Roll yer own

[Dave Bryce]

Describe your ultimate fantasy keyboard instrument...

 

What would it look like? Sound like? Tell us what features and functions it would have - use existing ones, or make up new ones, if you feel so inclined.

 

Go nuts...indulge yourself...this is a fantasy thread.

 

dB

[Dave Bryce]

Wow...

 

No takers on this one? In this mildly opinionated bunch?

 

I'm quite surprised...

 

dB

[Tedster]

Well, I'll bite, Dave. I'm not a keyboard player, nor do I play one on TV...but, I once had a record of Bach played on the Luneberg Organ...some huge pipe organ in some Cathedral in Deutschland. That'd be it. It just sounded so cool...the dadburn thing would probably almost stand up to a Marshall (well, perhaps a smaller Marshall) at full volume. But what a sound! Wouldn't want to have to lug it to a gig, though...hehehehe...

 

And then I'd have to learn to play it...foot pedals and all...

[Tedster]

Well, lemme give an additional take on this...to me...the traditional keyboard sounds are the coolest...B3...grand piano...harpsichord...pipe organ etc... Not that I'm not a synth fan...just, if I had to have my druthers...oh, and a big ol' Wurlitzer ball park organ HAHAHAHAHAHA...and why not a steam calliope while I'm at it...

 

WHATCHA BEEN SMOKIN', SON?

 

Why nothing, officer...

[Dave Bryce]

Y'know, what I always wanted, although it doesn't make a lot of sense?

 

I always wanted a single unit with two keybeds, like a B3...except the lower one would be a 76-key weighted hammer action, and the upper one would be a 61-key synth-weighted action. The lower bed would have quick-access buttons for sounds like piano, Rhodes, Clav, Wurli..things like that...maybe pads too...the upper one would have quick access to leads, brass, strings, etc. It should have a coupling function that would allow for the upper sounds to be stacked easily on the lower keybed, also, and maybe vice versa. I could even live with it having a very simple programming interface, if the presets were killer...basically, a single instrument for people who just wanna play...it should also be built into a road case, with a nice sturdy lid like a Rhodes...maybe one that could be turned into legs, like the old Yamaha CP30...

 

The reason that it doesn't make a lot of sense, is because you can effectively make this yourself with a double keyboard stand and a MIDI cable, and you allow yourself the flexibility of mixing and matching the two engines to your heart's content...nonetheless, I'd still kinda dig it...

 

Hey, I can dream, can't I?

 

dB

[b3fiend]

something with some kind of controller where you have complete control over the dynamics of a sound...

 

Good example: doing Sax patches and making them sound like a sax. There are so many different sounds involved throughout a passage that are just impossible to reproduce with today's controllers.

 

I guess what I am thinking is to have the ability to model the sounds with a mouthpiece, much like a talk-box for giutar, but with the added ability to blend different patches depending on the shape of your mouth, etc. Imagine beiing able to add distortion by opening your mouth further, blend in new patches while adding the same distortion by inhaling as you open your mouth wider, etc...

 

Pretty far flung idea, but it would be kewl.

 

I think Yamaha makes a new breath controller with a box that adds different reed models to a patch you control on your synth, and that is the kind of idea I am looking for, but more versatile.

 

-Gregg

[Bobro]

I dream of a Frankenstein machine, enormous (as in, as big as a house- a big house) full of electro-hydro-mechanical musical devices, a real motorized glass harmonica (petrified monkey paws well-vaselined would do instead of fingers dipped in water) the rhythm box many tuned and untuned metal objects struck with electric hammers, all the internal objects such as marimbas in a big room would be miced and contact-miced and at the control seat, an enormous throne padded with the finest Corinthian leather, there would be vast glowing ANALOG COMPUTERS to process and mix the sounds.

 

Most importantly the massive control keyboards would have BLACK KEYS with WHITE ACCIDENTALS, like a normal healthy keyboard should.

 

-CB

 

------------------

Kosmolith

[Mats Olsson.]

1. It must start up instantly - no downtime for booting!

 

2. A single person should be able to transport this sucker in a car no bigger than a station vagon.

 

3. A variety of wireless controllers should be available (weighted/unweighted keyboard, pedals, fretboard, joysticks, wind controller, laser beams, ribbons, wheels, pads, brain wave transmitter or whatever else you might think of).

 

4. A gigantic memory that would alow you to record everything you play into a built-in sequenser AND an audio recorder simultaneously.

 

5. It should output sound in Surround formats.

 

6. The users manual should be the best ever and the UI should be as self-explanatory as possible.

 

7. Low pricing to make it accessible also for poor musicians in the 3rd world.

 

8. It should have unlimited polyphony & multitimbrality.

 

9. The copyright of this instrument & it´s accessories should be public domain á la Linux.

 

/Mats

 

This message has been edited by mats.olsson@rockfile.se on 05-28-2001 at 04:54 AM

[Tusker]

Item 1 - It would be fitted on a set of shoulder straps. The keyboard would be circular, going completely around the body of the player. (It would provide a variety of note schemes.) Levers or handles would allow the keyboard to be rotated around the body. The unit would respond to controllers like sway angle, keyboard rotational speed, movement (just like the sensors in your ear) etc.

