tonybanksfan

I love snippets of bygone eras, that was great.

I was asked to join an 80's post punk new wave band that had a good playlist with plenty of great keyboard parts and solo's. I've been looking for the right band for a long time and this one had me very interested. They are a part time gigging band which suited me fine. I started to learn their playlist and was getting excited as playing the songs was even better and more enjoyable than i realized they would be. I was curious about how they sounded as I knew nothing about them and had never heard them. They had a audio clip on Bandmix and I eagerly went to listen to it. The band sounded pretty good but... the lead singer and "band leader " had a voice I just can't be comfortable with. He sings okay and delivers the goods on time and with enthusiasm but I don't like his low, dull tone with no spark or edge. His voice has no high range or crispness and I just don't like it. I quit before the first rehearsal and now I'm wondering if I should have at least gone and played with them to check them out? It's water under the bridge because I let the bands bass player know the reason and he related it to the rest of them, so there's no way the singer would want me now even if I changed my mind. Did I screw up or am i just following what I think are good I instincts? It's kind of bugging me that's why I've bothered to post it here to see what others think.

They should bring Ray Wilson along to cover some Gabriel vocals. It could inject some new energy both physically and visually , and it would give Phil a chance to cope with the demands of singing powerfully for an entire show let alone a tour. Their voices would work well together and we wouldn't just have to watch Phil sit in a chair for 3 hours. According to Nic Collins, he has let it slip that their rehearsing alot of oldies, but I doubt many make it into the tour. They always have been good at putting some juicy medleys together so maybe we can hope for some new combo.

I'm wondering if there is a cryptic message in the "The Last Domino" image they are using to promote the tour. They have 3 domino's in the process of falling. The last looks like a 4 on top and a 3 on the bottom that has fallen but not sure because it's partially hidden. The 2nd has a 1 over 5 in the process of falling. The first domino has a 3 over 5 and yet to fall. The first domino may signify the upcoming and final tour ever with three of the original five guys in the lineup and possibly their finale. The second domino may signify Phil's last tour where he was the solo artist of the five performing a few Genesis songs. The last domino I'm not sure about so is anyone's guess. I think the domino numbers may have been picked for a reason or... the numbers are just random and mean nothing at all. Anybody want to weigh in with a conspiracy theory or interpretation? Lol...

The last Genesis tour I went to see was the "Abacab" tour. There were some great moments that night, including Tony Banks giving us a lovely rendition of ". . . Slippermen", but the newer, Pop tunes sounded out of place, and I was done after that. Phil Collins came out with a Trumpet he used solely as a prop during . . . I honestly can't recall the name of that hit tune, and won't make myself seem smarter than I am by looking it up? It had the Tower of Power Horn section playing on the original recording, I remember that much. I kept listening to Hackett and Gabriel long after I gave up on Collins' version of Genesis. I never heard anything from the brief effort by Rutherford and Banks to re-form as a duo in the 90's? I know there was an album, I just never heard anything from it. That was probably "No reply at all" they performed.

I saw them in Toronto on the 2007 tour and they were very good. The show was pretty slick and Phil sang well. The only negative aspect of the night was that it was so windy that the sound was being buffeted a bit, so sometimes the music seemed like it had a quiet then louder effect varying with the intensity of the wind coming off Lake Ontario. From the media footage I've seen from Phil's recent tour, his voice isnt good, in fact and sadly so, not worthy of fronting Genesis any longer. I just saw Steve Hackett on Sunday night in Winnipeg in a intimate theater setting and it was superb, although his singer Nadal Sylvan was struggling a little on the higher notes. He was a little flat.

The root cause of all pain is inflammation. The best way to combat inflammation is through diet change, not pharmaceuticals. Go to Nutritionfacts.org and view some or all the videos on Inflammation. The website is all free and is non-profit and based on evidence and reports on worldwide clinical trials. I recommend it to everyone regardless of their health conditions. Everyone can learn something and improve their well being. My finger dexterity has stabilized and I think even improved in the last year and my arthritis was starting to get severe. The only thing I've done is make dietary changes. You have nothing to lose, give it a look.

