Adam Burgess

Brad, that's a great story! What a day. But, hey... no-one died and you got paid… that's always a win. ANYTHING with no rehearsal can only go a few ways. You were let down quite a bit, though. Guess the singers didn't get the memo to bring 'proper sheet music'! If I'm accompanying for show auditions, I give the organisers an example of what I need to send out, or actually tell them to prepare what we need in the show. Exam stuff is usually pretty much set in stone. I also have no qualms about spending 30 seconds asking the vocalist 'what does this go like? Sing a bit under your breath and tap ya foot.' I'll quickly try a couple of things with them when there's no tempo markings, or any 'feel' info, till they're happy. There's a bit more time pressure on some gigs than others, but it's a much more worthwhile use of the time getting things as good as possible. Things like Associate Board graded exams in UK and overseas do always add a few mins extra with the appointment times, and again - the 6 year old playing grade 2 violin or clarinet is foxed anyway cause it's the first time away from their techer - I've never met them before, but, it's OUR performance that matters. The examiner understands that, and is generally ok with me checking a few things with the student. They've waited months - the panel can wait 30 seconds. Show auditions, if there's really not much to go on, I'll ask 'what <famous tune> does it sound like?' If there's just a melody, I'm lucky enough to have played enough genres and know enough theory to be dangerous to look ahead to cadential points and have a guess at the harmony. Musical theatre is great at changing keys every 23 bars; that's always great practise. *And, yes, I agree, Sondheim's accompaniments excluded Unfakeable, for sure! If the singer doesn't even know which key or how fast they're going, if I had to MD them in rehearsals afterwards - I'd be wary if they couldn't be bothered to ask a friend if they do it in Eb or G. Singers who do stuff totally by ear and intuition will sing along with you so long as it's not horrendous, and it'll be much more symbiotic than them RELYING on you to make stuff up if they didn't bring the right materials. That ended up quite rambly - sorry! Passing time waiting for a friend in hospital!

Hey Woody - the price is a thing, for sure! At the time I bought it, I was doing a load of resident gigs in hotels with all expenses, so could easily afford to splash out, don't know if I'd do it now I'm back to freelancing! Think I paid around $1000USD(!) 7 years ago(!!) So long as you understand very basic geometry and gravity haha, the clamps and such are REALLY well engineered and will stay exactly where you put them. Not sure what the SWL would be on the weakest part - the bolts and washers, but I bet it isn't small. The bars are almost scaffolding and, finish aside, they're tough. My stand is also based on another YouTube vid from Gibraltar, but scaled up quite a bit; both height- and width-wise. One the first setup, the bottom tier did bounce up and down a little, but a little adjustment on the front legs' angle, and I can stick a Kronos 88 on it - and, I'm heavy handed. It's seriously cool to have everything where you want it to the mm. Back to price, I'm on my 4th(?) Spider Pro at the mo. That wasn't a cheap route either, but one of the few that'll go high enough for me. The Gibraltar stuff is basically unbreakable, as far as I've found. I'm not particularly careful with it, as I do dread getting the heavy case back in the house after a gig 😉.

Cause of where I am in the world, I usually do my own repairs. I would not mind drilling a couple of holes in the rear of the case to slot a music rest in, using a similar method to Arturia with their Keylab 88. That laptop shelf and music rest it comes with are indeed really handy!

I do love this version

I sometimes do backing tracks and stuff for 'modern' stuff - I think I'm the same as you. I tend to visualise stuff 'to be played by a real musician' and think how it would look written down. I've tried watching a load of song teardowns and tutorials, and these guys make such a meal out of recording a 4 bar kick snare hat pattern. It always ends up quantised - with a groove template loaded or just totally straight anyway. I can do the same thing either typing in Sibelius (like a very posh step sequencer), drawing notes in Logic, or just playing it live on keys or pads. An actual step sequencer, I think I just missed that at my time of life, but yeah, divide the bar into (I'm English) semiquavers and drag stuff about. Or just drag a groove in and manipulate… Dunno! I don't get it - I admit I get bored. When I've gone to DJs houses to give them some 'nice' chords/bass lines and stuff, they just gimme a reference and record me for an hour with a guide drum track and they will sit thru and choose some good bits long after I've gone.

I say this with all honesty - it's heavy, yes. No getting away from that fact. But, to put it together once the memory locks are erm… locked. It's five mins build after a few practice runs. Putting it down takes 2 mins. The clamps are seriously well engineered and the steel poles are like scaff. Just chuck the parts back in the case. They come back out in the right order for next time. EDIT: Second and third pics: you can see the normal height I'd dare put an X-Stand at. A lot lower than I'd ever be comfy with standing live. And, one pipe will indeed hold a Kronos 61, and has no problem with the much lighter Arturia plus a couple of small booms off it!

