Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 51 to 67 of 67

Thread: Tony Banks and Drawbars

  1. #51
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Southwest
    Posts
    1,860
    Excellent Thread; thanks!

    I am far from an organist but I will try these ideas out on my Nord C1.
    The Hammond has a deservedly high position in the world of jazz and rock music. I have really enjoyed how the C1 has allowed me to move beyond the organ presets in my other synths.

  2. #52

  3. #53
    Quote Originally Posted by trurl View Post
    Back in the early days I had an M3 and always thought it had its own cool character- I didn't realize the lack of foldback probably had a lot to do with that.
    My friend Larry in Sacramento (cross-promotion time, you can see his Youtube channel here) has a Hammond, I forget which model, but he was lamenting its lack of foldback, thus the inability to sound like a B or C. I think maybe he ought to embrace its quirks.

    See also: Lutz Rahn of Novalis. Talk about quirks, he used an H-100! Which not only (I think) lacked foldback, but also had some transistor circuitry (including some quirky “home organ”-like settings like a Hawaiian Guitar tab). I think that accounts for his unusual Hammond tone.

    Quote Originally Posted by Adinfinitum View Post
    For a guy who didn't like Hammond organs, Tony certainly did innovating things with them.
    Jeez, was there any instrument he did like? I know he didn’t like (or at least grew to hate) the Mellotron, his love affair with the Polymoog was brief and tempestuous, and I can’t imagine any sane person having any affection for the ARP Pro-Soloist (this was, after all, the same model of synth that Donald Fagen and his bandmates ritually burned in the studio parking lot). Maybe the ARP 2600 and the Yamaha CS80?

    Quote Originally Posted by Rarebird View Post
    They are nice ideas for my Nord Electro as well.
    And my ORGANized Trio, if I ever pick up my keyboard again! I don’t suppose anyone knows Anders Koppel’s drawbar settings from his Savage Rose years?
    Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...

  4. #54
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2022
    Location
    Minnesota
    Posts
    4
    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    ... and I can’t imagine any sane person having any affection for the ARP Pro-Soloist (this was, after all, the same model of synth that Donald Fagen and his bandmates ritually burned in the studio parking lot).
    Actually that was the Soloist they burned, not the Pro Soloist. It had very unstable oscillators, and kept going out of tune between takes as Fagen was trying to record a chord sequence by overdubbing single notes. IIRC they threw it down the stairs and stomped on it before burning it.

    The Pro Soloist was much more stable and had digital control. I love it except for the flimsy build quality!

  5. #55
    Member Mascodagama's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    7th Circle of Brexit
    Posts
    2,150
    Quote Originally Posted by mfnickster View Post
    Actually that was the Soloist they burned, not the Pro Soloist. It had very unstable oscillators, and kept going out of tune between takes as Fagen was trying to record a chord sequence by overdubbing single notes. IIRC they threw it down the stairs and stomped on it before burning it.
    The story as told by Denny Dias is here:

    https://sdarchive.com/dennys.html
    “your ognna pay pay with my wrath of ballbat”

    Bandcamp Profile

  6. #56
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2022
    Location
    Minnesota
    Posts
    4
    Quote Originally Posted by Mascodagama View Post
    The story as told by Denny Dias is here:
    Yes! That's where I read it. Thanks!

  7. #57
    Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Posts
    103
    My main organ interest lies in changing drawbars in real-time performance (while playing). I like to experiment with the timbre changes a note or chord can go through in a passage. This, along with some volume/expression pedal use can really help the organ compete with the types of dynamic and color shading sounds that winds and especially strings can employ.
    I wish I had three hands.

  8. #58
    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Mesa, Arizona
    Posts
    3,809
    ^^ That's why I never cared for the virtual drawbars of the Nord Electro 1 and 2. The physical drawbars of the 3 and beyond were a vast improvement.
    "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama

  9. #59
    Member chalkpie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Hudson Valley, NY
    Posts
    8,193
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Maske View Post
    I wish I had three hands.
    Use your feet. Or your nose.

