I was setting up some stuff on the Audya and came across some recordings I made on E50.
Since someone was asking about E50 lately, I thought I'd post a couple. http://donmasonmusic.com/Don%20Test%20Songs/
DonM

Hey, big boy! You can look into my soft green (bloodshot) eyes anytime you want!

A good example of the importance of talent. Easy to listen to, with tasteful, expressive guitar lines that are as good as my real ones. You could have played my Bontempi and still been "killer".

My preferred kind of musc? Not exactly. Do I like it?

ABSOLUTELY!

Nice job, "gentleman" Don!


Russ

Sounds great, you know how to do this. Would be nice to hear you using the Audya.
Thanks!
skude

"REAL DEAL" all the way baby!!! Love it!!

Don, sounds great, you got that country soul! That guitar emulation sounds like the real McCoy, very nice.

Thanks, I will post some Audya songs soon.
DonM

Might fine work Don, and thanks for sharing this great talent you have.
Will it be ok if I share these two songs with me large international email list as you have allowed me to do in the past. My list members love your work.
Best to you and Benton,
Bebop Bill

Knock yourself out Bebop!
Thanks,
Don

Wail it out, Mason... that E50 sounds great in the hands of "the old master" with the golden pipes. Really enjoyed. Wish I had the royalty stream from that solid number... LOL.

Dave Rice
http://www.ShowCaseYourMusic.com/DaveRice

Nice stuff, Don. Can't wait to hear Audya examples...

Great as USUAL, Don ... another two for the iPOD ...
thank you once again,
t.

I'm waiting for E80 songs also Don....
I know you'll do it justice.
did you sell the Audya yet?

Good work Don and thx for sharing. Particularly loved your voice on the upbeat one

I don't want to sell it. I love it. Something has to go though. I can't afford to keep three keyboards for very long.
DonM

O.K. I hadn't tried Can't You See on the Audya, but somebody requested it tonight. Just picked a style, I think it was Funky Fusion or something like that. I hit the wrong ending button and fooled around with a couple of different guitar sounds during the song.
In other words it's pretty sloppy but you can hear the Audya. I thought it might be interesting to hear both versions.
Vocal and harmony are both through the Audya also. I'm not that happy with the vocal sound yet, but it's getting closer.
Recorded to line in on Zoom H2.
I'll post some better recordings pretty soon.
It's in the same folder: http://donmasonmusic.com/Don%20Test%20Songs/
DonM


[This message has been edited by DonM (edited 11-04-2009).]

Nice stuff, Don...

You ought to do this for a living!





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

Great job, DonM (although I think you guys that play guitar have a distinct advantage with the guitar simulations ). However, I'm have trouble with WMP on the Audya version. ???? Anyone else?

chas

Probably the best recordings you have made so far......I don't believe that a KB can make such a difference to the quality of performance.....I believe that Don is simply maturing with age (!) and now gives us his best yet.
As already said by one of us, these are keepers and will be enjoyed many times by me.

Incidentally, I also think that the Zoom H2 is probably the best recording module available right now....I would very much like to own one ( I hope my family can read this )
I also have one other point..Is this the first song you recorded with occasional speak lyrics? I like it.

------------------
Eddie from Rotherham
Skype:eddiefromrotherham
www.yamahakeyboards.info

PSR9000

Chas, maybe the recording was a little hot, but I'm not having any problems playing it using various players, including WMP.
I play a little guitar, but it has been years since I played it seriously. Keyboard is much easier!
DonM

Very nice, Don...beautiful work.

Great stuff! I could listen all day. Thanks for sharing.

Now I'll have BOTH versions on my iPOD ...

LOVE your stuff, Don ...

t.

Pretty cool tunes Don. Liked the singing, the guitar work - what the heck - I liked it all!

Thanks for the music,
Dan

[This message has been edited by big741.1 (edited 11-05-2009).]

I appreciate your singing/playing style. Great to hear how the E50 sounds in competent hands.

Scott

You don't need a guitar player Don. Great, love your singing too. I think any keyboard will sound good in your hands.
skude

Just in case anybody is interested . . .
There were 68 visits to the page with the songs yesterday. Most of them were during the noon hour!
I was hoping to hear somebody tell the truth about the differences in the two versions on different keyboards.
But thanks for listening.
DonM

OK...for what it's worth , an opinion!
Both versions were keepers.
If I was pressed to state a preference, the original take was to me more suiuted to the song...the new arranger didn't quite get the tone required for the genre.
cheers
Eddie Johnson


------------------
Eddie from Rotherham
Skype:eddiefromrotherham
www.yamahakeyboards.info

PSR9000

agreed . I prefered the E50 version easily. The guitar sounded outstanding. The singing was pretty nice too !