Now and again I get my Gibraltar stand out! It's a bit more involved than the KeyTree. Originally bought it for a 5-night a week house gig years ago but I can still put it together in 5 mins from a drum stand HardCase… Have a few extra bits I can bolt on for my little Korg Minilogue/laptop/mic boom/iPad etc etc… Heights are perfect for me being 6'6" with long legs! And, chrome does look better than matte black under the lights 😇

Don't have any pics to hand, but used to get lessons with a Hammond (something!) and my Yammy PSR arranger on top as I couldn't yet reach the pedals (8yrs oldish), so had to do some bass up top - got quite good at 'striding' between the bottom manual and the PSR haha. But, the sound of the Leslie ramping up to Fast made me fall in love instantly. My grandad got me a lovely Chappell acoustic piano for the house when I was around 9. It was gorgeous and so easy to play compared to the various church and village hall pianos I had to endure. (Started gigging for actual money really quickly 🙂 Normal day gig fees haven't really improved any in the last 35 years 😆. Didn't realise at the time, but now it was a huge sum for my family to outlay - both a BRAND NEW piano and the Yamaha PSR. Couldn't thank them enough now. Also didn't realise at the time, the broken keys and horribly out of tune notes on church hall pianos also taught me a few lessons on re-voicing chords and arrangements without knowing it - and some great accompanying chops. Who knows what key Gladys will sing in tonight… Who knows what the singer's dots would be like… Who knows how good the drummer is… First brand new 'proper' keyboard I got was a Roland XP50. Having had a D5 and U20, I thought I'd stick with Roland. Played that till it disintegrated. Loved it.

Although most outdoor gigs are great using real generators from Aggreko etc., there's at least never been a little noisy Honda site generator or whatever. Constant voltage is just as important as current capability, especially as almost everything these days is digital on switch mode supplies. On our rider/contract - along with suitable PA quality, coverage, and volume required for the venue etc. is a clause that safe stage power shall be provided. If it's not safe and something goes bang, they have broken the contract. I do know enough to look at large power supplies and can tell if something is generally ok, but yes, I've stopped a gig and waited for a real power solution to turn up before. At the very least, on small gigs, I always check the stage outlets with a plug in tester - caught a few dodgy ground connections even with a simple $10 device. Luckily, here in the Middle East, the power system is largely based on the UK system, known to be the most stable and safest in the world. 3phase 63A @ 230V split to 16A all on Ceeform connectors for stage; with either RCD breakers in splitter boxes or fuses in 13A 4-gang sockets on stage is the sort of norm around these parts.

The seller has tried calibrating the touchscreen?

X32 Rack plus one of the stageboxes Behringer do would get you the most physical channels in the smallest space Also, cheapest, I think, without using a large format 32 channel analog desk with limited routing! You can always have 32 each way over USB to and from the desk. (And, 20 physical outs?) I use a patchbay with my X32 Rack at home. Main snakes for the stuff I use most are normalled thru the patchbay, but having another infinite amount of connections helps more than you would think. Aux and the other 6 XLR outs are also thru the patchbay in my set up, apart from the mains which go straight to monitors. I'd convince him to do an X32 Rack and the patchbay. EDITED: X32 does max out at 40 channels - regardless if the inputs are USB or physical XLR/jacks on the unit or with a stage box

I was on an orchestral 'pops' gig a year or so ago as part of the 5 piece rhythm section/band. The orchestra arrived from overseas and the conductor/arranger was expecting a harpist. No harpist, so I was asked to cover those parts when possible. I'm not going to say no to the conductor in front of 50 musicians on stage and a few thousand paying customers imminently arriving. I've done the same years ago, when a pit orchestra for a musical needed a few bars oboe solo, and the reed player didn't play oboe. She already had 2 clarinets, flute, and a few saxes. Do I mind covering ANY parts if the boss who's paying me asks me to? Not at all. A band/orchestra is a team. And, yes, sometimes the horn section HATE singing or shouting BVs, or the singer CAN'T actually play the tambourine, so you give it to the tuba player who isn't too busy…

I played some horn parts once with Culture Club with a real sax player and my Triton Extreme. Very last minute gig… sight reading Tpt. hand in Bb, Tbn. in C… but, followed his breathing, and a good few thousand people thought it was ok 🙂 In my normal little gigs; I do a few things. • to tracks I know the tempo of/have control over - I can always play the notes and put articulations MIDI switches on track. Playing the parts, I find fun. ª play simple harmonies (no more than two notes - octs, 4th/5ths) totally live with a key-faded spilt Tbn., Saxes., Tpt. possibly with a 'section' patch layered? Can't articulate open 10ths/counter-point if I'm playing rhythm parts, really! • just put the parts on track. (I have no qualms about things on track, so long as I'm not miming them 🙂 ) • play in unison/simple harmony with the sax player/singer - again - breathing with them is paramount. Even a trumpet patch that's more 'rounded' than my usual saxophonist's spitty 'rock' sound - adds soooo much. (*Same works for musicals with one real violin above samples) • guitar player gets the horn riffs, and, to keep room for vox/riffs I'll generally comp not much above middle-C territory on pianos (and opt. bring in pads/organ to fill out any space that seems a bit empty.) (* I'll also follow where the guitarist is playing, as he's interpreting horn parts. If he's an octave low, I'll adjust) As a sort of aside, been playing around a lot this week with my Integra rack, and the SuperNatural stuff really does work live. Better options for recording/mocking up and realising parts - but, for live - the legatos/falls/spit/aftertouch for timbre changes is actually still very good IMO!

