keyboard magazine - may 2010

www.keyboardmag.com

®

MAY 2010

A NEWBAY MEDIAP U B L I C A T I O N

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30 ORGAN Scott Healy on essential B-3 techniques for piano players

32 ARRANGING Lee Musiker on crafting arrangements tofit the singer.

36 THE CHORD DOCTOR Jon Regen on the basic colors of chord extensions.

PLAY IT!

10 ARTISTSDominique Arcerio of the LunabellesGabe Ludovico EinaudiUnsigned Artist of the Month:

Douglas KingADVICESession SenseiCareer CounselorAsk MikeCOMMUNITYMajor MinorWeekend WarriorCD Reviews

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38 DANCEMake wobbly electro bass lines.

40 MIXINGHow to rescue old stereo mixeswhen you no longer have the multitrack session files.

42 STEAL THIS SOUNDThe percolating arpeggio from Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf.”

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22 JAMIE CULLUMThis rising — make that risen — British pop star is now taking over America . . . and proving he’s the piano man for the new millennium. Learn how a fluent jazz vocabulary informs his solid rock sensibility in this exclusive interview.

28 DAVID GRAYThe multi-platinum selling artist is also the quintessential songwriter’s songwriter. He talks to us about how the very sound of the piano inspires his creative process, and about why understatement is king.

FEATURES

DE

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50 5 . 2 0 1 0 K E Y B O A R D

I’m writing this on a plane to Germany,headed for the gigantic Musikmesse instrumentshow in Frankfurt. So you might think I’m writingto tell you to check out all the photos andvideos of “hot new gear” at keyboardmag.com. Iam, but as Daniel Faraday said on Lost, that’snot my primary objective.

Among the keys, cell phone, laptop andother items I threw into the X-ray tray whilegoing through security at SFO airport was ahandful of business cards, some of whichlanded face-up. As every gadget that proves I’ma valid member of society inched down the con-veyor, a TSA agent looked down and went, “Oh,Keyboard! Somebody here work for them?”After a brief wave of paranoia, I realized it wasunlikely he knew a thing about “the Amsterdamincident.” (Can’t talk about it per our legaldepartment. Suffice to say it was a good thing Igave my name at the hotel as “A. Bourdain.”)So, I cautiously looked up and nodded.

“Great mag, man,” said the TSA, “I’m wayinto synths. Keep it up!” Now, I always lovemeeting anyone who plays or is even thinkingabout playing, and a random stranger being amusician and recognizing Keyboard would beunremarkable — if it didn’t happen to me literallyevery two or three days.

I mean it — and it’s not like I walk aroundwaving a copy of the magazine as though itwere a backstage pass in Wayne’s World.

A few days earlier, I’m wishing this bartenderwould put his conversation with the young ladytwo stools to my left on pause so I can quizhim about the rye selection, then I realize thatthey’re debating whether soft synths sound“analog enough” given that everything today isrecorded digitally, compressed to an MP3, andlistened to on bad earbuds. I offer: “Have you

tried DCAM Synth Squad? Omnisphere?” Bar-tender is in front of me in a flash. “Those aretwo of the best. You play keys?” Two of his best(Russell’s Reserve, one rock, dash of Regan’sNo. 6 orange bitters) later, we’re having a full-onsynth bromance.

The Sunday previous (different bar), I woundup in conversation with two servers and a cus-tomer about the differences between “goodcheesy” and “bad cheesy” synth pop. One par-ticipant was married to a classical pianist, onewas a producer, one was a drummer, and allknew a lowpass filter — and Keyboard — fromtheir collective elbow.

Those are just three examples, but trust me:If I leave the house, I seldom fail to talk to atleast one person who’s a keyboard player or atleast synth-curious. I’m continually humbled andhonored by the proportion of those folks whoflag Keyboard magazine as an influence, inspira-tion, or resource.

Since I’m on a movie kick today, maybe it’slike Fight Club. Maybe there’s a vastunderground of keyboard players out to save theworld from hypocrisy, shallowness, and bad DJs.Or, maybe we all just wanna play. Whichever itis, let us know who you are, what you do, andwhat you’d like us to cover. Our readership andonline community is big, but if my almost daily in-person experience is any kind of representativesample, it could be a whole lot bigger. We’vegot exciting changes coming up starting with theJune issue, and your input is going to mattermore than ever. Email us, Tweet at us, post onour Facebook page or online forum, and let’sturn this mother out.

WE AREEVERYWHERE

VOL. 36, NO. 5 #410 MAY 2010

eyboardEXECUTIVE EDITOR: Stephen FortnerMANAGING EDITOR: Debbie GreenbergEDITORS AT LARGE: Craig Anderton, Jon Regen SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS: Jim Aikin, TomBrislin, Ed Coury, Michael Gallant, Robbie Gennet,Scott Healy, Peter Kirn, Mike McKnight, DominicMilano, Franics Preve, Ernie Rideout, Mitchell Sigman

ART DIRECTOR: Patrick WongMUSIC COPYIST: Elizabeth Ledgerwood

GROUP PUBLISHER: Joe [email protected], 770.343.9978ADVERTISING DIRECTOR, NORTHWEST,NORTHEAST, CANADA, & NEW BUSINESSDEV.: Greg Sutton [email protected], 925.425.9967 ADVERTISING DIRECTOR, MIDWEST, MID-ATLANTIC, & SOUTHEAST:Jessica [email protected], 661.255.2719ADVERTISING DIRECTOR, SOUTHWEST:Albert [email protected], 949.582.2753SPECIALTY SALES ASSOCIATE, NORTH:Reggie [email protected], 650.238.0296SPECIALTY SALES ASSOCIATE, SOUTH:Will [email protected], 650.238.0325PRODUCTION MANAGER: Amy Santana

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KEYBOARD (ISSN 0730-0158) is published monthlyby NewBay Media, LLC 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125,San Bruno, CA 94066. All material published in KEY-BOARD is copyrighted © 2010 by NewBay Media. Allrights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing inKEYBOARD is forbidden without permission. KEY-BOARD is a registered trademark of NewBay Media.Periodicals Postage Paid at San Bruno, CA and atadditional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Sendaddress changes to KEYBOARD P.O. Box 9158,Lowell, MA 01853.

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FROM TH E E D ITOR

Follow Keyboard online at:

Stephen FortnerEXECUTIVE EDITOR

6 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

Click here for Stephen Fortner’s intro tothe May 2010 issue, shot fromMusikmesse in Germany!

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WHAT ABOUT WINDOWS XP? I enjoyed reading your article on operatingsystems in your March issue. It did an excel-lent comparison from an audio standpointas to which PC OS, Vista or Windows 7, isbest for musicians. But I wish there hadbeen much more information in the articleregarding Windows XP vs. W7.

I was, fortunately, one of the PC userswho didn’t immediately buy into all the Vistahype. After all, it was going to be the OS ofthe future . . . right? Wrong. Sales andreviews of Vista were not exciting, and Iheard about many compatibility nightmareswith upgrades from XP to Vista. I decidedto stay with XP Pro, as many others did.Your article primarily focused on the prosand cons of W7 vs. Vista. How about a fol-low-up regarding the pros and cons of Win-dows 7 over XP — hopefully emphasizingcompatibility of pro audio apps and driverswhen crossing over? So far, though, I’veheard much more positive feedback aboutWindows 7 than I ever did about Vista.

By the way, two great websites for yourPC-based readers are techsupportalert.comfor some of the very best free programsand tech info on the web, and start64.com,for PC users wondering if their programsare supported in a 64-bit environment.

—George Finizio

First of all, thanks a ton for the two greatwebsites. Many of our readers will findthem very helpful. Now, why didn’t wefocus more on comparing Windows XP toanything else? Simple: Soon, you won’tbe able to buy a PC with XP on it, thoughcompanies that build custom audio PCsmight have stashes of XP licenses that lastawhile. Microsoft also ceased full supportfor XP in April 2009, though they’reextending limited support into 2014. Look-ing to the future, we set out to answer thequestion: Given that both Windows 7 and

Mac Snow Leopard have debuted to a lotof fanfare, should you jump on eitherbandwagon from wherever you are now? IfXP is rocking your world, as it continues tofor a lot of musicians, the adage “If it ain’tbroke, don’t fix it” is good advice.

—Stephen Fortner,Executive Editor

SUGGESTION BOXI’m a subscriber and love your magazine. Ilook forward to each new issue. Here aresome requests for future issues:

First, an update of the October 2006feature devoted to gigging. This time,though, please include comparison ratings(editorial staff picks, not just tech specs),e.g. the hint you dropped regarding lookingat the Motion Sound stereo amp versus theRoland stereo amp. Also, looking at comboamps vs. P.A. systems (power, frequencyresponse, clarity, etc.) would be greatlyappreciated. So many of us “weekend war-riors” out there need help in choosing thebest sound for the buck!

Second, I hate to admit it, but I’m in thatminority that doesn’t know that much aboutthe technological revolution in music.Because a large percentage of your maga-zine goes over my head, I really appreci-ated the “Jargon Jockey” notes. Maybe youcould devote a feature to catch me up; Ipromise I won’t complain if you give it a“For Dummies” title.

—Andrew Berne

Great suggestions, Andrew! As it happens,we’re working on a roundup of the latestcombo amps and powered monitorwedges, as many keyboardists use one ortwo in their gig rig. Look for it in a near-future issue. Plus, we’re redesigning thewhole magazine beginning with nextmonth’s issue to be more informative,accessible, and fun to read, and we defi-nitely intend to include more basics. Staytuned and let us know what you think.


CLAM CATCHIn your February issue, Example 1 on page34 (“Get Funky On the Rhodes” by Scott

Healy) shows a B natural on the first beatover a C7 chord, which wouldn’t reallywork since it’s the major seventh — which istypically not played over a dominant sev-enth chord. I’m assuming the note meantwas a C, as written in the second bar? I’mall for dissonance, but I doubt C7/B waswhat Mr. Healy meant, since it’s not thekind of sound people usually look for infunk . . . is it? Love your mag. Peace!

—T.L. Mazumdar

Indeed, that first note is supposed to be aC, like in the second bar —it’s playedcorrectly in the audio examples atkeyboardmag.com/lessons. Sheet music inour lessons goes through several stages ofproofs, but on rare occasions, somethingis so obvious that we all miss it. Thanks forthe sharp eyes!


LET’S HEAR FROM YOUContact the [email protected] Magazine 1111 Bayhill Dr., Suite 125San Bruno, CA 94066

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MARCH 2010

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8 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

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ARTISTS, ADV ICE, COM M U N ITYKEYSPACE

DOMINIQUE ARCIEROOn Her Nashville State of Mind

You might not expect Dominique Arciero of pop/countrysensations the Lunabelles to be a music industry veteran at theripe old age of 23, but that’s exactly what she is.

“I’ve been performing with my sisters since I was 13,” thekeyboardist and vocalist tells us from her adopted home ofNashville, Tennessee, where she’s currently living, writing, andrecording. “I formed a band with my sisters when we werejust teenagers. Later, we did a tour with the Jonas Brothers,and ended up playing a lot of clubs in New York City, like theBitter End and other singer/songwriter rooms. That was reallythe beginning, and we’ve been playing, writing, and recordingever since.”

Arciero was born and raised in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania,outside of Philadelphia, where she started her musical educationlate by some standards. “I took piano lessons from age ten until15,” she says. “I taught myself after that.” While Arciero has spent agood deal of time in her native northeast, nowadays she’s morethan a little bit country.

“There was always a country component to our music,” she con-tinues. “We always wanted to be a pop/country band. So, comingto Nashville to write and record was absolutely natural for us. Wewanted to stay true to our country roots.”

Arciero, along with her sisters and fellow Lunabelles Gabrielaand Olivia, is currently recording material to be shopped to majorlabels in the coming months. “We’re working with a producer herenow on our debut record, and hope to sign to a major when themusic is finished. We know what we want, and we’re going for it.”

Unlike many country acts whose keyboard component remainsout of the spotlight, Arciero and the Lunabelles are proud to fea-ture her nimble keyswork front and center. “I play guitar and man-dolin as well,” she says, “but our country sound included thekeyboard from the start. I’ve always focused on those country riffs,and I’ve been a fan of bands that had their keyboards out front, likeDiamond Rio and Sawyer Brown.” Jon Regen

Visit Dominique and her sisters at myspace.com/thelunabelles.

GABRIELA ARCIERO

K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 010

MOR E ON KEYBOAR DMAG.COM KEYSPACE

Sound: Tech-House, Techno, TranceWebpage: soundcloud.com/gabeTop 3 Studio Tricks:· When layering drums, pay attention to track delays. They can help a part

sound more real or sit better in a mix.· For hi-hats, use a single track [dance music producers often use many

hi-hat tracks] and make sure the sound is perfectly suited to the mix so you don’t need to add new hats later.

· Don’t just use sidechaining for bass, but try it on different instruments. It can help your mixes breathe.

DAWs: Apple Logic Pro, Ableton Live.Analog synth: Minimoog Voyager.Analog recording gear: Thermionic Culture Phoenix compressor and FatBustard all-tube mixer.Audio interface: Apogee Symphony system, Lavry LE-4496.Hardware effects: Eventide H8000FW.Monitors: Adam S5VA Mk.II. Favorite artist: A Brazilian artist called CéU. The new album Vagarosa is wonderful.Influences: Stimming, Michel Cleis, Radio Slave, Christian Smith, Trentemoller, and Martin Buttrich.Words of Wisdom: Don’t get stuck on your own loops and waste too much time on one track. Sometimes I spend a month, sometimesa day, but if it’s not working out, I just move on to a new track. Francis Preve

3 TOP TECHNO TIPS FROM

GABE

We’ve all heard stereotypes about“new age” music — plop a dude in front of asynth, punch up a patch with assorted arpeg-gios and modulation, have him hold down thesame chord for 20 minutes, and call it “Medi-tation on the Birth of a Flower.” Acceptingthat preconception as truth, though, wouldmean that you’d never hear gems such asDouglas King’s delightful Deceptively Simple

Melodies series, self-described as “new age,classical, ambient, acoustic keyboard” music.That does pretty much sum it up. Thougharrangements remain sparse and unhurried,Douglas paints his musical watercolors withshimmering synth textures that bring to mindJoe Zawinul in sound design, harmonic land-scape, and skillful performance. Meditativebut never sleepy or overly simplistic, these

tracks make clear another, more accuratetruth: Douglas has chops for miles and hascreated some truly engaging music for yourmore chilled-out moments. His consciencematches his music, too — King donates prof-its from CD sales and appearances to Hos-piceCare, an end-of-life care organization inhis native Wisconsin. Michael Gallantmindwormrecords.com

UNSIGNED ARTIST OF THE MONTH

DOUGLASKING

MARJORIE KING GABRIEL WICKBOLD

0 5 . 2 0 1 0 K E Y B O A R D 11


Ludovico’s Einaudi’s Nightbook is afitting sonic snapshot of the acclaimed Ital-ian pianist and composer. Pulling togetherelements of acoustic, minimalist composi-tion, electronica, and cinematicsoundscapes, the album is at once aurallyvaried and thematically unified.

“I’ve been involved with electronics for along time,” Einaudi relays from Milan, Italy. “Igot interested in computers, and starteddoing experiments using electronics in mymusic. You can hear this in my earlieralbums as well. In Nightbook, I startedworking with the electronica artist and per-cussionist Robert Lippock. We had beenworking together in live shows, both withmy own project and the band White Tree, atrio with Robert and his brother Ronald ondrums. So it feels completely natural towork with him in the studio as well as live —we collaborate often.”

