Here's one of the first songs recorded on the job with the new again Ketron SD7.
Two More Bottles of Wine

Man, how did you ever get along without an SD, sounds absolutely terrific !!
.....a real good singer and a BAND, what more can a man want??!

regards,
John

WOW! Love it!



This really sounds good, great punch. 👍 👏


Don, if I play this one during the roadtrip, it's gonna cost me a huge bunch of 💲💲 for overspeed.... 🚔😁

Super!!! Sounding great!!

its amazing what these arrangers can do in the right hands. what a great recording! sounds like you hired studio session musicians.

Noice

I don't think it matters what Don has for a keyboard, they all sound great.
Maybe it's not the keyboard as much as it is DonM.

Fantastic as usual.
Great job.
Super !!!!!!

Thank You Don

OUTSTANDING Don as usual...SD7 & YOU perfect Together...

btw what does NOICE mean?

Sounds great Don! Sounds like a winning pair to me! (You and the SD7)!

I just had to listen to it again you have never sounded better than with the SD7 wow..

The performance is top notch ! Your hands are recognizable on any keyboard :-)

I suspect that Yamaha’s guitars maybe have a bit more of realism, yet it doesn’t necessarily mean that they would make a song to sound better altogether – what’s important is your emotions and energy which you express with your music and whatever instrument helps you to do that is the right one.

By the way, a pitch bend wheel on PSR-S950 is not very durable. I guess it wouldn’t last for more than a year at jobs like this.

You guys are very kind, but I really appreciate the positive feedback. I did pick a song that I thought sounded pretty good.

+++++1
ABSO-freakin-LUTELY !!! I've never heard ANY keyboard not sound great in Don's hands !

THANK YOU, Don ...

IMO the Yammy mod wheels compared do not compare
to a quality Joy stick for many reasons..

Don, it’s been said many times that you sound great on any keyboard, and you prove my signature line “ it’s not the keyboard, it’s the keyboardist” to be true.
With that being said, you and Ketron just seems like a perfect match. After my first visit with you in Shreveport all those years ago, I had to go out and buy an Audya which I still have to this day. I don’t think make it sound as good as you do, but I’ll keep on trying ! Thanks for the inspiration!

The best

Awesome.
All that's needed is Don Mason / Marylou Harris duet

Don, that sd7 sounds excellent...voice sounds great to. May be the best combination yet

Sorry Don, to me it sounds like an arranger. May just be the arrangement.

Again, thanks for the nice comments!
Paul, we need to get together again soon. I still have recordings of you and your wife playing my Audya that night!
Earl, my goal is to NOT sound like an arranger. I would be grateful for any advice to help achieve that.
Thanks!

Amen, Amen to all those wonderful comments. Great Job Don. Loved it.

Gerry M

Don, I know that you try to NOT sound like an aranger and almost always accomplish that. Just, I didn't think you made it this time with this tune and this keyboard. Kaper made an interesting comment concerning the quality of the Ketron guitars.

I hope you know, you are my inspration and my favorite performer on SZ. You will notice that I do NOT give out commilments that I don't feel are deserved. If I tell you its good you can take it to the bank. I also don't do positive comments to old friends who can no longer sing even though they are old friends.

Anyway, in response to what to do to get back to the great country sound, you migh consider getting rid of the new kb and going back to what works for you. Or, maybe just fix those guitars!

I confused about this statement .....
Ketron sounds are some of the best out there..
Yamaha might have a slight edge due to the effects
they use on their guitars like the Eg: slide guitar, etc,..
but that's it.... Ketron certainly is in the top also.

Don, & Earl,

It sounds like an Arranger. Because IT IS AN ARRANGER.. The only way I have found to NOT have it sound like an Arranger is to use the Arranger less. In essence I use "less" of the Arranger than most folks....I then build my tracks up from there, NOT using Arranger features, but sequencing additional parts manually & adding real guitars...

In essence I use my KORG PA 4x as an Arranger/Workstation

Well, I don't sequence anything much. The guitar is just what popped up on the style preset. As far as sounding country, it's not really a country song, it's a Delbert McClinton blues song, but done more in the fashion of Emmy Lou Harris' version.
It's really early in the game for this arranger, but all the sounds are there.
Constructive criticism is always welcomed by me. Thanks!

Don that sounded great to me I loved it thanks Cal.

Exactly...sound great to me ...who are we too judge?

