SamuelBLupowitz

Thanks, dB... I came to this thread with the same thing in mind. 🤣

Played a pair of road gigs subbing in with a friend's band this past week: an outdoor venue outside Nationals Stadium in Washington DC on Thursday, then Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA on Saturday. The band is a hard-working but shoestring operation, so I was thrilled that there was going to be pro backline at both gigs -- it meant we could load everything into one compact SUV instead of all driving separately, which was nice for me since I was doubling on bass and organ. Anyway, I didn't even have to take my Mojo out of the case at the gig in DC, because I showed up and the headlining band had backlined a B3/Leslie, plus a much nicer bass amp than I ever cart around. I set up my Roland bass pedals and MIDI'd them up to the (also backlined) Yamaha CP, and plugged my Fender into their Ampeg. What a treat. On the downside, the incredibly hot, humid weather in DC turned to thunderstorms, which delayed and shortened our set -- we didn't get to any of the keys tunes and the Hammond got DRENCHED by the rain (I was horrified, but it worked just fine for the headlining band, The Band of Heathens, whose keyboard player was no slouch). No backlined keys at Musikfest but the bass rig there was an SVT with an 8x10 cab that was even taller than me, and the Mojo definitely held its own on the low end (though I learned the hard way when the bandleader called an audible of Roadhouse Blues that keeping a shuffle going with your foot is no easy task). Anyway, just thought my fellow gearheads would appreciate! It was a rough couple of days of intense heat and humidity, and long hours in the car, but I do love to do that every now and then, when I can get away from my usual 9-5 routine.

Almost as much of an eye-roll as the people who go to see the reunited Rage Against the Machine and then complain that they're too "woke." Almost. Do these people actually listen to these artists or do they just want something to feel indignant about?

So grateful for this forum. I'd totally miss these updates otherwise, maybe in a few years I'd go "I wonder if they ever did more updates to the CP88...?"

Isn't it fun when you find something that sings for an instrument or sound that normally didn't resonate with you? I had to go through that process with synthesizers in general when I was younger (I associated most synths with "when my favorite 60s/70s artists got boring"), but I also find that every now and then a transistor organ is exactly the right balance of aggressive and weird to do "the thing." Every now and then I sit in on piano/organ with an alternative rock band, and when they cover Violent Femmes, that Farfisa bite is just right.

So with that in mind... 😉 When I was using software, I found myself really connecting with Pianoteq. The modeled sound isn't to everyone's taste, but to me, it responded much more realistically than the samples I had available to me (my 2010-era Privia or the stock piano in Logic), and I enjoyed the moderate customization you could do on the "Stage" version. I'm generally a very aggressive, dynamic player, and it worked for me on that front. I found myself gravitating to the bright YC5 Rock Piano generally, and the Steinway grand when I needed something a little fuller and darker. But since I got my CP88, I'm just using hardware sounds live.

I'm also amused -- but can relate! -- to his "small" rig being three keyboards, one of which is an electromechanical piano. I'm at the point where for most of my pop/rock/funk gigs (rather than organ trio or piano singer/songwriter) I can get the number of boards down to two now, IF one of them is a dual-manual clone with an electric piano sound. More than often I'm using three these days, but still sometimes wish I had four... Having audio inputs on one of your boards is a huge help in keeping the amount of gear down, and it's one of a number of perks I've found in adding the CP88 to my arsenal. But again, once that third board comes in, I still need a mixer. Anyway, all this is to say... I'm no Matt Johnson. What a monster player, and so generous in sharing his wisdom with the rest of us!

So sorry for this sudden and tragic loss. Grief is different for every person in every instance, and that can make things complicated when a community mourns together -- everyone processes the emotion in different ways, at different times. A few on this forum know that I lost a close friend to cancer a few years ago. His band's performances since have been more in the memorial vein, with a guitarist my late friend loved covering his parts plus the addition of me on keyboards so it felt less like simply replacing Dan. However, the performances have been so much fun, the bandleader is considering booking further performances for the group. Still, it's something everyone treads lightly around; there is something that feels kind of sacred about reviving that music with those people in the absence of Dan. You will figure out what feels right for your group, and it may change over time. All of that is natural. What's most important is that you can all support each other through a difficult time.

The biggest benefit I've found for myself is running a stereo synth to a talkbox. I love stereo effects and polyphonic voice spread, but talkbox is a mono effect. The only thing I don't like about my Korg Prologue is that it doesn't have an alternate output that I could route just the talkbox patch to. That would save me from having to change patches *and* turn the talkbox on and off.