Einaudi’s multi-dimensional sound isculled from a myriad of influences that liter-ally cover all the musical bases. “My musicdeveloped over many years — it really was aprocess. I grew up listening to a lot of popand rock music of the time. That was thefoundation. But also, my mother was play-ing classical piano when I was growing up.So I began hearing Chopin and Bach veryearly in life. Later, I listened to all kinds ofmusic. I went through different phases,studying 20th-century composition:Stravinsky and Bartok, and also Americanminimalist composers such as Terry Rileyand Phillip Glass. I got interested in KeithJarrett’s solo work, and the modal jazz ofMiles Davis, around the time of his albumBitches Brew. So there were many differ-ent sounds that interested me, and ended-up becoming a part of my music.”

Einaudi’s eclectic yet accessible blendof seemingly disparate musical genresand sounds has not gone unnoticed. Hismusic has appeared in countless film and

television soundtracks, and his last albumDivenire made the Top Ten on Billboard’sClassical Crossover chart, and reachedthe top spot on the iTunes classical chart.His latest release Nightbook is already offto strong sales worldwide, proving that hisgenre-defying sound is indeed catchingon globally.

“I decided to follow what was interest-ing and moving to me,” Einaudi says. “Inever wanted to stay in a box. Music for meis the freedom and expression of all thedesires I have inside.” Jon Regen

For more on Ludovico, visit einaudiwebsite.com.

LUDOVICO EINAUDIOn Modern Classical

TRIP FONTAINE

12 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

KEYSPACEMOR E ON KEYBOAR DMAG.COM

That’s the $64,000 question, and there’sno simple answer. Most gigs like mine areword-of-mouth referrals. Someone will ask,“Who do you know that does this?” andget their number. Here are a few examples.

When I moved to L.A. in the ’80s, I didan unpaid internship with renowned pro-grammer Bo Tomlyn. His company, KeyClique, created sounds for the YamahaDX7 and other keyboards in heavy use atthe time. Imagine buying the best soundsof the era from a guy that was actually inthe studio with stars like Michael Jackson. Iknew I wanted to be a part of his team.After a year of my working for Bo and play-ing nights in a ’60s cover band, Earth Wind& Fire offered Bo a gig as a keyboardtech/programmer. He didn’t want to do it,so he recommended me. I worked my assoff and did a really good job for EW&F.They brought me into the studio for severalof their records and eventually put meonstage in 1994.

In 1990, I was taking piano lessonsfrom [B-3 shredder and The ContemporaryKeyboardist author] John Novello. He’d

heard Madonna was looking for playersand programmers, so he threw my name inthe hat along with his. Based on that refer-ral, I got the programmer/playback gig andworked with her until 2005. It mushroomedfrom there — U2 heard about me fromMadonna’s people, then when I left U2 in2001, I handpicked Terry Lawless, who’sstill there. I got my Mariah Carey gig in1996 on referral from Madonna’s monitorengineer, and am still working with her. Iwas also just hired for Roger Waters’upcoming The Wall tour on the recommen-dation of Trip Khalaf, a great FOH engineerI’ve worked with for many years.

On Michael Jackson’s This Is Itrehearsals, M.J.’s programmer Mike Princeasked if I knew any good musical directors.I recommended Michael Bearden, who gotthe gig and just did an amazing job. He andMike Prince brought me in to help with thesound design and remixing, and asked if Iknew any killer female guitarists, so Iemailed friends for ideas. [American IdolMD] Ricky Minor’s production managerRob Leifer recommended Orianthi, who

Bearden had also seen play, and she gotthe gig. [Check out the Orianthi coverstory in the May ’10 issue of Guitar Player,and learn all about Bearden’s work withMichael Jackson in the Sept. ’09Keyboard. –Ed.]

So, how do you get to the point whereit’s your number people pass along whensomeone needs a keyboardist, program-mer, or tech for a tour? First, do every gigto the absolute best of your ability, no mat-ter how insignificant that gig may appear.The only thing that travels faster than wordabout how good you are is word abouthow bad you are if you don’t deliver thegoods. You need to network in a way thatisn’t annoying to other touring profession-als. You need great MySpace and Face-book pages, and if you’re a crew person,try to get invited to Crewspace.com. If youhave personal problems, leave them athome. If you like to get high, keep it undercontrol and off-duty. Constantly work onyour craft, show up on time, have a positiveattitude, and people will throw your nameout there.

Ask MikeWORD OF MOUTHMike,I’m sure you’ve been asked this question a lot, but how do people get great gigs like yours? Do you sendout résumés? I don’t even know where to begin.

Thanks, John

Mike McKnight tours with Mariah Carey and is our res-ident guru. Email your questions about touring, technol-ogy, or music biz issues to [email protected].

Michael Jackson guitarist Orianthi(shown) and U2 offstage keyboardistTerry Lawless are just two musicianswho got their gigs through word-of-mouth referrals from colleagues suchas Mike McKnight.

PAUL HAGGARD

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KEYSPACE ARTISTS, ADV ICE, COM M U N ITY

Session SenseiLIFE IS A CABARETby Scott Healy, keyboardist with Conan O’Brien.

Career CounselorSIX TIPS TO GET ORGANIZEDby Jon Regen, recording artist of critically acclaimed album, Let It Go

I like to think of cabaret as thedysfunctional cousin of Broadway. Musically,it draws heavily on the American songbook,show tunes, and Tin Pan Alley, but alsodiverges into pop, rock, world music, and ofcourse, Broadway. A cabaret pianist isexpected to know this vast repertoire, play allstyles, follow a singer, transpose, come upwith intros, interludes, and endings, createarrangements and charts, and go to way toomany rehearsals. I don’t do cabaret, but I knewof many gifted pianists who could do it in theirsleep, and I’ve seen some of them in action.

Literally the day after I lost my TV gig[Conan O’Brien departed NBC after thenetwork’s Tonight Show flip-flop. —Ed.], Igot called to do a three-night cabaret gig in

a small club in L.A. I took the gig rightaway, remembering the mantra “Say yes,think about it later.” I had some time on myhands, so I knew I could put in the neces-sary woodshedding to pull it off. Plus, I lovea challenge, and for the first time in years, Ireally needed the work.

A Cabaret show usually lasts about anhour, and the set depends entirely upon themuse and ever-changing whims of thesinger. Some do a revue of different songsto show depth and chops, some do a retro-spective of their careers, some go as far asinventing a one-man show around a theme,complete with scripts, lighting cues, videoprojections, and background vocals.

Typically it’s you on a grand piano and

the singer in a gown (or suit) in a too-smallroom, a situation seemingly designed tomake you sweat in front of the discerningcrowd. The cabaret audience is a scarybunch: friends and exes of the singer, per-formers, Broadway aficionados, and moneyedpatrons. There’s a good chance that at leastone person in the crowd worked withalmost every composer, lyricist, and chore-ographer you’re presenting that night.They’ve paid a heavy cover charge, and theywant a polished and refined show — a farcry from blowing through some Real Booktunes in a jazz club. Everyone takes it veryseriously, so you’d better be on your game.

As I write this, we open tonight in Holly-wood. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Between keeping our chops up and plottingto make money with those chops, musiciansoften feel like we’re not making progress ineither area. In the immortal words of FerrisBueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’tstop and look around once in a while, youcould miss it.” In that spirit, here are six tipsto help you organize your musical life.1. Make a schedule.

Lawyers and bankers aren’t the onlyones who keep regular business hours.Some of the most successful musicianshave scheduled their lives with scien-tific precision — John Coltrane wasrumored to keep a rigorous itinerary.Start keeping an accurate accountingof your time. You’ll realize just howmuch you have, and how much you maybe wasting.

2. Keep a practice diary.Do you ever wonder why you still can’timprovise in Gb? Maybe it’s because

you haven’t set aside time to attack it.Keep a daily log with one column forwhat you need to practice, andanother for how much of it you actuallyget through each day. Slowly but surely,the second column will catch up withthe first.

3. Get an accountant. You’d be surprised at how few musi-cians are up to speed on proper taxand business accounting. Find a top-notch accountant who has experienceworking for musicians and other self-employed people in the arts. Accoun-tants study money like you studymusical gear, and can put you on theroad to financial freedom.

4. Find a regular gig.Somewhere near you there’s a hotel,restaurant, or bar that will give you aregular performance spot. Forgetmoney or fame for a minute — this is

about having a home base for yourmusic. A regular gig gives you a reasonto work new material into your shows,while simultaneously building a buzz foryour musical brand.

5. Set a daily goal. You can write a song a day. Or learn anew production technique from thattech book you bought but neveropened. Set a daily agenda to accom-plish one new musical task before yougo to sleep at night. You and yourmusic will be glad you did.

6. Get in shape. Think musicians party all night? Thinkagain. It takes physical strength andstamina to perform on a high level nightafter night. Now that your chops andbooks are in order, get your healthtogether, too. Even a small amount ofdaily exercise will keep you in the gamefor years to come.

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MAJORminor

SCOTT FEINERBach Meets Boogie-Woogie

Thirteen-year-old New Yorker ScottFeiner has already had the kind of musicaltraining at an early age that many oldermusicians would kill for. He studies every-thing from classical to jazz, and is a tal-ented composer and improviser as well.He’s also sharing what he’s learned withthe next generation. “When I was reallyyoung, we had a neighbor named SamBlumenthal,” Feiner says. “Sam was aclassical pianist and he would sit me onhis lap and play songs with my finger. Iremember playing Mary Had a LittleLamb. Then he would improvise aroundchildren’s songs. Now, I do the samething when I play for small children.”

When did you begin playing piano?Around the age of four. I would copy thesongs my father played. One of those songswas Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” which Iparticularly liked because it was in themovie Shrek, and also because LeonardCohen was my mother’s babysitter. When did you first begin improvising?My father challenged me to play both parts

of “Heart and Soul” at the same time —which turned out to be very helpful becauseit got me started playing stride piano. I alsoremember improvising to the theme songfrom Local Hero. Who are your biggest musical heroesand influences? For classical, Vladimir Horowitz. Whenever Iplay a new piece, I try to find a recording ofhim playing it. He’s incredible and it’s amaz-ing what’s available by him on YouTube.Right now, Debussy is my favorite classicalcomposer, but my biggest musical hero isprobably Stephen Sondheim. Why piano and not some otherinstrument? I guess because the piano was right therein the middle of the living room!So is it just piano, or do you own orplay some synths? My father collects keyboards and otherinstruments. In addition to a Steinwaygrand piano, we have a Hammond organand Leslie speaker, a Rhodes electricpiano, and a Minimoog. Other keyboardsinclude a Korg OASYS 88, a Yamaha Motif

6, and Kurzweil. I’m pretty lucky.What’s your favorite material to play? I love to play Fats Waller and all kinds ofboogie-woogie, and I learned a lot fromwatching videos of Dr. John. I also loveplaying Debussy — and Dave Brubeck, too! Was there a particular teacher youcredit with launching you on yourpath?Actually, three: My first teacher was Patri-cia King, who I’ve been studying with forseven years. She has that magical ability toknow just what I’m ready to learn, and sheencourages me to compose. My secondteacher is Steve Belfer, who teaches mejazz, musical theater, and works with me onsight-reading. He’s always thinking of newways to help me grow as a musician. My thirdis Pippa Borisy. She’s the force pushing me toperfect the pieces I work on, and to get thebest possible touch and tone out of the piano. Do you prefer to read sheet music, orplay by ear?Playing by ear comes more naturally to me.To overcome that, part of my daily practiceschedule is to sight-read for 15 minutes.Sometimes I read vocal scores of musicals,and also easy classical pieces.What are your ultimate musical goals?For now, I like to play to entertain people,and to learn new pieces and new kinds ofmusic. I’m also writing a series of shortpiano pieces about very basic feelings, aswell as the outline of a story for a musicaltheater piece. Jon Regen

For more info on Scott, visit his YouTube Channel at youtube.com/user/DravdeGeirg.

Know a keyboard wizard who’s under18 and over-achieving? Let us knowvia Twitter, Facebook, our onlineforums at keyboardmag.com, or byemailing [email protected] might be our next MAJORminor!

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MOR E ON KEYBOAR DMAG.COM KEYSPACE

Web: theblackdiamondband.comDay job: I work at Siegel’s Jewelry and Loan full time. I’ve beenthere almost 20 years handling musical stuff, tools, and jewelry,as well as store supplies and occasionally building store fixtures.Sunday through Thursday I also work a night job, doing janitorialwork in a seven-story office building. In addition to that, I run a24-track recording studio, and teach music lessons about eighthours every week. How I got started: Music is in my genes. My great grandfatherwas a founder of the Appalachian Guitar and Mandolin Founda-tion. I began as a drummer at age seven taking lessons from DavidLogeman, who ended up playing with Frank Zappa for a time. Myfather was an English professor in Lincoln, Illinois, in the late ’60s,where I met lots of musicians, including the members of REOSpeedwagon. I began playing keyboards, and at 14 I built a PAiAsynthesizer from a kit I bought from the old Southwest TechnicalProducts Corporation. Band: Iowa-based, five-piece country variety act Black Diamond.I’ve worked in the band twice, returning after a 13-year hiatus. Weplay classic and current country, along with rock ’n’ roll. In additionto keyboards, I take turns at bass and guitar in each show. We actuallyhave four members who play a little bit of keys during a performance.Influences: A lot of my inspiration came from Emerson, Lake, andPalmer, Yes, then later, Styx. Boston really got to me with all thoseguitars and keyboards. When I started playing country, which relies

so much on piano, it was easy for me. I’m a little embarrassed, butproud to say that most of the ballad piano skills I have come fromlistening to a ton of Barry Manilow! I learned rock ’n’ roll from lis-tening to Jerry Lee Lewis, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, andDennis DeYoung of Styx. Why I play: I feel that God gave me a gift, and it wouldn’t be rightif I didn’t share it. Although it’s nice to get paid for playing a job, Idon’t believe I’ll ever think of it as work. It’s just as rewarding to bebroke, and to have someone walk up at the end of a show and saythey love to come and see you perform. Ed Coury

WEEKEND WARRIOR

ROBBIEYOUNG

Weekend warrior Robbie Young says the music of the rock powerhouse Styx, which pumped out multi-platinumrecordings in the ‘70s and ‘80s, helped to shape his playing style. “Wow, what a sound,” says Robbie. “Therewere great works like Grand Illusion, then Paradise Theater.” Styx gave their Greatest Hits compilation (A&MRecords) a digital makeover a couple of years back. It’s a great way to sample the band’s forays into art rock,power ballads, and hard-hitting, keyboard-driven rock.

The Black Diamond Band’s Robbie Youngshares keyboard duties with other band mem-bers. “There are two rigs onstage,” he says,“an Ensoniq TS-10 and a Yamaha PF80. Imostly use the Yamaha because of theweighted keys, and control a Roland SC-55Sound Canvas module with it. I think it’s thebest thing Roland ever made. We plug straightinto an Allen & Heath GL series board, and usemonitors — no amps onstage.”

