Analog Organ Sounds

[MusicaL]

One of my alltime favorite things to do with my old Roland Jx3p was to start a solo with a stock organ sound, and then morph that sound using the PG200 programmer into an anlogish sounding lead on the fly. Unfortunately, I sold my Jx3p to get my Korg M1. Oh well!

 

I am considering rebuying the Jx3P (but I don't think I can record the PG200's movements in Midi) So, I am also considering the Yamaha an200/an1x (although I don't really need another keyboard). I looked at the an1x's patch list and it has an organ sound. But, I couldn't detect an organ sound on the an200 because the manual comes with pattern names not voice names for some reason.

 

Anyway, can anyone with any an200 experience let me know whether there is a stock organ sound. I assume if it exists that it can be edited on the fly.

 

TIA

 

Albert

[Krakit]

Not that convincing but check P032.

 

It's supposed to sound like a percusion jazz type organ.

 

Carl

[Tusker]

There's a couple of good organs in the user community. I think I know the (mellow) JX type organ you are referring to. It would be no problem at all. The fact that oscillators are continuously variable from sine to saw (or pulse) makes for a wide range of analogish organs.

 

Getting it to morph in a musical way may reduce the range of organs. If your organ sound has a number of tuned partials (say 1.5 octave up, etc.), and your analog lead has diferent oscillator tunings (say 1 octave up) the pitch morphs between one and the other. It's usually a grinding, groaning kind of thing. It can be quite attractive in a discordant way particularly if the ring modulator is engaged.

 

So with the mellow organs you it's a subtle effect, with the brighter organs you end up with a more discordant no-man's land before the analog lead takes shape. Dunno if that's an issue.

 

Cheers,

 

Jerry

[MusicaL]

Thanks for the replies. Tusker, I am no technical person, I just tweaked knobs and got a good effect. Actually, if I may describe the sound, I started with a fairly mellow organ with little or no percussion, and then the sounds would morph and have a wah like charactersitic as I turned them knobs. That's about as much as I can describe the effect.

 

I am sure I probably won't be able to duplicate that sound in another synth (heck I may not be able to duplicate it on the jx3p) I like to solo on organ patches, and synth patches, hence the concept of starting with one and ending with the other.

 

Anyway, I will check out P032 at my local GC.

 

aL

[Tusker]

Originally posted by Music*aL:

Actually, if I may describe the sound, I started with a fairly mellow organ with little or no percussion, and then the sounds would morph and have a wah like charactersitic as I turned them knobs.

Yes, I think I know what you mean. If you start with a mellow organ, then that type of wah effect should be well within the capabilities of the AN units. Curious ... were you playing the organ lead sound as single notes or polyphonically? What about the analog lead?

 

Cheers,

 

Jerry

[MusicaL]

Tusker

 

I played the organ and analog sounds polyphonically.

 

aL

[Dave Pierce]

Another thing that's different, but might give you a simlar feel, is to simply use two boards, one with a good organ patch, the other with a nice analog lead sound. I used to use that on solos quite a bit.

 

If I was taking two verses I'd do a real traditional-sounding organ solo on the first verse, and sort of resolve it at the end of the verse, then *bam* start hammering a trill on the analogish board for the turnaround, and do a more modern synth lead solo for the second verse.

 

If I was only taking one verse I would sometimes do a "call and response" type thing on the two boards.

 

Both of these sounded pretty cool. Of course, I'm not carrying an analogish board to gigs anymore.

 

--Dave

[marino]

Originally posted by Music*aL:

One of my alltime favorite things to do with my old Roland Jx3p was to start a solo with a stock organ sound, and then morph that sound using the PG200 programmer into an anlogish sounding lead on the fly. Unfortunately, I sold my Jx3p to get my Korg M1. Oh well!

 

I am considering rebuying the Jx3P (but I don't think I can record the PG200's movements in Midi) So, I am also considering the Yamaha an200/an1x (although I don't really need another keyboard). I looked at the an1x's patch list and it has an organ sound. But, I couldn't detect an organ sound on the an200 because the manual comes with pattern names not voice names for some reason.

 

Anyway, can anyone with any an200 experience let me know whether there is a stock organ sound. I assume if it exists that it can be edited on the fly.

 

TIA

 

Albert

Hi Albert, I bough an AN1x about an year ago, I can't remember if there's a stock organ patch because the first thing I did was wiping out the presets - they sounded blah at 95% to me.

BUT there's a bank of sounds for the AN that's free on the internet, called "Roland Emulations" or something, and it's really excellent. I can't remember the programmer's name, but as a longtime programmer myself, I can say this guy knows what he's doing. Among many others well-done emulations, there's a JX organ! It sounds good and full. It should be compatible with the AN200, probably to do the conversion you'll need an editing program that's also free on the net.

Anyway, if you decide to get the AN1x instead, remember that you can program two sounds into a single patch, then morph beetween them in real time with the mod wheel or the controller of your choice (a pedal, for example). I don't think this is possible on the 200.

 

Hope this helps

 

Carlo

[MusicaL]

Dave, thanks for the idea of mixing an organ sound and a synth sound. Actually, I do that a lot, almost to a fault.

 

I also went to GC and auditioned the an200 for an hour. I was actually underwhelmed. I found some presets that are cool, but for the most part the presets were mostly dance oriented... also, another glaring problem, there were no pads patches I could find...(Well, it's a groove box after all)

 

I also dabbled with the Korg MS2000, and although I thought it was a beast, some of the sounds were thin. Then I played the Nord Lead 3 and WOW, what an unbelievable sound.... Really clean, but warm and not sterile. Was blown away by the contrast between the lowly an200, the MS 2000 and the Nord.... Anyway, if I only had 2k to blow on another keyboard....

 

I am in the hunt for the an1x now, I'll just have to wait and nab one of e-bay or my local recycler... We'll see...

 

aL

[Tusker]

Albert:

 

IMO the VA synths have truly progressed from first generation to the third generation that they are in. The AN1X (and to some extent it's siblings) are best described as first generation. They have some features not found even in later synths, but each generation has added to the features and sometimes to the sound. In the two years, I have had the An1X I have developed a relationship with it. It's a friend now. So I am biased toward it in an illogical way.

 

I've played the Nord Lead 3. It has some lovely sounds and a great interface. It has a very a nice morph feature which might be important to your style. As you point it out, it isn't cheap.

 

I'd listen first hand to whatever synth you buy, only because so much of it is a matter of personal taste.

 

Best,

 

Jerry

[Synthguy]

I would add to that, to edit some patches so you aren't restricting your judgement to the image of the unit given to you by the programmers. All synthesizers have nearly infinite potential in their design. One of those infinities will suit you well. In truth, if one synthesizer consistently overwhelms you, it sounds like the treasure you seek to discover.

 

I shouldn't blather at such a late hour...