I was going to post this on the “New Korg Arrangers Pa700 - Pa1000” thread but thought it would get lost there, so......new topic! Especially since I, myself, am getting caught up in this endless “latest and greatest” keyboard race.

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but in the end, how many times has it been said on this Forum (actually not many times) it's the player that makes the difference and NOT the keyboard.

I went to a concert last night. The band was great! They were advertised as Gypsy Jazz but they did everything except make submarine sandwiches. Halfway through the lead guitarist put down his guitar and went to what I thought was a drum setup. He proceeded to play one of the best drum solo’s I’ve ever heard with some drum sounds I didn’t even recognize. Sure enough, I went up to the stage to see what he was playing. As I recall, it was a huge empty gasoline can, a coffee tin, a 5 gallon plastic water bottle, those Oriental things glass things that you hang in the wind (instead of hi-hats), an electronic stomp box for a bass drum, and so on!

But that guy was so good musically, he could probably play on a mouse trap and an ironing board and sound fantastic.

I said previously I don’t generally listen to a whole group concert, but these guys were not only good players but creative plus! Every minute, no every second, of their almost 2 hour concert..

Creativity vs. playing abilities vs. instrument of choice. I would take “creativity” any day of the week.

Now that’s not to say, having a keyboard that “looks” pretty in front of you is a no-no. I’ve been there myself. I don’t like the Korg PA700 only because the speakers are “angled” and that would bother me not to play something symmetrical. I DO like the stylish design on the PA3x and the PA4x though which is one of the reasons I bought one.

But getting back to this band, I was knocked right out of my socks when I heard them and they reminded me of the lost art of playing MUSIC, as compared to just playing an instrument.

Finally, it was an outdoor concert and it started to rain. They invited everyone up to the stage for shelter and we were all gathered around watching from different positions and they were kibbutz-ing with us on a personal level while they were playing. At that point, no one cared WHAT instruments they were playing. I, in turn, afterwards had a 15 minute conversation with the leader about just about everything he was doing musically. Regular down to Earth people who not only invited you to listen to them, but to join them in their “living room” for Q&A’s.

Listen to this fellow play (Gypsy) guitar......incredible. Especially when you consider he plays his makeshift drum setup just as well as he plays the guitar. He’s the leader and the fellow I shared conversation with. This snippet at 05:05 is not just one of his best moments......it’s one of his many best moments.

I’m glad I saw them. I’ll say again what I said above because this really opened my eyes.

Creativity vs. playing abilities vs. instrument of choice.

If I’m looking to please an audience in a performance......I would take “creativity,” followed by “playing ability,“ any day of the week. Choice of keyboard would come in a poor third. Look at what those guys did with only a Hammond B-3 years ago. No gimmicks, no bells and whistles, no trimmings.....just the men and their music!

Mark

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=caravan+of+thieves

Wikipedia article

One of his typical guitar solos starts around 05:05