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CD REVIEWSJAVELINNo MásIf LCD Soundsystem got a regular gig as the houseband on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, then brought themock-sunny influences of that whimsical sanctum

to a moonlighting gig scoring French New Wave cinema circa 1981,the result might sound something like Javelin. And if duo Tom VanBuskirk and George Langford sound like they scour the thrift storesof Brooklyn for dusty Casios and drum machines on which to recon-struct grooves inspired by equally dusty vinyl, it’s because they do.Layering lush, sampled choral swells over chewy synth bass, theopener “Vibrationz” skews towards the user-friendly chillout side ofwhat you’re about to hear. The debut single “Oh! Centra” combinesMario-nostalgia synths with a chipmunk-processed rap lauding Cen-tra’s amorous prowess, whoever she is — blink and you’ll miss theSalt ’n’ Pepa quote. “On It On It” is what Thomas Dolby would cookup if he were 21 and spinning Ableton in a San Francisco Missionhipster hive. Despite an undeniable underground feel, the albumnever fails to be accessible and, well, pretty, from beginning to end.Even if you don’t like No Más, you definitely won’t feel like it wastedyour time. Stephen Fortner (Luaka Bop, mypsace.com/hotjamzofjavelin)

THE WHISPERINGTREEGo Call the CaptainLargely dark but tinged

with playfulness, Go Call the Captain tastilycombines wistful folk, mellow rock, andpinches of gypsy jazz and bluegrass into acompelling compilation of tightly writtentunes. Anchored by Elie Brangbour’s lithebass, Eleanor Kleiner’s voice floats abovelargely acoustic textures, bringing to mindSarah McLachlan or a melancholic Amy Lee;tracks like “Something Might Happen” and“Las Vegas” buoy up her voice further onrolling beds of acoustic piano. The title track,another piano-driven tune, is a highlight,simultaneously bringing to mind Green Day’s“Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and theeclectic work of the Squirrel Nut Zippers.Though it dwells in the shadows, Go Call theCaptain is ultimately uplifting — not an easytask to pull off by even the most skilled ofensembles. Well worth a listen. Michael Gallant(Modern Vintage Recordings, thewhisperingtree.com)

GREG LASWELLTake a BowProducer andsongwriter GregLaswell’s third solo

album is a strong one, delivering the sortof open, soaring pop and rock madefamous by Coldplay and U2. Soundingvocally a bit like a more gruff, baritoneJohn Legend, Greg opens “My Fight (ForYou)” with a pulsating, classically-flavored piano pattern, which thenevolves into an rollicking rock chorus.“Lie To Me” balances piano and banjotextures in a floating dream of a song,while “Come Clean” opens with a fluidWurlitzer solo, quickly tying its melodylines in unison with sad, whisperingvocals. Take a Bow was born and raisedin a secluded Arizona cabin, with Gregcreating all vocal and instrumental partshimself — an impressive feat, especiallygiven the album’s notably lush, vibrantsoundscape. Michael Gallant (Vanguard, greglaswell.com)

THE NICE GUYTRIOHere Comes theNice Guy TrioThe Bay Area’s Nice Guy

Trio makes music that defies categorization.Anchored by nimble accordionist Rob Reich,and featuring bassist Daniel Fabricant andtrumpeter Darren Johnston, the band stirs apotent pot of originals and jazz staples on itslatest release, Here Comes the Nice GuyTrio. With a layered sound that draws fromfree jazz, Indian music, tango, and a slew ofother influences, the trio nimbly navigatesthrough an always-surprising set. Reich’s“The Balancing Act” starts things off, hisdexterous accordion lines supported byJohnston’s sympathetic trumpet work.“Apples” adds Sameer Gupta on tablas,opening up the trio’s sound even further foran “east meets west” style summit. And onOrnette Coleman’s free form “Folk Tale,” theband proves that despite their name,they are a lean, mean, improvising machine.Jon Regen (Porto Franco,myspace.com/niceguytrio)

MARIZANECosmosisThree words: steampunk renfaire rock. Incase you’ve eaten too many Hater Tots, I’mnot saying that’s a bad thing. In the hands ofkeyboardist Debbie Shair (her main gig is with rock’s famedsister act Heart) on piano and synths, and her musical partnerTodd Jaeger on vocals and guitar, it’s very good indeed. Insofaras comparing bands to other bands ever does anyone justice,we’re talking about a morph between the Dickensian folk-rockof Jethro Tull (“Kon Tiki Parabola”) and Ziggy-era David Bowie(“The Rock Song”). Really, though, Marizane’s sound is betterdescribed in terms of the fantastical realms where we’re surethey’d gig if they could: This is the band that would do theprom at Hogwarts, then fly their dirigible through a dimensionalriff to play at a soiree hosted by Mrs. Coulter in PhilipPullman’s Golden Compass universe, then entertain theghostly clientele of Miyazaki’s Spirited Away bathhouse atafternoon tea the next day. A bit geeky? Maybe. Hooky,melodic, full of great musicianship, and guiltily fun? Absolutely.Stephen Fortner (Marizane, myspace.com/marizanemusic)

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N EW G EAR

Want to check out the same press releases that we see about new gear, as soon as we receive them? Go to keyboardmag.com/news

KORG SP-170YOUR FIRST DIGITAL PIANOTHE PITCH Korg breaks a new price floor in home/hobbyist/studentdigital pianos . . . but doesn’t skimp on sound.THE BIG DEAL Ten sounds, including two multi-velocity concertgrands, two EPs, and a Clav. Dual headphone outs double as line outs.Built-in speakers. New weighted action with three velocity curves. MIDIout. Available in black or white.WE THINK When basic and uncluttered is what you need, thisdoes it elegantly — and the piano sound is a great deal better than weexpected for the price.$600 list/approx. $500 street; matching wood stand: $125, korg.com

by Stephen Fortner

TASCAM DR-2DSPLIT PERSONALITYTHE PITCH Makes a real-time duplicate of your record-ing file, at an adjustably lowerlevel, so you have a backup ifyour source blows you away withvolume.THE BIG DEAL Dualrecording can also capture twosets of inputs at once, e.g., theonboard mics plus a mixer feed at your gig. Variable speeddoesn’t affect pitch — great for learning new tunes.WE THINK So many handheld stereo recorders have hitin the last two years that it’s hard to keep track, but thisone’s features make it stand out.$449 list/approx. $300 street, tascam.com

BLUE MIKEY 2WE LIKEY MIKEY! THE PITCH Blue’s stereoiPhone/iPod mic gets anupgrade and a facelift.THE BIG DEAL Improvedsound quality. New 1/8" inputfor recording line sources.Comes with optimized editionof Audiofile Engineering’s FiRerecording app, plus headphoneextension cable for remotemonitoring. WE THINK We loved theone-two punch of the originalMikey with FiRe when we reviewed it in Nov. ’09, sowere glad to see the relationship made official.$99, bluemic.com

ROLAND SH-01 GAIAGODDESS OF VIRTUAL ANALOGTHE PITCH Compact and wicked-fun synth namedafter the ancient Greeks’ version of Mother Nature. THE BIG DEAL Each of the three “oscillators” isactually a complete synth — think of stacking three mas-sively-upgraded Junos and you get the idea. Up to 64-voice polyphony and five effects at once. Phrase recorder and externalaudio input.WE THINK Roland let us play a prototype in early March, and true to its name, it’s a mother. Check out our videos atkeyboardmag.com.$739 list, rolandconnect.com

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UNIVERSAL AUDIO MANLEY MASSIVE PASSIVETHE PITCH Manley’s $5,000, mastering-grade, all-passive EQ — as anaffordable Powered Plug-In for the UAD-2 platform.WE THINK If you record, and you’ve ever used, heard, and coveted thereal thing, you know you want this. If you haven’t, just trust us. It’s one of thesweetest EQs in the universe, and if anyone can model it digitally, it’s UA.$299, uaudio.com

TOONTRACK BEATSTATIONTHE BEAT GOES ONTHE PITCH An open, sample-based, groovebox-likesoft synth that puts pad-based drum sequencing and play-ing of melodic parts side by side.THE BIG DEAL Handles audio files, REX files, MIDIgrooves, and even audio recording for making custom sam-ples. Extensive drag-and-drop implementation.WE THINK It does for groove-oriented production whatEZdrummer did for sequencing linear drum tracks: Soundsgreat, puts everything right in front of you, and makes it alla lot of fun. $TBD, beatstation.com

AKAI SYNTHSTATION 25REAL KEYS FOR YOUR iPHONETHE PITCH Controller for iPhone/iPod Touch withdock, 25 mini-keys, and RCA line outs.THE BIG DEAL Plays SynthStation Studio app,which has three virtual analog synths, an MPC-like drummachine, sequencing with file export, and mixing. Doublesas USB MIDI controller for a computer (Mac or PC). Willcharge iPhone/iPod when plugged into AC; also runs onbatteries or USB power.WE THINK This is as full-featured as iPhone music pro-duction gets.SynthStation 25 controller: $99; SynthStation Studio app:$9.99 at iTunes App Store, akaipro.com

N EW G EAR

CASIO PX-3PRO PRIVIATHE PITCH Casio’s first digital stage pianowithout built-in speakers, intended for stage and stu-dio use.THE BIG DEAL Sounds, including main piano, are upgraded fromalready-awesome PX-330 (reviewed Oct. ’09). Tweakable parameters include filter, enve-lope, LFO, and effects. New DSP effects including two-speed rotary. Splits and layers.WE THINK You’re gonna see “Casio” from the back of so many keyboard stands that you may actually believeit’s the ’80s. If listening to the PX-3’s modern sounds doesn’t get you back to the present, try fitting into yourCavaricci pants. . . . Approx. $800 street, casio.com

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Jamie Cullum is a musical contradiction. One minute he’s channelingArt Tatum and Thelonious Monk; the next, he’s singing pop covers overdeep-pocketed R&B grooves while riffing on a road-worn Rhodes. The 30-year-old British piano phenom has carved out a remarkable niche, sellingover 4,000,000 albums, and building a devoted fan base that’s simply rabidfor his singular brand of jazz-infused, hip-hop-ified pop fare.

On The Pursuit (out now on Verve Records), Cullum brazenly blends aseemingly discordant array of musical styles into uniquely a personal andunified album. The dynamic set includes his own infectious originals as wellas covers of Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim — even “Don’t Stop the Music”by R&B sensation Rihanna. Once again, Cullum proves that for him, barrierswere made to be broken. Minutes before his sold-out concert at New YorkCity’s famed Town Hall, he talked with Keyboard about his decidedlydifferent slant on making music.

JAMIECULLUM

On The Pursuit ofJazz-Pop Perfection

by Jon Regen

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Years ago, you said something to theeffect of, “I respect the jazz tradition,but it’s not my tradition.” You like, andwrite, and cover songs that come froma myriad of musical styles, from jazz,to pop, to R&B and beyond. You should be answering my questions forme! [Laughs.] Yeah, you really nailed it. Ithink my tradition comes from rock ’n’ rollbands. It comes from going to parties, andbars, and discos, and from electronicmusic. It comes from playing in pianobars, and playing people’s weddings. Andit comes from discovering a little jazz aswell. So, as much as I’m sitting up here atTown Hall in New York, with the Steinwayand the double bass, tapping into thattraditional jazz route, I’m drawing on allthese other disciplines as well. I obviouslyam associated with and know a lot of peo-ple from very different traditions, one thatinvolves being steeped in the jazz tradition —going to music school and studyingbebop licks and so on. And I’ve done that.I’ve spent a lot of time picking apart HerbieHancock’s stuff.There’s an interesting balance on thenew album. You play a ton of jazz, butyou also emote a pop sensibility thatunderstands how to get a song or soloacross in four minutes, not 40.Yeah, it’s true. When I was playing in rockbands when I was younger, I loved somuch of it. I got into the imprecision, andthe presentation, of it. All the things youkind of celebrate when you’re in a rockband. When I first got into jazz, I remem-ber thinking to myself about the band,“Man, you guys didn’t even think aboutwhat you’re going to wear, did you?” Orthe whole kind of gabbing with eachother between songs, almost forgettingthat there was an audience there. So Irealized that there was no one sitting inbetween [rock and jazz], certainly in thegroup of people I was playing with. Iguess I hadn’t met anyone up until thatpoint who was doing both. I’d seen HarryConnick Jr., who was like a rock star play-ing big band music. Ben Folds was agreat piano player, but he was playingrock. So I saw all that happening, butamong my peers, it was either introvertedmusicians playing ten-minute solos, orguys who wanted to be rock stars whocould barely play. I guess I tried to meetthem in the middle, really.

One of the things that Itook away from The Pur-suit is how much you seemto be guided by songwrit-ing. “Wheels,” for exam-ple, starts with a greatpiano lick, but doesn’tbecome a prisoner of it. Well, I think that’s a greatargument for having jazz inwhat you do. Part of the rea-son that I stepped away fromjust wanting to be a straight-forward jazz musician wasthat I was a songwriter — andI didn’t really connect withthe way jazz guys wrotesongs. You know, “Let’s writea head.” [Jazz musicians referto the song’s melody as thehead. —Ed.] I never felt a des-perate need to write a trickyhead. My inspiration for writ-ing songs always comes froman idea for a lyric, or justsomething I want to express.I never really connected withthe jazz way of writing songs, not thatthere’s anything wrong with it. And so,when I took that kind of singer/songwritermentality to the table of jazz, it acted as thisenormous springboard. In a world of beinga singer/songwriter, jazz is a trampoline,

and it’s a beautiful one. It means you canstart off with that piano riff that may sounda bit like Coldplay or the Fray, but if youhave that jazz influence, it’ll take you to allthese different places.You sound like you’re still be pushingyourself into new places, trying toredefine your sound. Do you like thatkind of musical challenge?

Well, that’s partly the reason I took somuch time to make this album. I knew itwas a very obvious point where I had tomake a statement of intent, really. In away, that was embracing the idea that Ikind of do covers pretty well. I don’tmean to sound like I’m saying I’m greatat it, but interpreting other people’ssongs is one of my strengths. It’sembracing the idea that you can be asongwriter, but you can be an interpreter aswell. In the singer/songwriter world, if youdo too many covers, they think you can’twrite your own songs. They think you’verun out of ideas. If you do too many origi-nals in a jazz set, you miss the point thatpeople want to hear you interpret songsthey recognize.Who are some key piano players thatinfluenced you? On this album, Ihear a lot of Leon Russell and earlyElton John.Yeah. It’s early Elton. It’s Ben Folds. It’sPaul McCartney. They’re the kind of touchpoints, really.What about jazz musicians?In terms of jazz guys, it would be [jazzvocalist] Joe Williams, and those kinds ofbig, bluesy shuffles he did with the CountBasie band.

In a world ofbeing a

singer/songwriter,jazz is a

trampoline, andit’s a

beautiful one.

