Darling - Keyboards
My keyboard rig is in a nearly constant state of flux in one way or another. The ever evolving nature of technology has a profound effect on electronic instruments. My collection contains boards both old and new. Some are used most of the time, others are somewhat more task specific and appear less frequently. Sound is my paramount concern, of course. And sound is a subjective matter. This list of instruments reflects what I require for my objectives and my opinion as to how those requirements might best be met. Please bear in mind that my requirements and my opinions change. The keys that constitute my current set up were acquired over many years, and at the time of their purchase were representative of what best suited my needs. Many keyboards have come and gone on the inexorable gear treadmill, only to be replaced by the latest, greatest, megapolyphonic, supermultitimbral, cancer-curing wonder device. A pattern that will no doubt continue. I love these things. Shall we begin?
Kurzweil K2600
I spend most of my time with the Kurz. It has without question the finest controller features I have ever come across. Eight realtime programmable faders, two switched wheels, two ribbon controllers and everything else that one can reasonably expect to find on a professional instrument is there. I fully expanded the RAM and installed a nine GB internal hard drive that I can load with sounds via SCSI. I have a Glyph CD-ROM drive connected to the K2600's SCSI port for this purpose. The 2600 has a very good basic sound set and I like the onboard effects. I go to it as my first choice for many different sounds. It is the heart of my system - if what you need isn't already there, you can load it from an external source. Excellent is the word I'm looking for I think.
Korg KARMA
I know that many musicians decry the KARMA as a glorified auto-accompaniment keyboard. I think it is much more than that. It has the TRITON's sound set, and in my opinion that's a very good thing. Do I like all or even most, of what the KARMA function does? No, not particularly. But I know that if you spend a little time programming this thing, you'll get results that will vindicate your efforts. It has made me reconsider much of my thinking regarding contemporary keyboards. This thing is an inspiration to play. What more can I say?
E-mu Systems PROTEUS 2000
The PROTEUS 2000 is a very utilitarian module. It has a broad sonic palette featuring hudreds of useful if somewhat less than dramatic sounds. It is not a likely candidate to produce sounds that will inspire you to compose your latest masterwork. And on my most recent recording, it is probably providing more of the sounds that you are hearing at any given moment than any other instrument in my collection. I don't get many leads out of the PROTEUS, but it excels in a supporting role. I use it for lots of things, but most often for basses, vintage keyboards and strings. PROTEUS sounds seem to have the uncanny ability to situate themselves in a mix in a way that allows them to be heard without masking the other elements that are present. It is precisely this quality that makes it an indispensable and practicable addition to my studio.
MOTU Machfive
My first virtual instrument remains largely unknown to me as it was so recently acquired. I will therefore refrain from any commentary for now.
Also MIDI enabled and available as required:
- Korg TR Rack
- Korg Wavestation SR
- Korg O3R/W
- Yamaha TG 500
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