The CNN intertainment segment featured an Artist named Mike Phillips who is a Jazz musician. Did anybody happen to catch the segment? If not let me fill you in... Mike Phillips is a new Jazz musician who just debuted his first CD called "You Have Reached Mike Phillips". It debuted at #4 on the Jazz Chart! He plays the Sax and of course he is the star but his band consisted of a Drummer and a Keyboardist. Guess what kind of keyboard the Keyboardist was playing? No, it was not an Arranger BUT it was a Roland XP-30. Okay so what is the correlation you say? Well, remember that the CD "Debuted" at #4 on the 'Jazz Billboard Charts' and the Keyboardist was playing a 4 year old "technology wise" Synthesizer. I mean the XP-30 is near the bottom of the rung of the XP series right? And hear was this HOT Jazz band using it during their live perfomance.

I have played the XP-80 and didn't think it was all that great sounding. The XP's use an older technology sound engine which can't stand up to the sounds of the newer keyboards IMHO. Well, I just wanted to say that if their band uses an XP-30 and their CD debuts at #4 it gives me inspiration that not only are our keyboards surely not "Toys" as some would suggest, but they are more than Professionally capable and qualified to be used in the same professional manner with the same or "better" results as a Top Billboard Jazz or any other kind of band.

Best regards to all,
Mike

Mike,
I once read an interview with BB King; the thing that struck me most was this phrase: "During the years I have changed many guitars; yes, there have been many "Lucille", but -no matter which guitar I was playing- the sound was always the same. I really think that my sound comes from me"

Now, what do you all think?

Andrea,
One of those inspiration thoughts, but I think you're interpreting BB too literally. Or if he meant it literally....sorry BB not literally true. Some instruments do sound better than others, however a great musician can make even a crappy instrument sound good. The overall BB sound comes from within, but the actually physical sound of an instrument is a combo of the musician & instrument quality of both. I don't care how good Willie Nelson plays, his ratty old Martin sounds like crap straight up.
Terry

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http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

I don't know, maybe I am different than the general music listener, but when I hear a cheesy piano or synth sound being used in a performance it ruins the experience for me. It doesn't matter who is playing. I agree, a talented musicians can make a lousy instrument sound better than an average player. Although it is just like putting lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig. I don't mean to offend farm animals.

This topic has been discussed quite a bit on this forum. Not to beat a dead horse, but here's how I'd sum it up:

Stephen King will write brilliantly at an old typewriter....or even with a pencil. Michael Jordan will run circles around you in slippers. Kyle Petty will outpace you in a jalopy.

The artist is paramount. Tools are secondary.

Sorry, but guitars and keyboards are not the same game sound-creation wise. A guitars sound is VERY much a result of the touch of the player. With BB, well, He only changes a string when he breaks one! Dead strings may be the common thread with all of his guitars! And Willie----well, maybe nothing should be said, but Willie Nelson and BB King are two examples of the WORST guitar tones on record! Don't get me wrong, I have paid to see both perform and enjoyed them both, but it sure wasn't the guitar tone that I enjoyed! An electronic keyboard is not a "natural" sound,so in a sense, anything goes. Even a cheesy Farfisa sounds cool in the right context, like Smashmouths' "walking on the sun", and with electronic jazz I would imagine that the old Roland would be fine but you wouldn't want to hear any classic Bill Evans trio played on it! Just my two cents----
Bill

I recently went to a concert locally which had two "headline" artists - Peter Green (as in Fleetwook Mac) and John Mayall (as in the Bluesbreakers). Peter Green's band included an organist playing a real Hammond B3/C3. He was simple but hugely effective. John Mayalls man was by contrast playing a "Roland" hammond and at times clearly felt he was paid by the note. Technically brilliant but no soul whatsover. I do not blame the instrument for this although the difference in sound was noticable.

Summary: The instrument makes the sound but the musician makes the music.

I saw a live band, "Salt & Light", playing live, who had just cut their first CD. The keyboardist was playing a Yamaha PSRGX76 and a Roland piano. If she can play a gx76 for live play then I don't need to upgrade my PSR550.
Starkeeper

MacAllcock--how was Peter Green? Can he still play? I know that he just walked away from music for many years but, Man, he used to be a MONSTER on guitar!
(and you just can;t beat a real B3 to a real leslie)

What about someone like Carlos Santana? At the beginning of his career he was playing a Gibson SG standard; then he signed a contract with Yamaha. Now I think that he is playing a Paul Reed Smith; but, from the very first note of a song, you can tell that's him playing!
And the same goes for a keyboard player like Joe Zawinul or Jan Hammer: they have no doubt their own style!
(or maybe it's just the so called "touch", I don't know...)

I read an article recently with BB King who was saying he had had many "Lucilles" over the years, and changed guitars frequently but when he listened to the recordings realized the sound never changed and was him not the guitar itself.

Incidentally I remember seeing BB King live in Melbourne, Australia almost 20 years ago and his tone was much better than I had heard on his recordings so don't consider his recording to be entirely indicative of how he really sounds. BB King is a gentleman and a true artist. He pulled the best sound from a Gibson ES-335 and Fender Twin Reverb than I have heard before.

Incidentally I have seen both Joe Zawinul ( with Weather Report ) amd Jan Hammer ( with Jeff Beck ) and yes they both have a very unique touch. The technology they used at the time had little to do with the music they were creating. They would have played great music irregardless of the keyboards they were using.

Nigel, I agree that BB is a very classy gentleman and when I heard him about two years ago I was pleased with how much better he sounded live than on record, both his tone and his lines had much more life. I wasn't slamming him about his dead strings, that was what He said in an interview about never changing strings, and on most of his records his strings sound very dead to me.
Did you catch Weather Report during the Jaco years? I did, and they were beyond belief! Zawinul,Shorter,Acuna,Erskine,amazing artists every one----and then,right at his prime, before He self destructed----Jaco Pastorius was taking the bass to another universe. My mouth was hanging open the entire night! From king of the world to sleeping on the streets to dead in the gutter in such a short time is the stongest anti-drug message of our time. Such a waste. But for a while he burned so very bright..

(Mike, I think that your thread has been hijacked)
Bill

Peter Green was at the gig in body but not necessarily in spirit for 100% of the time! He's been back on the road for a few years having spent many years previously being damn near a hermit as a result of (drug assisted?) nervous problems. He can still play like a god when he wants to but he looked and acted like an even better advert for drug avoidance than Ozzy Osbourne!