There is a huge difference between judging someone and giving feedback
Honest feedback is like a present you need to unwrap to find something worthwhile

How we receive it is important too...On my new VIDEO "Cry of the Young" I posted here, another FORUM really got on me about the Drums & bass on the original version. It was TECHNO/RAP, but I was heading in the wrong direction...3 people said the same crit on the other Forum, in different ways & DNJ on this FORUM gave me some great advice here as well on the drums & piano...Now the FIRST one who posted was a little demeaning. But, I saw past that, & realized, his crit was spot on..

He has not responded to the final version, so we will see where his motives were. To demean my work or help the track get better?

Either way.....If a few people tell me the same thing I may want to listen..BTW someone on that same FORUM is slamming my VIDEO "First Love. Last Love" I placed on that Forum 8 months ago and my new VIDEO "Cry of the Young"...Brutal criticism of the song & VIDEO, more the VIDEOS....It is his opinion & probably I will see what he meant as I get better at VIDEOS

I take each comment very seriously. As you say, you may not see understand what someone is trying to tell you at first, but maybe it will sink it later.
I pretty much don't agree with Earl's assessment yet, but I truly appreciate that he took the time and effort to make it, and I am taking it very seriously as I listen to the guitar sounds in question.
When I make my next trip to Mountain Home, AR., I will buy his breakfast in appreciation!
In the next few days, I will finally have a better chance to sit down at the SD7 and do a lot of homework. So far, it has been sort of a mess, rushing it into service before I was ready, but the live audiences seem to be enjoying it and that's what counts.

Don I know you will tame that wild stallion and make it shine as you always do... Can't wait to hear it.

I want to really clarify my position on Arrangers....They are an invaluable tool for me as a Songwriter & Artist, & much fun for all who own one...But...Every demonstration I have ever heard on an Arranger, no matter how amazing, still sounds like an Arranger....This includes all the ones placed on this thread...

Once again: THEY ALL SOUND LIKE THEY ARE PLAYING ARRANGERS...Because they are....

When I play Acoustic Guitar I don't expect it to sound like my Piano...

Nice ! Great vocal and playing.

Agreed, Don’s songs are mostly about his voice and voice style. The SD7 certainly adds some realism, the clarity of the drums is fantastic.

The Pa4x adds more warmth – depth, than the SD7. (opinion) Don has not need for raw out-front drums. (and other instruments)

I vote for Don + Pa4x. If only he could put some good Italian olive oil on the keys to make them move easier. (smile)
John C.

And there is something wrong about this? Steve, I love the sound of a good arranger keyboard, and I personally know individuals that can replicate a full orchestra, and no one of the planet could tell the difference. Unfortunately, they do not frequent this forum, but I have posted some of their works, which are beyond a doubt, movie quality.

DNJ, who is the master of You Tube, once posted a vid of a 6-piece band playing and one by one they stopped, walked off the stage and the music just continued as if no one left. When the last player walked off the stage, a curtain on the left side was lifted and there was a single, arranger keyboard player playing the song, which, to everyone in the audience and watching You Tube, sounded the same as the live band. All this can be done with an arranger keyboard in the hands of a competent individual.

When Don Mason plays his keyboard, using one of the many guitar voices, it sounds like a guitar - not a piano.

All the best,

Gary

Absolutely nothing wrong with that...That is what I am saying...

I love my Arranger & am a believer in the Arranger for many, many reasons...But, the fact remains I can hear an Arranger when it is being played...To these ears, the signature sound is ALWAYS there

Steve,

No disrespect and I believe you when you say YOU can still hear an arranger but let's be brutally honest here, my guess is that well over 90% of the general public will not hear an arranger when they hear Don's recording. Or when they hear a good recording with vocals and played on the Ketron or Korg PA4X. Like novels require a "willing suspension of disbelief" so does music and so do these topnotch arranger keyboards.Most people can easily be " fooled " in believing they are listening to a real band. Perhaps you should not have become so well versed in music that the penalty is that you can now still discern the difference......me thinks......

regards,
John

I posted this demo of 3 individual demos.. Steve can you tell me if Demo 1,2 or 3 is played on arranger keyboard or not.

I usually go out of my way to not sound like arranger style play.. Usually means stripping down styles, and playing left hand bass.

