You think you always need the Newest gear ?

You think you always need the Newest gear think again?
A perfect example performed by my friend Alan McPike 10 years ago
with older gear by today's standards that
it's the player NOT the keyboard.




https://www.youtube.com/user/bigalmcp/videos

now take that player and let him play on the best keys and you will hear the difference

I am sure Alan could use any gear he wants he is a master
but chooses even today the same rig...
no need for the latest and greatest.

so it does not matter if you are playing on steinway or a cheap piano as long as you are a great musician , is that what you mean ?

because when i look at the stage of famous singeres i can see only the cream de la creame except of using old gear like hammond or rhoedes to achive ceratain original sound .

If your a bad player it don't matter how good the gear is ..

Good players can and do make creative interesting music on older gear. I guess the discussion should be do lesser players sound better on the latest and greatest gear ?
A story about a young Oscar Peterson taking over a piano gig from Art Tatum in a club. Tatum asks the owner to get a better piano for this fine new player. Owner answers " but I just painted it "
I bet they both sounded fantastic on the junk piano but imagine if they had a 9' Steinway.

Bill makes no sense comparing the masters with the common players..

No you don't always need the latest gear, we know it's the musician not the gear. I will admit it is fun to have some of the latest gea but not necessary. I've probably written this before the men on my dad's side of the family died young dad was 64 and my cousin who was the brother I never had died at 49. I've made it to 67 and if it's in the budget I'll buy it. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, make the best of today is my way of thinking.

Alan Pike is terrific I've seen his videos some years ago, always top notch. I'd love to be able to play like he does.

Once you have some decent sounds say since 2015 then really newer equipment won’t make any discernible difference in the hands if a competent musician

That may hold true with electronic instruments but not so much with acoustic like Piano, Violin, Guitar, Accordion, Trumpet, Sax, etc..

Bring the example down to our level and the story is the same. A better player can make good music on older gear. Put him on newer gear and he will sound better.
Again at our level do out audiences really know the difference in a brand new or older keyboard. I don't think so so as we've allagreed on if newer stuff makes you happy go for it

Bill then again...
having the newest gear doesn't make a great
entertainer player also..
you always need all the pieces to the puzzle IMO.

I thought this post only related to electronic gear . Why would a new trumpet , sax , accordion or piano sound better than an older trumpet , sax etc no matter who was playing them ? Did I miss something ?

Most horn players would never give up their horns for a new one. Never.
MEL

The sax player from our band in NY will NEVER give up his Selmer Alto which is 50+ years old ...

Stradivarius comes to mind

On guitar, it's a 1952 ES 295. On organ, it's a 60's B-3...Leslies from the early 70's. On upright, it's a 1800's Yugoslavian one given to me by Ray Brown. Still use a 1979 Rhodes
and a 60's Wurlitzer.

I do roughs on a 1993 MS-60. At home, I use a 1994 Clavinova.

LOVE OLD WOOD! Maybe it's an ED fetish (LOL)!


Russ Lay

I have a 2007 Ford Expedition with 211,000 miles.

Hell, Don, I have a wife with more mileage on her than that.

Gary

Willie never goes anywhere without his guitar "TRIGGER"..

i am an average pro player but since i have the GENOS it looks like i improve myself . though i play the same , even my wife and my children and the neighbures notice the difference althoug they are not musicians.

How has the audience reaction been since you
play the genos now on stage.? Btw what type of music are you doing/

Speaking of old gear.. Here is a Wurly I traded a brand new in the box Casio CZ1000 . My friend represented it as like new.. I was a bit shocked when he dropped it off.

But I really liked playing it... so did Uncle Dave..

Sold it several times, had to repo it 3 times for non payment.. The last time was a church... I just let it stay..

HA!

Do you remember Brent's exact words?

What was the name of the restaurant we sold it to..Cataloosa?

Gary, tut tut tut. Hope she doesn’t read the forum. Haha. Just the kind of thing my hubby would say.

