David R

I echo a lot of the sentiments here. The same way guitarists can tell single coil vs humbucker, Fender vs Marshall vs Vox, just on listening, you need to train your ears for the major characteristics between analog & digital. I’d argue the biggest giveaways in synths are filter types - Moog vs Prophet vs ARP. Look up live video of the tunes/bands you need to cover and see what they used back in the day (before things got hidden in racks or do it all workstations took over). I find Anthony Marinelli’s channel quite specific (focused on Michael Jackson) but the way he dissects the sounds is helpful. Matt Johnson has a few good videos about his sounds. Mitchell Sigman’s columns in Keyboard from the turn of the century about how to copy sounds were also quite helpful to me.

I’ve been seeing ads for the Franklin Audio SS6 switcher. Sounds like it is geared towards your needs, @adamcz, but I have yet to see or test one in person.

I would echo the sentiments here. Start with Mainstage and its supplied plugins. Alchemy, ES2 and RetroSynth should get you 90% of the way to everything you need. If/when you feel like you need the extra 10%, supplement it with Cherry Audio, Arturia or Uhe.

Thanks again for having me, Dave. It’s an honour to be in such esteemed company!

I really like Wil Blades’ Tutorial Tuesdays on Instagram, and I believe he has a Patreon with more in-depth videos and lessons. I would highly recommend finding a B3 player in your area and having an in-person lesson if possible, just to supplement whatever other information you get online. It’s a physical instrument and watching someone play it in real-time meatspace is invaluable.

I use Stage Plot Pro for all my bands. Worth the 40 bucks.

Loved this interview. I’ve been a fan of Robert’s since the Greyboy Allstars, I didn’t know he was on the Roger Waters gig!

a few of the things you posted in your OP (flat 9, major triad a whole step up, enclosures) I don’t really consider “outside.” They’re part of extended harmony. I think we do get used to all kinds of sounds as they become part of our vocabulary. Stravinsky doesn’t sound nearly as radical with ears that have been exposed to Ligeti, Elliott Carter & Thomas Adès. Feeling certain West African rhythms in 4 instead of 3, now I can’t flip my brain to hear it the way I initially did.

For me, it’s more of a melodic concept than a harmonic concept. By which I mean, I’m either thinking motivic development or thinking about the note I want to resolve to and all the different ways to get there. I’ve also gotten mileage out of checking out 20th century composers (Samuel Barber, Charles Ives, Bela Bartok, Alban Berg) and trying to adapt some of their harmonic language into improvisational situations. Paul Bley’s legendary solo on “All The Things You Are” (Sonny Meets Hawk) is a good place to start as well, as is Lennie Tristano’s “Line Up” and Chick Corea’s “Matrix.” Take a tune you know really well, and for an entire A section or blues chorus, use one single idea. From Vijay Iyer: take a tune you know really well and improvise only using two intervals that don’t invert to each other (eg minor 3rd & perfect 4th)

Also running a Key Largo over USB (with the Apple USB A-C dongle) on a MacBook M1 and i have had no issues. Maybe increase your buffer size compared to your other interfaces?

When lockdown hit in March 2020, I threw myself into various things that I deeply love that got lost in the shuffle of constantly gigging & working. I went back to bebop/hard bop/straightahead (Bird, Hank Mobley, Bud Powell) and dusted off some of the Bach Inventions. Another thing I would do is tune into a live DJ broadcast on Twitch or on radio, and try and play along with the songs as quickly as possible. When I get stuck in ruts like that, I will dive into music I know in passing or barely at all. Something totally outside my comfort zone that might inspire me in a way I can’t imagine.

Bass, Drum Machine, Keyboards, Percussion, Synthesizer, Composer, Lyricist, Engineer, Producer, Vocal Producer: Freddy Wexler Composer, Lyricist: Arthur Lafrentz Bacon Composer, Lyricist: Wayne Hector Associated Performer, Piano, Strings: Marco Parisi Associated Performer: David Campbell Bass, Guitar, Engineer: Leroy Clampitt Programmer, Engineer: Jack Parisi Drums: Randy Cooke Violin: Benjamin Jacobson Violin: Tereza Stanislav Viola: Luke Maurer Cello: Vanessa Freebairn-Smith Co- Producer: PARISI Unknown, Engineer: Emile Haynie Engineer: Dan Glashauser Engineer: Cian Riordan Engineer: Kyle Mann Engineer: Travis Warner Engineer: Justin Gariano Mixing Engineer: Tom Elmhirst Mastering Engineer: Randy Merrill

The vocals in the first verse, before they get buried in the mix, remind me of Tumbleweed Connection-era Elton. It’s nice to hear Billy singing honestly, and not doing one of his impressions. I went poking around for the credits. Produced by Freddy Wexler (Ariana Grande, Bieber), and a total of four writers. I doubt Billy really needed the assist but if working with younger writers/producers is giving him the inspiration he lacked alone, good for everyone. My less generous instinct is that it’s a calculated move by Columbia Records, either to get their writers some more royalty points or to boost the algorithmic relevance by having younger artists associated with the track. Anyway, it’s nice to have new music from Billy, though it doesn’t affect his catalogue that much for better or worse. I’m curious if there’s more to come or if this was a one-off.

Just echoing the love for the combination of Wurly & Princeton Reverb. I did a couple of sessions in 2019 with that setup - one was into a stock silver-panel Princeton, and the other was passing through a Roland Space Echo (no delay, just the preamp) into (I believe) the ‘65 British Green edition with a 12” Celestion greenback. A Princeton Reverb of my very own is on my to acquire list.

Also waiting for the account confirmation email. I use the Logic B3 primarily; the rebuilt Arturia B3v2 is alright as well, but for this price I’m looking forward to another solid option in the rotation.