I Know That, "A poor carpenter blames his tools," But... (A Post About Gear)

[Mitch Towne]

I am sure we can all name countless examples of players who can play any piece of crap and sound incredible. Guys like Joey D or Cory Henry who could play a Casio from Walmart and just destroy. However, I am not like that. It always seems like my creativity and what I hear is considerably influenced by what instrument I am playing. 

 

For example, when I play a real Hammond organ with a good action and a great Leslie, it seems like the full amount of my creativity and talent are engaged. It's like this GIF.

 

I aurally envision more ideas and those ideas branch off into other ideas. Also, if the action is really good, my brain unlocks things that I will attempt. It sometimes seems like the instrument makes me a better musician than I really am, if that makes sense. 

 

Contrast that with playing a clone with a stiff Fatar action.

 

 

My brain seems to shut down. Maybe instead of 10 ideas with 6 separate ideas branching off, I only hear 2. Also, my hands seem to instinctively know that the action isn't going to let me pull off the same type of line I would on a real Hammond, so it puts those ideas behind a locked door.

 

Same goes for a good digital piano or Rhodes emulation. I literally don't hear the same things in my head when I play a Nord that I do playing a Crumar Seven. 

 

I think part of it is what the real sound is connected with in my head. Since I am a disciple of guys like Joey D and Chester Thompson who, for the most part, always played the real thing...the sound of the real thing is inexorably tied to the creativity of the music. If I don't hear the right sound...something turns off. I am sure this is why, since 1998, I have tried every single Hammond clone that has come out, always searching for the one that gets me closest to that real thing. 

 

In some ways, I feel like this is a reflection of my musicianship...but then, in other ways, it doesn't seem to be something I can totally prevent. My brain seems to work the way it works.

 

I can't be the only person like this, can I?

 

<Actual image of me getting to a gig and the backline is a Hammond XK3>

[KuruPrionz]

"A poor craftsman blames his tools" sounds good on paper. 

With musical instruments the variables are too many to parse with one simple sentence. 

 

For instance, I play guitar and I can easily do things on one of my solid body electric guitars with light gauge strings that are simply not possible when I sit in playing a friend's acoustic guitar with higher action and stiffer strings. Sometimes I play a 12 string or nylon string, it takes me a while to be comfortable and again, I can't play things on those guitars that I can on other guitars BUT I can play sounds that only those guitars can provide. 

 

I'd go dollars to donuts that if you played a keyboard with stiffer action (an acoustic piano?), you'd eventually find your happy place with it. Different than what you are currently used to, we can't just jump over and play what we are good at on everything. We CAN play something good, just different. 

 

FWIW, I have a horrible, cheap guitar that I bought for $20 simply because it has a thin, boxy sound that works great in a mix on a recording. It's useless for anything else and it sucks for anything but "cowboy chords" but that one trick it does is a good trick. So I use it when I want that trick. 

 

Play, have fun, try new things knowing that they will come out differently and enjoy those things for what they are, life is too short to over-analyze why everything is different because everything IS different. It's not a short-coming on your part, let that go. 😇

[Delaware Dave]

My favorite digital acoustic piano that I've owned is my General Music Equinox along with its Fatar TP20 action which might be a discontinued keybed. I hosted a jam last Sunday and broke out the 72 pound beast. I absolutely love the sound of the piano (uses the 'Real Piano' module built into the keyboard) and that action. I swear I play 2x better whenever I use that beast.  I remember telling the bass player that despite its weight I might start using that damn thing again. I love how it plays and how it sounds, just hate the weight.

 

Organ, I'm so use to playing clonewheels for the past 15-20 years that the action really doesn't bother me (synth or semi-weighted) anymore.  What does bother me is piss poor C/V, a shitty Leslie, only one set of drawbars to cover both upper and lower manuals with a 'toggle switch', and upper octave shrillness.  The keybed is actually last on my list.  Even my L100P has diving board keys and I gigged with that for a while.  Currently I'm triggering VB3-ii with an M-audio semi-weighted action and it's not a distraction to me, the other stuff I mentioned is more distracting and when I'm thinking about that stuff I'm not thinking creatively.