XR18, only because my X32 rack is installed at home!

I have a Korg i3 (newer model), and it's a fantastic little keyboard that's got me thru a few great gigs that otherwise would've meant programming drum tracks, and extra rehearsals with a singer who hates to/can't work to the 'original forms'. All a lot of work for a couple of dates. Would I rather have bought a Genos or P4X - absolutely. I think they're awesome. They're massive, heavy, and complex if you dig really deep, but when has that ever stopped a keyboard player?! But, my little Korg is a great sounding ROMpler; it weighs nothing, and was stupidly cheap. Handy thing to have around.

L-shaped cables on the front to keep them low profile? Mount the mio in the back of the rack? (I know it's nice to have the flashy lights on the front 😉 ) At home, my racked up MIDI4+ interface I use for gigs has my studio Mac and iPad plugged in in the front for programming purposes (easier with the Mac mini and big screens, than the laptop), and the laptop goes in the back socket, with the cables I need in the outside world, coming out in a snaky thing. That one huge selling point of iConnectivity stuff - as an interface for many hosts at once! And, it's built really well. (Just hate the software - I may have mentioned that before, although, it's getting better!)

On a recent gig, I used the individual outs on my Integra-7, and then went a step further, bussing in my mixer, additional USB inputs from multitracks on the Mac and a Triton. Sound guy got BVs, 808 Loops, Pianos, Synths, Strings/Pads, Brass Section, and the drummer got a click.

My Keylab MkII 61 is pretty great. Keys are a bit sharp on organ smears/glisses, but feels fine apart from that. I got an 88 version with which I'm still trying to love regarding the way it feels; aftertouch and velocity curves, both!

Prefer an 88 for anything with splits or piano. Had to settle for a Kronos 73 a few years ago, as an 88 Kronos just wouldn't fit into a standard taxi around these parts 😆 But, I've played on a Deepmind 49 and gave the octave buttons some action, when I had to! Being sensible - a 61 is doable. It's more about the weighted-ness than the amount of keys. But, again, my first Kronos was a 61, and honestly the best synth action I've ever played.

I've been using the Roland ZENOLOGY stuff recently. Nice and small, lots in there (albeit oldish Roland stuff) but still works in a mix/band, and, easy on the host.

Had a busy weekend here in the UAE a few years back (2017) Was a Friday afternoon gig in an enclosed beach in a lovely cove at the bottom of a small cliff. Didn't feel warm at all. Was really dry. Thought I was used to it. Getting the gear up and down the million steps was a chore, but the staff were great, and I really didn't have to do much. We played the last set before summer really hit in that venue and they closed the outside. 'Twas mid August. The Kronos died that afternoon for a while, the Mac and iPad, too. A plucky beaten up SY85 got me thru the last set. Went straight to an outdoors evening gig (some awards function, or something) at the Burj Kalifa in Dubai. Suited up and was sweating like hell. Was soooo humid and around 45ºC at 9pm. Became really ill - very nauseous and a bit spaced out, finished the gig, went home, lost 4x gigs in the coming weekend, and that was the only time I got sunstroke. Also dropped my laptop in my sweaty spaced-out-ness and smashed the screen and bent the thing to bits. Was the cauldron-like sun trap I was in all afternoon. Dry heat is the worst. But Blue Marlin is a lovely venue! Had a brilliant afternoon! Wouldn't change a thing 🙂

Try getting in touch with the guy who wrote this http://pcgtools.mkspace.nl/ He's always updating it and works brilliantly. Don't know why Korg doesn't employ him. Much better than the clunky SoundQuest stuff that is still stuck in the 80s. He's definitely passionate about it and sure he'd give you some insight into his workflow and methods if you're serious. I'm currently doing a bit programming of my Roland Integra-7 over DIN MIDI. Literally everything has a SysEx command. RX/TX-ing simple serial strings is pretty easy to get your head around. Making it look good and putting buttons in the right place is a talent in itself. I always wanted to learn to code properly - think that was supposed to be my actual career, but ended up gigging a lot when I got to 9yrs old and forgot to get a real job 🙂Good luck on the future, man. Thank you, too @Mills Dudefor a very interesting read 🙂

That means me asking someone to do it for me, or a selfie, which makes me REALLY NERDY 😆

It's excellent. Thank you!

I always stand with my Spider Pro. Puts a lovely thick line in front of my face if I sit with it. (may be preferable!) I play slightly better sitting (or, it's easier), but as above, if I'm doubling acoustic guitar or singing, I'd rather stand for easiness! Jazzy duos and accompaniment stuff, will always sit. The singer is the star - bands are different.