  10. #60
    Member dgtlman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    OKC, OK
    Posts
    581
    Quote Originally Posted by Mascodagama View Post
    The story as told by Denny Dias is here:

    https://sdarchive.com/dennys.html
    Good lord that is hilarious. I can honestly feel their pain, as I have done the same with certain items. Came close to doing the same thing to a MicroMoog back in the day. The individual keys each had a thin wire that would make contact with a steel bar inside the back of the synth (I think the concept was based on a Theremin?). Anyway, these parts had to be kept clean constantly otherwise even small dust particles could cause shorts. During a gig several of these shorts occurred & I punched it hard during the middle of whatever song we were playing. Gotta say it worked after that, but damn I was mad & would have liked to have smashed it right then & there.

  11. #61
    Member Mascodagama's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    7th Circle of Brexit
    Posts
    2,150
    Quote Originally Posted by dgtlman View Post
    Good lord that is hilarious. I can honestly feel their pain, as I have done the same with certain items. Came close to doing the same thing to a MicroMoog back in the day. The individual keys each had a thin wire that would make contact with a steel bar inside the back of the synth (I think the concept was based on a Theremin?). Anyway, these parts had to be kept clean constantly otherwise even small dust particles could cause shorts. During a gig several of these shorts occurred & I punched it hard during the middle of whatever song we were playing. Gotta say it worked after that, but damn I was mad & would have liked to have smashed it right then & there.
    I guess all this goes to show one of the reasons why a lot of players / bands were very quick to embrace digital synthesisers!
    “your ognna pay pay with my wrath of ballbat”

    Bandcamp Profile

  12. #62
    I bought some inexpensive bass pedals in 1982. I can't remember the brand, but it certainly wasn't moog. They had about 3 factory preset sounds and that was it. After a few months of constant gigging and being in the cold Uhaul type equipment truck, all the notes went out of tune with eachother. It ended up being unceremoniously chucked into a dumpster outside of a club in an unknown shopping plaza.

  13. #63
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2022
    Location
    Minnesota
    Posts
    4
    Quote Originally Posted by Mascodagama View Post
    I guess all this goes to show one of the reasons why a lot of players / bands were very quick to embrace digital synthesisers!
    Not to mention polyphonic ones!

  14. #64
    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Mesa, Arizona
    Posts
    3,809
    Quote Originally Posted by mfnickster View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Mascodagama View Post
    I guess all this goes to show one of the reasons why a lot of players / bands were very quick to embrace digital synthesisers!
    Not to mention polyphonic ones!
    Only in retrospect do we realize how cheesy they sounded. At the time, we thought they sounded awesome.
    "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama

  15. #65
    Quote Originally Posted by Mascodagama View Post
    I guess all this goes to show one of the reasons why a lot of players / bands were very quick to embrace digital synthesisers!
    You better believe it.

    Had a Moog Little Phatty myself, but I sold it a couple years ago because in a live setting it's just a huge weight off my mind to use digital synths. I use an Alesis Ion for all my synth-y needs, and even though it's an analog-modeling digital synth it sounds pretty great IMO.
    "what's better, peanut butter or g-sharp minor?"
    - Sturgeon's Lawyer, 2021

  16. #66
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2022
    Location
    Minnesota
    Posts
    4
    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    Jeez, was there any instrument he did like?
    ...Maybe the ARP 2600 and the Yamaha CS80?
    I seem to recall him saying in an interview that the Prophet 5 was the first synthesizer he used that he felt was truly "musical."

    One of the other band members said that in the beginning, Tony was very much a pianist and referred to the organ as a "box of tricks."

  17. #67
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Southwest
    Posts
    1,860
    Quote Originally Posted by mfnickster View Post
    I seem to recall him saying in an interview that the Prophet 5 was the first synthesizer he used that he felt was truly "musical."

    One of the other band members said that in the beginning, Tony was very much a pianist and referred to the organ as a "box of tricks."
    I think he really liked the Korg OASYS. He swapped out a bunch of older keys by going the OASYS route. He is still using it, isn’t he? I thought the reason was that he just didn’t want to re-program something still newer, so he just went out with the OASYS.

    I am rather fond of my KRONOS, so I know the feeling.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •