And why?....or do you alter them, revoice, or even re-record certain parts to get the sound YOU want in your styles when you play?

The other night we saw a great player use a Pa800 using only left hand bass, right hand piano, ep, sax & brass & singing, w/V-Harmony & ONLY the Arranger Drums (tap tempo) from styles all parts muted stripped down backing up a few really good singers & it really sounded fantastic.....everyone does it different.

For me, probably run styles fairly straight for at least 50% of my stuff...

For other tunes, I'll drop out the full accompaniment and sing over just percussion, sometimes. A song I do this on is Marguitaville. Coming out of the lead section and going into the last verse...I'll drop the accompaniment out from the start of v3 for the first half (8 bars, I think?) of the verse then bring it back in again to the end...Also do this for Copacabana...

Also on some Latin tunes (Cherry Pink/Never on a Sunday) ...heading into the last verse/chorus I'll drop the full accompaniment and add in on multipad....then another....then another...then another. Then, I'll modulate up 1/2 a step and bring everything back online to the end.

The multipad thing isn't something you'd wan to wing live, most won't layer right, but I think latin percussion 1 or 5 on the T2 sound pretty nice.

I perform a LOT of ballads/hymns with no accompaniment at all. Piano/strings (127%/65%) or piano/pad (127%/55-60%) is nice and warm...the strings/bed don't get in the way, but add a nice touch...

I take the same approach with Amazing Grace, but use the concert guitar and a string way in the back for the tune.

Every set I play has some variety of this fashion included, in addition to the obvious variety of tempos, eras, etc. for the song selection...

I try hard to not use this technique (dropping the accompaniment) as a device and lean on it too often.

------------------
Bill in Dayton


[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 11-24-2008).]

Bill.....
exactly...Cutting back on those hokey Intros & Endings, playing them instead....mixing it up using ALL the tools & features on the KB is always fun and keeps it interesting for you & the audiences. Split second changes, altering the arrangement of songs at will is what makes it all fun, there are NO RULES! I sometimes like to shut down the arranger at the end of a song and just retardo fade out using just piano for a nice effect. Of course in a dance gig as a OMB you gotta go full bore.....but in an intimate setting a Pro can always decide whats best sound wise.
Your the player & Your in control.

Have a wonderful Holiday season

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 11-24-2008).]

The quieter and smaller the crowd, the more I thin out the styles I use. Unless there's significant volume and punch, the "loaded' styles sound overdone in intimate settings. For really small affairs .... Rhodes, bass and drums is my go-to setup, and I lOVE playing that way.

Pretty much use left-handed bass as often as possible. On arrangers, I'll use the drum and bass track, with everything else taken out, and use another keyboard...Nord or Hammond on top for B-3 sounds. If possible, I prefer the C-1 and a drummer, with a piano on my right hand.

R.

Most onboard and third party styles are constructed in such a manner as to progressively add more instruments as the style progresses through the variations. Of course, you can always use the electronic or manual sliders to eliminate any or all voices you wish on any variation. And, of course, you can save the information into a registration for recall at a later date.

Personally, I like the way most onboard styles are structured, and for the most part they are extremely versatile. You can opt to use your own intro, click start intro, basic intro, or a more complex intro. Same holds true for endings as well. You can change the EQ of any voice, or if you wish, change the entire instrument to another you like better. You can change the OTS, change the multi-pads, fade in, fade out, fill to self, break to self, the list is endless. There are no hard, fast rules when it comes to style files. It's how you perform with them that really counts.

Cheers,

Gary