retrokeys

I heard tell that his stage rig had 16 Leslie 900's. In those days the most powerful one that they made. I then read somewhere that he decided to switch to electric piano because the organ was making him deaf??!!! Never got to see him ;live but about wore the records out

Steve Winwood

Expensive? Yes, I have some money in it but everything there was meant to be carried and played out,unlike my C3 and leslie which would be happier in church or at home.

Some nice hammond on this Humble Pie session

i saw BillyJoel in 1974 right after the release of "Steetlife Serenadfe" To this day, the tightest five piece band I ever heard and I only paid.three bucks for floor seats no less. The performance was full of youth, fire, performance ,and attitude. His sign off was "don't take any shit from anyone." This tune reminds me that a lot of water had flowed under the bridge since then. It is the song of a grown man singing in a man's voice. Thanks Bill for keeping it real..

I always find it amusing. If someone like Rudess, who is tachnically super proficient, shows up here., the bashers show up and complain that the plalyng should have been more restrained and simpler with more feel. If someone with feel and simplicity shows up, then somebody, usually a frustrated jazzer ,has to point out that Art Tatum or Oscar Peterson could have found better chords played with much better technique. Tough room

My 1959 C3, when it got hooked up to my 251 lesiie proved to be magical. That was 1973 and I knew I could sell everything else but not that. Never have., That being said, the Vox Jaguar I had in highchool was about the coolest thing I ever saw. Stil sort of wish I had it around to look at.

Happy New year and may eveyones rig and gear live up to your best expectations

I have the Hammond xk5 dual manual metal stand which only comes in black or silver. Been seiously thinking about getting it powder coated in fire engine red. 'Bout as adventuresome as I get.

I suppose for us any keyboard we once had and now miss, or once we gassed over, has become "iconic." Simply, That stetches the definition too far. Might I suggest, for fun, keyboards your guitarist might see as emblematic. I would wager on the B3, the Vox, the Farfisa ( if they are "of a certain age") and a few telephone swithcboard looking synths. The lights or colors that fascinate us, and tickle our memories, let's face it, mean nothing to the average Joe.

Barbara Dennerlein.

One of the neater tricks you can do with a Hammond XK5 is run a real leslie with the 11 pin connector and send the leslie sim out of the 1/4 inch jack. I would only do this on gigs where the leslie was going to be miced anyway so I would at least have some moving swirling air on stage. It's like the old joke.. "Who do you think you are going to satisfy with that?" The answer.... "Me."

After all this time and different bands and musical styles, I've been through it all from changing matching outfit every set to the 1960's "whatever you came in wearing." and much in between. About the only corporate thing I dealt with that I liked was one band did where we agreed on a color and then each member "styled" that. The drummer, for example wore a sort of Steve Jobs T shirt and lightweight vest. The horn guys did short sleeve button down collar shirts. The singer had a black suit. I had sort of a suede like long sleeve shirt. Everyone had the standard black pants. You can, of course do this with any color or even combinations. I was with another group where the rule was black and red. Some guys wore red ties with black shirts othere had red and black stripes. It works. There is enough uniformity but also allowing for comfort, invidual style and visual interest. An old guy's two cents.

Always liked that tune and yes there are a lot of studio subtleties that make the recording work. My favorite take on it however is from an Australian band that ought to be huge someday if there is any justice. Good piano solo here too. Enjoy.

Bass solos are banned by the Geneva Convention as torture. Everyone talks during the bass solo.

Find a clav voice and get funky with your bad self.

My lawnmower says Troybilt right on top where anyone can see it. My snow thrower says Ariens. I'm pretty sure anyone who cares to look can find out what kind of chainsaw I have when I'm using it. My vehicle is a Toyota even though as an SUV it looks like everyone elses, I've kept the hood badge. I don't cover those... why would I care about my keyboards. Yes, on a sponsored show on TV or some corporate venue where a competitor might be footing the expenses. I can see why "free" advertsing might be a concern. Otherwise use the damn tape to hold your X brace stand together. Life is too short. Like the fellow said "Lighten up, Francis."

Donald Fagan Ray Charles Vince Guaraldi

Retro type keys.

I get that Nords are pricey and the actions and sounds are not to everyone's taste. I'm used to the comments since I run a rig with a Hamond dual manual XK5 on the bottom and an electro 6 HP on the top. Heaven knows here both Hammonds and Nords take their fair share of knocks. Either you like it or not and some of the criticism of both instruments is valid. Two points, though, that have not been discussed. First, build quality. Say what you will, Nords are built like tanks. I bought an electro 2 about the time they first came out. I did it because I was getting tired of relacing the 'wall wart' power supply all the time on the Kurzweil I had. Also I liked the clav that the electro had. Long story short....I ran that thing all over the place. It rolled in cold trucks, played in direct sun and bounced around a lot. If even got dropped twice. In the 10 plus years I had it it never needed service. Seldom ran into a board like that. The experience sent me toward Nord when I wanted to upgrade. Like many here, I like a piano to feel like one. Muscle memory or something but the Hammer Piano action, while certainly not perfect, gets that done for me. The Nord Grand is a whole different thing. Try it. The second thing is the odd nature of the piano sample. iI has been discussed here and on some forums, but the Nord pianos always seem to sound better at a distance, Have no idea why but it keeps happening that someone in the audience will come up and remark on how much they like the piano sounds. This even used to happen with my Electro 2. I always thought the acoustic piano sounds were the weakest part, but really didn't mind because I bought it for the EPs and, as I said, the clav. Anyway, if you are testing Nords out for possible purchase, try to go with a keyboard playing friend and go listen to it at a distance. Might be surprised. My 2 cents.

I used to have a Vox.......

At our U we had the Honors College Policy Council. better known as HoCoPoCo. I guess that's what it was all about or maybe they just got themselves turned around.

Been there. Done that. There are some who believe that academic administration is like being a fertilizer spreader, i,e. taking the BS from above and distributing it evenly below. Don't believe it. Your job is to keep the "stuff" off of your staff so that they may teach, research, or both effectively. A rule of thumb I sort of developed was to consider what each of my colleagues would charge per hour and then add it up. If I didn't have a concern or problem that involved that much or more we weren't going to have a meeting. I'd just deal with it. Meetings are the curse of academe. Most could be replaced with a mass e mail. Yet.. there are some who actually like them. I guess they have yet to realize that a university is very much a machine for diffusing responsibility but concentrating authority and believe me, that authority is at a much higher level than that of faculty chair. In any case, while you may have been elected unanimously, you will likely not be supported that way. Don't let it get to you. Do your best and when you get to emeritus status you can smile. Good luck...and don't let it cut into your playing.

Way back when I was able to finally afford an upgrade from my Hammond M1, I purposely got a C3 in preference to a B3. Yes, they are a bit heavier but less top heavy. Moreover I had seen and heard enough stories of B3s shifting in the truck or trailer or the load shifting or both and the legs breaking on the B. I never looked back. A 1959 bought in 1973 and I still have it. They just looked cool especially the quatrefoil models. Don't gig with it anymore since the old back prefers the XK5 these days but still a sturdy piece of gear.