Bernie, if I die tomorrow, it has been one Hell of a ride.

Gary

When I first read this, I was expecting to hear some interesting responses. Boy was I disappointed. No one picked up on this remark. Everyone seems to just carry on praising their favorite keyboards and speakers and doing ABC vs. DEF tests.

Bill hit on something here that we should all take note of. No one, I mean no one, in an audience is going to hear the reproduction qualities of any keyboard. And even less people (which brings it down to zero) are going to make any kind of comment about how much better the Tyros sounded in that band last week, or wow! he's playing a NORD and so on.

It hit me about a month ago. One of the musicians I was focused on (in a band) played some nice riffs and improv's. As I opened myself up to the total sound, I realized the instument he was using was probably a vintage 1970's Casio and the speakers sounded like they were drying out from being caught in a thunderstorm. I think the brand name on them was Betty Crocker!

But everyone was enjoying the music. I think about that experience a lot now that I'm considering buying another keyboard. Why would I want to invest $3,000-4,000 in a better sounding keyboard when I'm the only one who will know....."it's a better sounding keyboard!"

I think every musician, in their musical training, should study the psychology of the listening audience along with their Czerny exercises! With all the money you save on collecting keyboards over the course of your music career, you could buy yourself a condo in the afterlife!

Mark

The nice thing about being an Atheist is that with no afterlife to "save up for", you can spend that money NOW (on 'cigareets, and whiskey, and wild, wild, women --- and keyboards ).

chas

My old guitar player ( who has passed away, and was a great guitar player) always said " those who played talked theory ,scales, technique , those whe don't play talk equipment". I guess there are those that use a 3000 dollar keyboard to make them sound good and those that make 500 dollar keyboard sound great. Either one is not a bad thing.

Mark
It's been discussed before. It's about the whole package and most important "entertainment" No one cares what gear you have just what comes out and vocals are the most important.
Even the band I mentioned "Target" the girl plays some keyboard but even though it's a Newer Korg I think it sounds like crap. Maybe it's their PA . They run the whole band thought 3 Bose L1's but have a brassy sound and really pushes the vocals out. When she does an organ part I wonder if she ever heard a real Hammond. They are very professional and do all dance music for 3 hours with no breaks and draw a dancing older crowd so who cares.
Also as we've all said the newer stuff is to inspire us and give us confidence on stage or just for fun at home. If you want a new toy get it life's too short .

Bill.....you don't need to reply to this. Just thought I'd put my two cents in again. I'm at the top of my game right now but it means zilch. What actually happened is the people were dumbed down....that's why bad music (and bad sounds) is acceptable now. No one remembers good music or good apple pie or good anything! Now if a waiter drops a tray of dishes on the floor, people think it's music. That's why people don't care what an instrument or a speaker sounds like now. There's no benchmark to compare it with anymore.

We're both coming from the same background....properly trained, professional, take pride in what we do, etc so I imagine it's as frustrating for you as it is for me. But.....it is what it is and there's no putting the toothpaste back in the tube.

I'm seriously thinking of doing a "Gary." Determine if the bank account will sustain me long enough so I don't have to go back out there in the wilds again. Stick to the nursing homes and that's it!

Mark