I've done a vocals track on kn7000 recorded through the USB to MP3 format so most can try it out easily. It's posted at http://www.wtenaykeyboardstudios.com/SK-KN7000.html ,thanks to Walt for the server space.
If you play it through decent headphones or speakers it gives some idea of the 7k sound.

Alec,

Do you give lessons and how much?

Grandpa Doug

The Platters sang a different version.!!
( the 50's)
Walter

Grandpa, the answer is yes... in the book

Walter, I never liked that Platters song, this Yazoo/Flying Pickets song always struck me as much superior.

Alec: The musical demonstration of your KN-7000 is just as precise and beautifully done as your very technical answers to hundreds of Keyboard Questions. You are truly an unuasul man, and I could stand a few more demo's of other features contained in this outrstanding new offering from Technics..........................ARJ

Alec and Art,

Your right Art, Alec has got it nailed down. All the way around. I got a few more pages to reread from Alex's books. This will be the third time for the 'How Do I Do That' and the second time for the 'Extended Instructions HD-SX6 Hard Drive'. Alec, do you think that will do it or are you talking about getting another set of books? So far I figure I got about 5 lessons under my belt. About an hour ago I sat down at my KN, turned the darned thing on, played for awhile and was no better than yesterday or the day before that or the day before that. What am I doing wrong? Maybe it's the kind of songs I play. What do you think? Do you think it might be the rhythm styles I choose? Could be I have to memorize the books? Man, I hope not! I even went so far as to ask Ruthie if she noticed any improvement over the last couple of days. I knew I should not have asked her. After a few stiff ones I felt a little better and gyrated over here to the old Mac and am now asking you for a little more insight into this matter. That's OK Alec, you can tell me like it is. I can take it.

Grandpa Doug

Alec,

Your MP3 demo of the Kn7000 sounded brilliant through my PC system speakers so I imagine it must sound even better playing from the keyboard. After reading your review in the Techplus magazine, it makes me seriously consider purchasing this new keyboard just for the technology advances alone,i.e. SD Card, USB connection,CD recording etc. BTW, appreciate all the help
you give so freely, we all benefit one way or
another.

Shirley.

well done Alec!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Shirley Warwick:
[B]Alec,

it makes me seriously consider purchasing this new keyboard just for the technology advances alone,i.e. SD Card, USB connection,CD recording etc. BTW, another.
+++++++++++++++++++
Shirley
Don't even give it a second thought.
Just go and get one
Johnnie

Very nice work Alec. That was a real pleasure to listen to. I do like that Yazoo flavor and arrangement a lot.

thanks very much everybody, particularly Nigel who embarasses me from such a 'pro'!

The Yazoo original was the best, Alison Moyet a great vocalist and Vince Clarke a very talented writer. The song was another hit several years later here by the Flying Pickets, a short lived all vocal group. Many regarded this version as rather kitsch, but I thought it rather good, without surpassing the original.

Good One Alec Sounds great through the KN7000.

Shirley, as Johnnie says - Just BUY one!! Hell! what's money for? Enjoy yourself

------------------
Willum

Hello Alec,
Well done indead....I can't wait to have mine...any days now.

Can we expect some more tracks....would be nice.
Thanks again,
Alain

thanks again. If you think that sounds good through 7k Willum, you should hear the drums on Lord of the Dance!

Alec: I really enjoyed your rendition of Yazoo's 1999 hit, 'Only You'. Very cool & innovative indeed. I especially like the way you used the KN7000's terrifc sounds (ooh's and ahh's) and the way you sequenced constrasting rhythms with each other. Your tune really highlights how 'technically precise' and musically creative you are. Did you record this song entirely on the KN7000's hardware sequencer? Which KN7000 auto accompament style and specific KN7000 sounds did you use? I assume you recorded different parts (multi-tracking) with subsequent rec takes, right? Did you use step record or were all takes recorded in real time? It appears quantizing was applied to give your song that cool robotic (techno) feel. Perhaps you could share (with us) your recording method (sequencing steps). Alec, thanks again for sharing your music. Bravo! - Scott

thanks very much, Scott - no multitracking, a straight easy recording in one take from 8 panel memories and a handful of composers on the KN sequencer. The point is to try and show how an easy recording can be made to sound like a midi file using the features available. Therefore it can be played live exactly as here using a couple of footswitches to change panel memories and trigger fills, or just with a control track if footswitches are not available. This type of demo was intended to go with the other demos for the book to show how a one finger player with a handful of chords under his belt could produce a sound from these boards with a little understanding of the features, as an encouragement to experiment.

The composers were 16 measures in length to accommodate the counter melodies for each verse/chorus/middle 8, self constructed. The guitar obbligato was two measures stolen from a midi file. The rest of the backing was played into the composer by listening to the two Yazoo and Flying Pickets MP3 versions as a general guide, and thus is a sort of amalgam of the two. A rhythm track was stolen from a pad and copied into a composer track and thinned out a little. The most complicated composers were constructed, then panel memories used to mute tracks for the earlier parts of song.

Sounds are just conductor layers of presets (no sound edits in this one) with suitable dsps assigned. All work was done purely with KN menus, the only PC involvement was the recording and conversion of the final output wave file.

There was no quantising on melody or most of the composer tracks, this song is pretty rhythmically precise, and anyway I am only an amateur player.

Alec, I've got the original River Dance, 'Lord of the Dance' and all the follow-up video recordings as well. Being a Scot, I just love the Celtic music and in particular, the band which features in these performances. However, good as they sound on my TV set, I'm sure you are referring to either a DVD, CD or some other computer compatible recording. Do Tell...........

------------------
Willum

apologies, Willum, I was not clear. I was talking about the Lord of the Dance demo done on the 65 a little while ago http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/Forum25/HTML/000540.html , when played on the 7k.

Thanks Alec, I'll go and get it

------------------
Willum

Johnnie and Willum,

Thanks for your encouragement. Hoping to try out the 7k in the next week or so. Also, will be attending the Organ/Keyboard Festival at Sinah Warren in early October so I can make my final decision then, if I can wait that long

Shirley.

Alec, I just want to add my congratulations to those already expressed. I played your KN7000 demo several times over the weekend and got more out of it each time I listened to it.

Two questions: (1) are all the voices native KN7000 or did you select any from an EW01, etc card? (2) approx how how long does it take you to put together a piece like this, creating the composers, extracting bits out of midi files, etc?

Mike

Thanks Mike,
they are all 7k voices bar one backing voice from EW01, but looking through the menus the 7k has a very similar voice available, so the same could be achieved from 7k alone in this instance.

As for time, getting 2 measures of one track from a midi file into a composer track took about 30 seconds

It probably took about 2 working days, since I had no score and had to listen to the original songs a few times to play suitable backings into the composer. In fact I made several mistakes by putting some transitional measures at the end of composers instead of in fills, which would have been easier to play in, but by the time I had got the feel right it would have been more work to go back and change it.

I work two steps forward, one step back - making a very full version, then coming back a day later with a fresh perspective and thinning everything out to get just the basics which make the impact. Just because you have 8+2 backing tracks does not necessarily mean you need them all at once

I then sent it to a very good musician friend who listened and suggested a superior chord change, which worked better, so I just easy recorded again with the new chord progression.

Alec, Just tried your 'Lord of the Dance' on KN7000..... It sounded great! Certainly disturbed a bit of dust and a few cobwebs in my music room

------------------
Willum