Welcome
to the April issue of Keyboard
Player which is now available to download and purchase.
First up this month we have an in-depth review of Korg’s
PA500 from their Professional Arranger series. This one
comes in at a tad under 1k and Andrew Gilbert thinks this
may be an ideal stepping stone for those looking to move up
from the more basic keyboard without going into four figures
on the price. Read
his 6 page review in this issue.
When
Kawai
launched their CN piano range some three years ago, they proved
to be both novel in design and very popular. Kawai
have now launched three new models, the CN
21, 31 and 41. John Bates takes a look at this latest
range and believes their ideal customer will be looking for
a good attractive digital piano that doesn’t take up
too much space and doesn’t break the bank. Check out
John’s review
in this issue.
When is
a B3
not a B3?
When it’s a KeyB
Duo. Fashions come and go with musical instruments as
with everything else but the sound of the tonewheel organ
remains a constant. The latest company to try and replicate
the Hammond
B3 is DLQ, an Italian company, the origins of which John
Bates delves into in his review, who have managed to secure
the services of Joey
de Francesco as both a partner and chief performer.
To complete
this month’s hardware reviews, Mark Jenkins takes a
look at the 30th anniversary edition of the famed DSI Prophet
analogue synthesizer now simply renamed the Prophet
’08. So if you want the authentic Prophet sound
without compromise and don’t mind paying for it, this
one could be for you.
On the software front
the ever-popular Band-In-A-Box
gets its annual makeover and as the last edition Andrew Gilbert
reviewed was 2006 you get the ins and outs of both 2007 and
2008 editions which Andrew thinks are now more powerful and
easier to use. Either edition is highly recommended. Last
month we had Miles Davis lending his name to some software
– this month sees Ray Charles name being added to a
Fender Rhodes 73 VSTi aptly named MrRay73.
Again, recommended especially with a price tag of 49 Euros.
This months Key Person
is Don
Airey who has played keyboards for Ozzy Osbourne, Black
Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Judas Priest and, even Andrew Lloyd
Weber, amongst others but currently is full time with Deep
Purple.
With news of some
new Roland pianos plus the usual tuition and music, this then
is our April
2008 issue which we hope you enjoy.
Look out next month for news of our new expanded all-singing,
all-dancing website which we hope to launch in a couple of
months time. See you next time.
Issue & Web Site Update - March
2008
Welcome
to the March
2008 issue of Keyboard Player that is now available to
purchase and download.
When is a synth
not a synth?
A question that Andrew Gilbert poses in his review of the
new Yamaha
MM6. Described as an entry-level synth by Yamaha, AG is
very impressed with the array of sounds, styles and features
on offer but feels Workstation
might have been a more apt description. Still, what’s
in a name – synth
or not it seems great value at £429.
Andrew
also enthuses over Roland’s
SonicCell hardware module, going as far as to say that
it includes some of the best sounds he’s heard from
a module. Read his full in-depth
review in this issue.
Italian
company SR
Technology continue to knock out cracking sound systems
and they come up trumps again with the SR
Club 150A powered speakers which you can also add a STW250A
sub-woofer to. John Bates believes that SR
Technology perfectly understand the needs of the gigging
musician and design their products accordingly. Read his review
in this issue.
You may remember
last month in our interview with jazz pianist Geoff
Eales he particularly mentioned Oscar
Peterson as probably the greatest influence on his own
playing. Who better then to write us a personal tribute to
the great man, who sadly passed away in December last year.
It is fascinating to hear a musician explaining what it is
that makes someone like Peterson
so great – something not always easy to put into words.
Geoff doesn’t shy away from answering the few (and there
were only a few) detractors of Peterson’s
playing and style. A good read.
Joe
Jackson is not an artiste easily defined. Over the last
30 years he has dabbled in most musical genres including punk,
pop, jazz and classical. On the eve of his European tour and
the release of a new album ‘Rain’, Jackson talks
to Douglas McPherson about his career and music.
There are not many
musicians who get a piece of software named after them but
then Miles Davis was unique. Soundfonts have come up with
Miles’tone,
a virtual trumpet. Now although the references to Miles Davis
are obvious, there are no samples inside (as the packaging
clearly states) which means the sounds are fully modelled
and a modelled trumpet is rather complex and requires patience.
Andrew Gilbert goes into this software in some detail with
advice on getting the best from what he feels is a worthwhile
addition to your VSTi library. Also check out the review of
LinPlug’s
Alpha 3 analogue synth VSTi which completes this months
Computer
Music.
With the usual tuition and music, this then is our March
2008 issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next
time.
Issue & Web Site Update - February
2008
Welcome
to the February
issue of Keyboard Player which is now available to purchase
and download.
John Bates reviews the new flagship arranger keyboard from
Korg,
the Pa2X
Pro which he describes as being possibly the most detailed
and feature-full keyboard he has ever reviewed and believes
that at present it is in a class of its own. Read his full
review in this issue.