JAMIE CULLUMDEB ANDERSON

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Your song “You and Me Are Gone” isa great example of how you mix manydifferent styles. It’s an effortlesscombination of New Orleans grooves,bluesy piano riffs, and an almostrockabilly sense. How did that songcome about?It’s interesting for me to tell you thebackground story to that song, becauseinitially it was a real kind of Blue NoteRecords, blues-and-groove kind of thing.I was thinking of it as kind of [trumpeter]Blue Mitchell, [jazz pianist] Duke Pearsonkind of groove. [Cullum sings a walkingbass line.] I ended up trying it out withtwo musicians who aren’t really jazzguys. One was a drummer called MattChamberlain, who’s played with every-body from Pearl Jam to Brad Mehldau.The other was a bassist who plays in thehip-hop soul band Soul Coughing,whose name is Sebastian Steinberg. Andthey brought this kind of raucous rockthing to it, but still had my original groovein their minds. We also recorded it in thestudio where the soundtrack to The Jun-gle Book had been recorded. So, I like to

give things a story and set thescene. I think if you’ve got a storyto tell, you work out how you’llcommunicate it. That song has a lot of gutbucket,bluesy piano playing and solo-ing. Who are some players thatinfluenced your playing in thatdirection?It’s that kind of raucous stuff. I proba-bly got that more from Ben Foldsthan anyone else. That just started tohappen one day. I started to assimi-late the way I played guitar with theway I played piano.In the song “If I Ruled theWorld,” in the middle of whatsounds like a very modern,emotive pop song, you take apiano solo that comes straightout of [late Swedish jazzpianist] Esbjörn Svensson’splaybook. It’s like a synthesisof pop, hip-hop, and NordicJazz!It’s great that you’re saying that,because you obviously hear it in

CULLUM’S KEYBOARDSJamie Cullum is using a decidedly vintage rig on his latest tour to support The Pursuit, including his favorite acoustic piano. “I likethe Yamaha S6,” Cullum tells me. “It’s a great grand piano, and it holds its tuning for the whole show. The action on it is crazy. WhenI have a piano that isn’t an S6, I feel a little bit different.” Other keyboards in Cullum’s stage rig include a rare 54-key Fender Rhodeselectric piano, a Hammond 44 Melodion, a Moog Music Analog Delay, a Nord Stage, and a Line 6 TonePort KB37 MIDI controller,connected to a MacBook Pro.

COURTESY OF VERVE

250 5 . 2 0 1 0 K E Y B O A R D

musician terms. That’s it exactly. That onewasn’t recorded in a live setting — it’s verymuch a layered song. There was thisspace for a piano solo, and I was thinkingof getting [famed jazz saxophonist] WayneShorter to do it first. But in the end, Iwanted to play it. I was very much thinkingabout Esbjörn Svensson, and that wholeScandinavian jazz sound. Also, I think Iwas channeling a bit of the score to EyesWide Shut. The song “Mixtape” marriesmemorable piano riffs with R&Bgrooves, over an almost visuallydescriptive story. . . .That song, in a way, was designed tocover a lot of different bases. I wanted itto feel like the different segments of a mixtape throughout the song. It goes back tothe fact that when you know what storyyou want to tell, you can do very eclecticthings in a song, if the intention is clear.You know that whole “telling a storywithin the song” type of song? Thatcomes 100% from my having done a filmdegree. I never get the chance to talkabout it, but in film school, they’d makeyou write two essays before you couldtouch a camera — your statement ofintent. That really made a huge impact onhow I approached my music. It becameabout setting the scene and decidingwhat I wanted to say. There was also adefinite intention on the new record tomake each song tell a different story. Onmy previous records, we set up theinstruments, set up the microphones, andjust recorded and mixed them to the bestof our ability. And it yielded results I washappy with. This time, we set the scenedifferently with every song. We used dif-ferent mics and different pianos. We dideverything differently. All the above songs are just a fewexamples of how The Pursuit is aquantum leap forward for your pianoplaying, as opposed to just accompa-nying yourself. Was that intentional?Absolutely. The worrying thing is thatsome people listen to it and say, “Oh, thisis your pop record, isn’t it?” And I’m like,“Uh . . . no!”

Keep up with Jamie Cullum news at jamiecullum.com,and don’t miss our exclusive video interview, only atkeyboardmag.com/artists.

JAMIE CULLUMDEB ANDERSON

26 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

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The eternal question: What comes firstwhen you write a song, music or lyrics?Ninety-nine times out of 100, it’s musicfirst, then lyrics. And sometimes the musicand lyrics wrapped up in the same pack-age. They all sort of happen at once. Butmost of the time, it’s not like that, andyou’ve got to try and sense what it is youwant to say, what the music suggests, andyou’ll sing a key line or two, or a word.You’ll try to navigate across the song andtie it together with other ideas — you sensea sort of narrative or a meaning there, thenyou go from there.

Do you have to alter the original musi-cal ideas much after you’ve broughtthe lyrics in?Arrangements will change, and maybeyou’ll put new bits in. But, no, basically,once you’ve got your melody worked outand the sort of basic structure, it generallyremains pretty constant. Once you take itout on the road, it starts to change a bit.Sometimes songs want to change a bit.They sort of grow and mutate andelongate, and you get louder or they justfeel like you need to go around the chorusanother time, or whatever. Things will

change or I’ll start to find differentmelodies. You know, like, “You’re the Worldto Me” was a song I wrote on piano thatcame out on the greatest hits record, andas soon as I got it out onstage, I juststarted to scat with the vocal. I completelyblasted the melody to shreds; I was basi-cally all over the place just having fun. Now,I listen back to the original recording and itsounds so restrained, as they often do.There’s often change there; everything hasto change a little bit, you always remainopen to change. That’s another thing aboutgrowing up within the writing process: If

PHIL KNOTT

David Gray’s place in the pop music landscape is not unlike his music itself: not “in your face,” but quite present.Gray is currently touring the world in support of his latest release Draw the Line. With over 12 million albums worldwide, Gray continuesto develop his signature sound, which first caught America’s attention with “Babylon” in 2000. An envy of many a songwriter, Davidreflects on the heart of the songs and the basic stages of the process.

David GrayThe Mighty Understatement

of Draw the Lineby Tom Brislin

28 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

you’ve got it working one way, then great,but always be aware that there might beanother way and it could be better. Sodon’t dismiss things or be all protective likeit’s some sort of sacred thing you’ve cre-ated. It’s just music. You can do it in someother way, and someone else’s idea mightbe a good one — “Oh, elongate that chordthree times as long, or we could miss abeat here, which kicks it into the next versebetter. . . .” It could be a tiny little adjust-ment no one would really notice unlessthey know about that kind of thing, or itcould be a really major one.For Draw the Line, did you take thismaterial out live before you recorded it?A few of the songs were played live, butnot many. And it’s not like they got radicallyaltered by doing that. They pretty muchremained the same, actually. The arrange-ments and structures of this recordseemed very strong. You obviously takesome trouble to try and get them right inthe first place. So, no, most of this record,I’m only starting to play it now.What songs on Draw the Line werewritten on piano?“Jackdaw,” “Kathleen,” “Full Steam Ahead,”

and “Transformation.”What about “Stella the Artist”?That was actually written on the piano aswell. That was a hard-compressed pianosound through a tremolo, so it soundedmassive in my head when we were doing it.That very much came out of the sound. Theother thing I love about the piano — whichthat song illustrates well, actually — is like,the way you can move the bass note butkeep the chord the same. So, the chorus is

actually quite straightforward, but the bassnote on the piano keeps changing eachtime. So, you come back to a C chord, butthis time you’re playing an E underneath it,and the time before you were playing a Gor whatever, so you’re sort of suspendingthe chords in different ways, and it makes itmore interesting. There are so many things an aspiringartist can focus on: songwriting skills,learning more about the studio, play-ing live, promoting themselves, and soon. What was the driving force thathelped you become established in themusic world?It’s all a learning curve. I mean, I didn’t reallyhave a clue about any of it: the business,the studio, playing live. I was just a bull in achina shop. Over the course of gettingalong for 20 years, I’ve learned what musi-cians in the ’60s learned in four or five. Youknow, because there was more playing andmore sort of nurturing; there was a systemthere of musicianship, and you had to beable to cut it. So, I think it’s taken me a longtime to learn all the different disciplines of it.But really, they’re all equally important, they

all feed into eachother. Playing live isone thing, but then,once you come offthe road: Stop mak-ing a fool of yourselfand calm down,you’re making arecord now . . .know what I mean?What’s yourmindset in thestudio?Understatement isking, always, in thestudio. It’s like, youdon’t have to makeit louder yourself.

You can just turn the fader up. I think that’sone of the big things to learn. For a quietvocal, the quieter, the better. It sort of blos-soms into the mic and onto the tape in a waythat . . . the harder you hit it [at first], the moreyou push the sound away. Quietnessbecomes a mighty thing. It’s the same whenyou’re recording a piano: The sound of thepiano is just glorious if you just hit the chordsgently and they’re allowed to ring, whereasthe harder you hit it, the more sound you’retrying to force down through the same oldmic. It just becomes a struggle.Do you bring any portable recordinggear on the road with you, to helpdevelop new ideas?I actually carry a Dictaphone around withme in case I get an idea, so I don’t forgetit. There’s a [Sony] Minidisc recorderlying around in the studio in case I havean idea in there before everything’s firedup. But I don’t have a portable recordingrig outside of that; I find that I just com-partmentalize when I’m working on theroad promoting or touring — I don’t write.I just wait until I get home, and I’ve let myhead clear, then I start to write again. It’sa seasonal thing, like farming: Let theland go fallow, and hopefully, some cropswill come up when you start to water it ina couple of years.

A Selected David GrayDiscographyAlbums:

Draw the Line (2009)

Life In Slow Motion (2005)

White Ladder (1999)

DVD:

Live in Slow Motion (2006)

Live at The Point (2001)

Once you comeoff the road,

stop making afool of yourself

and calm down.You’re making a record now.

MATT

WIG

NALL

290 5 . 2 0 1 0 K E Y B O A R D

Even accomplished keyboardistssometimes struggle when playing themighty Hammond B-3 organ — especially ifthey were trained on piano. It’s not velocity-sensitive, has no sustain pedal, and can getlouder than heck. Many traditional pianoand chord voicing techniques don’t applyon the B-3, so you’ll need to start thinking

about playing in a completely different way.Here are seven tips to help you develop

your organ technique. I’ll focus on how toinject expression and dynamics into yourlines, and how to connect your chord partstogether using legato phrasing. Essentialsongs to help you better understand the B-3 organ include “Green Onions” by Booker

T. and the MGs and “Everybody’sEverything” by Santana. I’ll suggest draw-bar settings for each example, but feel freeto experiment with them on your own.That’s what organ players do!

Hear audio of this lesson atkeyboardmag.com/lessons.

PLAY IT ! ORGAN

HAMMOND B-3BASICS FORPIANISTSby Scott Healy

�� 44 � �� (2-3)

�� (2-3)

�� 44 � � � �� 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Fingered:

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Fingered: 1 1 1 1 1

Handed: R1 R1 L2 R1 R1 L2 R1 R1 L2 R1 R1 L2

Ex. 1. Here are some ways to play a single-note repeating organ pattern, using one or two fingers, or even two hands (as if you areplaying a percussion part). Remember to “flick” the short note so that the key bounces right back and the note cuts off. The articu-lation should sound like this: DO-dat, dat-DO-dat, and so on. Try it with the first two drawbars out, a setting of 88 0000 000.

Ex. 2. Continue the “flicking” articulation technique from Example 1, adding a longer note with a grace note. The high note willnow seem even louder and stronger, almost as if you were giving it an accent. Pull out the third drawbar (8') to give the soundsome added presence: 88 8000 000.

Session Sensei columnist Scott Healy joins us this month for a Hammondorgan primer. Healy is a gifted multitasker of a musician who’s been known forhis burning keyboard work with Conan O’Brien since 1993. Visit him online atbluedogmusic.com. Jon Regen

30 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

Ex. 5. This example starts with a slide or “rake” up to a sustained high E, and illustrates a common organ technique of playing a moving line under a held note. Thegrace note is played smoothly and on the beat, and all fingers play legato. When you get to the B in bar 2, start it with your index finger, then quickly shift to your fifthfinger and hold it. This is one way to keep your parts connected without using a sustain pedal. Drawbar setting: 82 8001 212.

Ex. 4. An effective organ part seamlessly links chords and melodies together. Since the Hammond doesn’t have a sustain pedal, it’s up to your fingers to do the linking.Many times, the B-3’s organ sound is rich enough that just a single-note line is all you need. Try this one with the “first four out” drawbar setting: 88 8800 000.

�� 44�� D A B

��(2-3) 5 � 4 3

�3

(2-5) � � � � � � � �2

�� 44�� L.H. slide

E D A B4 2 1

5 3 1

Ex. 6. Here, we add more notes and chord tones, and experiment with moving fills. In the final bar, notice how the thumb is held down while the upper fingersconnect the line. The voicing expands from two to three notes, but all parts are still played in a connected manner. Drawbar setting: 41 5121 246, à la GarthHudson of the Band.

�� 44�� E D A B

5 2-3 1

5 2-3

4 2 1

3

1 3 1

4 2

5 3

�� 44�� D A B

Ex. 3. Playing over a left-hand repeating bass line is a great way to practice your organ soloing. Start with a drawbar setting of 88 8000 000, and add some percussion.If you want more grit in the sound, pull out the fourth drawbar (4') for a setting of 88 8300 000.

��

4444

F7

� � � �� 5

3 2 1

PLAY IT !

Ex. 7. Gospel organ players are masters at playing connected, moving organ parts. Here’s a churchy organ line where the inner voices move smoothly. Practice thisslowly by “ragging” your thumb from one note to the next. Drawbar setting: 86 4313 567.

310 5 . 2 0 1 0 K E Y B O A R D

“My Funny Valentine” is a staple of theAmerican songbook, and a song I’ve per-formed countless times during my profes-sional career. Composed by RichardRodgers and Lorenz Hart (and taken fromtheir 1937 musical Babes In Arms), it’s anexcellent vehicle to demonstrate what Icall “dynamic accompaniment.” This meansthat a piano part is crafted around asong’s essential elements, including itsmelody, lyrics, harmony, and bass line — allfrom its original sheet music. Going backto a song’s truest form lets you makeinformed musical choices that defer tothe composer’s intentions, while also

providing a strong foundation for your ownarranging explorations.

I’ll use the first eight bars of “My FunnyValentine” to demonstrate how I’d craft anarrangement for accompanying a singer. Itstarts with the very simplest of forms, thenbecomes harmonically and dynamicallymore adventurous. Always remember to letthe melody be your guide – your accompa-niment shouldn’t overshadow it. In thewords of the great Tony Bennett, “Support,support, support!”


PLAY IT ! AR RANG I NG

DYNAMIC ACCOMPANIMENTby Lee Musiker

��

��

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4444

�� Cm Bdim7 Cm/B Amaj7 5

1

5 ��

��

A maj7 E maj7/G Fm11 Fm/E Dmaj7 5��

��

� � � ��

��

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4444

�� Cm Bdim7/C Cm7 Cm6( 7)�

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5 ��

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Ex. 1. Let’s start with a simple, four-voice or chorale style arrangement of the song’s first eight bars. I’m building an effectivepiano part by using essential chord tones (roots, thirds, fifths, and sevenths), with chords taken from the original sheet musicharmony. Notice the descending chromatic line in the inner voices — a simple way to give your arrangements some color.

Ex. 2. I’m starting in chorale form again here, but this time, the chromatic line is in the bass (bars 1–4). Try adding passingtones to the inner voices of your arrangements for even more interest and color.

World-renowned pianist, conductor, and arranger LeeMusiker (first profiled in our Feb. ’09 issue) has doneeverything from conducting the New York Philhar-monic to accompanying singers such as Barbara Cook,Renée Fleming, and legendary crooner Tony Bennett,with whom he tours currently. Jon Regen

32 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

PLAY IT ! AR RANG I NG

�� 441

��

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4444

� � � � � � � � � � � � � ��

��

� � ��

�� 5

��

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Cm2 G7 9/B E maj7/B Am11

� � � � � � � � � � ��

A maj9 E maj9/G�� Fm11 Fm/E D7 5 9 G7 5 9 G7 5 9� � � �

� ��

��

� � ��

� � �

� �� ( )

� ��

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� � � � � � � � � � � � � ��

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� ��( ) �� My fun - ny va - len - tine, sweet co - mic va - len - tine.