Add me to the list of people who can't stand to play with a subpar drummer. It makes everything harder, and it makes everyone sound worse. Bad bass player is second, but it's easier for a drummer to compensate for a less-than-stellar bassist than the other way around. When you're a bass player, a drummer with bad time/feel is like running uphill all night. The audience pays attention to the singer more, but if the band's not together, that has a subliminal effect that's just as bad, I think. I did my time with sloppy drummers and I won't deal with that anymore.

This cartoon is still on the bedroom door of my old room at my parents' house from my teen years.

Since I come from a background of "piano playing singer-songwriter," I've always sat. I mean, I still jump up and power stance and swing my hair around, but my approach has always been to act as if I'm playing the "real thing" rather than a digital version, whether that's a piano or an organ, and fit the various synths or other things around that. I do like to sit high (like I'd need to at a Hammond), and depending on my board configuration I will sometimes play stretches of the set standing -- if I've got a Hammond with a clav on top, I'll sometimes stand if I'm doing a lot on the upper boards. But since I'm sometimes occupying all four limbs with keys and pedals, the option to sit is basically a necessity. Anyway, I've never been one for the "two-tier stand and always standing" setup that arose in the 80s. It just never felt or looked natural for me.

I wouldn't be shocked if this has made the rounds of this forum at some point, but a muso friend shared this with me and I was stunned I'd never been exposed to it before. Awesome groove, great Hammond and clav playing, and not a six-string in sight! Hope it brings all y'all a few minutes of joy.

I don’t know, it really appeals to me. Especially the open surface on top for tablets, small controllers, mixers, etc. I just got a CP88 so I’m not in the market, but a year ago I’d be investigating this as an alternative to, say, the Nord Grand. But that’s just from this initial impression — I haven’t looked at action, weight, number of keys available, or anything yet.

Posted the full background of this album on the Shameless Plugs page, but we just released the debut (and final) LP from my late friend's band Spacetrain, and I'm extremely proud to pay tribute to him through these recordings of his music. Also, I got to really rip some keyboard parts on what was originally a primarily guitar-based band, so that was fun. Hope you dig.

Thanks for sharing! I've been looking to check out more Porcupine Tree as it is. The bass player I frequently work with has played for many years with Randy McStine, who was recently announced as their new guitarist for this upcoming tour.

I don't need another poly analog synth, I don't need another poly analog synth, I don't I don't I don't I...

Totally, I do think the very specific application of the C2D (which is even more organ-centric than the older Mojo, which had an electric piano in it) makes it an odd choice over the boutique manufacturers like Crumar, MAG, or Vicount, or even over the Hammond-Suzuki stuff (though the XK5 is even more expensive if I'm not mistaken). The only time I've ever seen someone playing a C2D? When it was backlined.

Agreed. Like them or not, and whether or not you think other manufacturers do certain things better, they are at this point a well-established industry standard. They're a known entity, established as "what the pros use" the same way Fender and Gibson are, and unless you're a high-profile artist with a very specific need, or a specialist in one particular instrument (here's looking at you, organ trio guys), a Nord will cover your sonic bases in a way that will be acceptable to the ears of your audience, with minimal menu diving, and look cool while doing it (unless you don't like red). This is very good news for if I ever decide to sell my Electro 4D, but less good news if I'm selling that so I can upgrade it to a Stage 3 Compact.

I remember seeing this floating around the internet years ago... it knocked me out then and it surely will again.

It's funny, it speaks to the difference in style and taste and personal preference and what have you, but I'd call the CP88 action "as heavy as I'd ever want a digital piano to be without me looking elsewhere." It's the most I've ever enjoyed playing a digital piano, that's for sure, but it's definitely more work to play than the spinet in my home studio. But I'm not playing classical or even serious jazz on it, I'm playing blues licks and fat minor 9 voicings in rock bands.

That's interesting, I think I tend to assume Beatles as the best known because I'm such a rabid Beatles fan, and certainly I'd say that their music has stayed in popular view much more than the Moody Blues, so everyone I hang out with definitely associates Mellotron flutes with Strawberry Fields Forever. Again, my experience is more related to reading about the Mellotron and its influence on culture; when I was a young Beatles scholar the reference I regularly saw when the Mellotron was brought up was to the Moody Blues. So an interesting thing about this "keyboard sounds associated with a particular artist" -- it can change over time, and mean different things to different demographics. But I'd agree that pretty much everyone hears a transistor organ and goes "The Doors." Maybe "House of the Rising Sun" as a close second ... but that's a song, not an artist...

I'm actually surprised nobody else mentioned The Moody Blues as being the most associated with the Mellotron. I mean, *I* associate it with the Beatles and some of the others mentioned, but anytime I read up about the Mellotron they were the band that I seemed to see the most.

See, this is why I hang out on this forum. People just casually kicking around "oh man, I can't sub for you on that gig, but maybe that Carey Frank guy could handle it?" 😮

I’ll try that language with my wife and see how it plays!