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Why opt for Synth Spaghetti in an age of Synth Ravioli?


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For gigging musicians...

 

I love the way modern keyboards (i.e. largely workstations) have a whole library of sounds, pretty much containing EVERY sound you would ever need for any gig. Kind of like Ravioli... all of the cheese and meat are cooked right into the "pasta envelope".

 

iafBchj2WbfDE69cegLHuG-1200-80.jpg

 

Yet, for some reason, I see many modern gigging keyboard players sitting amongst a pile of controllers, laptops, mixers... (and all of the Wire Spaghetti that comes with it)... and for what reason?

 

I realize that a real Rhodes EP sounds more like a genuine Rhodes EP than the samples stored in workstations... and that a real polysynth sounds more like a polysynth than the offerings in workstations.

 

But... with all of the professional workstations available these days (with much improved sound)... I am at a loss as to why any modern gigging keyboard player would need to look like the guy in the picture.

 

Is a spicy meatball. Buon appetito!

Kurzweil PC3, Yamaha MOX8, Alesis Ion, Kawai K3M
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All computer and mixer bits could be racked, but I assume Eddie Jobson likes it this way.

 

It does scream "multiple points of failure", but consider the "single point of failure" introduced by depending solely on a workstation. I've had both a Korg and a Kurz fail at inopportune moments.

I make software noises.
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All computer and mixer bits could be racked, but I assume Eddie Jobson likes it this way.

 

It does scream "multiple points of failure", but consider the "single point of failure" introduced by depending solely on a workstation. I've had both a Korg and a Kurz fail at inopportune moments.

 

Ahhh... it's Mr. Jobson in that photo! Didn't realize it at first, I just searched for a picture of a "keyboard player surrounded by spaghetti, laptop & controller" and this picture came up.

 

Well, I have so much respect and admiration for the guy, I feel a little embarrassed. :blush:

 

Just having a little funzaroni here.. I mean, use the tools you like, bottom line.

 

This thread was actually inspired by a thread EscapeRocks made about how he could monitor his Mac Mini on stage. It just had me thinking...

 

To some extent, I turn to some of my plugins for new sounds and programming ideas... not necessarily for the plugins themselves. Some old VA-style plugins that I've had for 15 or more years are still sounding great, especially when hooked up to a controller with velocity and AT.

Kurzweil PC3, Yamaha MOX8, Alesis Ion, Kawai K3M
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From the perspective of stage presence, one can argue that all of the gear lends some degree of stage credibility .

 

That setup looks way cooler to a layperson (and, admittedly, to me) than a musician sitting neatly behind a Kronos with impeccable cable management.

Nord Stage 2 Compact, Yamaha MODX8

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When you are a weekend warrior as I am, making hobby money and playing mostly at dingy small bars and Eagles/VFW (those gigs have become more common), you value simplicity, quick setup and teardown. It would be ridiculous for me to set something up like that to play the places I do. I've gone so "far" as to have an ipad, but that is really easy to use with one cable as my Modx has an interface built in.

 

At home, everything is tucked away in the computer other than the midi controller.

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I assume Eddie Jobson likes it this way.
It does look a bit like him, but I don't think that's him.

 

But getting back to the OP, I think the clutter there (compared to just having two boards) comes largely from adding the laptop and what looks like an analog modular system behind him. Few people gig with the analog modular stuff, but I'm sure there are artists out there where that's just part of their thing. The laptop is the more common addition, and sure, two keyboards plus a laptop does yield more clutter than two keyboards alone. I don't know how much of the laptop appeal is getting that nth degree of additional sound quality/functionality, vs. how much is that it makes it easier to get what you're after out of lighter boards (so it's more clutter, but less shleppage), vs. how much is wanting to be iable to be completely independent of the controlling keyboards (so you can run your rig from whatever backline is supplied). I've never gigged with a laptop (though I've done a bit with an iPad)... but I also can't say that I've ever been able to assemble a two board rig where everything is exactly what I want it to be, either. There's always a compromise somewhere, and I can see the temptation of adding that other piece to minimize that compromise without having to bring additional (or heavier) boards.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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OT, but I saw UK open for Jethro Tull long ago. That was Eddie Jobson on keys and violin, John Wetton on bass and Terry Bozio on drums, fantastic.

 

The convo reminds me of my own transition to guitar amps with all the effects built in. One pedal powered by the amp with one connecting cord, one guitar plugged into the amp with one cord and I've got everything on board.

 

Doesn't sound like one of my Mesa Boogies with a pedalboard filled with "spaghetti" but it does sound great and I don't miss lugging gear, setting it up, trying to figure out what went wrong in the middle of a gig and just plugging straight in without effects until break.

 

I'd be a workstation guy if I played keys.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I'm more of a synth Beefaroni guy.

I'm quite sure the Seinfeld fans are glad you didn't say "Beefareeno"... (Just "horsin" around!)

 

I'm more of a synth lasagna guy myself -- gotta have layers! Lots of layers!

 

Old No7

Yamaha MODX6 * Hammond SK Pro 73 * Roland Fantom-08 * Crumar Mojo Pedals * Mackie Thump 12As * Tascam DP-24SD * JBL 305 MkIIs

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For gigging musicians...

 

I love the way modern keyboards (i.e. largely workstations) have a whole library of sounds, pretty much containing EVERY sound you would ever need for any gig. Kind of like Ravioli... all of the cheese and meat are cooked right into the "pasta envelope".