�� 5

��

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Cm2 Bdim/C Cm9 G2/C

� � � � � � � � � ��

��

You make me smile with my heart. _____________________________________________________

��

��

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A maj9 E maj7/G�� Fm11 Fm/E D maj7 G7 5 9 G7 5 9� � � �

Ex. 4. Here we have a fully-realized piano accompaniment based on the harmonic structure of Example 3. Note the new chordvoicing colors (bars 4 and 7), arpeggiated chord tones (bars 5–6), and interplay around the melody throughout the entirearrangement. We have now crafted a true musical dialogue between the vocalist and piano!

Ex. 3. Here I introduce the vocal line to illustrate how I always arrange with the melody in mind. This example expands on thesimple harmonic structure of Example 1, adding new voicing colors to the arrangement. (Note the C minor 2 chord in bar 1,which adds the colorful major second, a.ka. ninth). This added harmonic color continues in bar 7 with the appearance of theDbmaj7 chord, and in bar 8 with two G7 chords that contain colorful Db and Eb major triads, derived from the G dominantaltered scale. Note how I add interplay around the melody in bars 2 and 4 for increased drama.

“My Funny Valentine,” Words by LorenzHart, Music by Richard Rodgers. ©1937 (Renewed) Chappell & Co., Inc. AllRights for the Extended Renewal Term inthe U.S. Controlled by WB Music Corp.and Williamson Music. InternationalCopyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.Used by Permission of Alfred MusicPublishing Co., Inc. Reprinted byPermission of Hal Leonard Corporation.

34 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

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It doesn’t take an encyclopedicknowledge of music theory to add newdepth to your chord voicings. My mentor,the great jazz pianist Kenny Barron, wouldoften respond to questions about his com-manding chord palette by saying, “It’s allabout knowing what colors are available,

and knowing how to use them.” That simpleconcept, of thinking about chordextensions in a visual way, made a lastingimpact on me and my music. Here are afew simple “colors,” and accompanyingsample voicings, that will go a long waytowards deepening your voicing chops.

Many times, the addition of a single notecan be the difference between a forget-table voicing and one that packs a potentpunch. What a difference a note makes!


PLAY IT ! TH E CHOR D DOCTOR

COLOR YOURWORLDby Jon Regen

Editor at Large Jon Regen has made a name for himself in a multitude of

musical settings, from straight-ahead jazz to pop singer/songwriter fare. His

album Let It Go features Andy Summers of the Police and Martha Wainwright.

Regen is currently recording its follow-up, and tours Europe this summer.

Visit him at jonregen.com.

Ex. 2. Here’s another C major chord, but this one includes the second instead of the third — often this is called an “add2” chord. The addition of the second (or ninth)using the interval of a major second, (between the C and D), imparts a dream-like, suspended quality.

�� 44

44��

Cmaj add2

5

1

1 2

Ex. 1. Sometimes the simplest voicings can be the most effective. This first voicing is a close position C major chord. I’m doubling the root, and adding a third andfifth. Especially when I’m writing pop songs, I like the deceptively simple sound that an open voicing like this can impart. It leads the listener in, and provides a goodfoundation to build on.

�� 44

44��

Cmaj

3 1

1

5

= middle C

36 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

Ex. 6. Now we’ve taken our Amin7 chord, added the raised fifth (F) to the left hand, and replaced the natural fifth in the right hand (E) with the fourth or eleventh(D). You could call the result Amin11(add #5). It’s a dense sound, due mainly to the inclusion of two sets of major second intervals: between both the F and G, andthe C and D. It’s a complex, colorful voicing, and one of my favorites.

�� 44

44��

Am11 add 5�

��

PLAY IT !

Ex. 5. Here’s a standard, root-position Amin7 chord, voiced simply with the root, seventh, minor third, and fifth. This voicing is compact, and effectivefor it’s stark and plaintive sound.

�� 44

44��

Am7

5 3

7

1

Ex. 4. Here we have a Bb major chord again, but by moving just two notes, we create a sound that seems to hang in mid-air. This is the Bb6/9 chord. Notice againhow the inclusion of the interval of the major second (between the C and D), totally changes the character. Also, the use here of the sixth (G), instead of the fifth(F), further colors the sound.

�� 44

44��

B maj6/9

1

�

��3 9

6

Ex. 3. This simple Bb major chord is voiced similarly to the C in Example 1, except here, we’re doubling the fifth instead of the root. It’s lean, mean,and muscular-sounding.

�� 44

44��

B maj�

�� 1

5

5 3

370 5 . 2 0 1 0 K E Y B O A R D

Starting in the underground and now

infecting hip-hop and mainstream pop, the genre

called electro combines elements of greasy funk and

grimy synths. This booty-shaking, floor-stomping

sound is one reason that artists like Wolfgang

Gartner and deadmau5 sell out massive clubs

and work the main stage at Coachella. Here’s

how you can whip up electro’s signature wobbly,

raw bass lines using the synths in Propellerhead

Reason, plus your DAW of choice.

Hear audio examples at keyboardmg.com/how-to.

DO IT ! DANCE

ELECTRO BASS LINESby Francis Preve

Step 5. Time to add effects! Filtering and distortion

are a great place to start. Here, we rolled off a

touch of the highs to make room for the distortion,

then applied a fairly extreme amount of Ableton’s

Saturator device. The drum loop came from Sample

Magic’s excellent Electro-House library, available at

bigfishaudio.com.

Step 4. Now we’re ready to make the bass line. Import

both files into your DAW and place them on the same

track. Using your DAW’s editing tools, snip small segments

from each file and re-edit them to form a new one- or two-

measure bass line. Use the notes from the first file as the

musical content, and the swoops from the LFO-based sec-

ond file for the pitch wiggles.

Step 2. Make a simple two- or three-note bass sequence. Use quarter-

or half-notes, and don’t worry at all about the rhythm — we’ll deal with

that in step 4. Just get the notes recorded, render the sequence as

audio, and save it some place where you can easily locate it.

Step 3. Choose a single note from your original sequence and make a new

sequence that’s a sustained four-measure drone on that note. Set the LFO

to a triangle wave controlling both oscillators, and create a big wobble.

Experiment with different rates, like eighth- or quarter-note sweeps. Be sure

to match Reason’s tempo to that of your audio track — 128 is common for

electro tracks. Again, render the audio and keep track of the resulting file.

Step 1. Start by making the classic electro bass synth patch —

generally a sawtooth with a bit of added subs and the filter wide

open. Starting with the Init patch on Reason’s Subtractor synth,

turn on both oscillators and set the filter and amp envelope sus-

tain to maximum. Set oscillator 1 to a sawtooth and oscillator 2

to a sine wave one octave lower. Then, adjust the oscillator mix

to the right blend of sizzle and subs.

38 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

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Can a music program create professional,real-sounding arrangements and solos for your

songs from only a chord progression?

Mixing in a home studio can behazardous to your music. Over the pastfew years, I’ve finished and mixed a num-ber of synth instrumentals, but I never tookthe essential step of burning them to a CDand listening to them on other playbacksystems. Big mistake.

Recently I decided to put all that musicon a CD. I expect to sell no more than 100copies, but even so, I want it to sound asgood as possible. By now, the originalsequence files were long gone, so remixingisn’t an option. Even if I had the files, theolder pieces use hardware synthesizers Ino longer own. All I had were the 16-bitstereo masters.

When I burned a test CD (using thenicely-designed Project page in PreSonusStudio One) and listened to it on the stereoin my living room, I noticed two things. First,

the bass and kick were oppressively loudfor anything other than electronic dancemusic. Second, the mids had a boxed-in,claustrophobic quality — they didn’t breathe.

EQ’ing the lows down would be easy, butwas there some way I could open up therest of the mix and give it some air? I loadedthe first tune into Image-Line FL Studio 9(reviewed Apr. ’10) and tried adding a bit ofroom ambience — but only to the mids andhighs, not to the lows. With careful adjust-ment, I got pretty good-sounding results. Ofcourse, it’s easier to add reverb than to takeit away. If your mixes have too much reverb,the techniques I used won’t help.

I also didn’t want to smother the mix inambience. The goal was to produce an effectso subtle that listeners wouldn’t even noticeit, though they would notice if it weremissing. To test the settings, I listened to

the mix while muting and unmuting theaux send channel where I’d placed theambience plug-in. I wanted to hear the mixopen up in a pleasant way when thechannel was unmuted, without soundingthick or blurry.

Now that I’ve learned this technique,I’m using it in new compositions. Puttingroom ambience on an aux send helpshand-percussion loops and lead synth linesblend in, for instance. I’m listening to thelow end more critically, too.

In future, I plan to make stems (submix-es) of my new music while finalizing the mix.This is extra work, but it’s good insurance ifI should need to change anything yearslater, on a different computer, in a galaxy far,far away. For now, here’s how to retrace mysteps if you too need to breathe some lifeinto a “legacy” stereo audio file.

DO IT ! M IX I NG

HOW TO RESCUE OLDSTEREO MIXESby Jim Aikin

Step 1. Load the mix into your DAW. In FL Studio, this takes three easy steps. In the Channels menu, create an Audio Clip (left). In the Channel Settings box, click thefolder button to open a file dialog box, and select the audio file (center). Then, use the pencil tool to add the clip to a track in the Playlist window (right). No need tomatch the tempo of the song to the mix, unless you’re planning to overdub new MIDI tracks.

40 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

Step 2. In an aux send channel, use a multi-band EQ to get ridof the low frequencies. FL Studio’s seven-band parametric does thejob nicely.

Step 4. Assign the audio clip to its own mixer channel ifyour DAW doesn’t do this automatically. (FL Studio assignsnew channels directly to the mixer’s master output, so thisis a separate step.) Then raise the send level for this mixerchannel until the meter in the aux channel starts to move.

Step 6. If there are sections of the song that you want to be more dry, add automationcontrol of the aux send channel’s output fader. You may want to pull the output down inexposed sections while bringing it up when the whole band is blazing.

Step 5. Since the snare backbeat is likely to be one of the loudestparts of the mix, it may have too much added ambience. To tame it,insert a limiter on the aux send channel, putting the limiter betweenthe multi-band EQ and the reverb. Lower the limiter’s threshold untilit’s squashing the snare. This reduces the amount of ambience addedto the snare, without affecting the rest of the sound.

Step 3. Add a reverb to the send channel. Set it to 100% wet, and dial the decay timeback to less than a second. The idea is to go for room ambience, not concert hall echoes.Experiment with adding a tiny bit of pre-delay.

DO IT !

410 5 . 2 0 1 0 K E Y B O A R D

Duran Duran were the poster childrenof the ’80s with a string of MTV-era hits thatstill rock the clubs today. Nick Rhodes’ mixof swirling atmospherics and percolating

arpeggios went a long way toward establish-ing the band’s hitmaking sound. Let’s makethe signature arpeggio of “Hungry Like TheWolf,” originally played on a Roland Jupiter-8

and recreated here using Arturia’s Jupiter-8Vsoft synth. Almost any virtual analog synthwill work, as long as it has an arpeggiatorwith a “random” note order setting.

DO IT ! STEAL TH IS SOU N D

DURAN DURAN’S “HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF”by Mitchell Sigman

Step 1. We’ll use two oscillators, bothset to square waves. Oscillators shouldbe tuned in unison with the fine-tuneknob at about one o’ clock — enoughso a bit of chorusing happens.

Step 3. The highpass filter (HPF) isn’t used, so turn itsslider off. Cutoff is mostly closed down, because we’lluse the filter envelope to control the frequency. Set thecutoff to 322Hz, and cutoff envelope mod amount to.667 (just over halfway). Make sure the switch next to themod slider is set to ENV1; this lets ENV1 modulate the

cutoff frequency while ENV2 affects amplitude. Set the resonance at zero, andadd a little key follow to brighten higher notes.

Step 5. ENV2 shapes the amplitude of the sound.A = zero, D = 4,761ms, S = zero, and R = 2,556ms.These may seem like long times for such a quicksound, but the sound actually does ring for a bit,though the release phase is muted by the rapidfilter envelope.

Step 6. Now for the fun part. Set thearpeggiator to random mode (RND) andthe range to two octaves. Lock up the

timing by setting your host’s tempo around 127 bpm, and setthe arpeggio rate to sixteenth-notes. Set the neighboring syncswitch to external — this locks the arpeggiator to your host’sMIDI clock. Add a little reverb, hold down some E and D majortriads, and you’ll be off and running!

Step 4. Now set ENV1 asshown: A = zero, D = 234ms,S = zero, and R = 1,324ms.

Step 2. The Source Mix knob shouldbe smack in the middle for an equalblend of each oscillator.

Duran Duran Rio

Arturia Jupiter 8-V version 2was released in February.

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The new S Series combines the sounds of theMotif XS, a handcrafted S6 piano and the ease of use of a stage piano.

Features such as BalancedHammer action, combo input jack for adding vocals and guitars, andUSB record/playback

make it perfect for stage or studio. The compact design of the 88- and 76-note weighted versions are portable and

road-ready. The S70 XS/S90 XS also lets you quickly create your own Performances with the amazingly fast

Performance Creator feature.With extensive Controller functions, it’s also the perfect companion for your computer

music production system.

www.yamaha.com/usa

www.motifator.com

www.yamahasynth.com

©2009 Yamaha Corporation of America. All rights reserved.

Your Perfect PerformancePartner

Some things will always inspire debate: health care, financialregulatory reform, and mobile shoulder-strap keyboards. Though thatlast one may not have as much social import as the others, it’s everybit as divisive among musicians. Are “synth-tars” legitimateinstruments to be played with guts and pride? Or are they toys thatmake keyboardists look like lame guitarist wannabes? Regardless ofwhere you stand, Roland’s AX-Synth is an instrument worth noting,and if you’re a dissenter, it may just convert you. A sleeked-outyounger sibling of the AX-7 MIDI controller, the AX-Synth gives theshoulder-keys vibe impressive curves, plentiful controls, and — for thefirst time — a built-in sound engine. If you’re a long-time believer in thepower of the synth-tar, or a skeptic wondering what the hubbub isabout, read on.

LOOK AND CONTROLSFirst things first: The AX-Synth looks good. Roland created a design thatfeels current and just edgy enough, without resembling a self-parody orsomething from a bad ’80s movie. At assorted gigs and jam sessions, Igot nothing but positive feedback on its appearance.

For my taste, Roland also struck a nearly-ideal balance with the num-ber and placement of controls. The AX is easy to navigate, with a mildlearning curve, and while all sounds are easily accessible, neither thefront panel nor the neck feels overly cluttered or tweaky. At the sametime, the performance control available to your left hand alone (see

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HANDS-ONThese buttons can jump octaves, scroll through tone variations, or transpose by half-steps.Slide pitches around with the ribbon strip touch controller.The modulation bar is sensitive to how far down you push it, achieving a modwheel-like range of intensity.Roland’s famous D-Beam lets you sweep pitch, filter, or assignable MIDI controllerswith a wave of your hand.The keyboard doesn’t send aftertouch, but you can do so from the neck.Choose from 304 preset sounds, including four of Roland’s impressive SuperNatural tones,grouped into eight families here.Stereo 1/4" outs are here. To feed wireless audio transmitters that require low-levelsignals, flip the ATT switch to cut the output volume.Multiple strap points help you get a comfortable playing position, even for two-handedperformance.