Andrew
Gilbert has a look at the new slimline ensemble
digital piano from Casio,
the Privia
PX-120. He thinks that for £549 this is a good starter
piano well worth considering. Computer
Music this month has a review of Mark Jenkins new book
‘Analog Synthesizers’ checks out updates to the
free-download virtual Wurlitzer, Miditzer and looks at 16
rare classic Moog synths with IK Multimedia’s Samplemoog
software.
If you’ve
ever considered setting up a home music studio you’ll
need a mixing desk and some decent monitor speakers. Mark
Jenkins takes a look at Yamaha’s
MG166C mixer and the MSP ‘nearfield’ monitor speakers,
which come in three models, and finds them both excellent.
Read his review in this month’s issue.
Those of you who enjoyed last month’s James Last interview
might like to know about his autobiography which is reviewed
in this issue.
News came through
over the Christmas period of the sad passing of Oscar Peterson
one of jazz pianos greatest virtuosos. We’ll be featuring
a tribute to him, hopefully in the next issue.
Talking of Jazz Piano Legends, that is the title of a new
CD by British jazz pianist Geoff Eales. He is the feature
of Key People this month and talks about his journey from
session man to one of the country’s leading jazz improvisers.
With the usual music and tuition features, this is our February
issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.
Issue & Web Site Update - January
2008
A happy
new year to everyone and welcome to the January
2008 issue which is now available to purchase and download.
We have an in-depth
review of the two self-accompanying digital pianos from
Kawai’s current CP range (Pictured Right) which John
Bates puts through their paces. You can download several demonstrations
to hear how they sound from www.kawai.co.uk
For those
of you who must have the latest gadgets, how about the Yamaha
Tenori-On (Pictured left). What is it? Well I guess you
could call it a hand-held musical interface but to find out
more you’ll need to read Mark
Jenkin’s review. He wonders whether this
could be the keyboard player’s instrument of the future.
Also in this issue Andrew concludes his two-part special feature
on Hammond
organs. This time he looks at the spinet models and a
selection of Leslie speakers.
If you’re
looking for a entry-level digital
piano with both impressive performance and appearance
check out Roland’s
RP-101 (Pictured Right). Read Andrew Gilbert’s in-depth
review in this issue.
Our Key People series has an interview with legendary arranger
and bandleader James
Last. At the age of 78 he is still going strong and talks
about his long and successful career and why retirement is
not an option he is likely to contemplate.
With news of two
new Casio
Privia pianos, how to get a free Garritan album download.
Jools Holland’s autobiography reviewed plus the usual
music and tuition, this is our January
2008 issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next
month.
Issue & Web Site Update - December
2007
Welcome
to the December
2007 issue of Keyboard Player which is available to purchase
and download.
First up this month we have an in-depth review of two of Yamaha’s
new Clavinova series, the CVP403
and CVP405.
We’ve already covered the top model, the CVP409
(see issue
314) and Andrew Gilbert thinks both these models deserve
consideration, especially for those who don’t require
all the extras the 409
offers. In just about all other respects there is little difference
between the models.
Roland
are launching a new trio of Atelier organs early next year
and Andrew Gilbert got to preview a pre-production model of
the AT-900
which he feels certain will be ‘an absolute cracker
of an organ’.
Kawai have come up with an elegant and good sounding digital
piano with the CL25
for under £600. Read John Bates’ in-depth review
in this issue.
Donny
Osmond is perhaps best remembered as the teeny-bop idol
from The Osmonds pop band. What is less well known is his
long-standing love affair with music technology. He talks
about how he first embraced new technology in the early days
with the band on tour and brings us up to date with his hi-tech
computer system in use today. He’s the subject of Key
People this month.
With the usual news, reviews and tuition features, this then
is our December
issue.
All of us at Keyboard Player send our best wishes for the
festive season to all our readers and subscribers throughout
the world and everyone who has visited the Keyboard Player
website during the past year. Thanks for your support. See
you next time.
In our
September
issue (304) last year we reviewed the Ketron
SD5 keyboard. We now get the opportunity to review the
module
version, the SD3. Coming with or without a hard drive,
John Bates highly recommends this as part of your stage set-up.
Read his review in this issue. Computer
Music assesses some graphic tablets for music application
from Wacom, explains how to get more out of Band-In-A-Box
and examines the latest upgrade to the Sampletank VSTi program.
In 2001
we reviewed the Nord
Electro and now Swedish company Clavia
have brought out the Electro
2. Coming in a 73 or 61 note version (there is also a
rack version) it provides both a Hammond Organ clone as well
as a selection of electric pianos, Andrew Gilbert is very
taken with its sounds and features.
Talking of Hammond,
Classic
Keyboards returns this month with the first part in a
Hammond
special. In this issue Andrew Gilbert concentrates on
Hammond’s Console organs.
