duran duran's
TRANSCRIPT
9.2015 | $5.99 A MUSIC PLAYER PUBLICATION
MAJOR WAYS TO
USE MINOR CHORDS
DURAN DURAN’s
NICK RHODES
On the Staying Power of Synths in Rock
Tony Monaco’s Chord Secrets
Compose Without Fear
�
On the Staying Power of Synths in Rock
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Keyboard 09.20154
SEPTEMBER 2015CONTENTS
10 Our monthly wrap-up of the most interesting products from the keyboard, recording, and professional audio worlds.
34 MINI SYNTHSYamaha Reface Series
40 ORGAN/STAGE KEYBOARD
Clavia Nord Electro 5
44 MODULAR SYNTHRoland System-1M
48 APPKorg M1
50 In-demand sidemen and soloists David Bryan and Michael Ghegan also play as a duo. They offer five things they’ve learned from performing together.
KEYBOARD (ISSN 0730-0158) is published monthly by NewBay Media, LLC 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 440, San Bruno, CA 94066. All material published in KEYBOARD is copyrighted © 2015 by NewBay Media. All rights reserved. Re-production of material appearing in KEYBOARD is forbidden without permission. KEYBOARD is a registered trade-mark of NewBay Media. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Bruno, CA and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to KEYBOARD P.O. Box 9158, Lowell, MA 01853. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.
8 Voices, tips, and breaking news from the Keyboard community.
30 BEYOND THE MANUAL Eight ways to get more from Cakewalk Sonar Platinum.
32 SOUND DESIGN Re-creating the Roland D-50.
Online Now!Pre-review hands-on with the Yamaha Reface series.
12 COVER STORYDuran Duran’s inventive keyboardist Nick Rhodes talks about the band’s no-guts-no- glory approach to record-making, the importance of collaboration, and the tools he used to make Paper Gods.
18 TALENT SCOUT Twelve-year-old piano prodigy Joey Alexander
has released his first album, My Favorite Things.
20 TALENT SCOUTPianist/composer Julia Hülsmann pays tribute to Kurt Weill on her latest release.
24 JAZZGeoffrey Keezer illustrates ways to modernize your jazz playing with contemporary pop voicings for minor chords.
26 ORGANThis lesson from Tony Monaco will teach you to use chord substitutions like a boss.
28 BEGINNERFollow George Colligan’s seven steps to compose your own music.
keyboardmag.com/september2015
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Vol. 41, No. 9 #474 SEPTEMBER 2015
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VOICES FROM THE KEYBOARD COMMUNITYTALK
8 Keyboard 09.2015 8
We’re coming up on a milestone. Can you guess what it is? Here’s a hint: This is the last issue in which you’ll see the retrospective column “30 Years Ago Today” on our opening page. That’s because next month it’s going to have to turn into “40 Years Ago Today.” That’s right: Keyboard has been with us for four decades. When we started out, issues were bi-monthly (until July 1976, when we went to 12 issues per year), so our first—which featured Chick Corea on the cover—was labeled September/October 1975. In the July 2015 editor’s letter, I asked what you’d like to see in a 40th-anniversary special, and we’ve been going through your extensive responses as well as our archives as we plan that special for next month. Ideally though, I hope to bring you a bit of “then and now” in the next 12
issues, as, after all, it’ll be our Ruby Jubilee dur-ing that entire time.
As for why I’m excited about this issue, well, one word, said twice: Duran. In this month’s cover story, keyboardist and longtime friend of the magazine Nick Rhodes takes us on a trip to gear heaven. We’re also thrilled to have what we think is the first in-depth print review of Yamaha’s Reface series of mini-keyboards. I actu-ally got to play them and shoot video about three months ago, on condition of keeping mum until their release; watch at keyboardmag.com/reface. More synthy goodness coming next month (40th or not, we want to talk about some new stuff) will include full reviews of the Sequential Prophet-6 and Roland JD-XA. It’s a great time to be a key-boardist, so play on! Stephen Fortner
Editor
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Keyboard was enjoying a very ’80s issue in September 1985, when our cover featured the legendary Jan Hammer, and his soundtrack work for possibly the most ’80s of TV shows, Miami Vice. In a more timeless vein, we also visit-ed with Johnny Costa, musical director for PBS’s Mister Rogers’ Neighbor-hood. We brought back product news from summer NAMM, as well, including the Kurzweil MIDIBoard, a Kawai MIDI-equipped electric upright, and Yamaha’s KX88 MIDI keyboard controller. Bob Moog offered a brief history of tape and optical sampling. Jim Aikin reviewed the Casio CZ-5000 synthesizer. And Korg advertised its compact, affordable Poly-800 synth. Barbara Schultz
30 YEARS AGO TODAY
Editor’s Note
+
Back when the Oberlin Conservatory was a veritable museum of synthesis (see photo), my class-mates and I composed many assignments for quadraphonic speakers. I spent a whole happy month spinning sounds around the studio by running a DX7 through a multi-track tape delay, with each track routed to the next speaker in sequence. Playing a chord while moving the pitch wheel slowly up and down produced an amazing vortex of sound. In a recent jam with six other musicians, we took the opposite approach, arranging our gear in a circle with speakers pointed inward, where I captured the sound with a Zoom H2n surround recorder. The sound blending in the air creates a special space. David Battino
Key Secrets Of Speakers and Spatialization
PE
TE
R B
RE
SN
ICK
Keyboard 09.2015 10
BY GINO ROBAIR AND STEPHEN FORTNER
NEW GEAR
BOSS DD-500WHAT A dozen delay styles with emulations of the DD-2, SDE-2000, and SDE-3000. Features include four-band EQ, tap tempo, USB and MIDI I/O, an expression pedal input, back-and-forth switching between two patches, and a stereo phrase looper. Runs on batteries or AC. WHY It’s an easy-to-use delay with deep pro-gramming capabilities. $299 street | bossus.com
CASIO CGP-700WHAT Digital “Compact Grand Piano” with four-strike piano sample set; high-res color touch-screen; 550 sounds, including new guitars, strings, organs, and more; 17-track MIDI sequencer; audio recording to USB memory; and 40W sound system with six speakers. WHY Incredible bang-for-buck and features in a slab piano for home or stage. $799 street | casiomusicgear.com
MOTU DIGITAL PERFORMER 9WHAT Major updates in this version include the MX4 64-bit Multi-Synth, and five new audio plug-ins including Craig Anderton’s QuadraFuzz and MegaSynth subtractive synth processor. Workflow enhancements include both automation lanes and a spectrogram display in the Sequence Editor window, support for Apple Retina displays and MusicXML export (for sheet music scores), improved MIDI learn for plug-ins, and much more. WHY There’s a reason that DP remains a favorite of film/TV composers, singer-songwriters, and live musicians who work with lots of tracks. Look for our full review soon.$499 street | upgrade from previous version: $195 street | motu.com
STEINBERG NUENDO 7WHAT Pro-level DAW offering integration with Audiokinetic Wwise game-design middleware plus VCA faders, ReConform edit-to-picture alignment, video-text overlay for ADR, and render export and render-in-place features. WHY This is a major update for those who work in audio production, film post-production, and game-sound design.$1,800 street | steinberg.net
1109.2015 Keyboard
All prices are manufacturer’s suggested retail (list) unless otherwise noted. Follow keyboardmag.com/gear and @keyboardmag on Twitter for up-to-the-minute gear news.
VIENNA SYMPHONIC LIBRARY DIMENSION BRASS IIWHAT A complement to Vienna Dimension Brass I, it includes four brass ensembles with four players in each: Trumpets, Trombones, French Horns, Wagner Tuba ensemble, and alternate straight-muted sample sets. WHY Thanks to exhaustive sampling and fluid articulation management, many composers still consider VSL the Rolls-Royce of orchestral libraries. $595 | vsl.co.at
PRESONUS STUDIO 192WHAT USB3.0 audio interface that records at up to 192kHz. Features eight XMAX mic preamps, two banks of lightpipe I/O, speaker switching and talkback, and remote control via the UC Surface Mac/PC/iPad software. I/O can be expanded by adding DigiMax DP88 eight-channel mic preamp. WHY Punches way above its price class for an all-around desktop recording interface. $699 street | presonus.com
WILLIAMS RHAPSODY 2 AND OVERTURE 2 WHAT Console digital pianos with new sound libraries, weighted-hammer action, and 64-voice polyphony. Rhapsody 2 has 32MB of sounds, stereo speakers, line outs, and audio input. Overture 2 has a 64MB General MIDI sound set, USB MIDI, and a two-track recorder. WHY Guitar Center’s house brand offers upgraded feel and sounds in two affordable pianos for the home.$499 and $699 street | williamspianos.com
WILLIAMS RHAPSODY 2AND OVERTURE 2 WHAT Console digital pianos with new soundlibraries, weighted-hammer action, and 64-voicepolyphony. Rhapsody 2 has 32MB of sounds, stereo
AKAI MPD232WHAT MIDI pad controller with backlit MPC-style pads; eight each of assignable knobs, faders, and buttons; classic MPC swing and note repeat functions; and onboard 64-part, 32-step sequencer for driving pad events. Includes Ableton Live Lite and soundware from Sonivox. WHY If your sounds come from software and you work sequencer-style, this is a lot of control for not a lot of money. $399 | akaipro.com
Keyboard 09.2015 12
HEAR COVER STORY
In 2011 you told us, “I realized many years ago that the longer an act is around, the rar-er it is that they make a seminal album late in their career.” But even after 14 albums,
you’re still as motivated as ever. Yeah. I think that’s at the very heart of what
we do, on every record we make, even on the one before the last one, Red Carpet Massacre—where
we were really trying to do something entirely different by working with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. But the DNA of that one will lead you right through to Paper Gods.
In a way, the new album is a combination of the things we learned on Red Carpet Massacre, plus the things we learned working with [pro-ducer] Mark Ronson on All You Need Is Now, as well as the reinvention we were looking for on this album. But it took quite awhile. We actually spent the best part of a year sort of “down in the mines,” chipping away at things looking for gems. And we found a couple of things in the way of melodies and song titles, but it wasn’t until we
“LAST NIGHT WAS THE FIRST TIME WE ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY PLAYED ANY OF the songs from the new album live,” Nick Rhodes says via phone from the U.K. “It’s always fun to have new songs in the set. It freshens everyone up and keeps us all on our toes!”
As Duran Duran’s chief technologist, Rhodes has kept the musical world on its toes for the better part of four decades, crafting legendary sounds and songs on more than a dozen acclaimed albums. On the band’s latest offering, Paper Gods, Rhodes melds analog synths with infectious dance grooves and surprising sound-scapes.
NICK RHODESTHE GUTS AND GEAR BEHIND DURAN DURAN’S PAPER GODS
BY JON REGEN | PHOTOGRAPH BY WENDY LAISTER
COVER STORY
THE GUTS AND GDDUURRAANN’SS PA
BY
1309.2015 Keyboard
started working with [producer Ben] Mr. Hudson about a year ago that we were able to focus on what the vision for this project really was.
He brought a really fresh attitude toward what we already had, helping us to isolate the good pieces and forget about the others. And we worked on new material with him as well. He initially came in for a day or two, but we ended up kidnapping him for about six months! And that was quite uplifting.
When you work with people you trust, and you allow them to become part of your process, you get things that are different—people like Mark Ronson, Nile Rodgers, our engineer and
co-producer on many of the album’s tracks Josh Blair, as well as all of the musicians we worked with. It takes you to another place.
How did your work on the last two Duran Duran albums lead you to the discoveries made on the new one?
