Stick with Nord?

[Kaffimusic]

In band context, I just made some very short clips, capturing the atmosphere while holding the phone in one hand and playing with the other. But I have made a longer video where I use the PC4 in context with other synth.
They are sequenced by a MPC One and controlled manually. Everything I play on the Kurz in fact comes out of the Kurz soundengines. It´s not strictly EDM (It has a VA synth integrated as well), however a mixed bag of more classic analog synth sounds and piano. I use a setup for that performance without switching program slots. That means I switch the layers which is like A/B parts on a Nord. The Kurz can have 16 of those the same time. Can be any sound. The GSM E7 synth runs though the FX inputs of the PC4 and uses it´s reverb and delay. In one sequence I looped the delay for a nice musical effect. Todays Kurzweils can have 32 FX types the same time, distributed over each of the 16 layers/channels. When you see me moving the most right slider, I control the amount of reverb that is applied. The other sliders from the left contol the volume of each respective channel. The frontend can control anything, it´s basically a programmable controller surface like on a midi-controller.
There are some mistakes in the recording, however, I was happy to have it done. This was the first time I tried to play this type of music as live sequencing and while knobbing and switching sequences, I was happy I did not mess it up further.

Most likely you can do that kind of stuff with any other workstation-style synth as well, but I dig the sound of the Kurzweils and by now I am very accustomed to the way they work. I pass sounds and setups I made to the next generation, saves a lot of work.
When you scroll though my videos, I made some sound demos as well. But those are sounds I did not program. You can load anything in a contemporary Kurz, starting with the K2 from 1991 until the last model. Older sounds work mostly, but not always.
In fact, I think a Nord Stage sometimes does not sound so far away from a Kurzweil in some aspects.

[Gambold]

>You know that moment when your stage companion (mostly the Guitar-Player) naturally expects the keyboard player to play the saxophone solo? You certainly also know the look on their face when you reply "I'm the keyboard player here - not a saxophonist. Ask the Drummer"...<

Hilarious and totally true!

>That is the reason why - many times - you find keyboard players as the musical directors of higher level bands. They outgrow the other musicians<

Serious and totally true! And this is why, after ten years, I just resigned from the cover band I was in. Yeah, I had assumed the role of "music director" over the years and got them all their chord sheets and worked the setlist so it was balanced...but I finally couldn't keep playing AC/DC and Tom Petty anymore. I pushed the band to move into more difficult, or jazzy, or loungey, or ANYTHING, but although a couple of them showed interest and we tried a few, they finally couldn't get beyond the music of their teens, 35 years ago.

I attribute that resistance to two factors. Classic rock is generally easy and they've been playing it for decades, so there is no learning curve. I can understand this - not everyone wants to be challenged, especially once they are over 50 year old.

The other reason I think is a big misconception - they think if they play top 40 or popular songs or whatever (like a wedding band) they will get more applause and appreciation. I firmly believe that isn''t true...most of the "audience" in a sports bar or any cover bar venue is only barely paying attention to what song is being played. They are there to drink and unwind. As far as the music goes they and want a good beat and sure, to recognize a song every now and then. But the applause decibels are rarely different no matter if you play American Girl or I've Got You Under My Skin.

[taxman]

Hi friends,

the question „Stick with nord?“ to me sounds as if there was only an Either-Or. I think it mustn‘t be that limited, no matter if you play in a rockband or anything else. I play rock covers, lots of the classics from Journey, Toto, Deep Purple, Bonjovi and so on, even Beatles, Eagles or CCR, and I love it having the organ possibilities of my electro 5 under my fingers. Also all pianos such as Adele, Robbie Williams, Patti Smith etc. I play on my nord, and I love it.

Beside those I also play in a „German Schlager-Band“ where there are lots of songs with strings or brass arrangements, even sax solos or special sounds like accordeon or blues harp. For these I use my korg X50 which can do those far better than any nord.

There also occured the point whether you as a keyboard player should like or hate being the sax- or string player. It‘s not that dramatic for me because there are parts which I love and others which bother or bore me. For example I love to play the intro of Queen‘s „The Show must go on“, even if it’s strings. With the right sound it is very powerful on stage. I too love to play one or two sax solos such us „Simply the Best“ or „Über sieben Brücken“.

In general you may find that also music styles which sound „easy playing“ at first sight - like Schlager - may have some nice arrangements you can learn interesting things of. Udo Juergens for example.

