[Jack Stratton's entry into "Most Over-The-Top Clav Playing"]

Several of these videos had some furious jamming on the clav, and the way it looks I cant imagine theyre actually playing consistent notes, it just looks like theyre randomly whacking on the clav. But it sounds musical.

 

So are these guys actually playing or are they using the clav as a percussion instrument? Sure looks cool as fudge!

Probably a mix of the two. When I play funky rhythmic clav, it's a combination of chordal stabs in the right hand, left hand octaves or fifths (with occasional passing notes), and muted ghost note clusters which may or may not be shaped like the chords. Working the wah pedal hard gives it that "Shaft" effect.

[Jack Stratton's entry into "Most Over-The-Top Clav Playing"]

I love the grooves from these guys, but every time I hear them it sounds like just that... a groove with no melody or anything. Am I alone in that?

 

I think that's a common criticism these guys receive. I think often it's true, and I don't mind that, honestly, but I understand, and most of my real favorite tunes of theirs are the ones with vocalists. Their drummer/guitarist

is a great singer in his own right, and there are also recurring guests like

and

.

 

Some of the instrumentals are a little more melodic, like the bass feature "

," which audiences have started trying to sing along to. When I saw Vulfpeck in Brooklyn last month, the crowd was not as on their game as

.

 

Hopefully that wasn't too evangelical a response on my part!

[Jack Stratton's entry into "Most Over-The-Top Clav Playing"]

Man I know theres plenty of space in the mix on Soft Parade, but I still marvel at the punch they can get out of my one but TWO Wurlis in a track.

 

I wonder if its convenience or stubbornness that makes Jack use that MIDI controller for Clav, even though they almost always have a real one onstage. Back when they made Funky Duck, they werent as famous.

[Anybody using ROLI Rise or McMillen K-Board Pro or plan to?]

I've watched the Seaboard with interest since I first heard about it, though it hasn't quite crept into "next purchase" area yet. Has anyone used it for left-hand bass?

 

I do a fair amount of multi-keyboard work where I'm covering basslines with one hand while comping with the other, or padding organ while taking a synth solo. The thing that intrigues me the most about the Seaboard and its ilk is the ability to trigger expression/modulation and/or bend pitch with your playing hand, so you don't have to lose a limb to an expression pedal or mod wheel. I'm not sure how practical a vision that is for using the instrument.

[Dig My Rig--Let's see your setup!]

That is slick. I have much to learn about simplicity, cleanliness, and consistency when it comes to my cables and pedals.

[Keyboard for LH bass]

At least we have an embarrassment of riches to choose from today. Back in the day . . . my layout was B3 on the bottom and a Rhodes plus Rhodes Piano Bass side by side on top of that. Luckily I have long arms

I hope you had some friendly bandmates to help you carry that rig.

 

I see you're based in Lancaster -- is that where you used to haul that setup around? I grew up in the Reading area, and I have a few old friends who are playing regularly in a blues band based out of Lancaster now.

[Keyboard for LH bass]

Problem solved:

 

[video:youtube]

 

Jake

 

That's one of my favorite things that I've ever seen.

[Keyboard for LH bass]

Fun thread topic. I just played a wedding gig covering LH bass; it's something I get really excited about and enjoy doing (especially since I'm a bass player as well as a keyboard player), but every time I do it, I want to give the regular bass player a raise. I'm always trying to figure out the right balance of practical and versatile for LH bass gigs.

 

I tried something new for this wedding, where I did my standard Wurli 200 / Nord Electro 4D stack, and instead of bringing an additional synth for bass parts, I just split the Nord into two "manuals" and set-and-forgot the lower on 868000000, so I could adjust the drawbar settings for the right hand on the fly. For the Motown and Stax covers we were mostly playing on this wedding, it worked pretty well. I run the organ through a Motion Sound KBR-3D (rotary horn top with stereo 10" speakers on the low end instead of a drum). I turned off the rotary effect on the low end, Memphis-style, and turned up the "bass" knob (150Hz and below), which I normally leave all the way down -- I was thrilled that it kicked hard enough that I didn't need a separate bass amp.

 

It does mean that the Electro could only do Hammond, since you can't split the organ with another sound. For the one Bill Withers tune, I played the Wurli through a wah. It's cool but not the same as a clav.

 

I also can't use bass pedals (Roland PK-5 controller) as an additional "manual" when I split the Nord -- which is okay, as I kind of suck at playing pedals and I'm happy not to haul them, but I love showing them off when I have the chance...

 

I've also done gigs with just the Nord for "right hand" sounds, and my Novation Ultranova to cover bass. Much lighter, and technically more versatile, but as mentioned above, having a three-octave bass keyboard can lead to weird positioning and register issues. I also haven't yet found a stand at a comfortable height that the Novation won't slide around on. I can use the Roland pedals with the Novation though, and it's fun to be able to alternate hands and feet with the same tone, especially if I want to work the organ drawbars while padding a chord. Plus I can tweak the filter on the synth to vary the bass tone a bit song-to-song.

 

I have one of the old Rhodes Piano Bass keyboards like Ray Manzarek used to play with the Doors (my middle school band director found two in a closet and was going to THROW THEM AWAY), and I used it every now and then to double on keys in my band in college. I busted it back out for a gig last year, but after being used to playing organ, synth, and Wurli, the action on the Rhodes was so heavy that I was wiped by the end of the set.