I think on Red Carpet Massacre, we learned how people like Justin and Nate “Danja” Hills program things. I’ll never forget arriving in the studio in New York with a truckload of gear to work with Timbaland on the album. We had everything from drums and guitars to old ana-log keyboards in the elevator, and he was just
looking at it like, “Why do they need all of this stuff?” Because they were doing everything in the box with a laptop and an Akai MPC3000. That made us realize there was a gaping hole between where we came from musically, and where they did. There was a lot of crossover with regards to strong melodies and rhythmic touchstones like Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel. But while we were working on the album, I realized how they constructed songs in the studio, which was defi-nitely different from how we constructed them. And so we took that with us from that point on.
With All You Need Is Now, Mark Ronson wanted to make the follow-up to Rio. He’s a per-
1309.2015 Keyboard
up to Rio. HeHe’’s a per-
14 Keyboard 09.2015 14
fectionist, and we went to a lot of extremes—like recording the bass and drums onto 24-track ana-log tape, and using the exact synths I used on the original album. Mark creates a really good tem-plate and gives things a direction. For instance, one day he asked me “Can we do something like your song ‘The Chauffeur’?” And I said, “Well let me have a think about it.” I went off to the studio on my own with Josh Blair and thought to myself, “Where did I start with that?” And I remembered I started that song with a rhythm I programmed on a Roland TR-808. So I started
layering things with the same thought process I did on “The Chauffeur.” And that became the song, “The Man Who Stole a Leopard.” So with Mark we learned to recognize the things we are really good at together, and to not be afraid to use things we’ve used before and re-create our own language. When you’ve been trying different things for three-and-a-half decades, you actually can afford to take some influences back from your own material. So if you put together the dance and bass-and-drum influences from Red Carpet Massacre, the self-referential side of All You Need
is Now, and the continuing use of analog synths and computers on Paper Gods, there’s a genetic code that runs all the way through.
What kinds of keyboards did you use this time around?
Things like the Elka Synthex. I also had two of my Roland Jupiter-8 synths there, a Jupiter-4, a Crumar Performer string synth that I’ve used on virtually every Duran Duran album, and a Proph-et-5 that I used more heavily this time. I also got out an ARP Quadra that I ended up not using on
RETRO-FUTURISM
Nick Rhodes’ Keyboard Rig
When we last caught up with him in 2011, Nick Rhodes’ live rig includ-ed a Roland V-Synth GT, the Alesis Andromeda, a Kurzweil K2000, an Akai S6000, a MicroKorg, a MOTU MIDI Timepiece, and various ef-fects pedals. But he was planning moving to Apple MainStage. Here’s an update.
“We’ve actually half-migrated to MainStage, using it on the early rehearsals for the new album,” Rhodes says. “But there are a few rea-sons why I’m not all the way there yet. One is that my keyboard tech is still sampling all of my original keyboards to get the dynamic range and the depth of those sounds absolutely right. Originally, he had sampled the samples we were using live, but they weren’t up to par. I always think that every time you chip away at something and reduce the quality a little bit, you’re not giving people what they deserve. So I got all my original keyboards out, like the Jupiter-8 I used on Rio and the Crumar Performer string synth, and we sampled them. We actually sampled the Crumar in three different ways, because I some-times use it in more ‘stabby’ ways, and sometimes with a bit more sustain. I’m also having an issue with changing sounds super-quickly on MainStage. On some songs I need to change things instantly—like going from a verse to a chorus on ‘Rio.’ The way I play live, I like using the Roland V-Synth on some songs because I can use the Korg Kaoss pad on it, along with the modulation and pitch-bend.
“I’m always looking for more control of the sounds as a live per-former, so I’m ultimately planning to use three of the new Roland JD-XA hybrid synths as controllers because they’re very well integrated with MainStage, along with a Roland V-Synth so I have room to ma-neuver things live.”
Above: Nick Rhodes with MicroKorg, V-Synth GT, and Andromeda. Below, left to right: a few of Nick’s favorite things: well-loved Roland Jupiter-8, ARP Quadra above Roland CR-5000 atop Poly-moog, Crumar Performer, and Teenage Engineer-ing OP-1.
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16 Keyboard 09.2015 16
the album, but I did play with it and intend to find a home for it on some of the tracks. I also used the Alesis Andromeda more than I have on any previous album.
Have you gotten anything that’s currently in production that has intrigued you?
I got a [Teenage Engineering] OP-1 portable synthesizer toward the end of our process, and it’s the first small digital synth that I’ve fallen in love with. There’s something about it that’s so intuitive and, at the same time, allows you to experiment in different ways. I was never into workstations like the Korg M1 and others. But the OP-1 is like a workstation in that it’s a small, portable digital instrument that you can record things into. It’s got cool drum sounds and you can put samples in it. I had fun with it and used a little of it on the record. Towards the end of the recording process, Roland brought me their new JD-XA. It’s got a great vocoder, and I’m actually making some sounds for them for it. I didn’t use it on Paper Gods because we had actually finished recording by that point, but I feel like I’ll be using it for quite a long time. I’ve had a long relation-ship with Roland, and I’ve used the V-Synths ex-tensively, but the JD-XA is a real beauty.
You also worked with Mr. Hudson, who is known for his work with Kanye West and Jay-Z.
We love groove and always have. When some-one comes up with a completely new language for grooves, it’s exciting. Let’s face it—early house music and hip-hop changed things a lot. When we did our album Thank You, which came out 20 years ago, we covered the classic hip hop song “911 Is a Joke,” along with “White Lines” which is still in our live show. We were curious as to how we could make those tracks different, because they were such strong pieces of music already.
What was it like having Nile Rodgers back on board on the new album, especially for the first single, “Pressure Off”? Was this the first time you worked with him since Notorious?
We first worked with Nile back around 1983 when he did a remix of “The Reflex” for us. Then we did “The Wild Boys” with him in 1984, the album Notorious in 1986, and some work on the Astronaut album around 2003. Nile is always a joy to work with, and no one has a résumé like Nile. One of the huge benefits and beauties of having Nile is having him play guitar with you. No one plays rhythm guitar as well. I actually went in and jammed with him and the band and I never play in the studio. I always play in the control room because I like to hear things “wide-screen.” But
this time I said, “I’m going to go in there and play because we’re going to get something different.” And we did. We got “Pressure Off.”
These songs don’t just have intros, melodies, and choruses; they have interconnected sec-tions that are constantly developing.
Simon and I, particularly, have this obsessive thrill with chords that do surprising things. Most of us have heard a lot of the same chord move-ments many times. But when you hear a song where somebody has used a chord combination in a different way—one that is both surprising and beautiful, that is really where you find gold.
The album opens with the title track “Pa-per Gods,” with its droning vocal intro. But about a minute in, we get signature Duran Duran elements of slap bass, electronic drums, mutating synth pads, and keyboard stabs. Layers build, almost in a classical way.
That track is one of the most ambitious and unusual pieces that we’ve ever done. It reminds me in some ways of our song “New Religion” off the Rio album. And in other ways, I think there’s a little bit of Talking Heads in it who, along with Blondie were my favorite American band of the late 1970s and ’80s. “Paper Gods” was the second song we did with Mr. Hudson, and I think we dared each other to really explore, saying, “Where can we take this?”
That tune started with a jam we had in the studio one night with Ben, John, Roger and me. Simon wasn’t there. John was playing a really funky bass line, and I had come up with a sort of pizzicato part that was very simple but quite repetitive and infectious. So we started with that and then we thought we needed another section. That’s where we found the chords for the chorus. And it seemed like a nice musical movement from one piece to the other. When Simon came in the next day, he heard what we had done and said, “I don’t really like that.” We said, “Okay, well we all feel that there’s some-thing quite special about it.”
So Simon left the room for ten minutes and then came back. We played it back for him, and he replied, “I want to sing this.” And then he sang the melody of the chorus over it. Immedi-ately, we all knew we had found a direction for the song. And then Ben said, “Oh, I think I have something that goes quite nicely with that.” And then he sang the countermelody that opens up the song. And from there we sort of built the other bits. The revelation was really the middle section, where I had started off with some al-most prog-rock, arpeggiated sequences that were different from something I would usually
use. They would’ve been more at home on a Pink Floyd record than a Duran Duran one!
What keyboard did they come from?The Alesis Andromeda. But the rhythms were
very different from the rest of the tune, so I was changing the filters and using the ribbon to mod-ulate things. We recorded them in with MIDI, and I then did a live performance of everything so I could change and modulate the sounds.
It almost reminded me of the way a Ham-mond organist will pull different drawbars during a song.
That’s what we did with everything. I love things that change. One of the things I rebel against in modern music is how everybody is so used to “cut and paste.” Every chorus in a song sounds exactly the same as the previous chorus. Well, I was always used to doing everything by hand, so every chorus would be slightly different. Or I’d add another part, or the natural modula-tion between the synths beating would give each chorus a different sound. Josh, our engineer, always loves to record two versions of exactly the same part on my analog synths, because then he puts them in sort of true stereo and you get that beautiful width from them.
Many companies are now re-imagining clas-sic analog synths: the Korg MS-20, the ARP Odyssey, the new Prophet-6. A good thing, or has the retro craze gone too far?
When you hear the beauty of big, analog sound, it sort of wipes out everything else. And while the Andromeda had digitally controlled oscillators, it has enough analog beauty that you can really do things you can’t do with other synths. The warmth of the oscillators on the Jupiter-8, or the edginess of the filters on the Prophet-5 all have their own character. But the Andromeda is really an “all-arounder.” You can get beautiful high pads on it, but you can also get killer bass sounds. The sequencer and arpeggiator are very special, too. The main sequence you hear on “Last Night in the City” is the Andromeda with some Elka Synthex and some Jupiter-8 re-verse stabs on the verse.
Somebody said to me the other day, “Why is it that so many things you hear from the 1980s sound dated, but somehow Duran Duran tracks don’t?” And I said, “I think that’s very kind of you to say, but one thing is that we never used sounds that everybody else used.”
On this record, for example, we had a bass sound on the Jupiter-8 that sounded really cool, but our engineer Josh said, “Can we please put it through the filters on the Minimoog?” So we
literally made a hybrid of the two and put the bass synth from the Jupiter-8 through those great filters on the Minimoog Voyager. It’s when you start experimenting that things happen. I love effects pedals; we have boxes and boxes of the strangest things. And when I see something I don’t have, I usually buy it instantly because if you get something new, you can always get some-thing out of it. I also recently bought an Optigan and layered it with the Jupiter-8 pulses on the song “Face for Today.”
The rhythmic, sequenced lines on “You Kill Me With Silence” seem to reference your song “The Chauffeur.”
That was deliberate. The original sequence on “The Chauffeur” was done on a Roland SH-2. The beginning of “You Kill Me With Silence” was man-ually played on the Elka Synthex and I suppose sounds more like an L.A. hip-hop track you’d ex-pect Snoop Dogg to sing on. There’s also an Alesis Andromeda in the second verse and the Jupiter-8 in the bridge. Then, the solo at the end that sounds like a guitar is actually the Elka Synthex. It’s sort of all of my guitar envy coming out in a solo!
Speaking of guitar, how did your collabora-tion with [former Red Hot Chili Peppers gui-
tarist] John Frusciante come about?It came from another planet! Our bass player
John Taylor got an email from John saying, “I hear you’re making a new album. I’d love to make some guitar contributions if you’re interested.” And of course, we were thrilled. That ended up being a treasure trove of great material because we would just send him tracks, and he’d fiddle around with them in his own studio and then send them back to us. The first time we listened to his guitar solo on “What Are the Chances,” our jaws dropped. It was spectacular. I think that actually opened up Pandora’s box in terms of collaborations on the album. Some of them even have three or four guests.
And some of them have seven or eight co-writers!