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ROLAND AX-SYNTHHigh-Powered Synth-tar

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Figure 1 on page 46) is impressive. Structurally, the AX-Synth is solid and

durable. Though it’s impressively light,the keys, buttons, and molded plasticcasings all feel reassuringly resilient,even under rapid-fire, two-handed per-cussive assaults. It took some trial anderror to get the keyboard to sit right formy hand position and stature, but multi-ple points to hook on the shoulder strapwere a big help in getting a comfortablefeel, and also made playing the 49-keykeyboard with two hands easy toachieve. Once I had the synth adjusted(surprisingly, at an angle similar to whatlow-slung punk guitarists do), I wasready to rock.

SOUNDSThe onboard sound engine features 128-voice polyphony and 304 tones (256“regular” sounds and eight “special”sounds) sourced from Roland’s othersynths. You call up sounds via eight ToneFamily buttons; once you’ve selected thefamily, you can scroll through variationsusing buttons on the body or neck, or dialthem up directly by holding down Shiftand typing in the tone number on the top12 notes of the keyboard, each of whichhas a digit or function.

Having logged many hours withRoland’s V-Synth series, I love their sear-ing, distorted leads, so I started with theLead Guitar category. The AX-Synth deliv-ered the goods with surprising gusto:Tone 07 immediately got me playing

Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” while 14made me whip out the opening riff fromGuns ’n’ Roses “Sweet Child of Mine.”Other lead guitar tones are more suited toprog, blues, or Boston-style classic rock,but regardless of the tone, it’s just plainfun to crank up the AX-Synth and wail.One showmanship tip: End a long riffwith a loud note, sustain it with the Holdbutton on the back of the neck, then usethe right hand to play with the D-Beamand/or pitch ribbon. Who says guitaristshave all the fun?

Also strong are the synth lead andbass sounds. Though you can’t tweakfilter or envelope knobs directly on theAX-Synth, I found the presets to be hot,inspiring, highly playable, and thought-fully programmed; tone 10 in the SynthLead 1 family has just enough bite to cutthrough a mix, and the modulation baradds a tasty amount of slightly detunedchorus. While the bass sounds go fromsmooth, dark, and Minimoog-esque towonderfully grindy and noisy, Rolandalso threw in some quality acoustic andelectric bass patches for when you don’twant to sound like you’re playing asynth. Nice.

Though this isn’t the first time we’veseen Roland’s multi-articulation “Super-Natural” tones, the four in the AX-Synth —trombone, cello, violin, and shakuhachi —are amongst the most realistic andorganic imitations I’ve heard come out ofany keyboard. The factory-programmedpitchbend for the trombone, which letsyou slide up and down a fourth authenti-cally, is particularly pleasing; so is theway all four instruments swell in volumeand fullness with a touch of the modula-tion bar. The only semi-clunkers I found inthe entire keyboard were the (non-Super-Natural) trumpet and sax; while perfectlyusable, they don’t hold a candle to theirSuperNatural neighbors in realism orexpressiveness.

Though you can edit any sound’s vol-ume and reverb send amount on the AX-Synth itself, further tweaking andarchiving of your custom soundsrequires you to delve into the AX-Syntheditor/librarian software, which communi-

cates with the axe over USB (see Figure2 on page 46).

IN USEI first unboxed the AX-Synth in my homestudio, hooked it up to my MOTU Ultra-Lite audio interface, and started record-ing guitar-ish riffs into Logic. Three hourslater, I was doing the same thing, withthe same silly grin on my face. Coming tothis review with the assumption that theAX-Synth was strictly for liveperformance, it totally surprised me withits ability to inspire in the studio as well.When dialing up patches like guitar,bass, trombone — anything that’s usuallyplayed standing up in the non-keyboardworld — I felt noticeably more connectedto the sounds and lines than if I’d beenplaying the exact same notes whileseated at a stationary keyboard, and theparts I recorded reflected that heightenedconnection. I’ve already used the AX-Synth

NEED TO KNOW

Why don’t they call it a keytar? Aspervasive as that term is, it’strademarked a la “Kleenex” and “Xerox”to describe the Williams Keytar, onwhich piano-like keys push down onguitar-like strings. Does it have more than noveltyvalue? Wide-ranging artists likeJustin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, HerbieHancock, Chick Corea, Mutemath,and Dream Theater have used similarkeyboards to great effect. This is aserious tool with significant flexibilityand musicmaking potential, not asight gag.How much does it weigh? Justunder nine pounds — it’s totally wear-able throughout a long set, and lighterthan many guitars and basses. Does it run on batteries? Yes: eightAA. Roland’s claim of six hours of useproved accurate in our tests. You cancheck the charge you have left, and seta power-saving sleep mode. Does it have wireless audio orMIDI? You’ll need to supply your ownwireless audio or MIDI transmitters togo completely cable-free.

PROSLoads of fun to play. Sleek design.Onboard sound engine with high-quality,very playable sounds. Lead guitar andsynth sounds are particularly impressive.Neck controls allow a high level ofexpression. Easy to learn and navigate.Lightweight.CONSKeyboard doesn’t transmit aftertouch,though you can do so from the neck.Multi-function buttons make it impossi-ble to quickly transpose octaves andswitch tones from the neck alone. No“patch remain.”INFO$1,349 list/approx. $1,200 street,rolandus.com

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to record several cues for a live theatergig and, given how successful and satis-fying I found it to be, plan to continueusing it for this.

Given my affinity for the leads onRoland’s V-Synth, I wanted to lean intosome notes, applying aftertouch for extragrit, vibrato, or filtering — but the AX-Synth doesn’t generate aftertouch fromits keyboard. Roland says they didn’t feelthe vertical playing position wasconducive to aftertouch — but I still wantit. Anyway, between the modulation bar,pitchbend ribbon, Hold button, and D-Beam, you can squeeze a great deal ofcustomized, post-attack expression out ofany note — including sending channelaftertouch.

My next order of business was to pro-gram a series of tones for easy switchingmid-song, say, starting with a pianosound for the opening verse of DavidCook’s “Light On,” switching to a bigarena-rock guitar sound for the chorus,then soloing on another, more cuttinglead guitar or synth sound. The AX-Synthlets you program two banks of favorites.You access them either with the ToneFamily buttons, or by scrolling throughthem using the Variation buttons on the

neck or body. Setup was quick and easy,and I relied on the neck buttons to gofrom one variation to another, so I wouldn’thave to take my right hand off the keysand my eyes off the audience to changesounds mid-performance. Again, playingthis way is just plain fun.

The AX-Synth doesn’t seem to allow“patch remain.” When trying to let a bigguitar chord ring out while switchingback to piano, the tone vanished theinstant I hit the Variation button, insteadof continuing to sound on the originalpatch as long as the keys weredepressed. It’s a bit puzzling that myKurzweil PC88, which I bought over 15years ago, could do this splendidly, yetRoland’s cutting-edge synth-tar lacks thisfunction. Also, you can’t enable neck-based switching of octaves and tones atthe same time — the two Variation but-tons do one or the other, and changingtheir function requires a couple of extrabutton presses on the AX-Synth’s body,which isn’t a viable option if you’re play-ing and singing lead. I would have pre-ferred to see both dedicated octavebuttons and Variation buttons next toeach other on the neck instead.

A minor nuisance is that the jacks — AC

power, audio out, and MIDI — are spreadapart along the lower edge of the synth. Ifound it difficult to feel as mobile as I wouldhave liked in the studio, given cables trail-ing off from three different points. I trou-bleshot by bringing the cables together asclose to the audio outs as possible andbinding them with zip ties, creating animpromptu snake. Onstage, of course,you’d more likely run on batteries and usewireless transmitters, so this wouldn’t bean issue.

CONCLUSIONSIf you’re even slightly open to using ashoulder-strap keyboard, the AX-Synth is atrue pleasure to jam on, and well worthchecking out. The onboard sounds offerplenty of tonal depth and variation, butdon’t clutter up the instrument’s operation,accessibility, or ease of use. Even with theaforementioned gripes, I still found the AX-Synth to be highly useful, enjoyable, andinspirational, both as a live performanceaxe and as a studio resource. If you’venever had the experience of popping insome batteries, throwing such a synth overyour shoulder, and shredding on the fly,the AX-Synth is the best motivation yet togive it a try.

Fig. 2. Want to tweak a sound’s filter, cho-rus, or modulation settings? The AX-SynthEditor software (Mac or PC) lets you editpatches over USB, or build your own fromthe ground up, and export them to the synthitself performance.

Fig. 1. The neck’s hidden underbelly, left to right: Master volume,aftertouch knob, Portamento on/off, Bender Mode button fortweaking the behavior of the ribbon controller, and sustain-pedal-in-a-button Hold switch. The three buttons’ recesses eachhave a slightly different shape, so they’re easy to find by feel.

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G EAR ACOU STICA M IXCRAFT 5

In a world where entire countries aregoing bankrupt, money’s tighter than JamesBrown’s horn section. So for those gettinginto computer-based music, a $75 programlooks great on paper — but of course, whenyou start working with it, your expectationswill have to be tempered by reality. After all,that’s about the price of 15 lattes from theStarbucks at LAX. How good can it be?

Surprisingly good. Mixcraft is not atoy, it’s a no-excuses tool for accomplish-ing real work, from audio recording, toMIDI with virtual (or hardware) instru-ments, to creating a video to get yourband up on the web. Of course, thereare limitations compared to the “bigguys,” but these seem to be based

around the question “So, does the enduser really, really need this?” Wrap thisall in a straightforward interface, andyou have a program that offersoutstanding value.

I GET AROUNDFinding your way around the interface(which is not unlike Steinberg Sequel) iseasy. The upper part of the window has astandard track/arrangement view with trackheaders, tracks where clips reside, a timeline,and the like. The lower half, called “Details,”has several tabbed views:Project. This is where you specify tempo,key, auto beat matching, metronome, globaleffects, etc., and enter song info in a notepad.

Track. Choose a color and size, implementtrack freeze, duplicate a track, and managetrack effects.Sound. “Editor” would probably be a bet-ter term; with a MIDI track selected, yousee a piano-roll view with editing tools. Foraudio, you see the waveform, with the mainoptions being to change loop start andend, do time stretching, change offset andlength, etc.Mixer. This console view includes faders,meters, pan controls, solo/mute, a basicthree-band EQ (hi/mid/lo boost and cut),effects selector, and preset chooser for theinstruments in MIDI tracks.Library. Access content through this view;again with the Sequel analogy, it’s somewhat

by Craig Anderton

ACOUSTICA MIXCRAFT 5Should I Buy 15 Mocha Lattes, ora Cool DAW?

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HANDS-ONYou can see the video track behind the top of theresizeable video window.The Details section can be docked and undocked.Choose between piano roll and notation views here.Choose between piano-roll and notation views here. The resizable controller strip can show any oneMIDI controller at a time.An automation lane is available per track, andcan show any automatable parameter.Clip automation can be used instead of, or in con-junction with, track automation.The effects selector makes it easy to assembleeffects chains, as well as choose presets for theselected effects.Tabs bring up different windows for the Detailssection.

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like the Media Bay. Content is organized as50 sound kits, but you can search for con-tent based on criteria like tempo, key,mood, and the like.

The Details section can be undocked,so you can create more space for the trackview — this is particularly useful with dual-display systems. Or, you can keep thesingle-window interface when laptopping.

VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTSMixcraft 5 carries over the instruments fromV4 (Impulse synth, Minimogue virtual ana-log synth, VB3 organ, and Acoustica Instru-ments) but adds the Messiah polysynth, alite version of Applied Acoustics LoungeLizard electric piano, G-Sonique’s Alien303 bass synth, and Acoustica ExpandedInstruments (which adds 66 more soundsto the existing Acoustica Instruments). Onecool feature: If you insert more than oneinstrument, they layer automatically. LoungeLizard, VB3, and Messiah won’t load intoother programs because Acoustica’slicense for these is Mixcraft-only, but allother included VST effects and instrumentswill work fine — just remember to flag Mix-craft’s VST folder in your other hosts.

Messiah is your basic Prophet emula-tion, but with an Edit page for editing thearpeggiator, effects (distortion, delay),drift for that detuned analog sound, andmodulation (but not matrix modulation;

destinations and sources are fixed). I evenlike the presets, and this is a fine additionto the package.

The name Alien 303 tells you what toexpect, and it doesn’t disappoint if youwant acid-house bass lines — I can see thesmiley faces now.

Like the original Acoustica Instruments,the Expanded Instruments — 66 in all —can’t be edited; you call up the preset, play,and use it if you like. The new instrumentsfill in some of the gaps not accommodatedby the original set, and many — if not most— of these sounds are very useable. AndI’m picky about presets.

The one instrument that’s missing is agood drum module where you can createyour own kits, although the GM drum setsand other kits are actually quite good. Thenagain, with the money you save, you canprobably afford Toontrack EZ Drummer,FXpansion BFD Eco, or something similar.

EFFECTSMicraft bundles several of its own effects:chorus, compressor, delay, distortion, EQ,flanger, and reverb. These are basic; don’texpect sidechaining or sync-to-tempo. Alsoincluded: Kjaerhus’s nine classic freewareeffects (whose delay does sync to tempo).Yes, they’re freeware, but they’re good. Youalso get the Shred amp simulator, VoxengoBoogex Amp Simulator, and VoxengoSPAN Spectrum Analyzer. Though EQ inthe mixer itself is minimal, plug-ins includetwo graphic EQs and G-Sonique’s way-fun

Pultronic EQ-110P, which emulates a rareand expensive Pultec tube EQ.

As most effects are freeware and theAcoustica effects are fairly simple, this is

NEED TO KNOW

C’mon, what can I expect for $75?A lot. Just remember you’re paying foran efficient, capable core program, nota big bundle of effects plug-ins. Will Mixcraft 5 work with my com-puter? Yes, if it’s a Windows 7, Vista,or XP machine — including Macs thatrun Windows via BootCamp. It worksfine with a 1GHz processor and 2GBof RAM. Can you actually do anything withthe video track? You can split videoclips and do crossfades, lengthen orshorten clips (similarly to how youstretch audio within the program), aswell as export movies as AVI or WMVfiles. Realistically, Mixcraft 5 is aboutsolid video support for audio more thanvideo editing. What are the biggest missing fea-tures? MIDI editing is basic; you won’tfind features like drum maps, logicaleditors, or MIDI plug-ins. There’s noREX or ReWire support, and thoughyou can bring in Acidized clips, youcan’t edit the transient markers. Also,there’s no support for control surfaces.What kind of plug-ins does Mix-craft 5 accept? VST, DirectX, andAcoustica’s own plug-in format.

PROSOutstanding value. Better than expectedvideo support. Several decent virtualinstruments. Now includes a dockablemixer view, track and clip automation,and unlimited sends. Built-in per-clipnoise reduction. Can burn Red BookCDs. Notation editing and printing.Considerable free content is availablevia downloading. Lets you play notesfrom a QWERTY keyboard. CONSMIDI editing, included effects plug-ins,and mixer channel EQ are basic. Nosupport for REX files or ReWire. NoMIDI plug-ins. No control surface sup-port. Can see only one track of notationat a time. INFO$74.95 download, $14.95 for 60-daylicense (just enough to record yourCD). acoustica.com

Fig. 1. Mixcraft 5 offers newsoft synths, and the option tobring up a screen that lets youplay notes from your QWERTYkeyboard — great for laptops.

