Jump to content
Please subscribe to MPN’s YouTube Channel!

Kawai James

Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,392

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Kawai James

    [AUDIO] Chain Reaction / The Crusaders (Live in Japan '78)

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    9 hours ago, Ivan May said:

    Thanks for uploading this! The Crusaders have always been one of my favorite bands.

    Yeah, me too!  I love their 60's material under the original name of The Jazz Crusaders.

     

    Just to clarify, I didn't upload the clips, I just stumbled upon then one day when searching for live performances of The Crusaders.
    There's sure a full performance from which these songs are taken, however I couldn't find it on YouTube - at least, not at good quality.

     

    Cheers,

    James

    x

    [AUDIO] Chain Reaction / The Crusaders (Live in Japan '78)

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Hello folks,

     

    This is not really related to anything, but I stumbled upon a pretty cool live album (bootleg) of The Crusaders playing in Japan in 1978 that I thought others here would dig. ;) This performance has Billy Rogers on guitar - his tone and cutting is so crunchy...I love it.  Of course, the rest of the band, including Joe Sample, are on fine form too!

     

    I tend to prefer the Crusaders late 60s/early 70s output, however this live performance is really good!

     

     

     

     

    Enjoy!

     

    Cheers,

    James

    x

    • Like 7
    • Love 1

    AI for keyboards

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    To continue the Hammond theme, it would be pretty cool to be able play a track from one of your favourite artists and have the AI setup your DAW with the exact tonal configuration (organ registration, Leslie configuration, compression, reverb etc.).

     

    "Hey Google, give me the sound of Steve Marriot's Hammond, as played on the 1969 Humble Pie release "Wrist Job" etc.

     

    Cheers,

    James

    x

    • Like 4

    Using audio "splitter" tools to isolate tracks/stems

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    On 3/25/2024 at 11:31 PM, Jwave said:

    The separate acoustic piano track created by the free Gaudio service is generally very good, and invaluable for study purposes. It can also create an electric guitar track, though if there are multiple guitars then some tend to go to the Other track. I’m hoping their “Coming Soon” promise means there may eventually be separate electric keyboard and synth tracks.

     

    I've noticed that I get different results when uploading discrete left and right channels of a track compared to when uploading the stereo original. Sometimes the results are worse, other times, such as one of the tracks I'm working on, "Harlem Clavinet", the keys part is more cleanly separated.

    It seems this is not an exact science, and a fair bit of experimentation is required, but is great fun (re)listening to some of your favourite tunes in this way! 

    • Like 1

    Using audio "splitter" tools to isolate tracks/stems

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Iconoclast said:

    What I like about Moises is it also has loop/key change/speed change so, even though the mechanization of it isn't stellar, it's a great rehearsal tool, especially if you're a guitar player.

    That's pretty cool. I used Audiostretch on iOS for quite a while to slow down and loop difficult parts when learning new songs, so the ability to do something similar within a tool that can also extract the different parts would be very handy. As it happens, the other day one of my bandmates would like to play the Bobby Womack tune "Across 110th Street", so I ran it through Gaudio Studio and sent him a link.  However, he said he would also like to play it a half-step lower so that it can segue into another tune.

     

    2 hours ago, Iconoclast said:

    But if anyone finds one that can split out the guitar and keyboards with any clarity just let us know that!

    I noticed that in one of the promo videos for Gaudio Studio, there was no "Piano" option - just a "Coming Soon" button.  It seems that the developers are continuing to improve their algorithms, so perhaps we will see improved separation for guitar and keyboard parts in the future?

     

    Cheers,

    James

    x

    Using audio "splitter" tools to isolate tracks/stems

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I've also been using the Gaudio Studio site - it works really well, and the ability to share the "separated" tracks via a URL with bandmates is really great.

    There was one tune I tried which struggled to extract the bass part compared to another tool I have been playing with, but other than that, the results have been very impressive.  I think it will also be a great tool for pratising, especially for tunes that have a strong keyboard/piano part, as you can essentially mute that part and play-along to the original accompaniment.

     

    I would share an example, however I'm unsure about the legalities of this kind of thing...

     

    Cheers,

    James

    x

    • Like 1

    Using audio "splitter" tools to isolate tracks/stems

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Thanks very much for the replies folks!

     

    I'll definitely have to check out some of these other options - the MusicRadar article is interesting too!

