SamuelBLupowitz
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Posts posted by SamuelBLupowitz
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That is SO MUCH FUN.
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Is Korg's RH3 action (at first I thought they were using the Kawai RH-III action!) different from the SV-1's action? And did I hear correctly that the piano samples are from the Kronos?
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The fast speed of the horn on my Motion Sound KBR-3D has been getting slower. My bass player and I had opened it up awhile back and tweaked the internal settings to speed it up, but I think it's something mechanical gradually giving out, rather than how fast the amp "thinks" fast should be.
This amp was gigged heavily for over ten years before I bought it, so I'm not surprised it's ready for a little maintenance. That said, I'm not familiar with the mechanical ins and outs of rotary speakers, and it's my first "Leslie" so I'm not sure where to begin with addressing the issue. Find a tech who works on Leslies? Order a replacement belt or other part? Contact Motion Sound specifically?
Thanks for your help!
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Good question. I know the studio in Lagos was owned by EMI, and also I'm sure since it's Paul McCartney they could get whatever they wanted, but I haven't found much info... most of the interviews about making that record focus on Paul being mugged for his demo tapes, and Ginger Baker showing up at the studio.I read that the Band on the Run album was recorded at a studio in Lagos Nigeria. Did they have many electric piano choices with them at the time? -
Yes, funny how they can do that, isn't it?I have no need for this, but the look of it (along with the Crumar Seven and to a lesser degree the Korg SV2) irrationally makes me want to get one of them. -
Next time my wife asks me if we can throw out a box some piece of musical equipment came in, I'll point to this and all value I'm adding by leaving my junk around the house!
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I'd definitely take that Roland over the Audi, especially if I could use it to attack the Death Star after my gig.Audi has some new competition . . .And no, this doesn't deserve it's own thread
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I mean.... yeah.If you did some research, you probably say f every company in the world -
Thanks for the clarification, I did misspeak regarding the model of Hohner.
I'm with zxcvbnm regarding You're My Best Friend, though, I'd put money on it being a Wurlitzer (Freddie Mercury mentioned the Wurlitzer specifically when he talked about hating them and refusing to play them instead of his grand piano).
I did a bunch of hunting around online and saw a lot of videos of Linda behind a Rhodes (plus a clavinet, Hammond, and Minimoog, among other toys as the band ramped up its tours), but those were all pictures of her stage gear, and doesn't necessarily tell you what was used in the studio on Band on the Run and others. The search continues...
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This forum pointed out to me that Elton started using the Yamaha Disklavier on the road some years back, after many years of using various Roland, Technics, and Yamaha digitals. So he gets to play a full acoustic concert grand piano, and FOH gets to use pristine digital audio samples (or maybe modeling?) that the piano triggers. So it's the best (and heaviest, and most expensive) of all worlds.OK, let's say money and size/weight is not an object, like you're Elton John and have roadies.As of a few years ago, Billy Joel was still using a VPC-1 in a custom shell as a piano controller. I suppose since he's been transposing a lot of his tunes down for awhile (as in, the band has to learn the songs in a new key, but he's playing the same thing he always has), something like the Disklavier isn't an option.
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As one of the New York Times critics pointed out, watching Daisy Ridley and especially Adam Driver flex their acting muscles to try to sell you on the story in a convincing way is one of the joys of the film, and a testament to their chops.The acting's good. It's the plot/direction that divides me. -
These multitracks are taking me back to (one of) my big Macca Wings/solo phase in early college. Feels so good.
Definitely interested in checking out some of the gear they used at the time, since it's less documented than the Beatles days, understandably. The Beatles often used a Hohner Electrapiano (I Am the Walrus, The Night Before, Come Together, etc) and learning that made me understand why I could never figure out if it was a Rhodes or a Wurli. I think you saw more Rhodes and Wurli work in England by the 70s, but John Paul Jones was still using the Hohner in the studio with Zeppelin, even if he used a Rhodes onstage.
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Can anyone comment on the flexibility of the CP88's MIDI functions for utilizing multiple voices at once?
For instance -- wondering if I MIDIed my Mojo dual up to the CP88, if I could use the Mojo's upper manual to control a clav or a pad from the CP88, and if I could play a different sound on the CP88 itself simultaneously. For example, if I was playing Peg by Steely Dan, I can imagine a scenario where I want to play the CP88 Rhodes with my right hand, and the CP88 clav from the Mojo with my left. I know I could set up a split on the CP88 itself, but for argument's sake, let's say I was hell-bent on doing it this way!
I realize this is sort of specific to my idiosyncratic needs, but I thought it was worth a poke of the thread before I spent too long trying to figure it out from the manual, which just covers the basic send/receive info.
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A lot of people really hated VIII, whereas it was far and away my favorite Star Wars film since the original trilogy. It's because it built its whole narrative around change, evolution, and destruction, and tried to take the Star Wars universe to a new place.