In a way music has become almost like “pass the parcel” sometimes. Somebody does something and then gives it to someone else who sticks a “top line” on it. Then that person gives it to someone who sticks a middle section on it. And so on. And while that isn’t the way we would traditionally have written songs, I have to say that there’s something refreshing and exciting about it. It’s one of the things that made this album different from anything we’ve done before.
Few artists today have the time and budget to get into that kind of sonic exploration.
I think that’s one thing that we have earned for ourselves at this point: the luxury of time and the budget to do what we want. When we started, we were in a big hurry as all teenagers are. We wanted to get on Top of the Pops and we wanted to play Madison Square Garden. All of those things were enormously important and exciting to us, and real landmarks in our careers.
But what hasn’t changed at all for anyone in the band is the will to make the most per-fect product we can. From the songwriting to the lyrics to the arrangements and sounds—it’s all of the same importance to us today, if not more, than it was back then. We’ve never grown complacent. We like to go to the studio and sort of punish each other all day until we get something and say, “That’s good. That’s worth it.”
keyboardmag.com/september2015
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18 Keyboard 09.2015 18
HEAR TALENT SCOUT
BIRTH DATE: June 25, 2003
HOMETOWN: I was born in Bali, Indone-sia, but I live in Alpine, New Jersey, now. We moved so I could be closer to the New York City jazz scene and have more opportunities to play.
MUSICAL TRAINING: My dad taught me ba-sic chords on a small keyboard when I was six. I love playing with harmonies. I had a classical teacher but that didn’t last long because I always wanted to improvise and swing. My early training involved a lot of listening and playing along with jazz records that my dad played every day, and playing in jam sessions that my dad arranged. I enjoy jam sessions because that is when I learn the most and develop my style. That’s my school right there, playing with people!
FIRST GIGS: I was invited by UNESCO to play solo piano for Herbie Hancock in December 2011
and to perform with my trio at the Java Jazz Fes-tival in Jakarta in March 2012.
MUSICAL INFLUENCES: My biggest influ-ences are Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane. I learn a lot from the composi-tions they wrote. Other big influences include Bill Evans, Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Brad Mehldau, Cedar Walton, and Kenny Kirkland, just to name a few. I study their styles and techniques and work on developing my own voice. Ravel and Satie are also my influences.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: Nina Simone, and “Can’t We Be Friends” per-formed by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. INSTRUMENTS PLAYED: I enjoy all sounds—Rhodes, drums, bass, guitar, trum-pet, and sax—but the sound of the acoustic piano is my favorite.
MY BIG BREAK: In May 2014, I was invited by Wynton Marsalis to perform for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala. Being signed to record for Motéma Music was also pretty special.
LATEST ALBUM: My Favorite Things, which came out this past May.
FAVORITE KEYBOARD GEAR: Fazioli, Stein-way & Sons, Bosendorfer, and Yamaha acoustic pianos.
WHAT’S NEXT: I hope to have the opportunity to go out on the road and tour with my own band. I would also like to visit Disney World in Florida.
ADVICE: Play ballads. I find playing ballads, es-pecially by Duke and Monk, improves my playing significantly. Always sing when you improvise. This will help you breathe and connect with the story line. Pray or meditate before practicing or performing. Music is spiritual.
AT ONLY 12 YEARS OLD, JOEY ALEXANDER ALREADY SOUNDS LIKE A SEASONEDjazz master. The Indonesia-born piano phenom has been blowing minds and ears since coming to worldwide acclaim in 2013. His debut album My Favorite Things is out now. Find out more at joeyalexandermusic.com.
keyboardmag.com/september2015
Joey Alexander plays “Giant Steps.”
BY JON REGEN
Joey AlexanderPRE-TEEN PRODIGY
20 Keyboard 09.2015 20
HEAR TALENT SCOUT
Julia HülsmannTHE AGILE INTERPRETERBY JON REGEN
HOMETOWN: Bonn, Germany
MUSICAL TRAINING: I started playing the piano at the age of 11. For five years I had classi-cal piano lessons, and at age 16, I started focusing on jazz piano. I studied at the Universität der Künste in Berlin with Walter Norris and Aki Ta-kase, and many other wonderful jazz musicians like David Friedman, Jerry Granelli, Kirk Nurock, and Denney Goodhew.
FIRST GIGS: My very first gig was with my school band at a school party. Then I joined a fu-sion band in Bonn and played gigs in little clubs around town. We played originals in the style of the Yellowjackets, Pat Metheny, and Weather Report. When I came to Berlin, I started my first trio with colleagues from University. I founded
the Julia Hülsmann Trio in 1997 with Marc Muellbauer on bass and Rainer Winch on drums. A few years later, Heinrich Köbberling took over the drum chair.
MUSICAL INFLUENCES: Bill Evans, Pat Metheny, Don Grolnick, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, John Taylor, the Police and Sting, Mi-chael Brecker, Bobo Stenson, Keith Jarrett, Sidsel Endresen, Django Bates, and many, many more.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: I found a recording from 1997 by Mark Hollis (the singer of Talk Talk). It’s wonderful! Strange chords, wonderful melodies, a very touching voice. I also love to listen to John Hollenbeck’s Songs I Like a Lot. It has great arrangements of well-known and not-so-well-known songs.
The singers Kate McGarry and Theo Bleck-mann blend so well together.
INSTRUMENTS PLAYED: Piano, keyboards, from older instruments like the Yamaha DX7, Roland D-50, Korg Poly-800, and Kurzweil sam-plers, to current ones like the Nord Lead and Electro, a very nice, old Rhodes, and flute.
MY BIG BREAK: Going to New York for a month in 2000 to have lessons with Richie Bei-rach, Maria Schneider, Gil Goldstein, and Jane Ira Bloom. There I met Rebekka Bakken. The change to ECM Records in 2008 and working with [pro-ducer] Manfred Eicher was a major turning point for me as well.
FAVORITE KEYBOARD/PIANO GEAR: I like Yamaha grand pianos and, of course, Steinway, but I still am a big Fender Rhodes fan. I like the way you can phrase on the Rhodes. When the Rhodes is too heavy, I take my Nord Electro and Nord Lead; you can do so many different things with them.
WHAT’S NEXT: A tour with the trio in China, then one week in Peru, later concerts with the Weill project in London and Munich. I’m also thinking about the next CD project: writing new songs for trio, quartet, and a duo with a singer from Norway. I’m also work-ing on sheet music to be published with Schott.
ADVICE: As a musician it’s very important to be flexible but not to lose what you really want to do and burn for. Sometimes it’s difficult to move forward and you have to take detours. But I think the main thing is not to stop but to move on. And you have to keep on looking for new inspiration. Be creative—I think that’s something you can practice—and open.
JULIA HÜLSMANN HAS MADE A NAME FOR HERSELF AS BOTH A POWERFUL pianist and composer in her own right. She is also an inspiring interpreter of works by everyone from Seal to Kurt Weill, who is the focus of her latest album A Clear Midnight: Kurt Weill and America. Find out more at juliahuelsmann.de.
keyboardmag.com/september2015
Julia Hülsmann talks about A Clear Midnight: Kurt Weill and America
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24 Keyboard 09.2015 24
2. Four-Note VoicingsEx. 2. illustrates some contemporary four-note minor voicings. Note that the more notes you add close together, the more “clus-tery” the voicings get. Often the second (or ninth), minor third, or fourth (or 11th) are positioned right next to each other, some-times leaving out the fifth entirely, as opposed to the the typical “3-5-7-9” type voicings found in traditional jazz.
1. “Bill Evans” Three-Note VoicingsThe legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans was already playing sounds like those in Ex. 1 back in the 1950s. These kind of three-note minor voicings are flexible, open-ended and often omit the seventh.
IN ThE lasT 30 yEars or so, jazz composErs haVE sTarTEd To INcorporaTE harmonic ideas into their music that reflect contemporary pop trends. Often these ideas involve clusters or more open-sounding chord voicings that don’t scream “jazz,” and that lend a more transparent and genre-flexible musical effect. This les-son deals with some contemporary-sounding voicings for minor chords.
BY GEOFFREY KEEZER
making minormodern
“Jazz musicians have often incorporated pop elements into their music. Think Wayne Shorter or Steps Ahead in the 1980s, or Maria Schneider and Robert Glasper in recent years,” says Geoffrey Keezer. He joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers at age 18, and has since gone on to perform and record with Sting, Chris Botti, and Diana Krall. Keezer’s latest release is the solo recording Heart of the Piano. He resides in San Diego and teaches online at KeezersPianoLessons.com.
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Ex. 2
2509.2015 Keyboard
keyboardmag.com/september2015
Original audio examples.
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Ex. 4
Ex. 5
3. Five-Note VoicingsEx. 3 demonstrates ideas for five-note minor voicings. A five-note cluster is pretty much the limit of what can be played with one hand on the keyboard, barring some special “key-smooshing” trick like I used on the song “Lullaby for a Ladybug” on my Heart of the Piano album. (On that song, I managed to play a seven-note voicing in my right hand!)
4. Six-Note VoicingsIn Ex. 4, we examine two-handed six-note minor voicings. These are essentially clusters that have been broken apart and spread across the keyboard. They are fairly wide (spanning a ninth in one hand) but can be “rolled” if you can’t reach them. When played as voicings, they can sound lovely and really open up the harmonics of the piano.
5. Six-Note Arpeggiated VoicingsEx. 5 illustrates six-note voicings that sound great when they are split up into arpeggios. These are also easier to reach than if one were simply to play them as chords. This is the kind of playing I was doing in my improvised song “Chirizakura” on Heart of the Piano.
26 Keyboard 09.2015 26
Use Chord Substitution Like a BoSSBY TONY MONACO
1. Pedal TonesEx. 1 illustrates a nice way to use a common tone on the top note of a chord voicing (usual-ly the root of the I chord), while changing just the third and flatted seventh underneath the pedal tone for each chord change. Dominant seventh leading tones pull the two bottom notes down in half steps for the Bb7 (IV chord) where the pedal tone now is the fifth of Bb.
2. Tritone Dominant Colors and the Half Step approachEx. 2 starts with the answer to the question, “What is a tritone?” Tritones relate to dominant seventh chords where two roots share the same third and flatted seventh. For Example, a C7 chord has E and Bb as its third and flatted seventh. A Gb7 chord also has E and Bb as third and flatted seventh, but in the latter case Bb is the third and E is the flatted seventh. Look closely and you’ll see that the two roots C and Gb are six semitones apart, or two minor thirds apart, or a flatted fifth apart. Looking even closer at the third and flatted seventh notes you’ll notice that those two notes have the same tritone relationship to each other as the roots do—they’re also six semitones apart.
We ofTen THink THaT Learning neW SCaLeS WiLL make US PLay BeTTer SoLoS. for THe LongeST Time, i THoUgHT the same thing as well. And while this is important, I’ve come to realize that a great deal of focus should be on harmony and chord voicings. Learning and understanding new chord substitutions is an important key to making solos really change and evolve. Voice-leading is also an important way to give you different approach notes to begin a line or statement. In this lesson, I’ll demonstrate a few ways to use chord substitutions and voicings to help get you started in changing and improving your so-los. Let’s look at some examples of how to approach the first five bars of a standard 12-bar blues progression.
“When you explore these new tricks, you may quickly find yourself playing through the entire 12-bar blues form without ever playing the blues scale!” says organist Tony monaco. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Monaco has released nine acclaimed record-ings and played countless shows on the international touring circuit. He is also an accomplished educator and recently released the in-structional DVD series Play-ing Jazz Hammond. Find out more at at b3monaco.com.