As long as my capabilities grow, I try to stay open minded. And again, yes, I stick to my nord for what it can, and I give it a compagnon to side for wider ranges.

Cheers from sunny Germany

[taxman]

That is the way

[Gambold]

>For example I love to play the intro of Queen‘s „The Show must go on“, even if it’s strings. <

That is a good one. And it helps that Brian May, a guitarist, played it on the record.

The problem starts when the cover band decides that rather than interpreting material, it's going to ape it, in the continued misinformed belief that audiences are looking for an exact re-creation of a studio track while drinking Miller Lite and gabbing to their friends. The band inevitably turns to the keyboardist to make this fetish for verisimilitude happen...they want the keyboards to sound just like the ones on the record, they want the horns or strings or zithers or theremins or whatever to appear as expected - and thus the keyboardist becomes a sound machine.

And woe to those who push back and say, "hey, I'll play the line on a Hammond or Rhodes emulation, but that's all you're gonna get. If you want trombone player, hire one." Anyway, I got tired of doing that and so left the group after a decade, and am now BANDLESS.

[Tasten-Bert]

>For example I love to play the intro of Queen‘s „The Show must go on“, even if it’s strings. <

That is a good one. And it helps that Brian May, a guitarist, played it on the record.

This is as we say in Germany „you‘re on thin ice‘ because Brian doesn‘t play it on his guitar but on a synth. Live he is shown with a Yammy DX7, in the studio it might have been diverse.

The other side of the medal is that he proves himself as a multi-instrumentalist. I‘ve also played an acoustic guitar on stage because I wanted to show my three to five chord knowledge with CCR‘s Bad Moon Rising.

All can, nothing has to.

Cheers from Germany

And I keep my fingers crossed that you‘ll find a band again to your taste.

[Gambold]

>This is as we say in Germany „you‘re on thin ice‘ because Brian doesn‘t play it on his guitar but on a synth.<

I knew that - I meant that he played it as a musician. And I believe he used a Korg M1 on the studio recording.

[Winds]

>For example I love to play the intro of Queen‘s „The Show must go on“, even if it’s strings. <

That is a good one. And it helps that Brian May, a guitarist, played it on the record.

The problem starts when the cover band decides that rather than interpreting material, it's going to ape it, in the continued misinformed belief that audiences are looking for an exact re-creation of a studio track while drinking Miller Lite and gabbing to their friends. The band inevitably turns to the keyboardist to make this fetish for verisimilitude happen...they want the keyboards to sound just like the ones on the record, they want the horns or strings or zithers or theremins or whatever to appear as expected - and thus the keyboardist becomes a sound machine.

And woe to those who push back and say, "hey, I'll play the line on a Hammond or Rhodes emulation, but that's all you're gonna get. If you want trombone player, hire one." Anyway, I got tired of doing that and so left the group after a decade, and am now BANDLESS.

Yo Gambold sorry to read about your current situation. Perhaps it also depends on the individual or who you work with. For myself I still love very much being a sound machine, even if the band doesn't necessarily call for it. I sometimes do get band members that are very fussy about these things, but I don't let their frustrations get to me. At the end of the day, I feel joy when I can deliver exact sounds, either from direct patch copying or building sounds from scratch. Perhaps I'm innately a people pleaser, but I've been doing this music for 15 years, and still glad am not tired of it. Hope you find your right calling buddy.

[ChoppedTop]

Thanks for the replies. It makes interesting reading. I'm quite happy with the Electro 6d. the bands i'm in are 70/80's covers (UK) and prog covers, just recently a blues band. The electro is superb for the piano sounds and of course the added bit of sax and brass where needed. I've also sampled a ARP ProSoloist from my PC for my Genesis Firth of Fifth rendition. It doesn't have 'glide' between notes but its very convincing. I've also used samples that have been created here, for which i am very grateful. I am being asked to produce some big eighties sounds for the coverband. I don't mind as it enables us to cover some great tunes. Just recently 'Regret' by New Order. None of the Nord sample sounds cut it i'm afraid, so i've thinking i need a new Keyboard hence the Q.
Another sound i need is some small chimes (available) but i need to be able to bend the notes. I can't do this with the Electro6.
I want to be able to layer sounds, pitch bend and glide the notes. Can a NS4 do this?

[cphollis]

"i need to be able to bend the notes. I can't do this with the Electro6. I want to be able to layer sounds, pitch bend and glide the notes. Can a NS4 do this?"

Yes, in the synth section. I use it a lot.

The Electro has always been the gateway drug for the Stage.