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GSi DMC-122/Gemini VA Synth Engine programming fun


DaveMcM

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I'm filling in with a band this Saturday night and one of the songs they are doing is Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon. I wasn't familiar with the song or the band so my 13 year old son schooled me on this and other great songs that the kids are listening to nowadays. :)

 

Anyway, I was determined to only take on keyboard and decided the DMC/Gemini combo would fit the bill since it's one piece to carry but has two manuals. Most of the songs will require basic acoustic and electro pianos, organ (Hammond and transistor), some clavinet and some strings. But Shut Up and Dance has a synth solo in the middle with a very distinctive patch. Using the virtual analog synth in the Gemini and starting with a initialized patch (everything zeroed out), I fairly quickly came up with something that is very close. Then I let my son have a listen and he made a couple of observations on what I had wrong...turns out the dude has a great ear.

 

Ah, kids and synths, gotta love'em.

Wm. David McMahan

I Play, Therefore I Am

 

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To echo Dave's sentiment, the VI synth engine is capable of some great tones. I have just done some basic analog bread and butter patches, but I'm always so happy with the presence of the engine. The sound really seems to come from the front of the speaker (kind of like how a really good mic preamp does).

I set up a quick patch to cover Spirits in the Material World by the Police. There's nothing particularly special about the sound - pretty generic. But, I programmed the same patch on my FA-08 and the character is so much more authentic on the Gemini. It just feels more like I'm playing an analog synth. Very pleasing.

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thanks for linking my little video demo :keynana:

 

here some more vintage sounding keys (presets from the GEMINI with no editing):

[video:youtube]

 

 

and here other fun playing with very analog-sounding vintage tones:

[video:youtube]

 

:cheers:

 

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There's a lot of room left on the flash ram for GSi to expand on the sample library. I'm sure a sampled flute will show up at some point. Although, he has done some nice work on the modeled brass sound, perhaps he has interest in woodwinds as well. Oboe, a little less likely I fear... Do your gigs really call for oboe solos frequently?

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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