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ex. 1
ex. 2
PLAY ORGAN
2709.2015 Keyboard
4. Tritones and ii-V MadnessEx. 4 takes or previous example to the next level. In bar 1, the Cmin9-F9 F#min9-B9 progression simply puts the two related dominant 7 chords of F7 and B7 into two separate ii-V move-ments. Note the minor ninth and dom-inant seventh (add9) voicings. Once again, adding diatonic colors allows more solo note choices based off of the notes of each chord. In bar 2, I turn the Bb7 into its own ii-V progression and then quickly turn it back around to the tritone ii-V to get back to the F7 (the I chord) in measure 3, which is again turned into a ii-V progression.
5. The Charlie Parker Chromatic ApproachIn his quest to re-harmonize the first five bars of the blues, jazz saxophone master Charlie Parker came up with the chord changes in Ex. 5. As in pre-vious examples, you will notice that the chord changes here are moving down chromatically in roots. In bar 2, Eb9 is a tritone substitute of A7. In bar 3, Db9 is a tritone substitute of G7, and in bar 4, B9 is a tritone substitute of F7. I find this approach is a refresh-ing way to switch up on solo ideas.
3. Tritone TurnaroundsNow that we understand the tritone relationship, Ex. 3 goes a step further in creating a richer harmonic move-ment so that our solos can have more note choices just based off of the new chord substitution notes. Early in our development, most of us learned about the ii–V-I chord progression,
where the ii is a minor seventh chord and the V is a dominant seventh chord. These colors are diatonic, as the notes of each chord represent different posi-tions of the I chord’s major scale. By simply making a ii -V progression as related to the tritone chord, we can further enrich our harmony. For example, if I were to add to the F7 its related ii min7, I know that F7 is the V7 chord of Bb major, and C would be the second note of the Bb major scale.
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Listening List Chord Substitution
keyboardmag.com/september2015
Hear Tony play the audio examples from this lesson online.
Ex. 3
Ex. 4
Ex. 5
WES MONTGOMERY WITH MELVIN RHYNEBoss Guitar
DON PATTERSONThe Boss Men
JIMMY SMITHThe Boss
PLAY BEGINNER
28 Keyboard 09.2015 28
BY GEORGE COLLIGAN
7 STEPSTO COmPOSE YOur Own muSiC nOw
i’vE alwaYS lOvEd TO COmPOSE mY Own muSiC, and i’m SurPriSEd whEn musicstudentsorevenprofessionalstellmetheydon’tcompose.Theyoftensaythingslike,“Itrytowritemusic,butnoneofitisanygood.”Thekeytocomposingistoleavethejudgmentsbehindandgowritesomething!Themoreyouwrite,thebetteryou’llget.OneofthemostenduringaspectsofAmericanmusicistheblues.Youdon’thavetobea“bluesmusician”totakeadvantageofthebluesform,whichisessentiallyA - A’ - B (meaningthatthesecond“A”sectionisonlyslightlydifferentfromthefirst).Thecoolthingaboutwritinga12-barbluesisthatonceyoucomeupwithfourbars,youactuallyhaveeightbarsprettymuchfinished.So,let’sjumpinandwritesomeoriginalmusic!
Ex. 1 Ex. 2
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Ex. 3
Ex. 4
1. Start SimpleIt’s great to have complex melodies, but if you’re trying to get started writing music, go for something simple, like Ex. 1. Start by picking a key; here we’re choosing F. Now find a few notes and you’re off to the races.
2. use repetitionEx. 2 illustrates how simply repeating our previous idea gets our melody even closer to completion. Never underestimate the value of repetition!
3. develop Your ideaNow we can try one of two things. The first, as seen in Ex. 3, would be to keep the first two bars as they currently are and then develop the idea for the next two bars. A good melody is like an intriguing conversation. It goes somewhere and keeps the listener engaged.
4. leave SpaceAnother option (and maybe a hipper one) is to leave a space in bar two instead of repeating our first idea, as seen in Ex. 4. One of the reasons this works is because the development of our idea also repeats the original melody.
2909.2015 Keyboard
5. Use More RepetitionIf we remember the form of a blues as stated above, the second four bars can be almost identical to the first (i.e., those seen in Ex. 4). We’re simply changing the first note to accommodate the Bb7 chord, which replaces our original F7 chord. This is illustrated in Ex. 5.
“Writing music, just like improvising or playing an instrument, is more about skill than divine inspiration. Beethoven labored over his ideas and Stevie Wonder writes music every day. To do it, you have to do it.” says George Colligan, who has been an acclaimed sideman on the international jazz scene for over two decades. Colligan’s upcoming album is a singer/songwriter project where he performed all of the instruments and vocals. He currently resides in Port-land, Oregon, and is the Jazz Area Coordinator at Portland State University. Find out more at georgecolligan.com.
keyboardmag.com/september2015
Original audio examples.
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Ex. 6
Ex. 7
6. Develop and Contrast Your MelodyWe’re nearly finished. All we need now is the “B section,” seen here in Ex. 6. If you think of section A as a “question” and section A’ as a rephrasing of the question, then the B section is basically the “answer.” It can be a development of the melody or something contrasting in nature. In this case, it’s both.
7. One Mo’ Time!In Ex. 7 we see our completed blues melody, composed using a simple melodic idea that we repeated, devel-oped, juxtaposed with space, repeated again, and developed with contrast. All we need to do now is add a repeat sign and we’ve officially composed a song. It’s that simple!
30
BEYOND THE MANUALKNOW
3030 Keyboard 09.2015 30
8 WAYS TO GET MORE OUT OF
Sonar PlatinumBY CRAIG ANDERTON
Process with the Console Emulator. So-nar’s three console emulator options don’t just emulate analog non-linearities of classic consoles, but also the input transformers. Crank the Trim and Drive controls for fat, low-end saturation that does wonders for bass parts and kick drums.
Cool Melodyne tricks. Melodyne Essential does much more than correct pitch. Percussive mode can transpose polyphonic material—indi-vidual sections, or even entire mixes. For an auto-matic double-tracking vocal effect, copy the vocal track and add partial (not full) pitch and timing correction to introduce slight variations. Convert monophonic audio to MIDI by dragging the “Melo-dyned” audio into a MIDI track (yes—if you can hum a few bars, you really can fake it). Finally, al-though it seems the vitally important note separa-tion tool is missing, it’s there. Hold Alt, hover just above the blob until the cursor turns into the note separation tool, and then double-click.
Tighten vocals. VocalSync was intended to conform an actor’s voice-over to the original, lower-quality audio recorded in the field, but it also does near-magical alignment of harmony or doubled vocals to a reference vocal. For best results, correct relatively small sections at a time,
and note that the VocalSync knob’s “sweet spot” can be anywhere along its travel—it doesn’t nec-essarily get tighter as you turn it up.
Act on impulse. The REmatrix Solo convolu-tion reverb lets you load your own impulse re-sponses to emulate real acoustic spaces, but you needn’t visit the Taj Mahal for a huge reverb—use a white noise sample. Edit it as desired, load it into REmatrix Solo as a user impulse—done. And have fun with weird impulses, like backwards or rhythmically chopped reverb.
Ditch the metronome. For more inspiration when songwriting, load Addictive Drums—it has a ton of MIDI beats as well as drum sounds. And if you like the beat but not the sound, drag the beat’s MIDI file into a MIDI track so it can drive other drum sounds.
The right EQ for the job. The ProChannel’s QuadCurve EQ has four different EQ emulations. For example, the Pure EQ has a gentle, Pultec-like curve (ideal for mastering), while the Hybrid model can give narrow cuts and broad boosts for tracks with resonances that need taming. The E and G type emulate the respective SSL consoles; note the high- and lowpass filters can do 48 dB-
per-octave slopes—great for filtering out low-fre-quency room rumble and high-frequency “hash.”
Turn mixes into performances. Some of the vibe behind “classic” tracks was from lots of hands “playing” the mix faders. Like the high-end consoles of yesteryear, Sonar’s Mix Recall func-tion saves and recalls mixes. You can generate different mixes for clients, compare and contrast, and import some elements from some mixes but not others.
Custom drum replacement. The Drum Re-placer doesn’t limit you to the included samples; take any drum sample (AIFF, WAV, FLAC), and use it to replace a drum sound. But here’s a really sick trick: If a drum sound in a loop is too loud, isolate the sound if possible, sample it, then use the Drum Replacer to create a separate track with only that drum. Flip it out of phase, nudge the track for maximum cancellation, and adjust the track level for the desired amount of cancellation.
YOU’VE FIGURED OUT THE BASICS, BUT HERE ARE EIGHT WAYS TO TAKE Cakewalk Sonar Platinum (reviewed June ’15) to the next level.
Sonar features, clockwise from upper left: Mix Recall menu, vocals before and after alignment with VocalSync, Console Emulator being used to fatten bass, Melodyne in Percussive mode transposing polyphonic chords.
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KNOW SOUND DESIGN
3232 Keyboard 09.2015 32
Step 1Start by selecting a chime or bell wavetable from Serum’s massive collection of op-tions. A great starting point is the “Wave-terminal” table, with its PPG-like metallic sound. This wavetable adds a lot of bright harmonics when you turn the position knob to values higher than 60 percent.
Step 4With the digital bell sound in place, switch to your hardware synth and create a sawtooth pad. If it’s an all-analog dual-oscillator affair, set the waveform to sawtooth waves, then detune each oscillator slightly in opposite directions to maintain tuning consistencies. In the case of Roland’s System-1, you can use a single oscillator set to the Super Saw wave and crank up the color to around 50 percent for a rich, warm sound. From there, set the filter cutoff to around 40 to 50 percent and adjust the keyboard tracking to taste, with no enve-lope modulation.
Step 5Once the filter is set up, give the ampli-fier a classic pad envelope with maximum sustain and a longish release. If you want to give the release more air, add a touch of reverb after the output. This will also help the pad blend more smoothly with the bell layer. After you’ve completed these steps, mix the two layers together, experimenting with the blend until you’ve got a sound that suits your track.
BY FRANCIS PRÈVE
To Live and Die in L.A.THE ROLAND D-50’S DIGITAL SYNTHESIS REVISITED
EVEN AS THE ANALOG REVIVAL IS IN fuLL SwING, THERE ARE uNDERcuRRENTS Of cLASSIc ’80S DIGITAL SYNTHSbubblingunderthesurfaceofthecurrentpopandindiemusictrends.Inrecentcolumns,I’vecoveredthereturnofFMandtheincreasingpopularityoftheclassichousesoundsoftheKorgM1,soit’snosurprisethatthenewesttrendinrevivingretrosynthscentersonthesoundofRoland’sD-50andD-70synths.
Technically,Rolandcalledthismid-’80sandearly-’90ssynthesistechnology“L.A.Synthesis,”whichstoodforLinearArithmetic.“Arithmetic”becausetheenginewasall-digital,and“linear”becausetheprocessinvolvedlayeringdifferenttypesoftextures,mostoftenametallicbell-likesoundoverananalog-stylepad.Oneofthemostpopularpresetsfromthiserawasasoundcalled“Fanta-sia,”whichwasanatmosphericpadofthisprecisenature.Ofcourse,therewerecountlessothersoundsfromtheDSeriesthatalsoinvolvedthisapproach,andlatersynths,notablyEnsoniq’sVFXSeries,alsoallowedthistypeofcomplexlayering.Sothismonth,we’lltackleanewwaytorecapturethesoundofthesesynthsusingacombinationofsoftsynthsandhardware,specificallybylayeringXferRecords’SerumwithRoland’sSystem-1virtualanalogkeyboard.
Step 2Once you’ve dialed in your oscilla-tor timbre, give its amp envelope a bell-like shape, with a medium decay and medium release. You can also try using shorter decays, if you want to give it that classic D-50 percussive character.