[Introductions?]

Hello everyone!

 

I'm Sam. I live in Ithaca, New York. By day, I manage the A/V at Cornell's language center; the rest of my time is spent running to and from rehearsals and gigs, playing mostly original music, but some covers in there, too. I've been haunting/eavesdropping for awhile, but hadn't posted much until recently. Everyone's been very kind and welcoming, which I appreciate.

 

Piano was my first instrument, and once I discovered the Beatles, it led me to gigging and songwriting, but when I started playing in bands in my teen years, I spent most of my time playing bass. After dabbling in writing musicals and playing in a lot of pit orchestras around college, I got back into being a sort of Elton John/Leon Russell piano-playing singer-songwriter-bandleader. Over the past few years, though, I've mostly been playing behind better singers, hauling a bunch of heavy keyboards around, adding "organist" and "synthesist" to the resume, shouting some vocal harmonies, and not having to look the audience in the eye.

 

The Ithaca area seems to have a relatively small percentage of keyboard players in the music scene, so I wind up getting to sit in and sub a fair amount, plus play some recording sessions, which I always really enjoy.

 

Mostly playing local/regional gigs these days, since everyone has day jobs and a lot have spouses and babies. My fiancee and I are looking to play on the road a little bit more often, minus the band. She's a singer/guitarist, which means I need to start working on the no-rhythm-section approach again. Always something to practice!

 

So that's me. This forum is a great resource, and I have a lot of respect for the history. I'm happy to be here.

[Dig My Rig--Let's see your setup!]

Aw, y'all sure do know how to make a guy feel at home. Thanks!

 

I'll be 58 at the end of summer. I love my Wurlitzer 200 and my Clavinet E7 but couldn't even imagine gigging with them anymore.

I'm just shy of 29, and I've gotten myself used to surpassing the drummer in the first-to-arrive-last-to-leave game. So far it's been worth it to get to play those instruments onstage, but I figure that over the next decade or so, I can see how my back holds up (and how many reeds and strings I break).

 

Samuel, what kind/brand of stand are you using for your novation ultra nova synth?

It's a Roland SS-PC1 laptop stand, on loan from a friend. It's better for positioning the Novation than the second tier of the clav stand was, but I'm still undecided on it. One of my other projects has the same rig without the clav, and I keep messing around with the right height and placement for the synth.

 

Dude, you are 45 minutes from me. When is your next show?

Cool! Is it kosher to plug that sort of thing around here? Playing a wedding today, and then I have a few weeks off from gigging for the first time since we thawed out in, uh, April... I have a club show in downtown Ithaca at a somewhat-reasonable hour later in August. I'll PM you about it.

[Dig My Rig--Let's see your setup!]

The clav is definitely in need of a little TLC. That one isn't technically mine; it's on more-or-less permanent loan from our guitar player's father, who used to tour with it but didn't want to lug it around anymore. It sat in a closet for a decade or so until he said "if you can get it fixed up enough to play it, you can use it as much as you want." There's nothing like playing the real thing, and I love it -- the first time I laid my hands on the keys, I immediately understood why it wound up the go-to instrument for bouncy, stabby funk licks. It's needed few workarounds for the tired electronics just to keep making sound, though, nevermind the aesthetic wear. One of these days I'll save up enough scratch to get someone to do some real restoration work on it (and get the tone switches working again).

 

The Novation is my all-purpose synth -- leads (including the talkbox stuff), doubling bass parts, the occasional pad or sound effect. A Moog would certainly fit in with the 70s gear a little better, but I haven't been quite deep enough into synths to invest that much money in one (instead I got the Nord and the Wurli). I messed around with laptops and controllers, but dragging a Macbook to the breweries and bars I usually play makes me anxious, so the Ultranova was a good deal on a versatile hardware synth with a lot sound design options, for my sporadic but varied synth needs.

 

It fits kind of nicely with my general theme of vintage gear met by digital compromises. My car is only so big, and I only get paid so much!

 

Ithaca's a funny little town, but I love it. Originally came here for undergrad at Ithaca College, and now I do digital media work for Cornell. Includes managing a little recording studio, so no complaints about that day gig.

[Dig My Rig--Let's see your setup!]

I've been haunting the forum admiring all y'all's gear for long enough, so I figured I'd drop mine. This is the biggest rig I haul around, for the seven-piece funk band I'm in.

 

http://samuelblupowitz.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ts_keysrig_2018.jpg

 

I use the Nord Electro 4D for organ 90% of the time, with the occasional Mellotron or chime samples. That goes through the rotary channel of the Motion Sound KBR-3D. The Novation Ultranova goes into the clean channel of the Motion Sound (or through the MXR talkbox).

 

The Wurli 200 and the Clavinet D6 go into the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. The Morley distortion/wah/volume pedal is for the clav; I usually leave the wah on for bite even if I'm not sweeping it, but I'll use the volume function as a kill switch to cut down on the delightful hum that varies in volume depending on the venue's power situation...

 

For smaller gigs, I'll use just the Nord and the Novation through the Motion Sound, and split the Nord's routing so I can send the organ to the rotary channel and everything else to the clean. It's a lot easier and faster to set up, but not nearly as fun to play.