Enough hints

https://app.box.com/s/r88pv7c2azmrafasozkugzzeivd30av7

funny people buy an arranger KB ....
and then don't want to sound like they are using one?
strip down the very heart of the engine?

yet they don't want to buy a workstation/synth KB
and multitrack their songs using the sequencer?

what's wrong with this picture

Steve and his detractors are both right. Steve can certainly tell when Don Mason is playing "arranger" guitar. Perhaps his ear is also good enough to discern other characteristics of arranger playing as opposed to live instruments.

But the way Don Mason (and others) plays an arranger is also a unique and legitimate sound of its own used to entertain live audiences. And I don't think Steve is denying that fact or trying to minimize it. At least that is the way I read the situation.

it should not matter if a song is created on an arranger, workstation/multi track , or a 100 piece orchestra in a multi million dollar recording studio with the best engineer. its the song, singer, the music . some of the best songs were recorded under less than desired conditions have well stood the test of time. as for dons song , i like it .i dont care if he used a mop bucket to create it. ok, im done ranting

DNJ, Nothing....Everyone has different reasons why they do what they do. Or why they buy what they buy...If I did STANDARDS I would use an ARRANGER differently...I rarely do a cover song & when I do, it is mostly in a Church setting

I use the Arranger KB in 5 primary ways

1. Compose songs

2. Get Arrangement "ideas"

3. Record songs

4. "live" onstage as a one man performer sitting at the Piano. Everyone in the audience knows visually it is either an Arranger function going on or some Pre-recorded/sequenced music going while I play a PIANO part. I do not use Right Hand sax, flute, or elec guitar etc.on stage. Only PIANO.

5. "live" onstage playing "live" acoustic guitar, while the ARRANGER plays my "Sequenced/Style PRE-RECORDED I play acoustic guitar & sing...

I personally don't use a sax, electric guitar, flute right hand etc. I just don't. For my music I just can't use that stuff. My music "live" onstage, it doesn't work out very well on MY MUSIC...So I strip it down. BUT I DIDN'T BUY AN ARRANGER TO DO STANDARDS, like most everyone else does..They have their reasons to drop 4K on a keyboard, & so do I....

Good thing the Korg PA 4X doesn't have a USE ONLY AS DIRECTED notation in the Manual...

DNJ, thanks for your help on "Cry of the Young". You really were a great sounding board as I worked through the tune

I LOVE THIS FORUM & I LOVE ARRANGERS....

Steve good post .....your very welcome I am always willing to help
fellow musicians if I can with what I know thru my experiences.
I absorbed what people taught me and want to pass it
along if possible..as we all learn from each other.

stay safe

I loved it. Emmylou has always been a fave and you brought back a song that doesn't come to mind often. One of your top demos..

I made a very long response last night, but have postponed posting it until I re-read it. I don't disagree with anyone and I'm grateful to Steve and Earl for another viewpoint. My response rambled quite a bit and it probably would have only interested a few of us. But it pretty much echo what most of us are saying--there is no ONE way to use an arranger.

Just keep doing what makes you and your customers happy. It has been successful for many years. No need to defend your sound. It's perfect.

Jerryghr

This is interesting to me because it makes you exactly the type of person that the "new" arrangers such as the Genos are being marketed toward (you will recall the Beth Nielsen Chapman video that Yamaha released at the time of the Genos launch). You could be called the "new guard" as opposed to the "old guard" that probably makes up 80-90 percent of the members here (myself included).

Don, I for one have loved to read your rant. Quite frankly I agree with what a lot of the posts have said. I thinks I'm just a crotchety old man that likes what he likes and sometimes steps on it with opionions that strongly deviate from others. Doesn't make me right even if I think I am. Sorry to all you Ketron fans, but I don't think the sounds are all that great, But then again I'm still using a PSR 3000!

Oh, it was not a rant, just a bunch of random thoughts. I
Posted it here, but no comments in 24 hours, so I suppose, as I first suspected, it was not of importance to anyone.

Sounds are like smells - you get very used to them, and new entries take time to hit your "sweet spot". The psr3000 has great sounds, but lots of improvements have come around since that one hit the market. Open your mind, and your ears to the newer samples, and tones ... there's some GREAT stuff happening in audio.

Seems like S-Z has been the major part of my entertainment lately ...

I think a lot of us are getting cabin fever. At least I'm getting out a few nights now. Tried to play golf yesterday, made six holes and had to quit because my legs gave out. Have to get back in shape...