 

Item 2 - It would be a flat rubbery pad available in different sizes but at least one of them should be about 6 feet by 3 feet. The notes of a keyboard should be printed on parts of it. It should be relatively bouncy, like the floor pads at a gym. It would sense pressure, location, velocity, etc. Primarily it would act as a an additional controller for someone playing a mobile keyboard, as in Item 1. A secondary role would be to obtain input from dancing members of the audience.

 

Cheers,

 

Jerry

 

------------------

www.tuskerfort.com

[murph]

I want the keyboard that makes me sound like I'm as good a player as Dave Bryce. Then all of my dreams would be fulfilled!

[joegerardi]

My fantasy keyboard would be basically the Kurzweil idea, but realized to it's full potential. That is, it would be a digital playback synth with sampling, but with a fully analog section in a separate chain, so that all sounds could be truly authentic. I mean something like a Prophet 5 added in with digital program control, but a Tune button somewhere to get it to pitch.

 

I'm with Dave in the design, but I'd take it one better: I'd want 3 keyboards, 1-88 key piano action on the bottom with two 76-key synth-style boards above that. The middle 76 notes would be Hammond waterfall keys, and the top a traditional synth action.

 

Also, I would have effects after the fact in 6 separate sends so that every board would have it's own set of 2 effects, but all reverbs would be mastered at the end of the chain.

 

Oh, one more thing: Street price? $995.00

http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Gus Lozada]

1. About a KEYBOARD based instrument...

 

1) POLYPHONIC POSITION Sensing. What is this? yes, a nowadays keyboard senses velocity ... and after the initial contact, you can add pressure to it to modify the sound. Good. Would any of you like to be able to slide your fingers to the top back and forth over a key making a more expressive sound instead of having to use your other hand to play a ribbon controller? This would allow us to control individual note's pitch, filter, Fx without using external controllers and keeping your hands in the keys... You could even NOT to depress the key, but just softly touch it to make it sound...

 

2) INDIVIDUAL LASER BEAMS. Every single key must be able to project a laser beam so you could be able to play it as a REAL LASER HARP (not like JM Jarre's fake one). Light Beams are cool... Laser Harps should be cooler.

 

3) External Trigger Inputs, so we could add to our setup hardware some pads we could play with sticks, our feet or any kind of switch controller any of us could design to trigger sounds directly.

 

4) Standardized breath controller inputs

 

5) Yes, affordable poliphony expansions, ram expansion, audio recording / sampling capabilities and STANDARD connections. I don't care what, but a new STANDARD must be defined soon. Or have the capability of add all of them as options: USB, FireWire, mLan, MIDI, SCSI, ADAT lightpipes, SPDIF...

 

2. About STANDS

 

I am currently working in the design of a MIDI STAND. Yes, you read right: A MIDI Keyboard stand, capable of moving the right synth in front of you in the right time, instead of having it all the time with no use. It will also move Computer monitors, mics and audio monitors, according to my original design. It's gonna be expensive, yes, but it is a 21st century thing. Have questions? E-mail me...

 

That's it by now...

GusTraX@yahoo.com

[Bucktunes]

Here's something I'd like to see;

 

A synth with a ROM set of sounds like a Triton, but with the ability to create new sounds by "averaging" 2 different sounds. For example, if you wanted a sound that started out as a piano and blossomed into an orchestra as it sustained. You could just choose 2 patches from ROM and the synth could blend them (not with crossfading) into a composite sound. There would be a blend control allowing you to move the sound closer to one patch or the other. Then you could take that result and blend it with another patch to change the sound again, maybe this time with some abstract synth tone. Of course there would be an undo function allowing you to back out if you don't like the results, then try again with a different patch. Also it would include some knobs for fine tuning things like envelopes or filters. Once you got a sound that you like, it could be stored and later used as a source for more "averaging". Of course velocity and controllers could be routed to manipulate the sound in real time.

 

I would think such a machine would be possible with modeling technology (if it doesn't already exist somewhere I'm not aware of) and would encourage less technically minded musicians to create unique and interesting new sounds. The results could be somewhat predictable or pleasantly surprising, depending on how far out you wanted to go with it. I remember Brian Eno describing such a fantasy machine a few years ago in Keyboard. I'm sure pro programmers would have a field day with it, and I know I'd love to have one.

 

Okay, here's something a little more do-able. Could we start seeing keyboards with internal hard drives and a standard SCSI port sometime soon? It seems the humble 3.5" floppy is a bit outdated by today's standards, especially for large files. Yes, I know the Kurzweils have had this option for years, but I'm surprised more manufacturers haven't picked up on it.

 

Another feature that I wish would catch on is what Kurzweil calls "key bend". You know, where you play two notes, hit the sustain pedal, release one note, and the bender will bend only the note whose key you're still holding? Some old Ensoniqs had this feature as well, and 'm amazed that it hasn't become a standard for everyone. Maybe it's just that there aren't many frustrated guitar players like myself that want this! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif

 

Anyway, those are my dream features. Maybe I'll get to see a few of them happen. In the meantime I'll just stay happy with what I've got!

