dazzjazz

Did this 2 years ago…still my favourite Christmas tune.

That’s a very nice sound. I think it’s probably from a very early Rhodes, probably a sparkle top.

https://youtu.be/9B8Xc7CbGs4?si=k0DXbrmh7f52j5cT

The bass was crushing at this concert. A couple of times the bass drum was so impactful it scared the bejesus out of me!

Cool I might check those out. I’ve done quite a bit too over the years. It’s a frustrating OS to deal with. I still love playing it though.

Let’s see if I can clear things up. after spending a fair bit of time on the David Burge Perfect Pitch course, I came to understand that each note in the western 12-tone system has its own distinct tone colour. Now this is a hard thing to accept, as it seems unlikely and also counterintuitive. But David goes to great lengths to describe it and point that PP is not pitch memory. A very prominent Sydney saxophonist/arranger taught himself PP using this course, and he has ears like an elephant. Many people I know can reproduce a certain pitch from memory - a famous Sydney trombonist comes to mind, and he teaches his students to remember the sound of F as a reference point. All other pitches are relative to that memorized pitch from then on. So when starting the actual work of the PP course, you sit with your main instrument (the one you actually play every day, not just any old piano, for example) and you listen DEEPLY to the sound of Eb and F#. David clues you up that Eb is mellow sounding and F# is buzzy. I started to be able to hear it. At first I thought I was kidding myself, like trying to believe Santa Clause is real, but every day, there it was, hidden in plain sight. Now, to be clear, that’s about as far as I got. Other aspects of musicianship took priority, and I decided that better relative pitch was far more useful. I was also reminded of a colleague who has PP but also the worst time on the planet. I cannot hear the tone colour of Eb and F# in other instruments in a reliable way yet. However, my main teaching room at Sydney Uni has a really nice Yamaha C5 that I particularly vibe with in terms of tone and action. I can hear these tone colours really clearly on it. Furthermore, Ab sounds super dark, and C quite bright, and E brighter still. These are probably not the best adjectives but they will do. So in summary, I do think it’s possible to learn PP in this way. Perhaps I will start the process again, as my ears continue to get better all the time. What I said about the cycle of fifth's is only partially related to what I’ve described above. As someone who has had to play and transpose a LOT of music, it is obvious to me that the “flat-side” of the cycle of fifths is increasingly dark-sounding as you head through the key centres of C/F/Bb/Eb/Ab/Db and that the “sharp-side” of the cycle of fifths are increasingly bright as you head through the key centres of C/G/D/A/E/B. This is an experiential thing for me, meaning I can hear it when I play and compare for example the key of Eb (lovely and warm) with the key of E major (too bright!). I don’t claim to be able to listen to a piece of music and discern its key reliably but I do get it right fairly often. I hope this clears up my experienced- based point of view.

No, enharmonic labels don’t come into it.

I started the David Burge Perfect Pitch course years ago, but never finished it. You start off learning to hear and contrast the colour of Eb and F#. Eb is mellow sounding and F# is buzzy. I can hear this quality, especially when my students are playing. But it’s not reliable for me yet. For years I’ve perceived that as you move around the cycle of fifths you can hear the sound quality get brighter as you add sharps and warmer you add flats. worth checking out if you have time. As Davis says, you have to do it in your main instrument at first.

The best clone bar none.

Here’s a close up of Col Nolan’s DX7. It’s a strong contender for the most beat up unit in the world that still works. It has Robin Whittle’s Real World Interfaces upgrade kit in it, which allows for full MIDI velocity amongst other things. I really haven’t had a chance to do much with it. The keyboard needs an overhaul - I’m not much of a tech so it may never get done. Perhaps it’s time I learnt! Col was a fabulous musician but he never looked after any of his gear. It often failed on the gig as a result.

It was in North Sydney. It wasn’t a store IIRC, maybe a hotel or similar.

As a 16 year old, I went to the launch of the DX7 in Sydney. It was demoed by an American guy whose name I cannot remember. There were a lot of professional musicians in the audience, and everyone’s jaw hit the floor. Still feels historic. I couldn’t afford one, ended up with the hobbled DX9 for some of my first gigs, alongside my much loved JX8P. I now have a very beat up DX7 that belonged to the famous organist Col Nolan. It looks like it’s been in a war zone. It has some kind of special upgrade kit in it - Col used two DX7s to replace his Hammond C3. I haven’t spent much time on it, and would like to get it totally refurbished if at all possible. I will try to post a photo of it.

Depends on what’s wrong and who does the work. Foam can be expensive to remove

At $300 it’s a no-brainer. Even if you spend a couple of grand to rejuvenate it. Grab it!

To clarify, I want fast attack strings that sustain, for fast flowing lines. Short samples won’t do the job. Yes this looks and sounds like it might be the answer, especially as it has a look-head feature to make sure the parts play in time.

Yeah I have that but it’s too slow. Native Instruments Session Strings is okay but small sounding, think it’s only quartet. What’s that? Or should I say, where is that?

I’m looking for recommendations for Orchestral sample libraries. I need fast attack articulations suitable for rhythmic music styles. I already own BBC orchestra from Spitfire Audio, but it’s all slow attack sounds. I could also use solo woodwind instruments… thanks Darren

Not sure I could bring myself to buy one of their products, but that’s just me. I use the Obession plugin from Synapse - it sounds really good!

If the speaker needs balanced line level and you send it unbalanced instrument level, you won’t get anything like full volume out of it.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the suggestions.

Yes that one looks good. However, it would be about $500 here in Australia. also, the way it folds means it wouldn’t be stable when placed on my hand cart. Fussy aren’t I ?!

Hi all, I need a new stand for piano and organ gigs (where I don’t use bass pedals). Currently I just tolerate my old Quiklok X-stand, but it’s pretty uncomfortable. I have an K&M 18810 Omega in my studio, which is great, but it doesn’t fold up. I use a K&M 18950 for my organ rig (with bass pedals) but the height is not easily adjustable, otherwise I’d just use it and have just one stand permanently in my van. What else is out there please? I had a look at Sweetwater’s site, but nothing really stood out. cheers Darren.

$76 shipping from Europe to Texas seems cheap to me.

After using DXR10s for years, I upgraded to the DZR10. The difference is night and day. Better components and a wooden cabinet make all the difference. I urge you to try one out.

Oh sorry - I have both stands and got the model numbers mixed up!