 

I have two set of drawbars for separate upper and lower drawbar control, use a Vent or Burn for the Leslie Sim and feel that VB3-ii has about the best C/V I've found in a clone to match my 57 B3.  For upper octave shrillness I use a T&F with an EQ reduction around the 2.5kHz mark to make the shrillness substantially reduced.  I hate having to jump on an SK1 (as an example); shrill, sub par Leslie and C/V just not right to me.  Don't find it enjoyable at all.

[Mitch Towne]

Well stated, Dave!

[Steve Nathan]

This seems obvious to me.  If you think of the connection between your brain and your fingers as a highway, the road when on a great sounding and feeling "real" instrument is going to be smooth, freshly paved and free of traffic.  When playing an instrument with "issues", those issues are like potholes, inescapable hazards that are nearly impossible to ignore.  

[CyberGene]

I can’t add anything more to this thread. I’m also one of those who can only play (semi) decently on, and get inspired only by, quality (real) instruments or the best digital emulations. Maybe I’m a lesser musician, whatever. 

[stoken6]

2 hours ago, Delaware Dave said:

My favorite digital acoustic piano that I've owned is my General Music Equinox along with its Fatar TP20 action [...] I swear I play 2x better whenever I use that beast.

I found that I played significantly better with a quality hammer-action board. I never thought it would make a difference, but once I invested I found myself stretching further and digging deeper into my playing. My axe of choice is a Nord Stage Classic 76, so 36lb vs your 72lb!

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Al Quinn]

I play my best when the instrument inspires me and, on the flip side, have a tough time when it distracts and fights me. On the latter, the flow of my ideas is compromised. I’ve yet to figure out why some keyboards inspire and some distract. I play the Yamaha P515 and, in terms of creative flow, it compares well to my C3 acoustic grand. When I had a Nord Stage HA88 for a few years, my creative flow was usually disrupted by some sort of disconnect between my mind and fingers. As Steve described so well, it was like hitting potholes.
 

The SK Pro gives me a pretty close experience to my A100 but the Nord Electro 4D had many potholes. What’s strange is that I’ve had a better connection with some low-end keyboards than expensive ones. For example, I was away for the month of October visiting my daughter in Colorado and practiced on her Yamaha NP-32. I was surprised that I had a very good connection with her $300 keyboard; it was so much better than my connection with the expensive Nord Stage 2 HA88. 
 

And, of course, this so subjective. There are folks who love the keyboards I’ve struggled with.

[MAJUSCULE]

I think we all know the feeling you’re describing, Mitch. In fact, I’m pretty sure guys like Joey D and Cory feel the same way. But yeah, hard to catch them having a bad day.

 

Obviously, most of us here can’t ever hope to come close to their level, but I think something we can all aspire to is the joy and gratitude they play with. I’ve had a little too much wine with Xmas eve dinner here so I won’t write a big rambling paragraph but I think that’s really important in getting beyond the limitations of an instrument and letting the best of yourself through.

[mate stubb]

A Nord smeared with heated Hammond oil is better than a Nord without. Just sayin'...   

[jazzpiano88]

5 hours ago, Al Quinn said:

And, of course, this so subjective. There are folks who love the keyboards I’ve struggled with.

Some people don’t mind driving on gravel roads with pot holes to use Steve’s analogy.  

For me the issue has been most apparent whenever I’ve been asked to sit in.  Most often it’s a crappy sound with crappy patches with crappy action making it a miserable experience.  These days I would just beg off. 
 

I’m also more like Al when it comes to electronic vs acoustic.  With the right electronic keyboard and good amplification I’m almost as happy as at the grand.  It’s one of the reasons I don’t gig much these days.  I don’t have the energy to schlep the full rig to rehearsals and gigs and if I take something stripped down I know I won’t be happy, especially in the amplification department. 
 

Regarding other people sounding great on substandard gear, I think it’s all a matter of degree and also self perception.  You may think you sound like shit but you actually sound ok.  We’re so self critical about our imperfections that we are highly aware of.  Some people can listen to their own recordings, others can’t.  It’s the gravel road.    I know great pool players that can run the table with a broom handle (FWIW).  
 

For my own creativity, no question…. Gotta have the good stuff. 

