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vonnor

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Posts posted by vonnor

    Which real time controls do you use while playing?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Well... I'm afraid my answer is a far departure from what most players consider to be "Real Time Controls"

     

    Since I use Cantabile3 live MIDI/VST host on a Win10 laptop to control all patch-changes, layers, splits, etc., I run with LOCAL-CONTROL=OFF on both my boards, And I really prefer to only touch keys and PB/MOD thingies during performance,  here are some of the crazy "Real-Time Controls" I have implemented:

     

    1. Livin' On a Prayer: I have one routing setup on my NS3 for the intro and select it by pushing the MOD wheel past 64, then for the rest of the song as I chop the synth chords on the Kronos I return the Nord MOD wheel to zero which sets it up for the high strings line, the bridge and chorus.

     

    2. Alone (Heart): Before start, I rock the Nord's FC-7 pedal to full on - which layers the bigass synth over the EP - but then I hit the Kronos damper pedal which sets the bigass synth layer's volume to zero. I start the intro with just the EP sound on the NS3. When the bridge/chorus hits and everybody comes in balls-to-the-wall on the Dm, I have the D3 key on the Nord triggering a volume command to set the synth layer back to 127. After the chorus, I slowly rock the FC-7 to fade out the synth layer and get to just EP for the 2nd verse. Leaving the FC-7 at zero - but when the next bridge-to-chorus part hits, the low D note also instantly sets the synth layer to 127 and it's balls-to-the-wall time again.

     

    3. One Thing Leads To Another: I use the nord's FC-7 to control a filter/sync-sweep morph. The FC-7 sends only midi cc11 events to Cantabile, which maps them to cc01 (Mod) and sends them back to the Nord, which thinks someone is fiddling with the mod wheel and the morph works accordingly.

     

    4. You Give Love a Bad Name: On the tail end of the intro there's a synth walk-down that repeats twice. My technical proficiency disallows for playing it manually, so I setup a midi delay where every other note triggers from the note I play in the C blues scale. The audience hears the run just like the record, but I'm not playing it just like the record. This echo triggering is only active when the nord FC-7 pedal is at zero. After the intro I rock the pedal back to 127 so it's ready for the synth hits that come before the 2nd verse.

     

    I came from the mid 80's full-time touring, and MIDI was a fascination of mine. Since around 1988 I have always run my rig through a MIDI hub of some sort (Digital Music MX-8 with Midi Mitigator floor controller back then). So my brain tend to think in terms of MIDI events that can be passed around from ANY controller to ANY sound source live... even if the sound source(s) is/are in the same instrument as the controller (keys, levers, wheels, pedals, switches, etc), like in the Kronos or the Nord.

     

    ~ vonnor

    • Like 4

    Introductions?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    ZOMBIE ALERT! (for Me and for this thread)

    Hi! Some of you might remember me, I used to be a frequent poster/follower on this forum. Since my day job changed I haven't had access to internet during the day. But now I'm doing a Work-From-Home thing and will be checking the forums more often (not sure how I'ma catch up on 25 pages of topics tho, wow!)

     

    Anyway, hi again to everybody and I'll see ya around! :D

     

    ~ Bill C. (vonnor)

    • Like 5

    Cover Song Patch Creation Challenges: Post yours

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    For those of you that build your sounds either from scratch or by tweaking factory patches

    I thought a thread where folks share their challenging sound recreations for cover songs would be helpful. 

    How you worked through the process, what instruments/vsts did you use, layers, tricks, unique approaches, sonic discoveries, etc.

    Any and all sound engines/brands/keyboards are welcomed.

     

    I can start.

     

    This week I had to woodshed a couple country songs that had banjo riffs in them (She's Country, and Save a Horse). I always start by searching programs and combis on the Kronos, but the two Banjo patchs were kinda lame. I built a common Combi for the two songs but just wasn't happy with the banjo samples. On a fluke I was browsing through my Korg Collection M1 VST (that I never use) and found a killer Banjo patch. I layered that in with the Kronos banjo's and really love the mix.

     

    Now if I can just get my fingers to play the right picking pattern... 🤥🙄

     

    ~ vonnor

    What was the name of that Michigan music store...?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Back in '87 or '88 I bought a Memorymoog+, Matrix6, DX7 and a couple other things from this huge music retailer around the north side of Detroit, MI (US) or maybe Ann Arbor? I'm wracking my brain trying to remember the name but I vividly remember the store layout. It was like a giant warehouse in a flat-top business park and the keyboard section was a separate huge room on the right but in the back part of the store.

     

    Almost sure it was not a chain but kind of a one-off mom & pop store.

     

    Anybody shed light on this?

     

    ~ vonnor

    Venting (Not the Neo-Instruments kind)

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    On 9/11/2023 at 6:49 PM, vonnor said:

    ...Sunday our now-out-of-town singer says he's bowing out to work with a local group in his new hometown...

    On 9/12/2023 at 3:05 PM, eric said:

    ...the next thing ... is potentially an offshoot band from the most recently retired group...

     

    Interesting follow-on:

     

    I'm back in two bands again! 😲😵

     

    Turns out the "tracks" thing was a non-starter for the drummer, then they tried out a guy who reportedly (on BandMix) plays keys and guitar, but ended up being a 3.5 on the talent scale, so faced with gigs already on the books and no utility guy, they gave me the call-back.

    Also the "shoe-gaze" but awesome guitarist is indeed putting a classic rock show together with another singer (as @ProfD prof-isied) and has me on hammond/piano.

     

    You never know how things will turn out and best to always be positive.

     

    Incidentally, guess who the bastage was that stole our lead singer? (*cough*@eric*cough*)

     

    ~ vonnor

     

    p.s. Eric knows I'm just bustin' on him. 😎

    • Like 2
    • Love 1

    Two envelopes, what a PITA

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    And here I was getting ready to do a few jumping jacks, crack my knuckles, and hit the caps-lock, but I believe you other guys handled it beautifully. :D

     

    Something I used to do a lot on the Memorymoog was set the filter to release kinda fast but the amp release a little slower, to simulate a reverb effect. Release the key and the filter slams closed (sound get's mellower and less bright) but the mellow tone kinda rings on a little longer from the amp envelope. That was before you had reverb built into the synth.

     

    ~ vonnor

    • Like 3
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