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one obvious factor in the low price. How-ever, given the plethora of freeware plug-ins and the low cost of many commercialversions, I’d rather see a low price than paymore for plug-ins I may or may not use.That said, you’ll probably want to spring fora better reverb than what’s included.

NOTATIONWhile you can’t expect engraving-qualityprinting from Mixcraft — and you can onlysee one track’s worth of notation at a time —musical notation is implemented very clev-erly. Each note is superimposed on agrayed rectangle, like what you’d find in apiano-roll editor. You can change the rec-tangle’s duration (which also changes thecorresponding note’s rhythmic valueonscreen), as well as move the rectanglearound to change pitch or start time. It’salso possible to snap to particular rhyth-mic values, “tidy up” notes to try andmake a performance more notation-friendly, and print out the notated track.This is an interesting way to edit, as it

bridges standard notation and MIDIpiano-roll notation.

BALANCE IN THE FORCEAs you work with the program, you’ll findlittle things you didn’t expect, as well asfeatures that are missing from other

programs. For example, although you candrag-and-drop clips, you can’t drag-copyMIDI notes in the piano roll editor; youhave to cut/copy, then paste. For crossfad-ing, your only curve option is linear (I wouldhave preferred equal-power). To zoom inand out, either in the track view or in the

VIDEO SUPPORTVideo used to be considered a relatively specialized feature found in high-end DAWs,but that was before YouTube. Adding video to a program isn’t trivial, but Mixcraftdoes it well: You can import or drag-and-drop AVI and WMV files, which creates avideo and audio track. (Although Acoustica says you may be able to import otherformats if you have a suitable codec on your machine, I didn’t have any luck withFlash, MOV, or MPG files. It would also be cool if version 6 could render videos toiPod/iPhone format.)

Once loaded, you can open a resizable video window, split clips (yes, remove thepart between songs where the guitarist is tuning up), trim beginnings and ends,stretch video, and even crossfade between clips. After creating the soundtrack, youcan save the video by itself or with the soundtrack; and Mixcraft simplifies the arcanerendering process by letting you simply move a slider to choose quality vs. size, but ifyou’re savvy, you can open up a separate window for WMV compression settings(video bit rate, encoding type, audio quality, dimensions, etc.) or basic AVI settings.This is very impressive in a sub-$100 audio program.

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piano roll editor, you can use the + and –buttons or a mouse wheel (very handy),though there aren’t click-and-drag or “spin-ner” zoom controls. I also couldn’t figureout any way to hook up a control surface

(e.g., Mackie Control), or do customkeyboard commands. And, not sup-porting REX files is an issue: Thesedays, sample libraries often includeREX files as the primary time-stretchable format.

On the other hand, the noisereduction feature works like ones youfind in dedicated digital audio editors:It finds a space that’s blank except forthe noise, “learns” the noise, thenremoves anything from the file thatmatches that sample’s “noise print.”Marker implementation is also cool, asmarkers can not only serve as naviga-tion references, but also indicatechanges in tempo, key, or time signa-ture in a manner similar to Acid. Fur-thermore, Mixcraft can record atsample rates up to 192kHz.

CONCLUSIONSSome might see Mixcraft as a reactionagainst bloatware, but I think that with muchmusic software, the bloatware tag is unfair.Some people really do use most of what a

DAW offers, and different people use differ-ent features. One feature set wouldn’t beadequate for everyone.

Even so, Mixcraft convincingly accom-modates the world of straight-ahead audiorecording, MIDI-based composition, loop-ing, and beat-matching — even with video.The essential features you need to createmusic are there, the interface is pretty obvi-ous, and the virtual instruments not only letyou make music out of the box, but are abargain in this context. Throw in the freedownloadable content library, and you havea very complete package.

Mixcraft is a likable program, combiningfriendliness, value, and a realistic featureset. While there are some definite omissions,I doubt anyone would dispute that Mixcraft5 offers exceptional value for the money.But don’t take our word for it: There’s adownloadable demo, and you can see foryourself what the program has to offer.Although there’s never been a better selec-tion of budget programs, Mixcraft goes theextra mile in several crucial aspects, and forthat, wins our Key Buy award.

Fig. 2. You can show and edit MIDI notes using a standardpiano-roll screen, or choose per-track notation.

Fig. 3. The included Pultronic EQ emulates a four-band Pultec,and adds character to your sound in a way that more conven-tional, surgical parametric EQs can’t.

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“Lennon” and “John Lennon” are trademarks of Yoko Ono Lennon. All artwork © Yoko Ono Lennon. Licensed exclusively through Bag One Arts, Inc. Design: Baree Fehrenbach

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I’m a big fan of Zebra, U-he’s flagshipsoftsynth. When I heard about ACE, Ithought, “Oh, that’s cute — a stripped-down little brother for Zebra.” Boy, was Iwrong. ACE may have a modest price anda modest list of modules, but its soundpalette is very broad, and the sound itself issatisfyingly rich and “vintage.”

ACE’s design is very loosely based onthe fabled ARP 2600. It has a fixed set ofmodules, all of which are immediately visi-ble on the panel. These are “normalled” to

one another for easy sound programming —if you don’t do anything with virtual patchcords, you get a familiar oscillator-to-filter-to-envelope signal flow. Like the 2600,ACE also has numerous patch points. Youcan interrupt the normalled signal path withany other signal you choose, simply bydragging a patch cord from an output to aninput with the mouse.

What sets ACE apart, though, isn’t justthe patching. Most digital and softwaresynthesizers use control signals (such as

the output of an LFO or envelope generator)that run at a fraction of the audio samplingrate. This saves on CPU power. In ACE,everything runs at twice the sampling rate

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PROSSurprisingly deep sound programming.Great factory presets. “Real analog”tone.CONSNeeds a fast CPU.INFO$85, u-he.com

by Jim Aikin

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of your host DAW. The downside: ACE issomething of a CPU hog. The benefit: Youcan jam an LFO up into the audio rangeand use it as a third oscillator, or use it tofrequency- or amplitude-modulate one ofthe other oscillators or a filter. Hence theacronym: ACE stands for Any CableEverywhere.

OVERVIEWInstalling ACE on my new Windows 7computer was painless, and it ran withoutproblems in both Steinberg Cubase 5 andImage-Line FL Studio 9. The factory pre-sets, created by well-known sounddesigners Howard Scarr, SkippyLehmkuhl, and others, are plentiful, varied,and high-quality. Basses, leads, keys,pads, chord stabs, rhythm patterns, ana-log percussion, modular madness — every-thing is neatly categorized in the browser,which also has a display pane for thepatch creator’s performance notes.

Learning my way around the ACE paneltook a couple of hours. The jacks aren’tlabelled, so I made a couple of wrongassumptions — but also, the number ofways to patch things together is vast! Get-ting buzzy, grinding tones is easy, but I’llneed a lot more time to explore the fullrange of possibilities.

ACE has a four-position switch for“quality” (presumably the internal sampling

rate). A “draft” rate saves on CPU cycles,but may sound audibly thinner or havealiasing. Three knobs you don’t usuallysee are for slop, crosstalk, and even simu-lated capacitor failure in the oscillators.These all add to the analog instability ofthe tone (and yes, like ACE’s other knobs,they respond to MIDI control). Theseknobs are on a second panel, calledTweak. This panel is also where the map-ping generator lives — see the “Mapper”section on page 56.

For fat sounds, up to eight voices canbe stacked and detuned to produce cho-rusing or one-finger chords. (The voicescan’t be panned separately, however.) Onmy system, using more than four voicessometimes caused the signal to suffer ashort delay or breakup during its initialattack, even with a very simple patch — butsince you can produce 16-note chordswith four voices, this is not a big problem.

ACE has two glide controls: VCO1and VCF1 can glide at a different ratefrom VCO2 and VCF2. With patches thatuse oscillator sync or filter overdrive, thiscan add some nice bite to the attacks ofnotes that are more than a whole-stepapart, as the two oscillators will be sound-ing different pitches for a brief moment.Also available is an ARP-style duophonickeyboard mode, in which VCO1 tracks thelowest note you play and VCO2 the high-est note. Duophonic mode opens upsome unusual possibilities, especially ifVCO2 is soft-synced.

The factory presets (several hundred ofthem) are incredibly varied. A couple ofone-finger chord patches turned into riffs,which quickly became the basis of a newpiece that I’m planning to include on anupcoming CD.

PATCHINGIf you’ve ever patched an analog synthe-sizer, you’ll understand the basics of sounddesign with ACE, and we’re not going toexplain filter cutoff or ADSR envelopes inthis review. But ACE gives patching a fewfresh twists.

A glance at the panel seems to showtwo LFOs and two VCOs (tone oscillators),but that’s a misleading impression. In fact,

the LFOs are full-range audio oscillators, sowhat you’re really looking at are four oscil-lators, each of which has different controls.They have five frequency modes — semi-tone, partial, subharmonic, Hertz, and clocksync. In the first three modes, they track thekeyboard. These modes interact with anunusually flexible fine-tune knob, which hasfour modes — multiply, cents, 5Hz, andbeats. (Multiply mode can trip you up,because you can set it to zero, which willturn the oscillator off.) There’s also a sub-oscillator, which always tracks thefrequency of VCO1.

VCO2 can sync to VCO1 or be cross-modulated or ring-modulated by it — or allthree at once, in varying amounts. Analog-sounding soft sync is produced when thesync knob is turned up only part way. Whilelooking for a lead tone for a new piece, Iwas twiddling these controls and stumbledonto some overtones that were quite violin-like. Nobody would mistake the patch for areal violin, but it has a similar character. Idid it by soft-syncing VCO2 to VCO1 atabout 45%, setting the VCO2 coarse tuneknob to partial mode, and dialing the partialup to about 7.6. These controls are quitesensitive to small changes, so finding thistone was a happy accident.

NEED TO KNOW

What types of synthesis does itdo? Modeled analog, including FMand AM. Most unusual features? Audio-ratemodulation, mapping generator, oscil-lator soft sync, duophonic keyboardresponse, dual glide mode.How are the effects? They’re basic:You get a chorus/phaser, synced delayline, and treble/bass EQ. Do you get pulse width modula-tion or oscillator sync? Yes and yes.How about microtunings? ACEloads Scala files for highly flexible cus-tom tunings.Formats and computer stuff: VST,AU, and RTAS. Windows or Mac OS10.4 or later. Intel Core2 Duo or betterprocessor recommended.Copy protection: Serial number entry.Downloadable demo? Yes.

HANDS-ON

Tuning, glide, pitchbend depth, and other globalparameters are here.The dual LFOs go into the audio range, and can beused as extra oscillators.Oscillator 2 can be soft-synced or cross-modulated.The mixer has three modulation inputs forhardwired signals, plus an extra signal input atthe bottom.Each filter has both lowpass and highpass/band-pass/notch outputs.These “mults” are for mixing signals and modu-lating their depth.The ADSR envelopes can treat the sustain portion asa rising or falling slope, with adjustable rate.Panning can be modulated in the dual outputmodules.Here’s where you patch in modulation sourcessuch as breath control and aftertouch.

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G EAR U-HE ACE

LFO1 has only one waveform (sine),but it also has an input for sample-and-hold effects. LFO2 has five waveforms.The LFOs can run in gate mode, in whicheach new note starts its own LFO at apoint determined by the phase knob, orin free-run mode, in which all voicesshare one LFO.

Not enough LFOs to suit you? Use theramp generator. This has no inputs or wave-form selections, but it can either loop, pro-ducing a repeating waveshape, or triggeronce and then stop to produce an attacktransient. Its up, hold, and down knobs cansync to quarter-notes or whole-notes — or todecimal fractions thereof, so if you need,say, a five-against-four cross-rhythm, just seta knob to 20 and you’re in business. Thisfeature is also available with LFO rates.

The filters each have two simultane-ous outputs. One output gives you achoice of four lowpass modes (single-pole through four-pole), while the otherhas a choice of highpass, bandpass, ornotch. The filters can be overdriven atthe input with a gain knob. They canself-oscillate and be modulated byaudio-rate signals for rich Minimoog-style sidebands.

The envelopes are basic ADSRs, notmulti-segment types, but each of them hasfour input knobs, two each for time andlevel control. The fall/rise knob turns thesustain “level” into a rising or falling slope.(Due to limited panel space, the fall/rise

rate knob is in the ADSR, while the fall/riseamount is tucked away on the Tweakpage.) Envelope output can be controlledvia velocity. In addition, knobs for level andrate control can accept inputs from variousMIDI sources.

Near the bottom of the panel are twomultiples. In a hardware synth, these wouldoften be needed to split a signal to severaloutputs, but ACE can stack multiple patchcords on any output. The multiples areused to mix signals before sending them toinputs, and also to modulate their amountsin various ways, including crossfading.

The row of output jacks along the bottomgives quick access to ten useful signals,including MIDI key number, velocity, noise,mod wheel, and aftertouch. At the other endof the signal chain, ACE has dual outputVCAs, which can be panned separately.

The animated waveform display is a toy,but it’s well-designed: It attempts to syncto the fundamental of the waveform, mak-ing it easier to watch the dancing squig-gles. More practical is that the numericalvalue of each edit is shown in the display,and you can move in finer increments byshift-dragging.

MAPPERACE has one extremely useful modulewhose concept is, frankly, digital. The map-ping generator (see Figure 1 above) can bea keyboard zone mapper or a primitive stepsequencer, among other things.

The mapper provides up to 128 user-definable steps, which are edited graphi-cally on a nice big display. It operates inone of four modes. In Alternate mode, itmoves to a new step each time you pressa key. In Key mode, each MIDI key selectsa step in the mapper, which means youcan have a different output level fromeach key on the keyboard if desired. InMap Smooth and Map Quantize modes, itaccepts a signal input and maps the levelof this signal onto an output in eithersmooth or stepped fashion. This is usefulfor setting up a nonlinear velocityresponse curve, for creating a steppedoutput from an LFO, and so on. Utilitycommands let the data in the mapper berandomized or quantized to clamp it to acertain number of discrete values (four oreight, for instance).

When the input is a repeating signalfrom the ramp generator, the stepped out-put produces a regular rhythm pattern,useful for step sequencing. The mapper’soutput can also be used as a waveformfor LFO 2.

CONCLUSIONSThere are two main reasons to like ACE:It’s highly patchable, and it sounds veryanalog. Make that three — there’s thevery modest price. Patching with cords(even when you do it with a mouse) ismuch more fun than dialing up values ina number-filled matrix. While the panellooks simple, with everything plainly visi-ble on the surface, the voice design ispacked with unusual options — and yetthey’re easier to understand and dealwith than in some of the extremely fea-ture-rich soft synths I’ve looked at,because the signal routing is alwaysvisually obvious.

For anyone who learned synthesis onthe ARP 2600, programming ACE will beaddictive. I had trouble tearing myselfaway from it long enough to finish writingthis review — and for all the huge sound itgives you for such a low price, it’scertainly a Key Buy.

Hear an audio track Jim created using ACE atkeyboardmag.com/gear.

Fig. 1. The Tweak panel has knobs for stacked voice tuning and analog circuit emulation, but the main attrac-tion is the mapping generator (center), a flexible sequencer-like device with up to 128 steps.