[Stokely]

While I sort of agree with the saying...I also struggle a bit to think of examples where I've seen it in action.  Where *have* we seen great players using truly crap gear? Normally they are playing the real deal (b3 organs, pianos, at the least something like a Kronos).   Medeski jamming on a little hammand melodica comes to mind, I would probably make that sound very cheesy indeed.

I've seen it more with guitarists, where someone is using a lowly squier and they can make it sound great--where I would pick up a '59 Les Paul and make it sound awful.  Even there though, the cheap instruments tend to not have as good of tuning (not always).  And some guitar amps just don't sound good period.  My band's guitarist is very good but when he tried a Fender hot rod supplying overdrive for a while, it just sounded....blappy...for lack of a better word.  

Being able to dial in whatever gear you have is very important, and of course the mix out front can relegate the best sounds into obscurity.

[16251]

To be honest as a jazz student, I blame myself, not the instrument for not practicing/listening more, a lot more. That being said of course a well maintained acoustic piano would be ideal.

 

As far as digital pianos my feelings is something I have said before on keyboard forums.  My lipnis test is if my mind can be tricked into thinking I am playing the real thing. I know this cause if it is a positive experience, my mind will not interfere with my creativity and makes it possible to "get in the zone." It fails when my mind is talking to myself, "this piano sounds too fake, I hate this, I wish I was driving home from gig now, etc. Here I am thinking when I should be listening and not thinking. BTW, besides acoustic piano samples, I feel I am also at my mind's feelings on Rhodes sounds. After ditching, the real thing, I have been on a pursuit to find the "perfect enough" Rhodes sound to trick myself to enjoy the sound.

[octa]

This tale comes to mind when thinking of great musicians making inferior instruments sound amazing: 

 

 

[Reezekeys]

Sorry, this turned out a little long!

 

I've always said the oft-quoted aphorism "it's the artist not the brush" but that's kinda simplifying things a bit. I do believe it to be the truth in a general sense, but why not be real - great or famous players have endorsement deals or have the money to buy exactly the instrument they want! The other point I'd make is that there's a distinction to be made between instruments that simply feel "different" or "foreign" to some players vs instruments that are just plain crap to begin with! It also (imo) has to do with the player's mindset - are they willing to meet an instrument "in the middle" so to speak, or must it immediately meet their expectations for feel, responsiveness, etc.?

 

I played a Roland XP50 for years. It was my gigging axe, I bought it when they first came out. One of the first "workstations" with a floppy drive, sequencer, multitimbral, expansion card slots, etc. The features & prices ticked all the boxes, then I got it, and wow was that a mushy-feeling keybed! My mindset was different than a lot of folks I guess - also, there were no forums with people discussing different key actions! I just dealt with it and eventually got used to the feel - playing a lot of piano-only jazz gigs with the "Session" expansion card. I even recorded with it on some CD projects. Then I started with my current line of Roland controllers, the PCR-M80 and now A800 Pro (I'm on my second A800). Those actions felt heavy to me after the XP50! I got used to them, and still play a lot of straight-up acoustic piano on jazz gigs with it. My problem, if it can be called that, is that I now struggle a little playing a real piano, though I find it way easier (and very pleasurable) when it's a well-regulated Steiny or Yamaha. Most acoustics I run into leave me cold, which I guess is my cross to bear – that's probably from years of playing samples of perfectly in-tune Steinway Ds!

[EscapeRocks]

I would like to add my perspective.

I truly believe there's a psychological aspect as well. 

Since I added the piano shell to my gig setup, while i know it's fake, and small, I have felt more connected.

 

Regardless of which board I have in it:  Roland RD-88, Roland Fantom-08, or Casio PX_S3000, I have been more energetic, and have felt more like a piano player on stage.

[TommyRude]

Poor golfers and great golfers - both will have a bag full of excuses for poor shots.  A gust of wind, a divot, a little rock, spike mark in their line, a random noise distracted them - AND the club had a problem.  Too much/little loft, lousy grips, grooves not sharpened, poor raw material, shaft not the right flex, on and on.

 

The great golfer will procure the finest equipment, and will optimize it to the fullest.  The poor golfer can also get the finest equip, but will likely only make his game marginally better.  All the aforementioned excuses remain available.