Step 3One of the big secrets of the L.A. sound is the use of long hall and plate reverbs on the metallic components. In your DAW, add a reverb with a decay of at least four seconds, and then give it a 50/50 wet-dry mix.
keyboardmag.com/september2015
Audioexamples.
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ANY GEAR, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
34 Keyboard 09.2015 34
YAMAHA
Reface SeriesBY FRANCIS PRÈVE
Different and Common FeaturesEach Reface keyboard addresses a different as-pect of Yamaha’s history. The Reface CS is virtual analog. The Reface DX refreshes their approach to FM. The Reface CP focuses on electric pianos. The Reface YC captures the sound of both tonewheel and transistor organs. With each sporting a street price of around $500, they’re affordable enough that you can pick and choose one or more that best suits your musical style.
All four sport velocity-sensitive mini keys, the option to run on six AA batteries, and built-in speakers, making them compact and ultra-portable. They’ve taken some online bashing over the mini keys. We can understand any keyboard player wishing for full-sized keys—especially on the CP and YC. Think of the Refaces as purpose-built synth modules that happen to have “cour-
tesy” keyboards and speakers for mobile use; on that note, we’ve never heard anyone criticize a Waldorf Pulse 2 or Streichfett for having no keys at all. Plus, since they support old-school MIDI
as well as USB, you can play any Reface from the controller of your choice.
Since each Reface is its own little universe, we’ll devote separate mini-reviews to them.
IN THE 50 YEARS SINCE YAMAHA ENTERED THE ELECTRONIC KEYBOARD MARKET, THEY’VE ROCKED THE INDUSTRY many times over. In 1966, they kicked it off with a series of transistor organs. In the ’70s, they released the CP series of electro-acoustic pianos and the CS-80, a programmable analog polysynth that’s coveted and imitated to this day. In the ’80s, they unleashed the DX7, which changed the sound of all music from that decade virtually overnight. So, when the Reface teaser videos—which referenced all these instruments—appeared in the days leading up to this year's summer NAMM show, the synth world was abuzz. Let’s see what all that buzz is about.
MINI SYNTHSREVIEW
REFACE CP REFACE YC REFACE CS REFACE DX
PROS Fantastic emulations of Great and giggable B-3 Synth engine includes FM includes waveform vintage electro- and Leslie emulation. virtual analog, basic FM, morphing. Programming mechanical keys. Smart Authentic transistor and, ring mod. Built-in is easier than any DX ever and authentic effects organ models. phrase looper. was. Built-in phrase design. Great effects. looper.
CONS Mini keys are least suited No onboard patch No onboard patch Phrase loops are to piano and EP playing. storage. storage. Phrase loops lost upon power-off. are lost upon Four FM operators, power-off. not six.
BOTTOM LINE A killer dedicated One-stop shop for ’60s A polyphonic and The synth we always EP/Clav module. organ, with character radically expanded wanted the DX100 to spare. CS-01. to be.
PRICE $799 list each | $499 street each
WEB yamaha.com/reface
Each Reface has the same connections, including jacks for the included AC adapter, a foot controller (either switch or pedal), stereo out, headphone out, and an audio input for jamming along with iDevices and other portable gear. As for MIDI, there’s USB as well as a terminal for use with an included cable that breaks out into five-pin MIDI in and out ports.
3509.2015 Keyboard
With its focus squarely on electro-mechanical key-boards, the Reface CP is suit-ably nostalgic, sporting retro knobs and silver toggles that add a touch of that ’70s and ’80s-era Radio Shack magic. The CP’s operation is blissfully straightforward, combining great-sounding electric pianos and a Clavinet to round things out, with effects that are perfectly suited to re-creating the classic sounds tricks of keyboards from that era.
Sounds. The core Reface CP sound is based on six presets: Rhodes Mk. 1 and Mk. 2, Wurlitzer EP, Clavinet, Yamaha CP-80 electric grand, and a lovely toy piano as a bonus.
Of the two Rhodes, I was always partial to the Mk. 1 because of its rounded warmth. The CP’s version does not disappoint, recapturing that sound beautifully and immediately evoking some of my favorite Steely Dan hits. The Mk. 2 preset also nails the character of that iteration, with its emphasis on the tines. The Wurly had me jamming out old Queen and Supertramp classics with glee.
As for the CP-80, its metallic sheen and muted bass notes nail the sound of Peter Gabriel and Simple Minds alike. The Clavinet is particularly satisfying, with high playing velocities delivering that funky spank.
Yamaha tells us that these instruments are sourced from their CP4 Stage (reviewed Jan. ’14), and they certainly sound like it—which is to say, their quality and authenticity are what you’d
expect from a high-end stage piano, though of course that keyboard has more variations on each sound type.
Effects. The five effects are in series: Over-drive into a tremolo/wah unit followed by a cho-rus/phaser, then a delay followed by a reverb.
The Overdrive knob behavior depends on the selected preset, with the electric pianos receiv-ing gentle grit and warmth, but the Clavinet getting downright crunchy with that guitar-like sound at maximum settings. With the toy piano sound, the knob works almost like a mic emula-tor that also includes a touch of room sound. On the CP-80 it’s extremely subtle—almost like a tone knob for the pickups.
The next effect can serve as either a tremolo or touch wah. Flavors of tremolo are tied to the preset: The Wurly, toy piano, and Clav modu-lation is a non-panning triangle/sine wave, whereas the Rhodes models pan in stereo, with an immediately recognizable square-ish wave. The CP-80 has a triangular feel, but also in stereo. The touch wah behaves predictably across all six presets, and delivers that “Higher Ground” wah sound on the Clav.
The phaser/chorus section is another either-
or proposition, but that’s fine because adding both to an instrument tends to make things mud-dy. Here the chorus has a real richness with a lot of stereo width. The phaser is also gorgeous when paired with certain pianos, notably the Rhodes Mk. 1 for that trademark Steely Dan sound.
The Delay is cleverly implemented and can be switched to either analog or digital mode. In analog mode, the repeats have a decidedly tape-like character that sounds fantastic in every way. The digital mode is clear and pris-tine, as expected, with a much wider range of delay times.
At the end of the chain is reverb, with a single knob for depth control. While its person-ality doesn’t change in the context of different presets, it’s rich, spacious, and wide, with a smidgen of animation.
Conclusions. I was blown away by the atten-tion to detail in both the Reface CP’s instruments and effects. So much so, that the tiny keys were really the only thing that became irksome over the course of my testing. Considered as a portable MIDI sound module, it’s genuinely impressive. Played from a more substantial controller, it’s even breathtaking.
Reface CP
36 Keyboard 09.2015 36
Anyone who remembers Yamaha’s original CS-01 mini synth will smile at its appar-ent reincarnation here, which isn’t that far off the mark. Both can be battery-powered, include speakers, and offer familiar analog controls—but this is 2015 and that’s where the similarities end, as the eight-note polyphonic Reface CS also nods to the massive sound of the monster CS-80 analog polysynth.
Synthesis. The Reface CS’s sonic range belies its simple front panel, making it nearly impos-sible to come up with a bad sound. That’s not to say that it’s incapable of sonic complexity, but the way it’s all implemented makes experimentation fun, regardless of your synthesis skill level.
The architecture draws from the original CS-01 in many respects. An oscillator feeds a resonant lowpass filter, with a single LFO and envelope for modulation. What’s interesting is how Yamaha has brought this design into the 21st century.
For example, the oscillator section is actually a five-mode tone generator that’s capable of an impressive array of sounds, thanks to a pair of “macro” sliders—Texture and Mod—that shape each mode’s character in useful ways.
Multi-Saw mode delivers EDM-friendly chord and lead sounds, with the Mod slider controlling the detuning amount and Texture adding a sub-oscillator. In Pulse mode, Mod controls the pulse width while Texture tunes a second pulse wave in semitone increments. In Oscillator Sync mode, the two sliders control sync tuning and envelope mod-ulation depth, for re-creating those vintage swept leads. The Ring Modulation mode offers a taste of some of the more aggressive textures of the CS-80, with the two sliders controlling the pitch of each of two oscillators for nasty, clangorous tones. Rounding out the options is a basic FM mode, with
the sliders governing FM envelope amount and the tuning of the modulating oscillator. I was re-ally impressed with all of the modes and was able to sculpt both traditional and exotic flavors quite easily, thanks to the twin macros.
The lowpass filter is based on a 24dB-per-octave slope, similar to the Minimoog, and gets very close to the sound of the Roland TB-303. That’s not to say it’s a dirty “acid” filter, though the resonance’s squeaky self-oscillation can emu-late that sound in a pinch. Keyboard tracking is always on by default—a sensible decision. I was also able to coax out pseudo-organ sounds by setting the resonance to 90 percent and tuning the cutoff to an octave plus a fifth. All in all, it’s a nice sounding virtualization with negligible compromises.
Surprisingly, the CS doesn’t have onboard preset memory. That will be the job of Yamaha’s implementation of WebMIDI. A planned website called Soundmondo will provide for “social shar-ing” of Voices across the Reface ecosystem. More locally, an iOS app called Reface Capture will let you manage Voices (sound presets) and even set lists, handshaking with your Reface model(s) upon connection.
Modulation and effects. For modulation, the LFO is a simple triangle-wave-only affair that can be routed to the oscillator’s tone character, overall pitch, filter cutoff, or amp—but not to multiple destinations at once, which isn’t that big a deal in the context of such a streamlined instru-ment. The envelope section is a standard ADSR
with an interesting twist: A slider morphs its destination between the amp and filter, allowing for some subtle enveloping tricks that give the design a tad more sonic range.
At the end of the chain is a single effects unit that can operate as either a delay (with lovely tape-style feedback), a really sweet phaser, a com-bination chorus/flanger, or a decent overdrive. A pair of rate and depth sliders offer a touch of customization.
Phrase looper. The phrase looper is an on-board free-running unquantized MIDI sequencer that can record up to 2,000 note events, then play them back with the ability to overdub new parts on top and tweak parameters in real time as the loop cycles.
This is handy for impromptu jam sessions or recording your improvisations, sketchpad-style. Unfortunately, there’s no way to offload these sketches to your computer via USB, so if you ac-cidentally write the next Taylor Swift hit while you’re doodling around, you’ll have to record the resulting sequence as audio to your DAW (aided by the fact that the CS does sync to external MIDI tempo) before powering down.
Conclusions. For such a compact synth, the Reface CS is a surprisingly capable little beast. While some users may be put off by the lack of presets, the synthesis engine is so intelligently implemented that it just might help newcomers learn the essentials without bumping into the walls too much. Good stuff.
Reface CS
3709.2015 Keyboard
While Yamaha’s six-operator DX7 synth was the game-changer of ’80s pop, the four-operator DX9 and its offshoots such the TX-81Z, DX11, and DX-100 were more affordable and portable. The Reface design artfully recaptures this. With so many four-operator FM synths hitting in the same decade, their sound be-came a mainstay of the then-nascent dance music scene. Tracks like Orbital’s “Halcyon and On” were grounded by the DX-100’s “Solid Bass” preset, and that’s just one example out of thousands. Currently, the “future house” craze is based heavily on FM synthesis. So, whether you’re looking for a modern sound or feeling nostalgic for the ’80s, the Reface DX is a treasure trove of sonic inspiration.
Architecture and Sounds. Of the four Reface synths, the DX is the only one with patch memory: 32 overwritable presets. Be-cause of the intricate nature of FM synthesis, this is an absolute necessity. That said, it’s worth mentioning that even Yamaha’s 30-year-old DX100 offered 192 presets, so 32 seems a bit skimpy, especially in light of the sonic versatility.