RoS very deliberately walked all of that back, and I thought that was not only a missed opportunity, but a cowardly storytelling decision.
I understand a lot of people just want to be entertained, and that's totally fine. But for me, great science fiction always comments on society. The original trilogy's story of a Rebellion against a powerful Empire, for all of its repurposing of old adventure serials and Samurai films, was a reaction to the Vietnam War. The prequels, as hamfisted and poorly executed as they were from both a visual and storytelling perspective, were a reaction to the War on Terror, and how people can be manipulated into giving up civil liberties and even their identities and ethics when threatened with violence and wooed by a leader's strength.
The first two sequel films were about a heroic generation reaching old age, and watching the enemies they thought they had wiped out regain power. They were about how a new generation had to combat this threat, learning what they could from their forbears, but forging a new path, not just to imitate the old guard, but to build on and refine the good they did. As much of a nostalgiafest as The Force Awakens was (all the big story beats echoed a previous film in the franchise), it worked for me because 1. the portrayal of the First Order as group of unrefined but still evil/dangerous imitators of the fascist Empire that had preceded them was so pertinent to the rise of White Nationalism in our current time, some sixty years on from the Third Reich, and 2. the follow-up film answered the nostalgia/mirroring of Force Awakens with the message that sometimes old ways must be abandoned to move forward. Every single expected story beat in Last Jedi was designed around a thesis: "you think you know what should happen in battle between Good and Evil because this is a Star Wars movie, but the universe is really much more complicated and nuanced than that."
I thought Rise of Skywalker, on the other hand, was a lot of cameos and callbacks. Not what I had hoped for after a film that was so committed to reinventing the series for a modern time, and opening the franchise up to new ideas. More concerned with "look, this is Star Wars, can't you tell?" than truly developing the arcs of the characters and ideas the first two films had introduced. Stilted dialogue and pacing issues aside, it seemed much more concerned with being full of things that everyone found inoffensive than trying to tell a story.
But then, my opinions tend to correlate with critics much more often than with audiences. :wink:
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I think these thoughts are pertinent and important. I'm with you in my fear, hope, and commitment for the years to come.What"s happening in Australia is incredible. Literally incredible. We are not programmed to comprehend and adjust to changes on that scale. My wish for the new year is that humankind begin to grapple with this issue. And I really believe that music can help, if we as musicians (and especially those much better than myself) bend it to that purpose.Sorry to be the wet blanket here, but events in Australia have me feeling pretty down about what kind of world my children will be living in. New Years is the time when we resolve to do better. We have to do better.
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Boy, do I ever hope so. I'm no David Rosenthal by a long shot, but the number of headaches I run into when I use my Seaboard in conjuction with standard controllers in a Mainstage concert...MPE is fantastic, but I still consider it a hack stop-gap to MIDI 1.0. With MIDI 2.0, there should be some much more holistic poly controller implementation schemes built-in. One instrument shouldn't have to be on 16 channels. I haven't read the full MIDI 2.0 spec, but I hope they allow for MPE-like services on a single stream. -
Years ago, my family moved from creating resolutions to coming up with one word we wanted to use as a guidepost for the new year. My 2019 word was "build," which applied to a lot of things (my new marriage, my bands, my gear collection). 2020 is "prioritize," which is a nice balance following a year of more, more, more.
As I settle into my 30s and my needs and goals change, so does my relationship to music-making; now that I've established myself in my local music community, I want to start zeroing in on the really fulfilling, engaging opportunities, and feeling comfortable saying "no" to sessions and gigs if the psychic weight of taking it on will be more than the emotional (or financial) reward. I want to make sure I don't get into a rut of playing the same local spots over and over; I'd rather play a little less every year if it means I strike out and play new, exciting places.
"Prioritize" is also about making sure that I give equal weight to the time and energy I need for other aspects of my life, and not just sacrifice everything else I enjoy when musical opportunities come along. The reason I majored in English and studied music independently back in college was because I felt I needed to have a life that I could write about, and from which I cultivated emotional and intellectual depth that I could transfer to my music. I want to make sure I prioritize that balance, so that I'm not just an empty shell running from work to rehearsal to work to a recording session to a gig and having nothing left to give at home, nothing new to give onstage, and no motivation to practice and learn and grow. I've learned that some of the gigs give you energy, and others just drain it.
So all that said, I'm thinking about upgrading my stage piano at some point. But otherwise I think I've got plenty to contend with for the start of the decade!
