Pitch bend/mod wheel techinque

[dansouth]

How would you rate your pitch bend and mod wheel technique?

 

5 - Move over, Jan Hammer!!

4 - Got that technique DOWN!

3 - I get the job done.

2 - Crude but effective.

1 - Well, I can always edit the data in a sequencer.

0 - I never touch those stupid things; I am a PIANIST!

 

And what kind of controller do you prefer? Wheels? Joysticks? Alternate or custom controllers?

[Dave Bryce]

4.

 

Wheels.

 

dB

[aeon]

no question, 1...I suck if I may say so.

 

but when it comes to programming the synth, I would give myself a 4! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

I prefer the 3 wheels on my Yamaha SY99 over anything else, although a touchpad is cool, as is the Clavia pitchstick.

[steadyb]

3.8

 

 

Wheels.

[IanD]

I would like to think I am 4 ,but more like 3.5

I love pitch bend on guitar patches

 

Joystick

 

Ian

[steadyb]

Now that I think about it...

3

[IanD]

Double post, how did that happen!

 

This message has been edited by IanD on 09-14-2001 at 08:20 AM

[Bucktunes]

Varies between 3 and 4, depending how much I've used it lately. Right now-3

 

Using Korg joysticks now, but I prefer the wheels. Which makes me wonder; Why don't synth makers or some aftermarket gadget makers offer a small outboard box with left hand controllers? Something you could clamp onto the side of the keyboard. That way you could buy a synth for it's sound without having to re-learn pitch bending techniques.

 

Peace all,

Steve

[Tusker]

I thought I'd reply and open up the topic a little more, if thats ok.

 

I think I am 3 + or - depending on the day, the patch and context. I think I do much better emulating pitch bending on blown (sax, shawm) instruments than plucked (guitar, sarod) type pitch bends. I don't have a synth pitch bend per se, or if I do, it is mostly like a shawm or oboe voice.

 

Here are some questions that have occupied me. I'd love any input.

 

What intervals to use?

What types of pitch bends to build the idiom around (up, down, up & down, upt to pitch, up to trill, etc.)

 

My best tool is the ribbon on my An1x. I have the LHS set to 2 semitones and the RHS set to three semitones. The ribbon blows away the wheels and the joysticks for me for several reasons:

- I can bend (or trill) from a bent note, much more accurately, since there is no center spring

- There is (sometimes) a visual and tactile pitch reference

- Trills can turns into bends and vice versa,

- The pressure dimension is available as an additional modulator at the end, middle or beginning of a bend.

 

I have hoped that Yamaha will continue to incorporate that ribbon. I like it above the wheels, so i can use my palm on the wheel at the same time as using a finger on the ribbon. (I have the pitch bend wheel set to + 2 octaves, and -1 octave for portamento like things) Sadly the CS6 (a newer synth) had the ribbon below the wheels. The new motif's have wheels not ribbons. I may have turn to Kurzweil, but their (small and big) ribbons take a little more pressure. It would be like going from synth action to a grand piano http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif

 

As to intervals, I enejoyed having access to a juno 106, once. Since it was analog you could tune the pitch bend easily to microtones. (Doable on a digital but a little more cumbersome.) I found that having an actual blue note destination, (3.2 semitones) made a number of cool bluesy saxophone lines possible. That type of blue note bend made arabic scales more interesting too. (With a tonic of C, you can bend from C# to E natural, or G# to B, but the note you get is slightly flattened compared to what you would get if you played the keyboard. Alternating between the bent (flat) and keyboard (correctly-pitched) notes, gave some melodic nuance.

 

Sorry for the long post. I hope it interests someone.

 

Jerry

 

 

This message has been edited by Tusker on 09-14-2001 at 10:16 AM

[Gus Lozada]

Originally posted by dansouth@yahoo.com:

How would you rate your pitch bend and mod wheel technique?

 

3 - I get the job done in a Crude but effective way.

1 - Well, I can always edit the data in a sequencer.

 

Mostly, I am NOT really into playing lead lines a lot. I do play some "rhythm drones" i like to modify in real time.

 

Originally posted by dansouth@yahoo.com:

And what kind of controller do you prefer? Wheels? Joysticks? Alternate or custom controllers?

 

Actually I love breath controllers... some people feel they look stoopid... but I love to look as an astronaut with weird devices onstage. I have none currently, sadly.

 

As I've said before, I'm planning to buy an ALESIS Air Synth just for the fun of making waves and playing with them a little. If they were MIDIed... I've tried "D-Beam" controllers on Roland synths but they are not that fun.

[The T Dot]

4.

 

joystick or ribbon controller, depending on several factors.

[Faruk]

3.5

 

Wheels

 

(I workout a lot so I would probably brake anything else)

 

Faruk

[b3fiend]

4 with wheels

2 with ribbon (hard!)

[steinwaym]

2.8

Wheels

For certain sounds, it is good to leave the mod wheel up just a little bit at times, and you cannot do that at all with the joystick, as it will not hold on the "fly" I know that you can program it, but you don't always know what sound you want until you get there.