 

Even the best golfers in the world - PGA Tour players, will change equipment.  In some cases, an equipment change can ruin their career.

 

How does this relate to the keyboard question?  Not really sure, just sitting here Christmas morning scouring KC! 😂. Merry Christmas all!

[CyberGene]

2 hours ago, EscapeRocks said:

I truly believe there's a psychological aspect as well. 

Since I added the piano shell to my gig setup, while i know it's fake, and small, I have felt more connected.

 

After I replaced the metal side panels of my Hydrasynth with custom made wooden panels, I really started getting more visual pleasure looking at it and that has also made me use it more often, I've designed a lot of patches afterwards, etc. I realize how silly it may sound but the there's a lot of psychology even with the looks of instruments.

[Stokely]

Speaking of wood side panels, that got me looking to see if anyone has made any for the Hammond sk pro.  It has a very vintage look and I really like it, except that wood side panels would really be nice.  I see Hammond has some for the SKX pro but didn't see any for the SK pro.   My neighbor is an excellent woodworker (specializes in fine furniture making and restoring) so making such would be child's play for him--but I'm not sure how I'd attach them.

[nadroj]

I grew up learning on a mini-piano. It was an acoustic instrument, 7X keys that felt semi-weighted by traditional standards. I didn’t know that at the time. 
 

When I moved to college and lay my hands on a Grand for the first time I felt like a fish out of water. That college had some gorgeous baby grands, and while I appreciated the feel I never felt at home on them. 

 

Similarly, I’ve never set my hands on a real Hammond. Have played lots of clonewheels and cheap imitation consoles, but wouldn’t know what to do if I got to a gig and someone put the real thing in front of me.

 

Basically, I’m the opposite. I have no reference. 

 

Saying that, I get a definite kick out of playing a solid, well built keyboard than I do a cheaper less premium one. Not sure it affects my playing, though. 

 

What I’m trying to say is that I’ll find a way to suck at whatever you throw in front of me. 

[Lady Gaia]

Gear will never make up for a lack of talent or dedication to craft.  I do think it's true that a poor artist blames their tools, but it's equally true that a good artist knows to invest in and take care of their tools because they're still essential.  It's still the artist at the end of the day that is responsible for both parts of the equation and attempting to abdicate responsibility doesn't lead to improvement.

 

I find it easier to practice and create when inspired by the instrument, but I've never found it impossible with less-than-ideal circumstances.  I've seen talented performers make the most of a bad situation and have tried to take that lesson to heart.  So, given a choice I do take the time to track down gear that I like and I freely acknowledge that I'm extremely fortunate in having the luxury to own some very nice instruments.  Still, there are always constraints ranging from the financial to the practical limits of available space.  I try to avoid the assumption that more gear or more expensive gear is inherently better, or is essential to become a better creator, or that I always need to upgrade to the very latest no matter even when that's how it is heavily promoted.

[David Emm]

I started on a couple of proper pianos, so I had a good standard to draw from. I also gained perspective from a series of early e-instruments with dubious actions. I took off when I bought my first big Korg workstation. The keys were klack monsters, but I finally had a tool that could rise up to meet my ideas. What % of a rat's arse did I give about the noise? Less than 1%, so on with the show, eh? To within its limitations, the touch-to-sound ratio was excellent. That's the only test that ultimately matters.

 

Aside from a few brushes with greatness like stolen moments with a Matrix-12, the synth keyboard mechanism I would still all but kill for is the D-50's. If I get to proverbial Heav'n, one reward I hope for is a double decker D-50 Mk. 10. Whatever Roland did with that one makes it my personal platinum standard.  

[cassdad]

I’ve said it before, and again:  For me, the biggest advantage of a digital piano is that it is always in tune!  As a child, I took lessons on a spinet piano (parents bought it new), that was never in tune (and hardly had what could be called “an action”).  In the small town in which I grew up, the only “piano teacher / tuner” was a guy who once sang in a famous choir.  He could not tune a piano if his life depended on it….. but at the time, neither my parents nor myself knew any better.