 

Peace all,

Steve

 

This message has been edited by SWBuck1074@aol.com on 05-28-2001 at 03:12 AM

[Bobro]

Originally posted by SWBuck1074@aol.com:

Here's something I'd like to see;

 

A synth with a ROM set of sounds like a Triton, but with the ability to create new sounds by "averaging" 2 different sounds. For example, if you wanted a sound that started out as a piano and blossomed into an orchestra as it sustained. You could just choose 2 patches from ROM and the synth could blend them (not with crossfading) into a composite sound. There would be a blend control allowing you to move the sound closer to one patch or the other. Then you could take that result and blend it with another patch to change the sound again, maybe this time with some abstract synth tone. Of course there would be an undo function allowing you to back out if you don't like the results, then try again with a different patch. Also it would include some knobs for fine tuning things like envelopes or filters. Once you got a sound that you like, it could be stored and later used as a source for more "averaging". Of course velocity and controllers could be routed to manipulate the sound in real time.

 

I would think such a machine would be possible with modeling technology (if it doesn't already exist somewhere I'm not aware of) and would encourage less technically minded musicians to create unique and interesting new sounds. The results could be somewhat predictable or pleasantly surprising, depending on how far out you wanted to go with it. I remember Brian Eno describing such a fantasy machine a few years ago in Keyboard. I'm sure pro programmers would have a field day with it, and I know I'd love to have one.

 

This message has been edited by SWBuck1074@aol.com on 05-28-2001 at 03:12 AM

 

For a lo-budget embryonic version of this check out the shareware softsynth Smorphi-

 

http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/programs/SMoRPhi/

 

I believe Kyma can do this kind of thing to the level you are talking about

 

http://www.symbolicsound.com/

 

- but to have everything right there under your fingertips in a hardware unit really would be a dream wouldn't it.

 

-CB

[Botch.]

My ideal keyboard controller does not have an LCD. Instead, the center of the 'board has a flip-up screen just like and same size as a laptop. Along with programming the controller, the screen can also display sheet music, chord patterns, and lyrics to songs I ain't learned yet.

The pitch bender is an exact copy of that off the Nord, allowing both pitch bends and subtle vibrato. Additionally, each key will have pressure sensors that allow me to push the key side-to-side, allowing a vibrato on the right-hand notes while block-chording the left with no vibrato. This would also allow the "pedal steel" effect (with practice!) that others have mentioned.

The foot pedal unit is infrared, so I don't have to plug in a cable, just drop it on the floor and step on it. Ditto with the line out(s) and MIDI.

There will be a row of touch-sensitive LEDs, one between each key, just above the keyboard itself, allowing me to set split points without scrolling and even move split points on the fly. The appropriate LED will light for each patch, showing the split point(s). Additionally, each key itself will illuminate when programmed, to show where the samples/sound effects are, for suitable tunes.

The right hand side will have a built-in cup holder. The left hand side will have a stun gun with a +/- 30-degree sweep angle, allowing me to subdue any lead guitarist who gets too loud. Ah!

[dansouth]

Does a sound module count as a keyboard instrument? I want something that can sound like any instrument in the orchestra with all of the standard articulations. Winds need to be able to slur and double-tongue notes. Strings should be able to play slides double-bowed attacks.

 

Technology would be a combination of physical modeling, intelligent sample playback (i.e. able to select samples in real time), and resynthesis of sampled sounds. I don't mind if it's expensive. I'll work as long as I need to to buy one of these babies.

[SFOracle]

Besides the basics - 88 weighted keys and great piano, rhodes, B3 and orchestral sounds, I would like a keyboard designed to recognize the different ways I use it. For performance - it has to have a very clean interface. A bank of at most 16 buttons where I can program the sounds I need available for a given set. I would also need a couple of sliders and a joy stick.

 

For programing, I say get rid of the stupid LCD displays and cryptic menus - provide me with an interface to a laptop with a full menu based programming interface (complete with the user's guide in PDF format). For those who really don't want to buy a laptop, provide a remote control interface with an LCD screen.

 

I generally don't modify sounds either when performing or jaming, so I want the interface to be clean and simple. When I do want to program or modify sounds/effects - I want a full blown GUI.

 

Don.

[synthiboy1]

A keyboard and a plug in my head and everything what I hear and think it will be transelate in the computer.

 

Well the army is trying to fly an airplane from the ground with someone his mind so why not this -).

 

C

 

C

[Dave Bryce]

Originally posted by dansouth@yahoo.com:

Does a sound module count as a keyboard instrument? I want something that can sound like any instrument in the orchestra with all of the standard articulations. Winds need to be able to slur and double-tongue notes. Strings should be able to play slides double-bowed attacks.

 

How do you propose that one would reasonably control these articulations?

 

This makes me think of the VL1...sounded nice, but you needed to use three wheels, four pedals and a breath controller to get the most out of the instrument. Too much...

 

dB