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#314471 - 01/29/11 02:01 PM
"Non-keyboard" instrument emulations
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Senior Member
Registered: 07/27/05
Posts: 10606
Loc: Cape Breton Island, Canada
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I saw an interesting topic over on Keyboard Corner Forum...the title was, “Do I really want my keyboard to sound like a saxophone?” Now I realize, that many of the respondents to that particular thread are playing in a group, so the sound of guitar, sax, harmonica etc., would more than likely be covered by a real person. However, we arranger players are usually one-man (or woman) band giggers (or “workers”, as Dave likes to call it  ), and using various tones to color our music seems to be more acceptable. Or is it? Lee’s remarks about the importance of the orchestra sounds (to him) prompted me to ask these questions of SZ’ers How does each member feel about the emulation of instruments other than those naturally produced by a keyboard controlled instrument? What do you consider your best emulation attempt...sax, guitar, fiddle, harmonica, or something else? What non-keyboard instrument emulation do you refuse to do, or feel the least comfortable with representing? What non-keyboard instrument, in your own opinion, do you feel your arranger does the best job of imitating? What non-keyboard instruments do you wish it would do a better job of emulating? If you are primarily a singer, what non-keyboard instrument sounds on your arrangers to you like to solo with, or use the most often? Ian
_________________________
Yamaha Tyros4, Yamaha MS-60S Powered Monitors(2), Yamaha CS-01, Yamaha TQ-5, Yamaha PSR-S775.
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#314475 - 01/29/11 02:28 PM
Re: "Non-keyboard" instrument emulations
[Re: ianmcnll]
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Senior Member
Registered: 03/02/06
Posts: 7143
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I saw an interesting topic over on Keyboard Corner Forum...the title was, “Do I really want my keyboard to sound like a saxophone?” Now I realize, that many of the respondents to that particular thread are playing in a group, so the sound of guitar, sax, harmonica etc., would more than likely be covered by a real person. However, we arranger players are usually one-man (or woman) band giggers (or “workers”, as Dave likes to call it ), and using various tones to color our music seems to be more acceptable. Or is it? Lee’s remarks about the importance of the orchestra sounds (to him) prompted me to ask these questions of SZ’ers How does each member feel about the emulation of instruments other than those naturally produced by a keyboard controlled instrument? What do you consider your best emulation attempt...sax, guitar, fiddle, harmonica, or something else? What non-keyboard instrument emulation do you refuse to do, or feel the least comfortable with representing? What non-keyboard instrument, in your own opinion, do you feel your arranger does the best job of imitating? What non-keyboard instruments do you wish it would do a better job of emulating? If you are primarily a singer, what non-keyboard instrument sounds on your arrangers to you like to solo with, or use the most often? Ian In most smaller bands keyboarders take care of everything a specific song just nees, be it piano, Organ, Strings, Brass, reed, flute... So to many bands covering music from others it is very important. For my personal needs as an arranger player its the bread and butter and one of the most fun things to do... With SA2 and DNC voices one can finally blow that Sax on a keyboard and sound awesome.
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#314480 - 01/29/11 03:43 PM
Re: "Non-keyboard" instrument emulations
[Re: Bachus]
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Senior Member
Registered: 07/27/05
Posts: 10606
Loc: Cape Breton Island, Canada
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For my personal needs as an arranger player its the bread and butter and one of the most fun things to do... With SA2 and DNC voices one can finally blow that Sax on a keyboard and sound awesome.
Bachus, what non-keyboard type instrument sound do you like to solo with? Do you have a preference, other than the type of sound the song demands...in other words, do you lean on a particular instrument type, like saxophone, trumpet, flute, guitar,violin, harmonica...does one of these become your "go to" sound when soloing? Does your preferred arranger do a decent job of emulating that instrument, or do you feel it makes you work extra hard at mimicking your choice? I'm also curious to what non-keyboard sounds will prove most popular amongst SZ'ers. Ian
_________________________
Yamaha Tyros4, Yamaha MS-60S Powered Monitors(2), Yamaha CS-01, Yamaha TQ-5, Yamaha PSR-S775.
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#314555 - 01/30/11 08:35 AM
Re: "Non-keyboard" instrument emulations
[Re: ianmcnll]
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 12800
Loc: Penn Yan, NY
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Ian,
For me ..... 80% of the night has a Rhodes, bass drums band with me as the leader of a vocal group. When it comes time to solo ... some favorite choices are:
B3 Organs ie: Jimmy Smith, Groove Holmes, etc
juicy Tenor sax
smooth flugelhorn ( Korg has an AWESOME Cornet )
Glenn Miller-esq sax sextion
Chicago-esq brass section
ELP-esq mini moog sounds ( square waves and sine waves ) love the portamento
"some" acoustic piano ( mostly for jazz standards
vibes
steel drums
flute
clarinet
Solo's are rare for me .... I sing too much. 60 songs per night, with very few instrumental breaks or solos, so like I said - for me, it's a Rhodes, bass and drum trip with a vocal group that's featured. I do play about 15-20 songs on my Parker Midifly guitar. Sometimes I trigger the arranger, sometimes not, but I always use the harmonizer with it, and I sometimes layer a pad-like tone with the blend of acoustic and electric pickups that sound SOoooo sweet!
