of those huge Yamaha 2-way 15's they sold at the same time). I sang, and had another male and female vocalist, so three part harmony with recorded tracks and live DX-7 played by myself. Amazing - my setup was near identical. Along with the mentioned MC500 sequencer (eventually upgraded to MKII) and Tascam 244 I had a DX7, RX-11 drum machine, Memorymoog, Minimoog and CP-80. Also had a Roland DEP5 effects unit. I also attempted the 1-man band thing with all originals a few times live. Can't believe I hauled all that gear. Ya know its pretty easy to play keys even when you're nervous. Singing- not so much. I also did an all Doors thing a few times with a female drummer. Yikes - glad there weren't iPhones with video capture back in the day. Still that was way more fun then playing in crappy top 40 bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bif_ Posted January 5, 2021 Author Share Posted January 5, 2021 Excellent. Gear "limitations" due to features or budget force musicians to use their creativity. It's also a great way to learn different aspects of the process (composition, recording, mixing, etc.). Yeah, that was the beginning of me learning how to do cover tunes by myself. Breaking down drum parts, bass parts, etc. I've advanced with that and sequenced quite a lot of cover tunes over the years. It's a curse at times in that when I listen to music, I sometimes get wrapped up in the constituent parts rather than being able to listen to it as a whole. Today, the functionality of that Fostex 250, RX-15 and DX-7 and more sit inside a Kronos or Fantom or laptop. All true, and I finally figured out how nice it is to add reverb (except the bass, NEVER add reverb to the bass ) Quote Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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