 

My point being that piano never inspired me.  I plodded on in spite of the instrument.  It wasn’t until the digital era that I first played a piano that was actually in tune - and, oh, what a revelation it was for me!  Suddenly I could hear the subtle differences and tonal vibrations in 9th, 13th, diminished chords, etc.  That changed my musical world.  

 

So, I get it, equipment is not everything.  But on the other hand, I don’t care how good of a driver you are, you aren’t going to win a car race driving a 1955 Volkswagen bug with an untuned engine and wobbly steering arms.  (If you get my point.). Once I was playing an instrument that allowed me to hear subtle differences, it really inspired me to explore and appreciate entire new genres (including jazz).  To me, the quality, sound and playability of an instrument is integral to being able to express and enjoy myself on it.

[CEB]

Gear is overrated. 😀

 

But when it comes to the electro mechanical world feels and responses can’t be duplicated.  Nothing plays like a real Wurlitzer or real clavinet.  Clavs can be a pain in the keister but nothing plays like a clav. 

[bill5]

On 12/24/2022 at 2:28 PM, KuruPrionz said:

"A poor craftsman blames his tools" sounds good on paper. 

And quite often a crock in reality. Not a fan of that expression to say the least. Tool lives matter. 

[Nathanael_I]

Tools always matter. I’ve told all my children to optimize every tool that their body physically interacts with.  Instruments, hand tools, keyboards, mice, monitors….Ergonomics matter. Haptics matter. 
 

1). There is a threshold of adequacy in all things. A place where it’s pretty much good enough to do whatever one needs as well as one needs it to be done. It’s not the highest end in my experience, but it’s never the lowest either. And it’s north of the middle, generally.  
 

2) Beginners are very sensitive to this. They need all the help they can get and don’t yet know what is easy or hard. I always bought my children real instruments that I would want to play. Learning is hard enough without fighting something inanimate. 
 

3) The more one’s skill evolves to the finest shades of expression, the more the standard for adequacy rises to deliver all that one can express.  The flip side is that there’s also a place where more is not better. I took classical guitar lessons for a few years on a quality, but student grade instrument.  I ordered a fine concert guitar.  It was beautiful. It played only the tiniest bit easier than my guitar.  And I could only get a tiny bit better sound out of it.  I returned it and kept practicing.  It wasn’t the instrument…. It was me that needed work!
 

4) audiences are happy well before the outer limits of human expression. This has implications… artists can deliver what is expected on less capable instruments than they can maximize. Some very capable artists make peace with this and essentially do their best with what they have. A pragmatic approach. But, some artists simply decide that they don’t enjoy less than what gives them full freedom. They are not wrong, and generally get what they want. 
 

Happily, the world of portable keyboards is not the world of acoustic violins for cost. I’ve learned that I don’t like Fatar weighted actions.  I like the triple sensor hammer actions from Yamaha or Kawai.  For synths, the unweighted  Fatar TP-8S is in every synth I own except the Minimoog.  I’m hoping the Osmose is special. The Seaboard was not for me…. So I do think for portable instruments, one can choose after a while what one can live with…

[Jim Alfredson]

I say this with all the love and respect I have for you Mitch (and I mean that sincerely my friend), but in my experience this issue is 100% psychological. Allow me to explain.

I played local gigs (meaning Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois mostly) with Root Doctor for 10 years from 1999 to 2009, hauling around my B3 for almost every gig. I did have a Roland VK7, but I needed the real thing. Like you, I felt like I could not express myself fully on anything except the real deal. And more specifically, it went deeper than that. I felt that most other Hammonds were lacking in some way. My 1958 was 'the best' and I love(d) the tone of it and how responsive the action felt. On other organs, I would feel like my fingers were stiff and I couldn't play what I wanted to play. They didn't have the tone or the feel or the response or whatever. I used to get frustrated by it, even on bigger stages like the Detroit Jazz Festival, that would rent really nice organs. But it wasn't MY organ so I couldn't play it the same way.