_________________________
No longer monitoring this forum. Please visit www.daveboydmusic.com for contact info
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#314560 - 01/30/11 08:45 AM
Re: "Non-keyboard" instrument emulations
[Re: ianmcnll]
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Registered: 04/25/05
Posts: 14194
Loc: NW Florida
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Playing live, I get to solo a LOT, and playing a decent variety of different genres in different bands, the range of sounds they need is pretty much up there.
About the only thing I'm NOT comfortable soloing is guitar, and I'm even worse trying to emulate rhythm guitar..!
Playing these solos on an arranger, in arranger mode, is another kettle of fish. To be honest, if I can't use the bender, that pretty much rules out horns and winds, fiddle, pedal steel, and basically the large percentage of sounds other than keyboard ones (organ, Rhodes, accordion, piano etc.). If I can't bend it and the real thing DOES, I'd rather not play it at all.
In those circumstances, I'll make an SMF from the arranger output, and free up both hands. I miss my chord sequencer!
_________________________
An arranger is just a tool. What matters is what you build with it..!
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#314564 - 01/30/11 08:53 AM
Re: "Non-keyboard" instrument emulations
[Re: Diki]
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Senior Member
Registered: 09/21/00
Posts: 43703
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Playing live, I get to solo a LOT, and playing a decent variety of different genres in different bands, the range of sounds they need is pretty much up there.
About the only thing I'm NOT comfortable soloing is guitar, and I'm even worse trying to emulate rhythm guitar..!
Playing these solos on an arranger, in arranger mode, is another kettle of fish. To be honest, if I can't use the bender, that pretty much rules out horns and winds, fiddle, pedal steel, and basically the large percentage of sounds other than keyboard ones (organ, Rhodes, accordion, piano etc.). If I can't bend it and the real thing DOES, I'd rather not play it at all.
In those circumstances, I'll make an SMF from the arranger output, and free up both hands. I miss my chord sequencer! Oh Diki not you to !! ....Your using SMF's too?.. "Oh the Humanity"!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F54rqDh2mWA  
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#314586 - 01/30/11 11:42 AM
Re: "Non-keyboard" instrument emulations
[Re: ianmcnll]
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Senior Member
Registered: 01/01/09
Posts: 2195
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I pretty much stick with the pianos, ep's, organs as, like Dave, I'm mainly a singer (I will play an instrumental if asked). I do like to have some pad in the left hand, Dark Pad mainly, to round it all out, and my accompaniment tracks are all selectively muted or tweaked.
Like Diki, if a sound requires bends, in general I stay away from it. The only exception might be on a rock guitar sound, and even then my use of the joystick is, let's say, conservatively judicious. There's two of us, and we do use the harmonizer, but again not excessively. Taste in all things. I'm not of the 'everything but the kitchen sink' school.
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#314588 - 01/30/11 12:16 PM
Re: "Non-keyboard" instrument emulations
[Re: ianmcnll]
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Senior Member
Registered: 07/27/05
Posts: 10606
Loc: Cape Breton Island, Canada
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One of the ways I/we use when gigging to accustom the listener to an emulated sound on the keyboard, is to announce to audience at the introduction to the tune that the "Sax Solo" will be played by the keyboardist...and the keyboardist plays a little sax lick in response.
I uses to actually pick up the PSR-S910 and pretend to hold it like a Sax (it's very light so no problem), and mimic blowing into one end whilst playing a Sax sound on the keys.
It was always a lot of fun "educating" the audience...of course, it may not work in all venues, but it sure adds to the show.
When I played in a 7-piece Rock & Roll Show band in Newfoundland (I used a Rhodes Model 770) and when the Buddy Holly impersonator did True Love Ways, he told the audience, that the tune was one of the first Rock & Roll songs that used "strings"...he would then say, "And, Ladies and Gentleman, our string section!" and the spotlight over me would turn up, and I would play a little string passage on the 770.
I use basically the same idea in my clinics, as well as my concerts/performances.
A small, but , in my experience, very effective way of getting people educated and entertained at the same time....a Yamaha friend of mine, Tom Folenta, used to call it "edutainment".
Ian
_________________________
Yamaha Tyros4, Yamaha MS-60S Powered Monitors(2), Yamaha CS-01, Yamaha TQ-5, Yamaha PSR-S775.
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....just like Chas & I 
Mixing it up on stage is the spice of life baby!!
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