     

    The songs that I play with my bandmates are typically mid/late-60s, however sometimes the sax player will recommend a 50's R&B number. Those source recordings are typically mono, and the reference I receive is often a YouTube link. The other day I spent some time search for cleaner/remastered versions of a tune, and managed to purchase and download the track as an uncompressed WAV, as like dbran I believe that's the best source to use for this kind of processing (rather than a lossy MP3 that has already had frequencies "thrown away").

     

    It's really great fun to run some of your favourite tunes through these algorithms, and listen to the individual instrument parts (or combinations of parts) in isolation. On some occasions, I've heard new things that I had not noticed previously, and enhances my appreciation for the players' musicality.

     

    Thanks again!

     

    Cheers,

    James

    x

    Using audio "splitter" tools to isolate tracks/stems

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Hello folks,

     

    Tools that use AI to isolate tracks/stems from songs are nothing new, and I had experimented with them a few times in the past.

     

    However, I recently started getting back into this technology, and using it as a way to learn/practise songs with my bandmates.

     

    The "Spliteroo" app is quite nice, as it runs on both iOS and macOS, and allows stems to be extracted from uploaded audio files pretty quickly.  The other day I sent the parts to a song that our drummer and bass player had been struggling with, and I believe it really helped their understanding of the tune.  I'm only using the ad-supported free version which is limited to 4 parts (vocal, drums, bass, others), but I'm a little curious to see what the paid version can achieve with the more advanced AI models.

     

    I also stumbled upon Fadr.com which offers a similar service, and can even export a transcribed MIDI version of a separated track.

     

    I'm curious how other folks are using these tools in their music creation/performance, and if they have any that they particularly recommend, or have any tips to get the most out of the technology.  The quality of the track separation appear to vary considerably depending on the source recording/mix.  Sometimes I find it has been useful to upload separated left/right channels of a file instead of the original stereo version.

     

    Cheers,

    James

    x

    • Like 1

    Yamaha P-225 - Anyone buy/play one yet?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Floyd Tatum said:

    I just got a P-125a, but thinking I might try a P-225, and if I like it a lot better, I might upgrade.

     

    This doesn't answer your question, however the P-125a is the version of the P-125 *without* the useful USB audio interface.

    If you wish to connect your digital piano to a computer or phone/tablet and have the sound from the device output through the instrument's speakers, the USB audio interface is a really useful feature.

     

    Kind regards,

    James

    x

    Nord Grand 2

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    2 hours ago, CHarrell said:

    That'd be hilarious if Nord starting sourcing Korg for keyboards, especially its NH or whatever action. Then you'd really know how much the Swedish know how to game the profit margins!

     

    You may be interested to learn that in Japan, Nord instruments were once distributed by Korg (until October 2016).  This contract was then taken over by Yamaha, which remained the Japan distributor until October 2023. Today, Nord instruments are distributed throughout Japan by Kyoritsu group: https://kyoritsu-group.com/news/48055

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

    pdbass - cool bass-oriented YouTuber

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    1 hour ago, davinwv said:

    I've been on a few gigs with Paul, and several of my musician friends gig with him more regularly.

     

    He is one of the best bassists in the Pittsburgh scene and a really nice guy!

     

    I like his channel a lot and am very happy for his YouTube success.

    Wow, that's awesome!

    The next time you see him, please do pass on my warm regards! ;)

     

    Cheers,

    James

    x

    pdbass - cool bass-oriented YouTuber

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Hello folks,

     

    This is not strictly keys-related, but I wanted to quickly shout-out one of my favourite music YouTubers.  Interestingly, this guy is a bassist, so most of his videos are discussions from a bass playing perspective, however there is still a lot of good content for keyboard players, or folks who just enjoy someone speaking eloquently and enthusiastically about music.

     

    Link: https://www.youtube.com/@pdbass

     

    His videos are relatively short, but pack in a lot of detail (some cool trivia), some nice playing, and are produced in a simple yet elegant manner that I appreciate.

     

    Here is a recent example:

     

     

     

    An older example, breaking down a Donny Hathaway classic:
     

     

    Cheers,

    James

    x

     

    • Like 5

    Kawai MP7SE - new model coming soon?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    On 12/23/2023 at 9:46 AM, BluesB3 said:

    Any chance of Kawai's wonderful action appearing in a 73 key version for us multi keyboard gigsters?

     

    I'm a big fan of 73-key instruments, however I don't know if the market demand would be sufficient to justify the additional retooling cost for a 73-key MP.

     

    While not really a stage piano per se, it's perhaps worth noting that Yamaha hasn't (yet) announced a 73-key version of the P225 to replace the P-121.

     

    Kind regards,

    James

    x

    • Like 2
×
×
  • Create New...