On the plus side, Yamaha has skillfully curated those presets. On the vintage side are timeless patches like the FM “Rhodes” that underpinned hundreds of ballads. Another highlight is a spot-on re-creation of the “Tu-bular Bell” preset that will either remind you of Paul Hardcastle’s “Nineteen” or Taco Bell commercials from the ’90s. Another standout is the “Attack Bass” patch, which instantly evokes Howard Jones’ “What Is Love?” At the
modern end, “Feel It” and “Wobble Bass” are candidates for future house and dubstep, re-spectively.
While an FM synthesis tutorial is outside our scope here, if you’re familiar with the ter-ritory, the Reface engine offers some clever new amenities that push the technology a bit further. What’s more, the Reface DX’s back-lit LCD screen makes programming sounds directly on the synth much easier, thanks to its graphical envelopes and algorithms. Ad-ditionally, the user interface allows access to four parameters simultaneously, each with its own context-sensitive touch fader that can be “flicked” for rapid parameter adjustments.
There are 12 preset FM algorithms, which are more than enough to cover all but the most intricate design maneuvers. Each opera-tor includes its own envelope, each of which is a four-stage rate/level affair like on the DX7, as opposed to the simpler envelopes of the TX-81Z and DX-100. The dedicated pitch envelope also follows this model, allowing for wild digital swoops when applied to just one or two of the operators (instead of all four). A single mutli-wave LFO can be routed to the pitch or amplitude of each of the operators discretely, allowing for vibrato, tremolo, or clever morphing if you want to dig into a bit of programming.
Another modern FM update is the inclusion
of variable waveforms for each of the opera-tors. In the original DX series, all operators produced sine waves only. Later models like the TX-81Z offered eight waveform options. In the Reface DX, each operator includes its own discrete feedback loop, which can skew the sine wave incrementally toward either a sawtooth or square. This is a lot more versatile than either of the previous approaches.
At the end of the synthesis chain is a set of effects that really help to fatten the sometimes “flat” sound of FM synthesis. Like the CS, there’s distortion, phaser, chorus/flange, and delay. You also get a touch sensitive wah (yes!) and a basic hall reverb.
The DX also includes the CS’s phrase looper for quickly sketching out ideas. But again, there’s no way to export loops other than au-dio recording into your DAW.
Conclusions. As a teenager, I spent count-less hours teaching myself FM synthesis on Yamaha’s DX7 and TX81Z. Forcing my way around the synth’s two-line LCD was an ex-ercise in patience to say the least. While the Reface DX’s more accessible user interface is a huge help for newcomers looking to explore the same territory, the real victory here is its timeless sound. Whether you’re a vintage buff or a modern EDM producer, the Reface DX could be a nifty addition to your rig.
Reface DX
38 Keyboard 09.2015 38
The shiny red case of the Reface YC is a nod to Ya-maha’s vintage A3 and YC-20 organs. It covers five classic organs: Hammond B-3, Vox, Farfisa, Ace Tone, and of course Yamaha’s YC series. In addition, there’s a built-in Leslie simulation, distortion, and reverb.
The sound of the B-3 is universally known, but unless you’re a die-hard organ nerd, it can
be confusing to recognize each transistor or-gan’s defining sonics, so here are a few musical references.
Unlike the Hammond, which generated sound via spinning tonewheels and pickups, the other four organs all used transistor technology. The
Reface YC
3909.2015 Keyboard
Farfisa sound can be found in pop tracks like “When a Man Loves a Woman” and “Crocodile Rock,” later being co-opted by late-’70s new wave bands like Blondie, the B-52s, and early Talking Heads. The Vox sound was similar but more flutey and less raspy, and was played in the signature riff on “96 Tears” and pretty much every Doors song ever. In the new wave era, the Vox featured prominently in tracks from Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Madness, and the Specials.
Sounds. Each of the Reface YC’s five organs can be tailored via the nine drawbars, which follow a Hammond-style footage scheme. Note that Vox Continentals didn’t provide as many drawbars as Hammonds, and many popular Farfisas didn’t have drawbars at all, just stop tabs. This means the YC can create harmonic profiles that the originals couldn’t, albeit at the cost of strict authenticity. In any real musical use, the difference is negligible. Similarly, the
percussion stops affect all of the transistor mod-els in the same way.
Editor Stephen Fortner is a far bigger Hammond-head than I am, and having spent time with a Reface YC, he opined, “The B-3 and Leslie emulation are way better than I expected. Maybe a notch under a cur-rent top-end clonewheel, but just a notch. I’d totally gig with this.”
The only thing you might miss compared to a full clonewheel is that since the YC is a one-sound-at-a-time affair, you can’t set up parts for dual manuals (or add a bass pedal part) with dif-ferent drawbar registrations.
Effects. Both the distortion and reverb are terrific, adding grit and space to the overall sound.
As Fortner noted, the YC’s Leslie emulation is a solid all around, especially when it interacts with the distortion, adding that hallmark milky grunge. The rotation speed is controlled on the
fly via a lever that’s in the same spot as the pitch-bender on the CS and DX. To maintain accuracy, this is a toggle that spins up and down to “chorale” and “tremolo” speeds convincingly. A stop option emulates the sound of a braked Leslie, capturing its location in the stereo field at the moment of “stopping” and sounding completely different from just turning the effect off.
Conclusions. The Reface YC captures the sass and swagger of both rock ’n’ soul tonewheels and new-wavey transistors with equal aplomb. Performing on YC’s mini keys was a better experi-ence than on the CP, perhaps due to the nature of organ versus piano playing. If you’re hoping to rely on it for more stretched out, two-handed rock playing—because sound-wise, you certainly could—you could add a MIDI controller or drive it from a zone on your stage piano and have a very capable and tweakable organ module at your fingertips.
“For my style and the way I play, I like the weight, response, and consistency of Kawai. It’s all about feel; the feel I get from Kawai allows me to just play.” –Ryan Tedder, OneRepublic
KAWAIUS.COM
REVIEW
40 Keyboard 09.2015 40
ORGAN / STAGE KEYBOARD
Some History and What’s NewThe Electro has long been a polarizing instrument. Players have generally agreed that it sounds great as a vintage throwback and was easy to carry under one arm. However, it was criticized for its LED “drawbuttons” (remedied with drawbar-capped sliders on the NE4D) as well as the seemingly lim-ited sound set (improved with sample loading in the NE3). The remaining Achilles heel has been its lack of multi-timbral operation, as stated in the Keyboard review of the NE4D: “Still can’t split or layer organ with non-organ sounds—it’s one or the other.” Clavia has solved this in the NE5, providing a “Part Lower” and “Part Upper,” each of which can play organ, piano, or synth sounds. Each part has dedicated buttons for octave shift, plus sustain and control pedal on/off, designated by red LEDs under the buttons. These Parts can be layered or split.
The other big deal on the NE5 is the new 128 x 64-character OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display. There’s been a ton of material published about this type of display in mainstream consumer electronics media, but Clavia may be the first musical instrument company to use this technology on a key-board—and without getting overly technical, let me just say that it looks awesome. It has a deep black background and warm white graph-ics that are very easy to read under all types of stage lighting conditions. It’s way better than an LED or backlit LCD.
Nord has also marshaled this crisp display in the service of a new Set List feature that al-lows for real-time, on-the-fly ordering of song setups without needing any connection to a computer to organize your lists.
The piano sample memory is about three times larger (compared to the NE4) and the separate sam-ple memory for the synth section is twice its previ-ous size. Not to be overlooked is the addition of a brand-new modeled pipe organ. It’s a beautifully haunting sound, and while it may be rarely used for the average weekend gig, I could see it being greatly appreciated for church gigs or your band’s cover of Ozzy’s “Mr. Crowley.” [We don’t recommend combin-ing these two applications in the same set. —Ed.]
Layers and SplitsI’ll say it again: An Electro that plays organ and non-organ sounds at the same time in splits and layers is both new and a big deal. Here’s how it works.
Layers. One sound from each engine can be selected for the upper and lower parts. The resulting possibilities are piano plus synth, piano plus organ, or organ plus synth. The Part Mix knob balances the volumes of the Upper and Lower parts with no need to go menu-diving. One minor limitation is that you can’t layer two of the same sound categories to-gether; for layering piano with piano or organ with organ, you’d need to spring for a Nord Stage. There are ways around this, as the Nord Piano Library, which feeds the keyboard’s Piano section, is distinct from the Nord Sample Library, which feeds its Synth section. In theory you could press something from
CLAVIA LAUNCHED THE ORIGINAL NORD ELECTRO NEARLY 15 YEARS AGO, ANDthese red beasts have delivered vintage electro-mechanical sounds in a compact form factor on stages around the world since that time. It’s not often that a key-board becomes iconic enough to maintain its original name and still be relevant in its fifth generation. Each Electro has raised the bar, from the core organ and electric piano/Clav focus (Electro, Electro 2) to broader sample-based sounds (Electro 3, reviewed Apr. ’09) to physical drawbars instead of increment buttons (Electro 4D, reviewed Nov. ’12 ). The Nord Electro 5 (NE5 for short) is the newest iteration and some of its features make it much more compelling than its predecessors.
BY ERIC LAWSON
CLAVIA
Nord Electro 5
4109.2015 Keyboard
the Sample Library into service as a “B” piano or EP for splits and layers.
Splits. Split points are adjustable via LEDs shown just above the C3, F3, C4, F4, C5, and F5 keys, like on the Nord Stage. Some may wish for more flexibility than the fixed points Nord has provided, but those LEDs showing where the split point is prove quite helpful during performance, particularly on a dark stage. Unlike with layers, in split mode you can select the same sound source for both the upper and lower parts. You still can’t have two different Synth section or Piano section sounds on either side of the split, but you can note-shift them and change how they interact with control-lers. For example, I found it quite useful to assign the Synth sound to both sides of the split. I set the Lower Part with sustain pedal enabled to serve as my pad and the Upper Part without sustain to serve as my lead. This lets me hold a chord on the left side of the keyboard and solo over it with the same sound—again, with different octave-shift and ef-fects—on the right.
The Organ engine (which as on previous Elec-tros uses modeling, not sampling) does allow splits with separate drawbar settings for dual-manual playing, and either the upper or lower part can be accessed via an external MIDI controller. Since the NE5 has a maximum of two multi-timbral parts (not three), purist B-3 players will lament the lack of the separate pedal part one enjoys on any cur-rent Hammond keyboard, but you can always use the Lower part to kick bass, with the help of a new
workaround mode called “B3 + Bass.” In split mode with organ in both parts, this causes the lower part to play only the 16’ and 8’ bass pedal drawbars, while the upper part covers the full range.
User InterfaceCompared to earlier Electros, the NE5 has more going on under the hood, so there’s a bit more in-volved in learning its dashboard.
Moving from left to right, the familiar organ section appears first. On the NE5HP, which features a weighted action (and was the model I was sent for review), you’ll have the usual LED “drawbut-tons;” the 61D and 73D have physical drawbars and organ-action waterfall keys. Next up is the piano section, with six different categories from which to select the piano sounds loaded into the instrument (Grand, Upright, EP 1 and 2, Clavinet, and Harp-sichord). In the middle of the controls is the main Program selection area as well as the Upper/Lower dashboard, where you configure any splits or layers.
Very usefully, the display allows for program naming and shows the current state of the program in use, in terms of which portions of the instrument are in play, the drawbar settings, and so on. Addi-tionally, when any knob is tweaked, the display will show the setting change momentarily. This is help-ful to get feedback on edits as you make them.