DonM
They are both very good, since you asked for it. I will go for the Audya version, to me, both the style and your voice sounds a little more live, a little more "rougher", if I may say so, and that,s what I like. (Wish I had that kind of voice myself) Not saying this because I play the Audya, but I just had a evening with our band,(using my Korg) and our drummer plays a kind of like that to that kind of musicstyle. (more noisy than the Audya, for sure ) I really love your guitar playing.
skude

Ummmm, gremlins I guess. This morning WMP played the Audya version with no problem. Ok, now for the only opinion that counts; mine . Although both versions are excellent, due in no small part to Don's vocals which are so well suited to this tune, I would have to agree with Skude. Although I'm normally a bigger fan of Roland than of Ketron's, I think the Audya gets the nod on this particular guitar simulation, on this particular style, on this particular tune (how's that for hedging your bet ).

BTW, I still think Don snuck a guitar player in there and is just pulling our chain about that being him on a keyboard . Seriously, it does go to show the importance of really listening to the instrument you're trying to emulate and then thinking and playing as though you were actually playing that instrument. I think that really helps with the realism.

The other thing that is so good (valuable) about these song postings is that it gives us a chance to compare styles and voices from two different manufacturers by the same competent performer (in the same recording environment). How often does that happen? Usually we have to rely on this factory demo vs. that factory demo. It would be nice to hear other members with multiple arrangers post 'compare' tunes. Hey, even if your performance can't match Don's, at least the comparison between brands will be fair.

chas

Guys, I really appreciate the input. It is so hard to be objective, especially when listening to yourself. There are things I like a lot about both instruments, but they are different in many ways.
I may post a couple more examples of the same songs recorded on the Audya and the E50/80.
It doesn't seem to make any difference at all to the live audiences. They could care less as long as it sounds decent and it's something they can recognize and can dance to.
DonM

Hey Don...
You're right about the audience's perspective.

After listening to both versions, I prefer (but only slightly) the E50. To my ears, the E50 guitar is "warmer" and not as "bright" or "sharp" as the Audya. I'm sure with more experience and tweaking on the Audya to "Masonize" it...my opinion will change.

The VH on the E50 seems a bit more pronounced but not overdone. Were the harmonies both onboard or did you use and external harmonizer?

Great job on both.
Eddie

[This message has been edited by btweengigs (edited 11-08-2009).]

You hit the nail right on the head, Don...I get pretty well the same audience reaction whether I use the Tyros3, or the S910.

Of course, in your case, you have different brands of arrangers, but the idea is still the same.

I may get one, or maybe two, that can hear some sort of difference, and they are usually musicians and/or people who always come to my gigs.

The bottom line, is that the instrument pleases you, and feels right to play.

Ian, I used Yamahas for many years, also Technics and almost all the Ketrons. The only bad reaction I ever had was when I had the Korg PA800. People were asking me what I did to screw up my sound.
In all fairness, it was the very first unit to reach the US, which the rep brought in and handed to me at the store. They later issued an OS update that made it sound better, but mine was long gone by then. I had previously had a PA80 and it sounded great, but both had a big lack of style selection in the genres that I use most.
I WILL get to the bottom of this and decide which way to go, but I do enjoy the battle. And it keeps me open to new ways to do the same old songs.
On a similar note, I do learn new songs, but as a rule, they are greeted with apathy. Most of my audiences want to hear the golden oldies, which is what I am, I suppose.
DonM

It boggles my mind to hear about your 800 experience. You had A BAD BOARD my friend. Your style suits that board good too, as there as many whining steel guitar styles and other fabulous country type arrangements. I am not a big country player, but everything I play (Achy Breaky, Elvira, Country Roads, Release Me, King of the Road, On the Road again, Rocky Top, etc are amazing). But we all hear different, so I should give up trying to convince anyone anyway.

Put up a tune or two, Zuki, and let Don hear how the Korg handles Country music...or. send him an MP3 showcasing some of the styles.

I never get to hear Korg arrangers...they don't carry them in my territory, so all I get to hear are the on-line demos....I don't think even one of them was a Country tune.

I play a lot of Country, mostly the real old stuff (the "good stuff")...a lot Williams, Cramer, Cline, Charles...I call it "the other soul music".

I played in a country band for several years, when just starting out, and it taught me discipline...sometimes it's what you leave out that's more important than what you add in.

The leader in the band used to say to me, "Sprinkle a little pie-anna over the top, son."

Everybody has a turn and a place in a Country band....discipline reigns.

I generally skinny down my country styles.

My favorite group is "Asleep At the Wheel"...awesome!

Ian....
I too like Asleep At The Wheel. A very unique group...impossible to duplicate as a OMB even with all the techno goodies.

Zuki and DonM are both pros...with very different styles and approaches to their material. Having met Don and watched him play, I can honestly say he is One Of A Kind.

I have also seen some of Zuki's videos and he has his stuff together with an excellent command of of KB. But...similar, they are not.