 

Then I joined the Janiva Magness touring band, playing 150 to 200 shows a year, sometimes on my gear, but often on whatever backline was available. I could tell you many tales of backline woes, including fixing shit with a soldering iron minutes before downbeat. Very quickly I had to get over that mindset, else I simply wouldn't be able to do my job to the best of my abilities. Now granted, that music wasn't full on organ trio stuff. I definitely still desire something at least similar to the traditional Hammond setup for that; two manuals, full size pedals, and a Leslie. But even then it often doesn't happen. I play spinet size pedals sometimes because we don't have enough space to carry the full size ones. Or no pedals at all. I use the SKX Pro instead of the XK5 because again, no room. But that feeling of looseness, of being relaxed, and being able to express yourself? That's in your head, man. I swear to you. 

The gear is secondary. Always has been.

I sincerely believe that's why Joey D and Corey Henry can make anything sound good. The music is in their soul and it has to come out and they don't let their head get in the way.  Have you ever talked to either of them? They have HUGE egos. That's not to say they are assholes, but you have to have a certain level of confidence in your abilities to transcend all the other bullshit. At the end of the day, we are narcissists. We have to believe that what we do is worthy of the attention of others. That's some egotistical shit when you really boil it down. And that's a hard mindset to achieve, in my experience, especially for folks at our level that are not out there touring 9 months out of the year, or getting accolades thrown at us from all directions, or getting the press or whatever. We also have to do other things to pay the bills, so we simply dont' have the singular focus on this one thing.

I mean, half the time I feel like a total fake. It's always been difficult for me to accept compliments from people, because I know what my limitations are, what I need to work on, what bothers me about my playing. I ain't Joey D and I never will be. But I am me and I do think I have something worthwhile to share with the world.

That said, even though I don't tour as extensively anymore, and I have a tendency to doubt myself, that desire to get out of my own head and just play is something that has stuck with me and something I strive for every time I play, regardless of the circumstances. I've played them all; Crumars, Viscounts, Nords, KeyB, Diversi, Hammonds, plugins, whatever. Sure, I have my preferences, I know what I like and what inspires me, and it's fun to post a pic and commiserate on social media about some shitty backline with my fellow keyboard nerds, but at the end of the day, I do not to let that get in the way of expressing what I need to express for the gig at hand.

The gear is secondary. You're a great musician. Get some of that Joey D attitude and slay that shit, no matter what.

[AnotherScott]

I'm going to suggest the possibility of a different approach. If you find yourself in a situation where you're forced to play something crappy, instead of fighting it, try to embrace it. Change your expectations and take the pressure off yourself. Maybe you can't so easily "play from the soul" as you'd like to, but you can see it as a musical challenge. Rather than trying to play the way you normally would, try looking at it the opposite way... instead of trying to make the board do what you want, try to adapt to what the board wants you to do, so to speak. It could become a kind of game of "let's see how I can make this piece of crap not suck." Don't try to make an instrument do what it isn't designed to do. If a board sucks for piano, don't play piano on it. Find some completely different sound. You can still draw on your intuitions about how you want something to move harmonically or whatever, but look at it as an opportunity to approach something entirely differently, which may at least be more fun than trying to do what you usually do on a board that will frustrate you in the attempt, because it's just not something that board really facilitates.

[jazzpiano88]

That is some great advice from Jim!  Thanks for sharing your perspective!

[re Pete]

IMO, yes the greats can make rotten instruments sound good, but they're most likely working harder in one way or another due to it.

We've all heard recordings of great pianists playing their ass off on a beater. Had to deal with it for whatever reason.

Technically, I think if you had to play an out of regulation piano with weak springs, your fingers ability to adjust to it may make you a better or smarter pianist to a point.

Sort of exploring your limit to prevent injury and to play what comes easy on a better instrument working less hard.

 

In contrast spring wise on an organ, I only played a real B3 early in 70's when I sat in for someone. But that light touch it had was great.

I would guess Joey D would play his licks easier on that than say a clone with stiffer springs like I have on my original dual Mojo.

I wish I could swap them out for their lighter springs that came out, but seems can't be done.

I'm sure it would be easier to play fast runs, increase endurance, and just more fun to play.

 

The other thing for me is if an acoustic piano goes past a certain point out of tune, playing music is not fun, just tedious to the point of it shutting me down and then knowing I have to tune it.  

And I think it has an effect in the home or wherever for bad vibes personally. 

 

Who said music was easy?