The Set List feature is a big step for Nord and is great to see on the Electro, which up to this point relied on an old-school two-digit LED display. The Set List can save “Songs,” which are essentially
mega-pointers for up to four programs within the instrument. In my ’80s band, we cover “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” by the Police, for which I switch between four different sound combinations multiple times in the song for verse, chorus, bridge, and outro. In the NE5, I created four programs with various layers. From Set List mode, a single saved
PROS Can split or layer or-gan and non-organ sounds. Large OLED display a first for Nord and for keyboards in general. Set List feature makes sound organization a breeze. Expanded memory and improved effects. Inclu-sion of low E note on 73-key Electro 5D.
CONS Reduced Clav filter options compared to prior Electros. Nord Sound Man-ager doesn’t currently sup-port Set List functionality. No provision for dual-manu-al organ plus pedal parts. On the expensive side.
Snap Judgment
42 Keyboard 09.2015 42
Song points to these sounds via buttons A through D. This is so very efficient and flexible for gigs. The “Organize” feature allows quick grab-and-drop of Songs to put them in order—again, without need-ing a computer. Currently, you can’t edit Set Lists from the Nord Sound Manager software, but I’m confident this will be added in a future update. I’d also like to be able to name the Set Lists to signify different gigs and/or bands. Out of the box, there are four available Set Lists each with 50 song slots.
To the right of the OLED and Program section is the (sample-based) Synth section, which allows editing of dynamics, attack, and release. I found myself really wishing for a filter cutoff knob. At least there are three dynamics selections, which encom-pass how velocity affects the filter cutoff. Another observation: The knob for selecting samples is very close to the main Program knob and the two are the same size. Sometimes I got these knobs mixed up in the heat of the gig.
Finally, there’s the Effects section on the right side. First is a three-band EQ with sweepable mid-range. Effect 1 provides for tremolo, pan, and ring modulation, all of which can be controlled via a connected sweep pedal. Effect 2 includes phaser, flanger, chorus, and “Vibe.” The NE5 also has delay and reverb as well as a compressor and an amp sim-ulator that covers the Leslie 122 simulation from the Nord C2D. EQ can be assigned to either upper, lower, or both parts, and reverb applies globally and doesn’t use up any of the other effects engines.
Those other effects can be used on either the up-per or lower Part, but not both. These effects have a dedicated Part Select button for lower, upper, or off. For example, I set up a keyboard layer with organ running through the C2D Leslie simulation plus delay, while I had a Rhodes sound running through a tremolo and phaser, with a touch of reverb affect-ing everything.
SoundsThe NE5 comes with 1GB of Pianos from Nord’s Piano Library, as well as 256MB of sounds from the Nord Sample Library. These are mostly stan-dard fare for those accustomed to the Nord librar-ies, though Nord has optimized them to squeeze the most out of the available memory. The organ
uses the same tonewheel modeling engine as the flagship Nord C2D, and both it and the Leslie sim-ulation sound superb. There’s a B-3, the aforemen-tioned pipe organ, as well as Vox and Farfisa tran-sistor organ models, all controlled by the drawbar section. The Clav section only has four models and is missing the more extended filters (resident in earlier Electro models) to emulate the pickup and tone switch settings of a vintage Hohner D6. Pre-sumably, this trade-off was made in favor of some of the other features. Though the Clav sound is certainly realistic and plenty funky, as a Clav en-thusiast, I was missing these tonal options.
On the GigI decided to test the NE5 in a daring manner: as a direct replacement for my Nord Stage 2 (a.k.a. NS2) that I’ve been taking to gigs with my ’80s band Flat Elvis for the past three years. I use many of the “power features” of the NS2, often accessing all six of its internal sound engines at the same time, so my goal was to set up the NE5 to cover as much ground as possible, maximizing the Set List feature. From a sound standpoint, I was very pleased with the Piano and EP section, which sounded virtually identical to the NS2 other than the Clav limitations I mentioned.
The Organ section blew me away, as the NE5 has the most recent tonewheel organ model Nord makes. I typically use Neo Instruments’ popular Ventilator pedal for Leslie simulation on my NS2, but doing so was completely unnecessary on the NE5. In fact, the organ and rotary effect were so ballsy that my bandmates immediately noticed the difference. Also, there was a perceptibly increased output from the NE5 in general; our sound engineer told me it cut through the mix better than the NS2.
The biggest compromise for me was working with the Synth section, which is less robust than that on the Stage, and not having a pitch-bend or modulation wheel. Even so, I made it through sev-eral gigs using just the NE5, very happy with the improved display and user interface. I became so hooked on the Set List feature that I found myself really wishing for it on my NS2. Did I mention that in spite of its weighted keys, the NE5 HP weighs more than 15 pounds less than an 88-key NS2? It
was an absolute breeze to carry it to my gigs and rehearsals. Truly, it’s like a “Nord Stage Lite.”
ConclusionsWith each release, Clavia has continued to im-prove upon this funky gig machine. They also continually supply new OS updates and addi-tions to their downloadable Nord Piano and Nord Sample libraries, and provide customer support that in my experience has been personal and attentive.
“As for competition,” Keyboard editor Stephen Fortner chimed in, “the Hammond SK series is the most direct. It’s less expensive at any given keyboard length and offers upper, lower, and pedal organ parts, plus its non-organ sound bank, all at the same time. But the sampled non-organ sounds in the NE5, piano and EP in particular, strike me as a bit more premium. Electro 5 versus SK is definitely the A-B you want to do at the music store.”
With the NE5, Nord has moved the needle on what players can expect in a focused yet versatile workhorse. The split and layer capability is some-thing Electro owners have been hungrily seeking for years, and our wait is over. Plus, the new OLED display coupled with the Set List feature makes the NE5 such a compelling instrument that it’s become a likely contender to replace my Nord Stage 2.
Bottom LineNow that the newest Electro has the ability to split or layer modeled organ and sample-based non-organ sounds, Clavia could have named it the Nord Stage Lite.
Electro 5D 61: $2,999 list, $2,499 street | Electro 5D 73: $3,599 list, $2,999 street | Electro 5HP: $4,199 list, $3,499 streetnordkeyboards.com
The back panel has left and right audio outputs; MIDI In and Out; sustain, rotary, and control pedal inputs; USB (which doeswork for MIDI unlike on some other Nord instruments); a headphone jack; and 1/8" monitor input. Upper and lower parts can be routed to left and right outputs individually—for sending the organ sound to a real rotary speaker while routing other sounds to the main P.A. We tested the pedal inputs using Yamaha, Roland, and Nord pedals and thanks to settings available in the system menu, they all worked fine.
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REVIEW
44 Keyboard 09.2015 44
MODULAR SYNTH
HardwareConsisting of the front panel of the original Sys-tem-1 with a slew of brightly lit 1/8" control volt-age jacks festooning its top row, the System-1m can be used as a desktop wedge, a standard 3U rack synth, or integrated into existing Eurorack systems, which is a clever design feat. Better still, Roland included all of the accessories for each application, including rack ears and a Eurorack
ribbon connector for power. This is a thought-ful touch, as several other manufactures like to charge extra for essentials like these, when frank-ly, the parts cost pennies to produce.
ArchitectureThe System-1m is based on the same architecture as the original System-1 keyboard, which means it’s an extremely capable synthesizer, even with-
out the addition of Roland’s innovative Plug-Out technology. In my original System-1 review, I covered the Aira synthesis tools in depth, but for those who don’t have the October 2014 issue handy, here’s a recap.
The default Aira model consists of two oscil-lators, a sub-oscillator, pink and white noise op-tions, a resonant lowpass filter with an additional non-resonant highpass filter included, one LFO, and envelopes for the filter, amplifier, and pitch. At the end of the chain are a series of effects ranging from tone control to delay and reverb. In addition to monophonic and unison modes, it also operates as a four-voice polyphonic synth, which really adds to its value.
The oscillators are remarkably deep and full-featured, with six waveforms available on each, including saw, variable pulse and triangle, along with stacked and detuned versions of each. A “Color” knob serves multiple functions depend-ing on the waveform. In pulse mode, it allows
BY FRANCIS PRÈVE
Few product lines HAve lived up to tHeir Hype like rolAnd’sAirA series.TheTR-8iscurrentlyredefiningthesoundofmoderndancemusicwithitsvintageaccuracy.TheTB-3haswonovercountless303aficionados.TheMX-1isanutterlyuniquetakeonlivemixing.AndtheSystem-1(reviewedOct.’14)hasbecomeastapleinbothstudiosandliverigsintheyearsinceitsintroduction.Althoughitwould’vebeeneasyforRolandjusttokickbackandreleasearack-mountversionoftheSystem-1,themanufacturertookcarefulnotesontheongoingrenaissanceofmodularequipmentandincorporatedvoltagecontrolintotheAirasynthesisengineinamannerthat’sbothradicalandevocativeofRoland'slegacyasoneoftheoriginalarchitectsofmodulargear.TheSystem-1misn’tjustarehashofwhat’sgreataboutthekeyboardversion.It’sanentirelynewballgame.
rolAnd
Aira system-1m
4509.2015 Keyboard
adjustment of the duty cycle, from square to very narrow rectangle waves. In saw and triangle modes, it adjusts the harmonic content of each in clever and musical ways. For the stacked options, it controls the depth and detuning for “super saw” type effects. Adding complexity to the color parameter is the ability to modulate its value via a wide array of sources, including the LFO, any of the three envelopes, and even the sub-oscillator, which offers some very unique timbral variations. As if that weren’t enough, there are options for cross-modulation, hard sync and ring mod. To be clear, these features give the Aira engine a mas-sive range of tonal variety—and that’s just the oscillators.
The mixer section includes switches for select-ing the sub-oscillator’s octave (either one or two octaves below oscillator 1) and the type of noise (pink or white). While it may not be immediately apparent, when the mixer volumes are set higher than 70 to 80 percent, a lovely bit of overdrive kicks in, adding to the oscillators’ already warm and thick sound.
The Aira filter section sounds fantastic and includes both two-pole and four-pole modes for the resonant lowpass filter, which can self-oscil-late in an extremely credible manner—and not using just the usual added sine wave that tracks the frequency, as in other modeled analog synths. The inclusion of an additional highpass filter re-
ally allows users to tightly sculpt the frequency range of its sound. In fact, when I use my original System-1 in tracks, I often rely on the filter alone instead of adding EQ. It’s really that good.
As for modulation resources, the filter and amp envelopes are classic ADSRs with really snappy decay segments, while the pitch envelope is a simple attack-decay affair that does the trick for pitch sweeps, though I usually prefer to use it to modulate the oscillator’s color parameter for added animation.
Topping it all off are four deceptively simple integrated effects that really enhance the overall flavor of the System-1m sound. At first glance, the tone control appears to function like a simple bass-treble shelving EQ, but in practice serves to “tilt” the overall model in either warmer or brighter directions. The bit-crusher delivers that modern down-sampling effect that’s become so ubiquitous in today’s dance music scene. At the end of the chain, delay and reverb effects add a touch of final polish. The delay has a more ana-log feel, with warm lowpassed feedback, while the reverb’s texture straddles the line between a smooth plate and a spacious hall.
Plug-Out TechnologyWhen the Aira line was first introduced in 2014, one of the most talked about features was Ro-land’s new Plug-Out technology. In a nutshell, these Plug-Out soft synths are note-perfect virtual versions of some of Roland’s most sought after vintage monosynths, like the SH-2, Pro-Mars, and legendary SH-101 (shown), which is included with the System-1m package. What
makes the Plug-Out technology so cool is the fact that each synth can be used either as a standard synth plug-in within your DAW of choice, or you can load it directly into the System-1 or 1m and use the hardware stand-alone—without bring-ing your computer—in live or studio situations. While a full review of each Plug-Out is beyond the scope of this article, let’s just say that in the context of a mixdown or live gig, any subtle dif-ferences between the software versions and the real thing are negligible. Roland really hit it out of the park with the digital versions of their classics and in the context of the new System-1m, the whole approach becomes even more impressive thanks to its new modular features.