56 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

G EAR N EO I NSTR U M E NTS VE NTI LATOR

by Avi Hersh

NEO INSTRUMENTS VENTILATORBest Rotary Stompbox Yet

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G EAR

The buzz about the Ventilator has beenso overwhelmingly positive that I’d beenobsessing about trying one. As a card-car-rying member of the clonewheel-through-a-real-Leslie club, I had to see if the Ventilatorwas good enough for me to stop schlep-ping my beloved but big ’n’ heavy spinningbox to every gig.

At press time, Neo Instruments didn’tyet have U.S. distribution, so I bought mine,as everyone else has, directly from Ger-many, ordering over email from proprietorGuido Kirsch [of Access Virus fame] him-self. It arrived via DHL within eight busi-ness days, as promised. In order for onemodel to work internationally, Neoincludes the correct external AC adapterfor where you live. I took it to the garage toset it up with my Hammond-Suzuki

XK-3 for an immediate test drive. It sounded real. It had none of the

unwanted phasing or FM artifacts of previ-ous electronic simulators and was quiteconvincing in the garage. I took it to arehearsal that evening and ran just the XK-3and Ventilator directly in to the P.A. — inmono, no less. Again, it was great, and satjust right in the mix. I tweaked the drive,distance, balance, speed, and accelerationto taste, and I was in hog heaven.

The real test would be my weekendgigs. The first was a classic rock coverband in a smallish lounge. Only vocalswent through the P.A., so it’d be just my rigfilling the house. When the band calledSantana’s “Oye Como Va,” the Ventilatorjust killed — all that great Gregg Rolie grindon the solo and comping was there fordays. Speed-up and slowdown was sofaithful that my bandmates couldn’t believethere was no Leslie onstage. I was flooredas well. No only did the Ventilator emulatethe spinning horn and drum, its cabinetemulation perfectly matched the treblerolloff of my Leslie 122. It made the XK-3more “woody” and “nutty” like a real Lesliewould, and was simply a joy to playthrough. (You can defeat cabinet emulation

to use the Ventilator on something otherthan organ.)

The next night was bigger: Pala Casinowith my Tom Petty tribute band. There’stons of organ on this gig, and I wanted tohear the Ventilator in this 800-seat venue,run through direct boxes into a nice front-of-house P.A. Again, it delivered. Mostnotable on this gig was how well the Venti-lator helped the XK-3 blend in on the “glue”parts, yet cut through for the stabs andsolos — just like it should!

I did hit the bypass footswitch ratherthan the speed switch a few times,because they’re close together and lookalike. Many Leslie preamps have dualswitches, but since the Ventilator has asmaller footprint than, say, a Trek II orSpeakeasy, the buttons are closer together.In fairness, a lot of guitar pedals’ switchesare closer together still, but then, it’s easierfor guitarists to look down at them, becausethere’s no big keyboard in the line of sight.

Bottom line: We’re blown away by howauthentic the Ventilator sounds, andthough it’s not exactly cheap, it merits aKey Buy on best-in-class grounds: It’sclearly the new king of standalone elec-tronic rotary simulators.

PROSSpot-on modeling of a miked Leslie122. Small enough to carry in my man-purse. Convincing overdrive circuit. Plug-and-play. Well built. CONSBypass switch can be mistaken forspeed switch during performance. INFO$450 plus shipping from Germany,neo-instruments.de

HANDS-ON

Speed knob varies both the slow and fast speedsslightly.Acceleration varies the transition time betweenslow and fast speeds. Mix the high and low rotor volumes here; crossoverpoint is 800Hz like the real thing.Emulation of tube overdrive is warm andcrunchy. Less virtual mic distance gets you more tremolo(amplitude modulation).In “Keys” mode, the Ventilator models the fre-quency response of a Leslie 122 cabinet. In“Git” (guitar) mode, you get rotary without thecabinet modeling.You get stereo outs, but mono input only. That’d betrue if you were using a preamp and miking up areal Leslie, though, so it’s not a “con.” Lo/Hi switch adds a pad so you can still get niceoverdrive with keyboards that don’t have a veryhot output — the original Nord Electro is oneexample.

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VENTILATOR VS. BUILT-INIf you have a clonewheel organ, it almost certainly has rotary simulation onboard. Isthe Ventilator enough of an improvement to justify its $450 price? On the author’soriginal-model Hammond XK-3, it was a night-and-day difference. In the KeyboardStudio, I A/B’ed it with the built-in rotary effects on a newer Hammond XK-3C, arecent-model Korg CX-3, my gig-worn Nord Electro 2, a new Nord C2, a RolandVK-8, and the KB3 organ emulation mode in Kurzweil’s PC3 workstation. Longstory short: The Nord C2 was the only organ where the improvement was anythingless than dramatic — but it was still noticeable. On all organs, the sense of depth,and of sound moving around you in a circle, as opposed to just at you then awayfrom you again, was markedly better with the Ventilator — especially with highdrawbars engaged, which is where most electronic simulations begin to soundthin. If you’re using an older clonewheel, and especially if you’re playing organ on ageneral-purpose keyboard, the Ventilator will up your game more than you thoughtpossible. That makes the price a bargain compared to buying a new dedicatedclonewheel instrument. Stephen Fortner

0 5 . 2 0 1 0 K E Y B O A R D 59

km0510_rev_vent.dsg 3/22/10 1:20 PM Page 59

Puremagnetik has staked out somereally cool territory in downloadable sound-ware. Initially they focused exclusively onAbleton Live, but newer releases over thepast year or so add versions compatible withNative Instruments Kontakt and Apple Logic.What’s most interesting about their model isthat, in addition to a la carte “Micropaks” for$12, you can subscribe to the website for$5.75 monthly or $60 yearly, and get unlim-ited downloads of all current releases. Thisis a remarkable value in light of the breadthof material. An all-access pass to their exten-sive back catalog is $198. We downloadeda bunch of their latest, along with a fewolder Micropaks for good measure. Here area few of our favorites.

Analog DrumsThis title contains five drum kits with a fewvariations. The samples were taken frommodular synths sporting modules byDoepfer, LiveWire, and MFB, and soundmuch more complex and textural than yourusual TR-808-style fare. Overall, the vibehere is quite experimental, with hardersounds suited to electro and breaks tracks.That’s not to say these sounds can’t alsobe used in other genres, since each kit’smacros deliver a lot of added customiza-tion. Overall, this Micropak is a grab bag ofstabs, hits, and percussion that reallyshows what a slammin’ analog modular rigcan do in the right hands.

B-System: Percussives and B-System:Basses & LeadsA loaded Buchla 200e synth is so luxuriousthat unless you’ve also got enough cash fora Tesla roadster, you’ll have to settle for a

library. Fortunately, Puremagnetik makestwo great ones.

Percussives includes over 650 24-bitsounds that, like Analog Drums, ablydemonstrate the sonic range of a killerBuchla rig. You’re not going to findanything run-of-the-mill here. Instead, you’llfeast on modular insanity with all the trim-mings. With so many samples arrangedinto ten kits, there’s something for everyhardcore electronica producer if you’re will-ing to sift through the data. A bunch of Liveclips with macros and effects help speedthis process, as you can always edit theseclips into something that suits your needs.

Basses & Leads includes 24 nicelydesigned patches that range from buttery,warm basses to “WTF” leads impossibleto describe in words. Many patchesinclude essential synth macros like cutoff,resonance, drive, and basic effects such asecho and overdrive. After playing with thiscollection with a good buddy of mine, wewere both solidly impressed with its useful-ness for a wide variety of musical applica-tions. It’s definitely a keeper.

PhazeformThe Casio CZ series was a dark horse ofthe ’80s digital synth revolution. Coming onthe heels of Yamaha’s record-breaking suc-cess with the DX7, the CZ-101 and its suc-cessors instead relied on “phasedistortion” synthesis to deliver digitalapproximations of analog-style sounddesign — but wound up creating an endur-ing cult following.

Phazeform’s patches really cover thepossibilities here, with a decidedly retroslant that’ll inspire either devotion orloathing depending on your taste, as

they’re decidedly digital in that ever-so-’80s way. There’s even a bank of soundsfrom the legendary Casio VL-Tone calcula-tor — er, synthesizer. This synth appearedon quite a few new wave cuts, mostnotably Trio’s “Da Da Da.”

WaveframeWhile PPG was first out of the gate withwavetable synthesis, Ensoniq pushed theenvelope in the ’80s, culminating in theirfinal all-original synth, the Fizmo. Waveframegoes beyond sampling various Fizmopatches, adding 30 Instrument Rack-basedFizmo emulations, each set up as a uniquepatch. For some users, this approach can bea trifle taxing on CPU resources. For others,the flexibility will be a godsend. Waveframedelivers the Fizmo sound quite nicely, and aswith the Phazeform Micropak, you’ll eitherlove it or hate it, as it’s extremely unique.That said, $12 is a steal for a loving recre-ation of a bit of synthesis history.

UprightUpright (bass, not piano) was one of ourfavorite Micropaks by far. If you’re intoclassic ’90s hip-hop, jazzy house, or down-tempo, you’ll love it. Nine presets run thegamut from fingered to bowed to heavilyprocessed and synthetic. The traditionalbass patches were right on the money, butthe bowed patches here are stunning andworth much more than the $12. Theprocessed patches, however, weren’t reallymy cup of tea. One of the nicest thingsabout Upright is that the bass wasrecorded direct as well as close-miked. Theuse of Brauner and Neumann mics alsoshow attention to detail. This is a beautifulinstrument, recorded with love.

G EAR

by Francis Preve

PUREMAGNETIKSounds by Subscription

PROSHuge variety of electronic and vintagesynth sounds, including rare and under-represented synths. Subscription modeloffers exceptional value. CONSSome back-catalog libraries work onlywith Ableton Live. INFO$5.75 monthly or $60 yearly, puremagnetik.com

SOU N DS

60 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

BUY THESOFTWAREYOU USE

www.imsta.org

Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Respect yourself, your

craft and the woork of others. The software community made it

possible to record an album on your laptop. If you want to

make sure there is a future version of thhe software you are

using, buy the software you use. It’s the smart thing to do.

INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SOFTWARE TRADE ASSOCIATION

New York • Toronto • Berlin • Tokyo

Tel: 416 789-6849 • Fax: 416 789-1667

Email: [email protected]

BUY THE SOFTWARE YOU USE

The International Music Software Trade Association is a non-profit organization that representsthe interests of music software and soundware publishers. One of our most important functionsis to advocate for the legal use of software in the music production and creation landscape. Wedo this primarily through public education campaigns. We are supported by our members whoare software and soundware developers, distributors, retailers and publications. We are fightingpiracy on moral grounds appealing to the good in all of us. We are trying to change behavior.

To advertise in this section contact: Will Sheng at 650-238-0325 or [email protected]

ASC Quick Sound FieldAcoustic Sciences Corp

Now AvailableQSF takes the room out of the micand puts the talent in the mix. It's afree standing live room, where you'lllove the mics you used to hate.

SRP: $3,245 for set of 8 traps.

www.asc-studio-acoustics.com/qsf.htm1-800-ASC-TUBE (272-8823)

Radial ProD2 Phase Accurate Compact Stereo DI Radial Engineering

Now AvailableFrom the DI pro’s at Radial, a stereo Direct Box that’s perfect for keyboards. The ProD2’s custom audio transformers are engineered for high signallevel, linearity and the phase accuracy so importantfor solid bottom.

USD SRP: $160

www.radialeng.com604-942-1001

Action Drums: Cinematic EditionNine Volt Audio

Now Available Recorded in a concert hall, Action Drums:Cinematic Edition brings epic percussionto the REX, Stylus RMX, ACID Wav andApple Loop formats.

SRP: $99.99

www.NineVoltAudio.com

Amp Modeler ProStudio Devil

Now AvailableStudio Devil AMP combines breakthroughtube amp realism, cabinet impulsemodeling, tone-shaping EQ, and studioeffects into one, straight ahead ampmodeling plug-in. Dial in the professionalguitar tone you expect into your nextrecording project without the fuss. Demoversions available online for guitar and bass.

SRP: $149

[email protected]

64 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

PRODU CT SPOTL IG HT Special Advertising Section

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Acoustic Products & Services www.b3hammond.com. Buy/Sell MINT Hammonds, Leslies. Wordwide sales.

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Education & Tutorial

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Exercise anytime anyplace. New DVD combo now shipping!www.HandHealth.com

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Learn Piano Tuning, Repairing, And Regulating,taught by Craftsman technicians. Completecorrespondence course includes written and videotape training material, Apprentice TrainingManual, much more. Licensed by DepartmentofEducation. www.pianotuning.com. Randy Potter School of Piano Technology, 61592 Orion Dr., Bend, OR 97702. (541) 382-5411.

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Sounds, Sequences & Software

BAND-IN-A-BOX IMPROVEMENT PRODUCTS * Put A Better Band In Your Box * Norton Music

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Studio Furniture

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Talent & Employment

www.MusiciansContact.com. Paying jobs online.

Thousands of satisfied members since 1969.

(818) 888-7879

Buying or selling instruments through our Classified Ads

offers you convenience, a big marketplace, and a

wide range of instruments and prices. However, buying

mail-order does have its drawbacks, too. Keyboard

Magazine suggests the following guidelines to help the

buyer and the seller in these transactions: 1) Get a

written description of the instrument, which should

include the serial number. 2) Get front and back

photos of the instrument. 3) Get a written purchase

agreement, with a 24-hour approval clause allowing

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650 5 . 2 0 1 0 K E Y B O A R D

CLASS IF IEDS

If you’ve ever stayed up too late watching Cartoon Network, you’ve heard music from the enviable man-cave of Drew Neumann. His cred-its range from the original Aeon Flux series that debuted on MTV’s Liquid Television in 1991, to The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandytoday. Visit Drew online at droomusic.com, and see an interview with Drew, plus a detailed gear list, at keyboardmag.com/gear.

SU PER STU D IOSGEEK OUT

’TOON TRACKS

Foreground left: Mac-based Digital Performer rig with Mackie 8-Bus mixer and M-Audio KeyStation Pro 88 controller. Island: Arturia Origin and Ensoniq TS-10 synthsatop rack with (left to right) two Oberheim SEMs, Studio Electronics Omega-8, and MIDIMini synths. Keyboards on rear wall, left to right: Nord Lead 2X, Waldorf Q+atop Alesis Andromeda, Yamaha VL-1 atop Waldorf Wave. Foreground right: Pair of Minimoog Voyagers

Left, top to bottom: Two Kenton Pro-4 MIDI/CV converters, patch bay,Analogue Systems, Blacet, and Doepfer synth modules. Center: GiganticMOTM modular synth with “MOTM and Oakley modules, plus a ARP-and Buchla-style filters,” says Drew. Right, top to bottom: Alesis gatesand QuadraVerb, Line6 EchoPro and ModPro, two Delta Lab EffectronIIs, dbx 266 compressor, Vermona phaser, two MacBeth M3X synths,Jomox SunSyn, Mackie 1604VLZ mixer.

Left: ModCan modular synth with 18 VCOs. Right: Serge modular synth;note touchplate controller at bottom right.

66 K E Y B O A R D 0 5 . 2 0 1 0

Get a new perspective on controlling LogicWe worked with Logic’s developers to ensure that SL Mk II’s 56 knobs, faders and

buttons, control the things you need in Logic. As well as full transport and mixer control,

Logic’s own instruments and FX plug-ins are automatically mapped to SL MkII.

So you get instant hands on control.

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keyboard magazine - may 2010

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