 

iafBchj2WbfDE69cegLHuG-1200-80.jpg

 

Yet, for some reason, I see many modern gigging keyboard players sitting amongst a pile of controllers, laptops, mixers... (and all of the Wire Spaghetti that comes with it)... and for what reason?

 

I realize that a real Rhodes EP sounds more like a genuine Rhodes EP than the samples stored in workstations... and that a real polysynth sounds more like a polysynth than the offerings in workstations.

 

But... with all of the professional workstations available these days (with much improved sound)... I am at a loss as to why any modern gigging keyboard player would need to look like the guy in the picture.

 

Is a spicy meatball. Buon appetito!

 

 

Portability, consistency of the sounds and overall easiness.

Easy set up and tear down, as most of the hardware can be rental. Richard Barbieri (who BTW uses the best of both worlds) can travel with his laptop and

couple of small controllers, having the same sounds available at all times/venues. But he is also using a lot hardware

As far as the aesthetics. Well, this is very personal. I like spaghetti ð¤£ð

 

PS i too thought it was Jobson in the pic, who relies solely on software and for reasons he has addressed in an old KM interview (basically, portability and practicality)

Be grateful for what you've got - a Nord, a laptop and two hands
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And I'd wager, that at this guys' level, MOST of the work would be done by roadies, who I will assume have an intimate knowledge of how it all goes together!

 

When you have pro roadies, have what you bloody want :D

There is no luck - luck is simply the confluence of circumstance and co-incidence...

 

Time is the final arbiter for all things

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Why?

 

At the risk of being simplistic, software is being software. It ate taxicabs (uber) and tax accountants (turbotax). Now it's eating hardware keyboards. As Marc Andreeson said, "Software will eat the world." It's a delicious meal. We humans benefit from the convenience, while watching software have dinner. Buon appetito! :D

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That's not Eddie Jobson.

 

It's Richard Barbieri.

 

Yes, I think you've got it. Though I also see a resemblance to Kim Bullard.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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It's probably from years of staring at Keith Emerson's or Rick Wakeman's rigs - anyone remember the picture of Rick from the front of the the Hammond with its back panel off? - that did it for me. It's only on the bigger-name shows or theater shows that I'll go or let the stage crew go the extra mile of making things neat or putting a scrim around the front of my setup. Otherwise, give me spaghetti! I mean, I just bought the Behringer Blue Marvin for crissakes! (And the Poly-D and the BOdyssey...this is my middle age crisis, I guess.)
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When you are a weekend warrior as I am, making hobby money and playing mostly at dingy small bars and Eagles/VFW (those gigs have become more common), you value simplicity, quick setup and teardown. It would be ridiculous for me to set something up like that to play the places I do. I've gone so "far" as to have an ipad, but that is really easy to use with one cable as my Modx has an interface built in.

 

At home, everything is tucked away in the computer other than the midi controller.

 

 

Very similar situation for me. While I do make my living in music (thankfully having the skills and patience to teach, plus doing church accompanying work), the live jobs are frequently 'hobby money' now - being that bar gig pay is the same as when I started playing clubs in the 1980s. So simplicity is the rule: one or two keyboards (often including a workstation), and the 'spaghetti' stays at home. Oddly enough, my best paying live gigs are with a yacht rock, mostly - summer act for which one keyboard can do the job :laugh:

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The audience cannot hear the difference, but the musician also needs to feel good. If I was doing this, I'd do it to feel cool.

Life is subtractive.
Genres: Jazz, funk, pop, Christian worship, BebHop
Wishlist: 80s-ish (synth)pop, symph pop, prog rock, fusion, musical theatre
Gear: NS2 + JUNO-G. KingKORG. SP6 at church.

 

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I opt for whatever works so I don't end up opting to pull out my hair. That directive didn't work so well back when DX7s didn't fully reach 128 in the MIDI velocity spec, of course. As stable as most gear has become since then, even the software, I'm more worried about my hair falling out than being pulled.

 

If the audience is more concerned with your gear than your music, play better or softer or stop playing to only technicians and programmers.

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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For gigging musicians...

 

I love the way modern keyboards (i.e. largely workstations) have a whole library of sounds, pretty much containing EVERY sound you would ever need for any gig. Kind of like Ravioli... all of the cheese and meat are cooked right into the "pasta envelope".

 

Yet, for some reason, I see many modern gigging keyboard players sitting amongst a pile of controllers, laptops, mixers... (and all of the Wire Spaghetti that comes with it)... and for what reason?

 

With all of the professional workstations available these days (with much improved sound) I am at a loss as to why any modern gigging keyboard player would need to look like the guy in the picture.

 

Barbieri is the antithesis of the keyboardist whose needs can be met with a tonne of preset sounds. He's not a player, he's a sound designer:

 

'I didn"t have any technical ability, and I didn"t have any musical theory knowledge,' Barbieri tells us. 'Until I got a synthesizer and then the controls became more important to me than the keys. I actually started to forget about the keys and just explored sounds using the controls. I found a way to do something that sounded different and that a standard keyboard player just wouldn"t go and play. That for me was the breakthrough - it meant my contributions to Japan were much bigger.'"- https://www.musicradar.com/news/richard-barbieri-i-didnt-have-any-technical-ability-and-i-didnt-have-any-music-theory-knowledge

Gig keys: Hammond SKpro, Korg Vox Continental, Crumar Mojo 61, Crumar Mojo Pedals

 

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