Riders on the Storm is my fav.

In my opinion, the best rock drummer of all time and in the top three lyricist's penning words to paper. I'm not going to debate it, it's just my opinion. All three so humble, intelligent, affable, funny, brilliant and virtuosic performers and writers. My first concert ever in Toronto 1977, 15 rows up stage left above Geddy. Absolutely electric and spine tingling, I still remember the shivers racing through my body at the start of 2112. Setlist Bastille Day Lakeside Park By-Tor & The Snow Dog Xanadu A Farewell to Kings Something for Nothing Cygnus X-1 Anthem Closer to the Heart 2112 Part I: Overture 2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx 2112 Part III: Discovery 2112 Part IV: Presentation 2112 Part VI: Soliloquy 2112 Part VII: Grand Finale Working Man Fly by Night In the Mood Drum Solo Encore: Cinderella Man

Raptors much better than expected after Kawhi's departure. Their depth is no longer in question and their defence is top notch. I think there starting to prove more than a few analysts wrong.

Finally bit the bullet and bought a QSC K8.2 from Avshop.ca who have a 10% OFF black Friday cyber Monday deal. Not much of a saving but I found out earlier this year QSC does not allow retailers to discount their speakers and I never have seen them on sale so I feel good about it. At least it was free shipping and the 10% covered the tax so better than nothing. Can't wait to compare it to my CPS Spacestation and decide where to go from there.

Santana Black magic woman Nice short little EP solo at 1 min 10 sec

Tom , I saw this on another site, maybe it can help. I know all the 10k linear pedals work on a Kurzweil. I use the Boss fv500 on my pc3k and it's great. Bespeco VM18L - 20k Boss FV-500 - 10k linear (expression pot) Boss EV-5 - 10k linear Boss EV-7 - 10k linear ("extra range" pot adds up to 50k ohms) Boss FV-50L - 50k linear Ernie Ball VP jr. (active) - 25k log Ernie Ball VP jr. (passive) - 250k log Korg EXP-2 - 50k linear Kurzweil CC-1 - 20k linear Line6 EX-1 - 10k linear Mission EP-L6 - 10k linear Moog EP-2 - 50k linear (reducable) M-Audio EX-P - 10k linear Pigtronix EP-1 - 20k Proel Volume Pedal - 100k linear Roland RV-5 - 10k linear TC Electronic X1 - 25k log

I have the Mackie profx8. I've had problems with it since I bought it new. Sometimes only one main out works. I have to press the break button (mutes all channels) repetively to coax the other channel into working. Other times when i disconnect and transport it, then plug things in again, I will have either quieter or louder decibel levels. This happens even though I meticulously keep track of all my settings and parameters. I've also noticed that it colors my sound in a negative fashion, compared to just plugging my Kurzweil into my keyboard amp. I've had about enough of it. I'm looking at buying an Allen and Heath zed10 or 14.

Yes I realize that and is what I have done. They are very good Mellotrons as well.

I found the Mellotrons they offered previously were incredibly loud in comparison to their other sounds I downloaded.

Perhaps your Kurz piano sounded OK, but in general it's well-known that the SS falls short as a piano amp, but is mostly OK for everything else. Have you tried these pianos with an amp that is more piano friendly? No, I havent. I realize the Spacestation isn't the best amp to be using when it comes to pianos, but it's what I have at the moment. I'm looking to upgrade to a pair or maybe even a single QSC k8.2 powered speaker but have held off till I can afford it. I hate to sell the Spacestation to finance the QSC just in case I'm unhappy with it and end up regretting the move. As you know there is so much discussion on this site about which speakers are superior so I have held back on my next purchase while digesting everyone's comments about what they recommend. The Spacestation is a good all round little unit and I would recommend it to anyone that isn't solely using it for piano amplification.