Version 1.2Of special note to both original owners of the System-1 and newcomers to the Aira line is ver-sion 1.2 of these synths’ firmware, which is far more than a simple compatibility upgrade, adding several really valuable new features to the series.
PROS Rich and authentic-sounding analog modeling engine. Extensive modular routing options. Plug-out technology allows classic Roland soft synth models to be integrated with the modular features. Firmware version 1.2 includes new waveform options for the oscillators. Eurorack com-patible. Included rack ears. CONS Many secondary func-tions require tricky key com-binations, which can be a tad confusing at first.
Snap Judgment
46 Keyboard 09.2015 46
For starters, the upgrade increases the number of onboard presets from eight to 64, which address-es one of the only shortcomings of the original System-1 software.
In addition, it adds six more waveforms to each of the oscillators: Noise Saw, Logic Opera-tion (based on a square wave), FM, FM + Sync, Vowel, and CB. All of these new waveform op-tions are extremely exotic, with Logic Operation, FM, and FM + Sync veering into hard, gritty territory. Noise Saw is exactly what you’d expect, consisting of a sawtooth wave with a bit of added noise modulation, whereas Vowel is a handy for-mant waveform that has a more analog texture than most soft synths. Finally, CB is reminiscent of the classic TR-808 cowbell sound, but a lot thinner and somewhat percussive at low “color” settings. If you’re an owner of the original Sys-tem-1, go download this update immediately, as it’s like getting a brand new synth for free. I’m really happy to see Roland adding new features and growing the architecture, as it confirms their devotion to the entire Aira line-up.
Modular EnhancementsWhile the synthesis architecture and Plug-Out functionality of the System-1m alone is worth its $599 street price, the biggest news is Roland’s deep plunge into the waters of voltage control
and modular synthesis, especially in the context of a synth with a digital heart. Scratching the surface, there are CV and gate inputs with a trim function that allows you to fine-tune the voltage scaling so as to improve compatibility with other modular gear. Additionally, there’s an external audio input for routing signals though the filter, amp, and effects section with volume control via the sub-oscillator’s mixer knob. That’s all well and good, and a great way to get started if you’re a newcomer, but it’s also just the beginning.
For voltage modulation inputs, there are jacks for filter envelope, pitch envelope, amp en-velope, and filter LFO. These labels can be a wee bit confusing if you’re used to standard modular terminology, as they’re really just control volt-age inputs for modulating each section, with the terms “envelope” and “LFO” referring to the cor-responding amount knobs for scaling the input voltage. For example, I ran the LFO output from my Korg MS-20 into the filter envelope voltage input and it delivered the expected wah-wah effect, with adjustable depth via the filter’s enve-lope depth knob. There’s also a ring-mod input that bypasses the System-1m’s default oscillator 1 routing, allowing you to add ring mod to oscilla-tor 2 via an external voltage source. Finally, there are in and out jacks for oscillator sync as well.
On the output side, there are jacks for LFO,
oscillator 1, oscillator 2, mixer output, filter en-velope and amp envelope. For the LFO and enve-lope outputs, the results are self-explanatory, as they allow you to apply those modulation voltag-es to other gear. The oscillator and mixer outputs are another story entirely, offering the ability to route the System-1m’s unique oscillator op-tions into your modular rig. For those who don’t yet have a collection of external modules, you can still create some decidedly extreme modular sounds with just the System-1m itself. For ex-ample, routing the output of oscillator 2 into the filter envelope input allows you to create complex filter FM effects that are especially impressive in conjunction with the “super” waveforms, which add ghostly noise-like artifacts to the results. Another cool trick is to route the entire mixer output into the ring-mod input and then apply cross-modulation.
At this point, it’s worth mentioning that the same modular options are available with all of the Plug-Out synths as well (depending on their own features, like number of oscillators and such). So, if you’ve ever fantasized about what a modular-ized SH-101 or ProMars might sound like, your dreams just came true.
As a whole, the System-1m really invites ex-ploration and experimentation regardless of your skill level. It’s modular, after all. You can’t really “break” it, though it’s certainly possible to shred your speakers—or your eardrums!
ConclusionsThe original System-1 has become a mainstay in my studio rig, appearing on nearly every track and remix I’ve done since it arrived in 2014. Sonically, the Aira engine is a monster, especially with the new options included with the version 1.2 update. And it goes without saying that the 1m’s addition of voltage control increases the power of the System-1 by an order of magnitude, even if this wünderbox is just the initial starting point for your modular addiction. Then there’s the whole Plug-Out schema, providing access to pristine emulations of Roland’s greatest hits, but with rack-mount portability, hardware stability, and unprecedented modular connectivity. All in all, the System-1m is an extraordinary achieve-ment for Roland – and at $599 it’s an extraordi-nary bargain.
keyboardmag.com/september2015
Download our royalty-free loops created on the System-1m.
With so many connections on the front of the unit, the back panel is decidedly Spartan, consisting of the DC input for the included power supply, five-pin MIDI in and out, and stereo 1/4" outputs. For 19" rack users, Roland also included a second set of five-pin MIDI connections on the bottom of the unit (which faces the back of a standard rack). As a result, the whole package exudes an air of “intelligent design.”
Bottom LineAn absolutely genius marriage of virtual analog synthesis, exportable soft synth models, and modular flexibility.
$799 list | $599 streetrolandus.com
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48 Keyboard 09.2015 48
Over the next eight years, Korg’s core technology behind the M1 spawned numerous descendants: in chronological order, the T, O1/W, and X series. The essential sound common to all became ubiquitous in pop and dance music, with a special place in the history of ’90s house music, thanks to its bright tack pianos and percussive organ presets.
Because of the resurgence of house music, Korg’s Legacy Edition software version of the M1 has become a mainstay in the EDM world, bringing its inimitable sound to a new generation of synth fans. So the time was clearly right for Korg to port the M1 to the iOS ecosystem.
The new iM1 for iPad is a note-perfect reproduc-tion of the original M1’s synth architecture, which is blissfully straightforward to understand, even if you’re a synth novice. Every patch comprises up to two sampled instruments, each with its own inde-
pendent non-resonant lowpass filter and amp sec-tions, which are a tad different from the usual fare. Each section has its own dedicated five-stage enve-lope, sporting two decay stages with individually adjustable breakpoints, for sounds that bounce and/or swell. Both sections also include independent LFOs that offer the standard complement of sine, triangle, saw, square, and random waves. In addi-tion, there are two insert effects per preset, with all of the familiar delays, reverbs, and time-based modulations. It’s edifying to realize that this sort of roster, which is essential by today’s standards, was pioneered by Korg more than 25 years ago.
Even more impressive than the spot-on re-creation of the synthesis engine is the fact that the iM1’s sample ROM includes not only the original M1 collection, but also the option of the T-series banks and every sound card expansion Korg released
for it—an additional $10 in-app purchase. Fully loaded, that’s around 3,300 sounds. Fortunately (and unlike the original hardware) the iM1 includes a really elegant patch browser that can quickly drill down to specific instrument categories and sonic characteristics.
While the original M1 multi-timbral Combi patches are present for massive layering and split keyboard duties, the original’s sequencer is absent. That’s not a huge deal, since Korg includes full sup-port for Audiobus and Inter-app audio, so you can use it with other sequencers, including GarageBand. Better still, fans of Korg’s Gadget sequencer also enjoy full integration with iM1.
Fans of the M1 Legacy Edition can use iM1 on the road, as Korg has included two-way compat-ibility with the preset file format. So you can design a sound while you’re waiting for a flight, and then transfer the results to your desktop when you get back to the studio.
I’ve been a fan of the M1 since its introduction and regularly use the M1 Legacy Edition in my cur-rent house tracks. Having iM1 on my iPad means I can now whip up track sketches in Gadget and export the results to Ableton Live without missing a beat. For keyboardists with iPad based rigs, the iM1 is a no-brainer when it comes to adding another es-sential synth to your gigging collection. This app is truly worthy of a Key Buy. Don’t miss it.
BY FRANCIS PRÈVE
KORG
iM1THE INTRODUCTION OF THE KORG M1 IN 1988 WAS A WATERSHED IN SYNTHE-sizer history. While there were a few digital synths-with-onboard-sequencers that preceded the M1, Korg took the entire concept up a notch with its knockout combo of sampled instruments, eight-way multi-timbral architecture, and integrated ef-fects. In short, the M1 ushered in the era of the workstation.
PROS Flawless recreation ofthe original M1. Seamless in-tegration with Korg Gadget. Audiobus and Inter-app au-dio. Presets are compatible with Korg’s Legacy Edition soft synth.
CONS As with the original hardware, filters are non-resonant.
Snap Judgment
Bottom LineAn M1 in your backpack for thirtybucks.
$29.99 korg.com
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SPOtLight
49 09.2015 Keyboard
50 Keyboard 09.2015 50
Less Is MoreIn our duo, we utilize piano, saxophones,
vocals, and guitar. In a world where most mod-ern keyboards and live bands employ thousands of presets and endless drum patterns, this may seem like an antiquated approach. But there is beauty and freedom when music is scaled back to its essential building blocks of melody, har-mony, and rhythm. Using just a few elements gives you more than enough of a sonic canvas to paint. Oftentimes, the more exposed the music is, the more it will affect your audience.
Choose Sounds WiselyKeep your keyboard rig simple. Use solid
piano, Rhodes, Wurly, string, and organ sounds
that highlight the organic nature of the duo setting. And remember that if there’s no bass player in your duo, your left hand has to be both thick and rhythmic in its accompaniment, but efficient and sparse enough not to step on the vocal or melody.
Change Things UpJust because you’re stripping things
down doesn’t mean your music has to be boring. We often switch instruments on different songs, bringing guitar, piano, and harmonized vocals in and out of our set for maximum effect.
Build Your SetThe key to making a stripped-down
duo approach work is doing your homework beforehand. Work out a set list that highlights songs with strong hooks and soaring choruses. And always remember to include your audience in your set! Invite them to sing a song’s chorus along with you, or even on their own. Involving your listener in an active way leaves them with a personal experience they won’t soon forget.
S Is for SilenceUse the freedom that a duo affords you
to explore space and silence. Too many musicians forget how powerful these elements are. You can often get more mileage out of a whole rest than a slew of 64th-notes delivered at breakneck speed. Remember Depeche Mode’s song “Enjoy the Si-lence”? Those are words to live by!
OUR DUO PROJECT HAPPENED ORGANICALLY. AT FIRST, WE WERE SIMPLY asked to play a few tunes together at different venues in the U.S. and overseas. Immediately, we noticed a shared sense of musical purpose. Because both of us are accustomed to playing in full bands with big production values, playing duo gave us a rare chance to strip songs down to their basic elements, showcas-ing their strengths while opening them up for improvisation. Here are five things we’ve learned along the way that we hope will help you in your musical journeys:
BY DAVID BRYAN AND MICHAEL GHEGAN
2. 4.
1.
Keyboardist and composer David Bryan is a founding member of the rock super- group Bon Jovi and the
composer of the Tony Award-winning musical Memphis. Michael Ghegan is an internationally acclaimed saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer who has worked with artists such as Elton John and Justin Timberlake. Bryan and Ghegan are currently working on projects both in the studio and live onstage, and they recently appeared alongside famed vocalist Andrea Bocelli in Italy. Find out more at davidbryan.com and michaelghegan.com.
3. 5.
CODA
Playing in a Duo
THINGS I’VE LEARNED ABOUT
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EEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTT
TTTTTTTTTTIIIIII’’’’’’’VVVVVVVVVVLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAA
THINGS I’VE LEARNED ABOUT
TTTIIIIILLLLLAAAA5
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