Well, it's Easter and I have thought to offer you a little gift. Following Uncle Dave's advice I have bought a new reverb (TC Electronic M One XL) and, as soon as I hooked it to my setup, the creative juices started to flow again. The sound is so good! So I have recorded one of my favourite songs, the beautiful "Just the way you are", by Billy Joel. I recorded it in a Bossa Nova tempo, hoping to please our friend Chico in Brazil: he is really a Bossa Nova expert. This song is dedicated to him and to all the beautiful people on this Forum. I hope you will like the sound and forgive my (poor) rendition.
Here is the link: http://andrearotolo.tripod.com/
then go to "My music".
Happy Easter, everybody!
Andrea

By the way, since we were talking Beatles these days, I have just recorded a brief rendition of "Here, there, everywhere", using an acoustic style called "Guitar slow". With the exception of the reverb, the sound is 100% VA7 and 100% "Roland", I could add.
The link is the same as above.

Sorry, couldn't resist... the creative flow stroke again (this reverb is simply great!)
I just added on my site a short rendition of "The girl from Ipanema".
Chico, if you are reading this, I need your opinion! And don't say that the VA7 hasn't good solo sounds anymore!
Diosif, I hope that you too enjoy.
More to come...Bye!

Hi Andrea,
Great to see & hear your creative juices flowing again. All your songs sound polished & enjoyable. Your new TC Helicon reverb unit definitely adds a beautiful crytalline stellar sound quality to your music. I never imagined a Reverb unit could contribute so much to the overall sound.And YES, the VA7's solo instruments do sound impressive. I found the most interesting rendition 'Just the Way You Are'. I like the way you 'changed' the melody note of the 3rd note of the song from a D (what is typically played) to a C#, though I would have prefered that you play the originally intended note 'D", at least the first time around, to give the listener a chance to hear the way this signature tune the way it's universally recognized as. Changing the note during the an instrumental solo would then provide a nice constrast . Just my opinion. I also enjoyed Here There and Everywhere & Girl from Ipanema. Keep up the great work. Thanks for sharing your Easter gift of music. I realize that I'd better get to work and put up some new songs on my website too now. - Scott

Scott,
He didn't get a TC HElicon - he got an M-ONExl. Made by TC, but not the Vocalist model. It's a dedicated multi fx unit, and it's greeeeeeat !

Scott,
thank you for your kind words, but if you think that I changed too much the melody in "Just the way you are", wait until you hear the song I just finished to record: it's another Billy Joel hit: the beautiful "New York State of Mind" and I used a Blues style (!), because I felt that it could do well and, besides, the VA7 has a terrific Blues. My only problem is that I cannot upload the song to my website because I get a message saying that my account has been temporarily suspended due to excessive bandwidth consumption, so I guess that I will have to wait until tomorrow.
I hope that Billy Joel will forgive me for having slaughtered his songs
(and the same goes for Uncle Dave: I know that he loves these tunes...)

I love these songs, that's true - but I will NEVER fault a player that takes "liberties" with melody lines. I do it ALL THE TIME. I feature my own custonizations alot, and I have come to prefer a fresh arrangement of pop songs, if they sound good. As far as the "Just the way you are" melody - I have heard a smooth jazz type cut of that same song with the SAME melody change, so Dreamer's not the only one who likes that approach. The melody is MINE, once I start to perform a song......at least for 3 minutes, it is! I never want to sound "Just the way" the record was made ....ever !

Thanks Dreamer,
You play "mighty fine" I liked "Just the Way You Are" to me, it sounded kind`a "bluesy" I like the way you used the "sax".
All that on a "Roland"? gee I wish I had "real music stores" where I live!!
But then if they did, I`d be broke
jedi

Dreamer,

I enjoyed your songs very much! I haven't owned an external reverb unit since I had one for my Kurzweil K-1000. Many of the on board sounds were dry. I currently have an X-1. When you use the reverb unit do you change the master reverb settings on your keyboard? Can you or Uncle Dave tell me the approximate cost of the model you have in
$ USD. I really like the sound.

Thanks!

Bob

It's in the UNDER $400 range. That's all I can say without "suggesting the prices" for each dealer. It's a great value for the money. Try preset #12 and use each channel with a separate FX send. The reverb on one, and the delay on the other. It's heavenly....

Followup to my post above:
I hope you guys aren't misconstruing what I was saying about Dreamer's changed melodic notes on 'Just the Way You Are'. It was actually my favorite rendition, particularly because of that changed note. I too NEVER play a song the SAME way twice and will often change the chords, melodic line, and even the lyrics (heehee), but the point I was making (at least from a pro live performer's point of view) is that most audiences generally tend to expect to hear the melodic hook line of a cover tune to sound pretty much the way they remember it. On the other hand, when performing for a more musically soshisticated crowd (jazz venue), I can feel more free to embelish/change the melody more. I've grown to realize (over the years) that I've had to make a few compromises in my playing style in order to satisfy my audience desires. Of course, I DON'T mean selling out musically, it's more like a balancing act between unabashed artistic expression and making a living musicially. - Scott

I still have troubles in uploading my last song.
Thank you again for your words.
Bob W, when I use the external FX unit I usually turn down the internal reverb of the VA7 but keep other effects like Eq, Rhodes Multi FX or Rotary. Two reverbs in chain would lead to an unpleasant effect, in my opinion.
Best regards,
Andrea