Well it sounds pretty good on the videos but so did the original Venice grand... The original gsi gemini grand and then the original Venice grand both sounded good on their videos and their website but they just didn't translate into good sounding piano's on my spacestation through my Kurzweil controller. Whether it's my hardware or my personal taste I'm not using either because i find even the old triple strike piano is better, so it will be interesting to see how this new one sounds. Odd because all their other sounds in the Gemini desktop unit have been stellar.

I haven't been following the pc4 release or reviews so hope my question isn't repetitive or obvious. Can you load all the setups you have made on your pc3 or pc3k into a pc4? I imagine there is compatibility for loading a regular pc3 program file but is there a difference when loading a setup with say 14 zones with multiple parameters and effects or a riff created in the pc3 song mode?

Well,The Doors Riders on the Storm would fit the bill in my mind.

So I can help here if you guys buy any kind of product or item from the USA that is being shipped by UPS. I complained about brokerage fees being applied to my imported goods to a UPS delvery driver about 20 years ago. He advised me to act as my own broker. This is what you do to pay nothing for UPS brokerage fees if they are shipped using UPS from the states. 1) When you are advised of your waybill number from the seller and it is trackable in the UPS system, pick up the phone, call UPS and tell them you will act as the broker when your item arrives and are declining their brokerage service. 2) When your item is shipped to your local UPS distribution warehouse, they will notify you of its arrival. 3) You then drive to that UPS facility and collect the paperwork that accompanies the shipment. You sign for it and they give you the necessary documents for step 4. 4) You now proceed to the appropriate Canada customs facility (UPS person will give you the address), give them your paperwork, they fairly quickly look up your imported item, determine its country of origin, and apply all taxs and duties applicable to the item or items. You pay them and they give you the clearance paperwork to take back to the UPS facility. 5) You present this paperwork at the UPS customer pick up area, they retrieve your item from the warehouse location, you sign their paperwork and your all done. You have now saved yourself about $80. I've done this many times and it usually takes from 1/2 hour to an hour. I live in Winnipeg and my UPS facility and my Canada customs building are only a couple of blocks apart so it is convenient and worth my time. I'm usually doing some other errands anyways and tie them together. I've even had the customs guys on occasion wave the import duties, but never the tax. Depends who your dealing with and how nice they (and you) are. Maybe where you live it's just too inconvenient(I'm thinking Toronto) but in a smaller city like Winnipeg its perfect. UPS is the only carrier with the large brokerage fees. Given this, I still try to avoid UPS as the carrier but it is no longer a deterrent in buying an item if that's all the seller uses. There you go, hope this helps. Brian

I have the desk top version and give it a thumbs up for sure. The sounds are great except for the acoustic grand piano, I just can't tweak it to my liking, but as previously mentioned changes are coming. GSI has continued to update and improve the product for free which is always a good thing. The analog synth based sounds are a step up from my Kurzweil which is one of the reasons I bought it. You do need a good controller like the Kurzweil pc3k to maximize the midi functionality,and there aren't many better than the Kurz in that regard. I've modified one of the Rhodes in the GSI to replicate The Doors Riders on the Storm and it is superb,... almost worth the price alone.

Maybe better than the real thing?

I had the DX7II FD and it had a cool program called Shorgan, used it everywhere, it was awesome. Not a B3 emulation but it sat so well in many songs where a Hammond was used, and I never was concerned about authenticity or replicating the sound cause it sounded great.

I bought mine (the smaller one) through sweetwater shipped to Toronto no problem. Thanks for the tip. Aspen shipped me one from his shop directly to Winnipeg and I am not sure if it is still his policy, but he knocked $100 off the price to help cover shipping and the low Canadian dollar. Excellent speaker by the way. Learning curve and some mixing EQ adjustments and your good to go.