Hi Donny, do we need it. NO!
But if one can afford it why not splurge. You can’t take your money with you, so might as well enjoy it while you can.

Didn't he say it was BRAND new? yeah, right!

https://www.facebook.com/CuttalossaInn/

There is one thing we should not forget, first in comparrison to acoustic instruments, electronis instruments are still improving in quallity and features.... while the craftsmanship of acoustic instruments is not...

- for a keyboardist owning an acoustic grand piano or an orrginal B3 is totally different then owning the same arranger for the last 2 decades..

- some vintage synthesizers like Rolands jupiter 8, Yamaha’s CS80 or a Mini moog have become ireplacable..


- but since every arranger/workstation/synthesizer is quite different, there is a different challenge in mastering them.. there is also the fact that big boys love new toys.. do they need to be the latest greatest? Not really as long as the are of the highest level... so basically for a synth player, the highest level could be a 30 year analogue synth..

- but for arrangers, the highest level would be current or previous generation... mosty dependant on financial situation..



Just look at all those guitar folks owning like 15 guitars.. and then ask yourself why doesn’t a violin player have 5 violins?

We recently did a post along the lines of this topic. It was for our Wersi friends. In our case, we dusted off a tune recorded on a Wersi Spectra and a Wersi digital piano. The idea was the same as this post. Although at the time it was state of the art it's now 20+ year old gear and (we think) still holds up pretty well today. If you don't know the Spectra was one of the most popular Wersi organs ever released. No video just the soundtrack but thought you folks might enjoy.

Recorded / Sequenced in my basement using Cakewalk then recorded to DAT and finally to CD. http://wersiclubusa.com/cd_series/a-tune-from-the-good-ole-cd-spectra-series/

Outstanding!!! I loved it. Everything about that tune (production, instrument quality, musicality) was first rate. I especially loved the piano solo. And yes, the Spectra was impressive but the musicianship displayed on that recording certainly helped it's cause. So yep, you proved your point about vintage instruments in the hands of good players.

To be fair however, what showed so well here was the representation of basic acoustic instruments (piano, bass, etc.). What the modern boards give you is a broader range of acoustic instruments as well as an even broader range of synthesized sounds (all fitted into a much more compact package). So although the sounds could past muster, the form factor would make these vintage instruments unsuitable for most gigging situations (yeah, I know. Guys still schlep B3's around....but hey, it's a B3 ).

Glad you posted that though, lest we forget how good those 'oldies but goodies' could sound.

chas

Curt very nice work and proves my thoughts of the
original post title exactly.
Thank you for sharing your work.

.

My edited "dot" was not intended to be a reply or comment on this post. It was simply, a misplaced post that has been put in it's proper place, and nothing more.

Curt, your right about the Wersi holding up very well sonically with today’s technology.
JM

It's amazing nothing really new and innovated arranger kb wise has been released thus far since the Genos, Pa4x, etc, etc, etc, what is really going on? Has the dying off of Home organ players dictated the status we are in now... ?
Are players going vst computer base with controllers instead? More creative tracks less styles.... What is happening out there?

Looking at it from a company profitability point of view, I think overall arranger market share, r&d expense, and the time needed to recoup their expenses are factors. I am sure there are future innovations in the pipelines, but until one company comes out with one, the others sit tight and fix the bugs.

Personally I think the dying off of the
home organ/arranger kb players
and changes in technology music for the next generation
are a huge factor on what is to come in the future ..
it's only the natural progression. Hope I am wrong.

That is part of the market share I mentioned. There is no doubt that it is dwindling, overall, although quite strong in some regions. I hope there will be some innovation to cause a resurgence. Time will tell, but some of us may never see it.

I'm playing a 1993 Ketron (Solton), a 1964 Jazz bass, an 1897 Austrian upright (no typo-1895, previously owned by Ray Brown) and a 1952 ES 295 Guitar.

Don't Know How OLD My MEGAPHONE IS!


Russ

Probably no truth to it but there's a rumor that Russ bought that Austrian upright new .

chas (who's even older than he )