We're packing some old gear today, to send to the "Old Synth Guy"....a Multivox analog rack mount delay/reverb, a Korg Micro synth from the 70's and a PAIA Strings n Things.

While in the back, I found a couple of old PE 585 Shures (-screw-on high impedance-still work), an old Vocal master head (also works, believe it or not), a couple of old Standel amps and lots of other old antique stuff.


Thing is, back when we (the old guys and gals among us) were using this stuff, the thing that really mattered was whether we could play or not.

New stuff is GREAT, but my months (MARCH and April) playing with no automation at all (guitar, piano and B-3) convinces me that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Russ

Cool, Russ...I play at least twice a week without automation...Hammond B-3, Yamaha Tyros4 (no accompaniments used), but I must say it is always nice to get back in my space and use the Tyros4 in glorious accompaniment mode as well. I just love having the band there, when I want them.

I feel I have the best of both worlds.

Still have my old Shure mic from way back in the band days...great old stuff for sure.

Glad things are working out for you, bud. Knock yourself out.

Ian

I hope to be able to play without any auto-accompaniments someday. I'm starting up piano lessons with that goal in mind.

But even if I become good enough to play solo piano, there are certain jobs where I think I'd always have to have some auto accompaniment. I could for sure see playing solo piano for back ground music jobs, but how about for a crowd that wants to dance?

Will you be learning Latin-style piano?

Man, that has to be the coolest.

Solo piano is tough work for dance gigs.

Ian

I can play OK latin piano but I need a bass player and some percussion. As far as lessons, I hope to learn more about solo piano and vocal accompaniment.

Yeah, I can imagine playing solo piano for dancers would be pretty darn tough. I once heard a piano player and conga player (both sang) that packed a little dance floor at a hotel bar in Puerto Rico. No tracks, just acoustic piano and congas/vocals. Those guys were buring!

Latin piano is all about octaves...it's physically demanding.

The arranger keyboard, to me, is just another tool in the tool drawer...it does several things, and it does them very well. I wouldn't want to have to do without my Tyros4, although I still love playing solo piano and also doing a group thing.

I've learned that each different way I play (solo, arranger, group etc.), helps me with the other types.

Ian

Hey, I'm NOT knocking auto equipment AT ALL! I was really just commenting that, over the years, even though equipment changes, you STILL have to know how to play. I'd think that, for many of us, what we play on isn't as important as what we know about playing.

In May, I'm going to play 12 dinner jobs on a guitar and a Midjay, with conventional pedals used to que chord changes.

To paraphrase our friend from Dallas, " It's not the equipment, it's the player.


Well put!


Russ

As hard as I try to live by these words, I am seriously lusting after new gear. In reality all the time watching youtube clips, reading reviews and the like would be much better spent on my instrument.

Yep, that about sums it up, don't it?

It's all about having, and delivering, "the goods", no matter what you play...be it arranger, piano, organ, guitar or all the above.

Ian

I can play very little piano, some guitar, used to play drums, bass and a lot of trumpet. However, the arranger is my niche. I don't want to do any of those other things. I want to play and sing with my arranger. I guess I am a specialist in THAT way.
I don't apologize for that at all. I feel a good arranger player is no less a good musician than a good guitar or piano player. It's just different.
DonM

Well said, Don. I totally agree.

Ian

Me, too, Mason. I have to. You're BIGGER than I am!


R.

With arranger playing, I think it's about TASTE; knowing what sounds good. Since people of different ability can basically get the same thing out of an arranger, I think it's the player that knows which style to choose, which variation to use when and where, which style parts to re-voice to better fit his vocal style, which tempo is most appropriate for a tune, that sets one arranger player apart from the other. A decent right hand and the ability to emulate other (solo) instruments accurately, doesn't hurt either. I don't believe people with no basic musical talent will ever be great, or even good, arranger players. Arrangers are like any other instrument in the sense that, with a given amount of training, a talented player is always going to sound better than an untalented player.

chas