SteveCoscia
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Posts posted by SteveCoscia
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On 6/11/2024 at 11:49 AM, My Keys And Me Are Vintage said:
Must have been a fun time to be working in that company, so much potential for Ensoniq. I had just bought my first synth, a Korg Poly 800, around that time!
Yes it was a fun time with boatloads of potential. I moved from NY to PA and was thrust into a whole new life, professionally and personally. Unicord (pre-KORG USA) was where I previously worked and the Poly 800 was a major home run. Keyboard technology advanced quickly in the early 1980s. Many good memories.
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Just saw this post - I've been away for two weeks.
Glad to see so many positive remarks and I understand why some folks felt otherwise about Ensoniq products. Thanks to the musicians who bought our products and put their trust in us. Customers were Ensoniq's highest priority.
I started with Ensoniq in October 1984, about three months prior to the first Mirage shipments. It was an interesting ride and I learned much about management, operations and customer trends. Ensoniq's best feature was the company culture - employees were urged to do the right thing. Many people who worked at Ensoniq still say it was the best job they ever had.
I was the 16th employee; those early days were long and productive. We worked 6 days a week often and sometimes came back to the office late at night after eating dinner at home. It felt great to be part of a high-tech startup. We were on a mission to disrupt the industry and make sampling affordable.
Here's an old photo from December 1984. L to R - Robin Weber, myself and Dan Garrett.
The Mirage’s guts are featured - Dan is pointing to the Q-Chip. We were three young and optimistic managers who believed great things were about to happen.
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My two cents about online entrepreneurship, unrelated to custom keyboard sounds.
After earning more than seven figures in developing & selling online courses, the two things that matter most are:
1 - A robust distribution channel (via valued partners).
2 - Quality that is noticeably different (better).
There's an abundance of trial and error along the way, therefore perseverance and tenacity are mandatory.
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22 minutes ago, AWkeys said:
Is that an adaptation? Tony is playing the ARP 2600 there, so at most he has 2 notes of polyphony (duophony). This wouldn't be a direct transcription, then.
Edited to add: I just did a quick Google and found this video - perhaps this sheds light on the subject. Some nice synth programming in it!
Yes thanks. I was watching that video and two other ones.
This sure is a fun semi-retirement project - I never had time for this type of in-depth music projects before. Whaling a synth solo on top of a sequenced bed track brings me back to 1977.
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I am recording In That Quiet Earth from Wind and Wuthering and there's an unusual looking chord in the notation.
Starting from the bass clef going up, it looks like B, D, G#, B. But from the treble clef going down it looks like D,B#,F,D.
Can anyone convey insight? Thanks.
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The arrived three weeks ago, while I was away. Just opening the box today. Cat goodness.
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Just saw this, been traveling.
I just checked the thesoniq.com website and his spare parts are slim - no ASR-Rack spare parts or schematics.
Sam Mimms is your best bet, as Delaware Dave suggested, for a proper diagnosis.
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RIP Eric Carmen.
1975 was a pivotal year and "All By Myself" was on the radio often. I related to that song much as I transitioned from teenager to twentysomething. Great tune, great singer and songwriter.
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It's different.
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Feeling like a dinosaur.
In 1968, my parents took me to Sam Ash Hempstead to buy a $100 drumset - I switched to keyboards a few years later. In 2006, I took my guitar-player son to Manny's and Sam Ash on W 48th Street so he could feel the vibe.
In the 1970s, when I was gigging on Long Island, our band's soundman kept blowing EV 1824 PA drivers. JR at Sam Ash knew all the local bands, he knew their gear and what they needed. JR also knew all the guys in all the bands. I guess you could call it a community back then. No sooner would one of us walk into Sam Ash and JR would put up two fingers as if to say, "You want two 1824 drivers?" and we'd nod affirmatively. A more personal time and much more social. Better than social media.
So many memories. Onward.
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This showed up on FB yesterday. Makes much more sense for my setup.
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This thread got real comical.... fast!
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What caught me early on, with Beato, was that he spoke plainly, assumed his viewers were capable and were interested in broadening their musical landscape. Nothing was dumbed down in terms of theory, modes, scales and history - he just put it out there. I've been watching Beato since before he had one million subscribers and he's been and still is the internet's upside.
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This thread has the potential to go broad in terms of rock genre and timeframe.
Tony Banks was always my main rock keyboard hero - his Genesis work inspired me much.
However, and most recently, I've been digging John Evan from Jethro Tull and Jon Lord from Deep Purple. My fascination with these two might be temporary, but it sure is delightful. Those early Jethro Tull albums were killer, especially Thick As A Brick on which John Evan made significant musical contributions.
Jon Lord's work with Deep Purple put him in a category of one, regarding his organ tone and riffing style. Outside of Deep Purple, Jon Lord composed very melodic orchestral pieces that still hold up.
In two or three weeks, I might be onto a different pair of keyboard heros.
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I really enjoyed this interview, especially Omartian's early years. Their memories of the late 1970s and early 1980s were special too - that was a rich time in terms of technology's forward momentum. Electric guitars, keyboards and drums were enhanced and it was so audible on the radio. Things were changing.
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Thanks @harmonizer for the YouTube tip. Never knew that.
So I started isolating vocals. Meditation by Antonio Carlos Jobim is the first attempt. After isolating the vocal track, I fine tuned the pitch to match my piano. It's work, but it's fun work. Good retirement activity.
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Thanks oOAmpyOo for the online resources. You exceed my expectations. Much appreciated.
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Does anyone know of a good online resource for downloading isolated vocal tracks? I will pay for the downloads. Semi-retirement and more leisure time would make accompanying the vocals fun. Looking for jazz standards, ballads and bossa nova type of songs.
I did find a website: https://isolated-tracks.com/ but the selection is poor. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
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This could be years away. The UB-Xa was late by about 12 to 18 months. Interesting times.
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Brings back many memories. This song was a NAMM Show favorite at KORG, Roland and Yamaha booths. One year later, Van Halen's Jump dominated the NAMM Show floor.
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I am from the Keyboard Corner. Drums were my first instrument in the 1960s.
I own a 15 year-old Yamaha DTX electronic drumset - looking to upgrade. The Yamaha DTX8K-M and Alesis Strike Pro are the two that look interesting - they're both in the same price range (about $2,500). The Alesis set has an extra drum and an extra cymbal over the Yamaha. The Yamaha hardware seems more sturdy and professional over the Alesis. Are my assessments on track?
Does anyone have constructive insight on either drumset? Thank you.
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Yesterday, my Sweetwater rep said the UB-Xa is in stock. More reviews and videos should proliferate soon.
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50 minutes ago, RABid said:
Life is good. Enjoy the things you like. Ignore the rest. Stop wasting your time trying to change other people.
Enough said. Thank you.
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3 hours ago, DaveMcM said:
Going through old storage boxes is fun! Found this photo of my old rig.
Dave, I wouldn't have recognized you from that photo. You looked different when we worked at Ensoniq.
How many years between this photo and your start at Ensoniq?
AI for keyboards
in The Keyboard Corner
Posted
Wow! I went to https://suno.com/ and typed in "Tony Banks style keyboard composition" and I was blown away. The AI generated song was pretty good.
That being said, I am not sure what to do with AI music technology. At my age, this AI stuff is way over my head.