To me, that is the neat thing about what we do. We don't create cookie cutter music. To paraphrase PopEye. We Y'am what we Y'am.

Eddie

I get your drift, Eddie...I wouldn't want anyone sounding like me...especially on the same instrument.

We all work hard on making our playing styles unique, not only in how we approach the music, but also in the type of keyboard we choose, and how we use, or edit, the styles to give us our own stamp on the tunes.

I saw Asleep at the Wheel on a DVD the other evening...I think they were the back-up band for Merle Haggard, and they did a couple of tunes to open the show.

The piano player is terrific, and that lovely young lady with the "librarian" look, can sure play a mean guitar.

Simply the best Texas Swing band ever.

Ian

Here ya go, Ian. This is one of the country styles from my old Korg i30, this one's called "2beat Country" - I think it's stil in some sort of modified form in current Korgs.

Like yourself I do only a handful of country toons so I probably don't have the same need as DonM for a huge range of country styles. As Zuki said, though, the Korg is no slouch when it comes to country. I also think DonM must've had a bad 'un.
http://www.box.net/index.php?rm=box_mp3_...d=0&type=folder

Thanks 124...I can't seem to open the link...I get a blank page with "wrong file" in the upper left hand corner.

Hmmm . . . don't know what's up there, Ian. It opens OK on my computer.

Nope...it's not working for me...same thing...says "wrong file".

Let's try this.
http://www.box.net/shared/u74sl3uf8h

Sounds really good. Great job.
Thanks,
DonM

That's really nice...the harmonies are well done.


The old Korg sounds great! The organ sounds fits perfect.

Hah! Glad that worked. Hope Zuki can put up some more current country styles from the Korg for you. Thanks for your nice comments, too.

Don, you are so right ... we spend a lot of time here talking about the great sounds and styles of different KBs and whatnot, but in the end, does the audience REALLY know the difference??? ... we can hear someone's recordings on this forum and listen again and again, and critique 'till the cows come home' ... but unless you are playing in a 'concert setting', the audience is generally listening with one ear, if that ... they are out to share a good time with friends and all they want is entertainment ... they do not know or CARE if you are playing a Tyros, Roland, Korg, Ketron, technics, WHATEVER !!! ... hell, most of the time they don't even hear a clinker or two some of us might make ... ...
t.

Tony, if you believe that, don't ever play in a jazz club. Regulars will be talking about that clinker two years from now. The good part is, if you're skillful enough, you can make that clinker sound intentional .

chas

chas .. that's what I was getting at ... I consider a jazz club to be a 'concert setting' .. people are not there to dance and 'sing along' with the musicians ... for the very most part they are there to LISTEN to the players ... and critique them as well ...
and have no fear ... I admit to my lack of knowledge and limitations when it comes to jazz, and although I may play 'jazz tunes', I NEVER say I play jazz ... but I have made a 'clinker or two' sound intentional ...

t.

I can relate to those words, Tony...I'm the same way.

I love playing "the Standards", but I don't stray to far from the melody.

I like playing "everything", from Country, to Ballroom, to R&B, and Rock&Roll and others...I don't excel in any genre, but I'm good enough to get by.

Ian, that pretty well sums me up, too.

And you're not alone, Tony. I think that's true for a lot of us so-called 'jazzers'. Me, I like to say I LIKE jazz. Bird, Bud Powell, Coltrane, Miles; THEY were JAZZMEN, Jimmy Smith, Groove Holmes, Jack McDuff, not so much. Like my feeble attempts, what they played was a post-Wild Bill Davis kind of funk-jazz or soul-jazz, lumped under the heading of jazz organ. It was definitely more 'soul' than jazz, combining (usually) a walking bass line with a swing-shuffle beat. What those guys did (and what guys like Joey D. and Tony Monaco are still doing) was to create and popularize an exciting new easily accessible jazz-ish style with a (by then) jaded old instrument (Hammond organ). I still love it and always will, but I'll be the first to admit that it's not strictly 'jazz'. Jazz is on a higher plane and it's takes very special people with very special sensibilities to really play it. JMO, of course.

chas

At most of the joints I play, the patrons want to hear the melody...I can mess with the chords all I want(within reason) but, they don't seem to like too much wandering away from the melody.

Which is good thing, considering I only have a bunch of well practised(and well worn) licks that I generally use when "improvising"...occasionally I'll learn a new one, but I love having the old ones to fall back on, and work away from.

That doesn't mean I don't enjoy listening to well played improv...but, I guess even then I have my favorites...Bill Evans heads the list...Diana Krall is a relatively recent addition....a feast for the ears and the eyes.

I remember seeing her playing in a hotel lounge while I was on a Yamaha seminar, waaay back...I had said to one of the guys, that she was something else...she couldn't have been much over 20, maybe younger...and that she was probably going places with that talent.

She sure did...the "Live in Paris" DVD is my favorite concert.

There I go...digressing again.