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Yes, I'd say that the evolving capitalist machine is more at fault here than a lack of musicianship, songwriting, or musical excellence. It's just expensive and labor-intensive to maintain a great band when you make no money from recordings and have to be on the road 250 days a year playing midsize clubs; I've seen a few bands I really, really like hang it up for that reason. In Top-10 land, Lizzo's stuff is pretty cool, and she performs with a crack live band, but I think most of the pop stuff is to clicks and tracks.Theres plenty of young people with this level and even higher levels of musicianship nowadays, but most of them aren"t on the ' top ten' . Everything is automated now. I wonder how many current charted pop songs have a live rhythm section, horns , strings ..., ?Turkuaz is one of the most incredible ensembles I've ever seen, vocals, instruments, arrangements, just tight as a drum (and 50% multi-instrumentalists). Snarky Puppy has been tossed around plenty on this forum. Anything Chris Thile touches turns to gold. In the hip-hop world, Anderson .Paak is a killer singing/rapping drummer whose live band is unreal. Even just perusing the Tiny Desk concert feed is a little overwhelming; there's so much out there in every conceivable style that's impressive in so many different ways.
But if you're looking to be on top 40 radio, there's a specific niche you have to fill, and not a lot of wiggle room to evolve within it. Great songwriting and excellent live vocal performances are not discouraged, but not a requirement. I just played an Eagles tribute show, and while I'd call them a pop band (especially compared to an act like CSNY, with whom Henley & co had a lot in common but couldn't quite match for compositional sophistication), they played as a live five-piece performing all those vocal harmonies and sold zillions of records during their heydey. But that's when rock was the top-40 pop music of the day. That hasn't been the case for awhile now.
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"How many bands get to encore with SUPPER'S READY?!"
I love it. Thanks for sharing!
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Loving the first episode -- been listening in spurts while in the car, so I'm not quite done yet. I'll be checking out Man & The Echo for sure. Looking forward to episode 2!Thanks Samuel! Hope you continue to enjoy it! -
I'm going to counter a lot of these thoughts. I agree with Math of Insects that you have to factor in the psychic cost of an instrument, and reliability concerns can really wear on you. But as you've said, you've had all kinds of modern digital keyboards fail on you, while your Juno has stayed strong. On top of that, there's a psychic value to gear and instruments as much as there's a psychic cost. I can play my Nord instead of my Clavinet on a gig, and most people won't know the difference, but I will, and I'll play differently because of it.
You should do what makes you enjoy performing the most, because we're not in this business for money here (though, to quote Almost Famous, "some money would be nice"). Getting your equipment setup so that it gives you that dopamine hit of "yes, that's what I'm about" is just as much a factor as reliability and ease of setup. Not that you should ignore the latter two, of course, you just have to find the balance that works for you. Those Yamaha keyboards with the DJ sounds that they used to have in the music room at my junior high school were reliable and easy to set up, but I'm not taking one to a gig.
You tour a lot more heavily than I do; I play 95% of my gigs within an hour of my home (working on changing that ratio in the coming year), and I'm carting all my gear in my own car, no band van or trailer to speak of. If I were traveling further, I probably wouldn't be carting the Wurli and the clav, sure (though my six-month stint in a touring band was spent with a Nord Electro on top of my Wurlitzer, and I have no regrets). But you've explained that you have a backup board for your vintage piece, you know the risks involved, and you seen to know what you want. Take any advice you find helpful, but make sure you wind up with the rig you really want to play, not what someone else would want to play in your position. I've had plenty of people give me "advice" about how to make my gigging with my vintage boards more efficient: "don't." I've grumbled about maintaining them, and I've grumbled about carrying them, but I have never regretted the performance when I've brought them. So, take what you will.
Now, all that said, I can't speak to specifics on any of the gear you're looking at, but I think having a tabletop with all of your modules and mixers ready to go and pre-cabled so you just have to hook up to your keyboards and monitor is a good thought -- otherwise you are, indeed, spending too much time plugging things in. You could probably get a pretty standard DJ road case; they make long rectangular ones with foam interiors where all your gear could just sit; you could even cut out the foam so they stay exactly where they need to be. You could set the whole thing on a dreaded X-stand or a piano bench or whatever is easy to carry and complements your space onstage. Or, depending on the profile of your modules, pedals, and the Key Largo, you could look at something like the Onstage Stands laptop stand, which costs less than $20 US, screws onto a mic stand, and can hold a couple of small pieces just fine; you could velcro everything down, throw it into a sturdy case or bag, and be done with it. That's my setup with my Seaboard Block and Behringer X-Touch Mini whenever I don't have a keyboard on the gig that has a big enough flat surface to rest them on.
Edit: I realize the other thing I'm envisioning, aside from a DJ case, is one of those tables with a foam surface that drummers/percussionists use to lay down various shakers and other toys on a gig. That might be just what the doctor ordered for you.
TL;DR: make sure your butt is covered, make sure the challenge of setting up the rig isn't going to outweigh the joy of playing it, but make sure you're really playing what scratches your itch as a musician collaborating with other musicians.
