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S90 musings AKA Connection with gear musings


ELP71

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I have an S90, PC2r and just got into soft synths. I used a PC88 for years and years until it was literally destroyed (in a freak flood at my work).

 

For numerous reason, and despite almost two years of trying, I can't form a connection with my S90 in any way. Case in point...I was running through the piano samples on my humble EXSP24 on Logic Express and found a sample that was really, really playable, pleasant and not a CPU or RAM hog. Well guess what? It was one of the Garageband samples. Yep, the free (with a MAC) one. I found myself playing for extended periods like the 'old days' just enjoying the piano sound. I realized that much of my 'piano time' has been spent thinking of ways to 'make the S90 sound better'. Is that really what it should all be about???

 

Now don't get me wrong - I like a lot of the sounds on the board. I know that it's a powerful synth. But the piano sounds and user interface leave me cold. I can't stand the controller aspect of the board, especially coming from the Kurzweil. I have tried and tried to make it work for me and I just can't. I know Master mode is supposedly something special but it frankly disturbes me. I see the PC2X in ads and get misty eyed. I think as good as the S90 is, to me its like that rebound girlfriend - you like her but somethings just not there.

 

As much as I like the action, I think its time to say goodbye. I've never sold a piece of gear in my life but I'm seriously thinking about it.

 

There. I feel better.

Weasels ripped my flesh. Rzzzzzzz.
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I understand. Many of us understand.

 

There's a connection there between the fingertips hitting the keys and making sound... the feel of the action, the length of time it takes to hear a sound after you press the key, the interaction and chorusing you hear between the notes.

 

There's a vibe that you feel when you play a good acoustic piano and become one with it. It seemed to be easier to get this same vibe from an electro-mechanical keyboard like a Rhodes, Wurlitzer 200A or Clavinet. I think this is one of the reasons that folks here like the Nord Electro. The connection between what you want to play and what comes out of the keyboard is solid.

 

Timing is everything. I still hold onto one of my favorite Keyboard Magazines; August 1993. There's an interview with Donald Fagen where he talks about MIDI slop and how he hated synths back then because of it. In talking about drum machines he says:

 

"...it's different when it's played live. In just playing around with this stuff, I've found that the diference between having a groove and not having a groove can be a tenth of a millisecond, or less. that's how detailed a live drummer's rhythmic sensibility can get."

 

He also discusses synth tuning:

 

"Do you have perfect pitch?", he was asked.

 

"No, but I'm very sensitive to pitch. And almost all singers complain about this synth tuning. Sometimes they don't even know why. They'll say stuff like, "What is this? Take the flanger out!" Really, it's just that synthesizers are not in tune; it's as simple as that. So I try to use tunable instruments - Rhodes, acoustic piano, guitars. I think they should make a new Grammy for the most in-tune record; I bet I'd win. In fact, I'd venture to say I might have the only in-tune pop record, except for various acoustic band things. Being in tune has a psycho-acoustic effect; the sound is much more relaxed than on electronic stuff."

 

That article was written by Robert L. Doerschuk and published in Keyboard Mag August 1993. If you get a chance to read it, please do. This is the kind of insightful writing that made me subscribe to Keyboard for over 100 years. (I have 1,000 - maybe 2,000 issues, you know.) ;)

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo
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I had the same remorse over my old Roland RD-600 and I still do from time to time. I used it for about 5 years and then tried to make the switch to an RD700 (several years before the SX model came out). I was so comfortable with the RD600 interface, feel and sounds that I could not become one with the RD700 and I sold it. Fortunately at the time, I still had the RD600 and kept using it.

 

I then got a case of GAS for an S90 after playing one for the first time, probably late 2002 or early 2003. I held off for about a year, fearing the new interface and all the time it would take to set it up. I finally caved and bought an S90 in late 2003. I spent quite some time getting used to it and programming it. It took quite awhile to get comfortable with it, but now it is kind of like the way I used to feel about the RD600 - I'm really used to how it works and know how to shortcut a lot of things to make it easier.

 

I can feel your pain...if you really aren't digging the S90 and still long for the Kurzweil, you may just want to switch. I still long for an RD600 after almost 2 years of not using one. Believe it or not, I do have an eBay bookmark for Roland RD and I look at the used market from time to time.

 

It's tough to make an electronic instrument become "your own" like a logical extension of yourself. It takes a long time and special instruments in many cases. The one legacy keyboard that I probably know better than anything is my trusty Roland JX-8P that I've had since 1985. That thing is so careworn from all the years of use (it was my primary keyboard for 7-8 years and secondary for several years beyond that). Now I might play it a few times a year, but will never part with it.

 

Regards,

Eric

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