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I'm loving this thread. My Wurli 200 is my pride and joy. I've been gigging and recording with it for over four years, and while I've had some light maintenance done on it, it's held up remarkably well (only one broken reed in dozens of gigs and sessions).
About time I put it through a more thorough restoration job, because I know the action and tone can be improved beyond what's been done, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
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I couldn't be happier for them. What a joyous performance. They played a similar set with an expanded lineup (no Chris Thile or Dave Koz but most of the other guests) when I saw them at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn last year, but you can see by the looks on their faces (and the camera's emphasis on the size of the crowd) that this gig is really a crown jewel for them.
Really drives home one of my favorite things about them: for an indie band, they don't do anything the way you're "supposed to," and they succeed anyway. I remember reading Ari Herstand's blog talking about all of the "missed opportunities" of their LA record release show for their first full-length in 2015. Ari Herstand has yet to play Madison Square Garden (I think he's come around to Vulfpeck's way of doing things since then).
I think the showboating is part of what you go see them for -- I mean, one of their first released songs in the early 2010s, Beastly, was essentially a bass solo vehicle. They've developed an audience that loves that, because they make being good at your instruments accessible, fun, and a team sport, rather than ego-driven and competitive. Conversely, though, I'd say a lot of their material is very deliberately non-showboaty. They'll play a groove and a simple lick and no solos, and that's the tune. Woody Goss, their primary keyboard player, is arguably their strongest pure musician -- he's got serious jazz chops -- but most of his playing with Vulfpeck is incredibly restrained. I've often heard people say that they feel the band plays grooves, but not songs. It's closer to Snarky Puppy (or even, dare I say, Stuff) than it is to a band like Phish, but even Snarky Puppy is more of a hardcore jazzer project than Vulfpeck, which is much humbler and less formal in its material and executtion. The last few years, they've been doing more 50/50 instrumentals and vocal tunes, and some of the vocal songs are incredibly well-written and catchy, but unlike Joey Dosik and Theo Katzman's solo projects, songwriting isn't the primary emphasis of the band. The expectation they've set is "let's see what this rhythm section will deliver now," and that's what their fans get excited about, along with the built-in improv comedy and increasingly impressive guest musicians.Some of those guys can play no doubt. It just comes off showboating though.
It's not entirely voodoo; you still have to figure out when and how to apply it like any compression plugin. That said, I love it, and it's a brilliant tool for bringing out ambience, grit, and general je ne sais quois in small-room DIY recordings (or any recording, for that matter).The Vulf Compressor seems like voodoo magic. I have no idea how it works, but the examples I have heard (in this video and elsewhere) are incredible! -
Beat me to it!Well, there"s always Cranberry sauce. Or is it I buried Paul? Personally, I always thought it was I"m Larry Paul.
One of the guitarists in my old band did this to great effect when we were making our second record. The other guitarist, who did the engineering and mixing, edited it out before the record came out, but I think we all subconsciously hear the additional filthy lyrics in the outro anytime we hear the song now.Unless I'm hearing it wrong, I can think of some songs that I've heard on the radio, where if they let the fade out go long enough, the artist slips in some profanity.
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The Role of Modern Keyboard Players?
in The Keyboard Corner
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Everyone is free to put on a show how they see fit. I'd prefer if more people liked what I liked, but these days I try to subscribe to the Field of Dreams philosophy: "if you build it, they will come." I'm not trying to appeal to the people who want to hear something different, I'm trying to do what I like and find an audience that enjoys what I enjoy. It would be easy for me to lament "oh, these pop artists and their tracks, not like the good old days," but the Who has been playing to taped synth tracks onstage since Who's Next in 1971. It's all tools, and these things ebb and flow and go in and out of style.
That said (and, again, I'm not one of the people who depends on performing to make a living), I've learned to just stick with what I find fulfilling. That doesn't mean not trying something new to challenge myself and my beliefs, but what thrills me about performance is interaction, spontaneity, and the feeling that anything can happen at any time. I've never been a fan of playing to a click track in the studio, never mind having to play with something prerecorded onstage. To each their own -- for me, the fun (both as a performer and as an audience member) is seeing how a live arrangement can capture the overall affect of a song done with the ensemble onhand. Seeing "how are they going to pull this off" is part of the fun, and I find that much more enjoyable than just knowing that every song in a live performance will sound like the record. Vulfpeck's live shows are very old-school, in that they don't try to reproduce their studio performances, they find new arrangements given the players and instruments they have onstage. Plenty of bands still do that, especially in the festival/jam circuit, and people love it. Lots of shows are big-budget productions where there's no musical risk involved, either. It's not good or bad, it just is.
Some people probably just want to hear what they know, and that's fine. It's just not what I'm chasing, and I don't expect that what I'm chasing will change.