Last month we heard
the sad news of Joe
Zawinul passing away. In tribute to the great man we’re
publishing a 6 page feature on his life and music. From the
early years with Cannonball Adderley, the landmark jazz-rock
albums with Miles Davis, and the creation of Weather Report
with Wayne Shorter, without doubt the most influential jazz
fusion band, through to the more recent work with the Joe
Zawinul Syndicate, Joe’s influence on jazz music
over the last forty plus years has been immense. He’ll
be greatly missed. Mike
Oldfield fans may be interested to know that we review
his autobiography as well as his new CD in our review section.
With news of an impressive new flagship pro keyboard from
Korg,
the Pa1XPro plus the usual music and tuition features, this
then is the November issue of Keyboard Player which we hope
you’ll enjoy. See you next time.
Issue & Web Site Update - October
2007
Welcome
to the October
issue of Keyboard Player which is now available to purchase
and download.
Roland’s new flagship HP digital piano, the HP-207
gets a thorough testing from Andrew Gilbert in this issue
who thinks this is a superb piano well worth checking out
if you’re in the market for a luxury digital. The E80
update review mentioned last month will now hopefully be in
November.
You may
be surprised to learn that Kawai
are the second largest musical instrument manufacturer in
the world and as their output is almost entirely pianos, both
acoustic and digital their expertise and experience in producing
pianos is perhaps unrivalled. It is perhaps less of a surprise
then to learn that the first digital piano to use a full wooden
soundboard – just like acoustic pianos – has just
been produced by Kawai.
The
CA91 is Kawai’s top of the range digital
and John Bates reviews this innovative new instrument in this
issue.
Mark Jenkins
takes a look at the new VX
series of controller
keyboards from the Chinese company CME. He also looks
at three new pieces of software namely, Arturia
Jupiter 8, Steinberg Groove Agent 3 and Finale 2008. For
those thinking about updating their existing software or looking
to buy for the first time, check out this month’s Computer
Music feature.
80s techno-pop pioneer
Thomas
Dolby is the subject of this month’s Key
People. He’s about to launch a UK tour and talks
about his career, electronic music today and his success in
recent years with ringtones.
Everyone recognises the theme from ‘Mission Impossible’
but do you know who composed it? Argentinean composer, conductor
and pianist Lalo Schifrin has composed over 150 scores including
‘Bullitt’, ‘Dirty Harry’ ‘Rush
Hour’ as well as the aforementioned ‘Mission Impossible’.
He is this month’s subject in Rhythm Kings and it is
his rhythms, which have been an inspiration to many young
musicians in recent years that are looked at in this feature.
Just as we were finalising this issue the sad news came in
that legendary jazz keyboardist Joe Zawinul had passed away.
We’ll have a full profile on Joe’s life and music
in the November issue.
With the usual music and tuition features, this then is our
October issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next
time.
Issue & Web Site Update - September
2007
Welcome
to the September
issue of Keyboard Player that is ready to purchase and
download.
Following on from the preview last month of the Yamaha
PSR-S900 & S700 we bring you an in-depth 6
page review and it looks as though Yamaha
have once again set the benchmark for high-end home keyboards.
Both the preview and main review are included for those wishing
to download
this -10 pages in total – feature.
Roland’s
HP-203 digital piano also gets the thumbs-up from Andrew
Gilbert who thinks it’s one heck of a piano for under
£1,500. More reviews from this new HP series will follow.
Our Key Person this month is Hiromi,
the Japanese pianist who sprung to fame after a chance meeting
in Tokyo with Chick Corea nine years ago when she was 17.
With her fourth CD ‘Time Control’ just out, she
recently did a stint at Ronnie Scotts in London which is where
John Bates caught up with her.
One of
the best known and most popular software packages, Sibelius,
has reached version
5 and John Bates takes us through the new ideas and changes
contained in this major upgrade. There is also a chance to
win a copy of the top package.
Next month we’ll be looking at the new RolandE-80
upgrade, but we have details of this plus a new digital grand
and a sampler from Roland
in this issue. We also bring news of a new sound module from
Ketron,
the SD3 which has everything from the SD5 keyboard plus more.
Keyboard Player contributor
and musician, Mark Jenkins has organised a concert series
in London this Autumn under the title ‘Music for the
3rd Millenium’. One of the highlights will be a performance
of ‘An Electric Storm’ by The White Noise. This
is being performed live for the first time since this legendary
electric music project, born at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop,
first produced the album in 1968. Included in the original
line-up was the late Delia Derbyshire, creator of the Doctor
Who theme and David Vorhaus who effectively is White Noise
today. Check out this and other concerts in this issue or
go to www.myspace.com/musicforthe3rdmillennium
There is a feature looking at Music in the Movies –
in terms of DVD extras, and Classnotes
looks at Elgar for beginners, chord progressions for the intermediates
and funk on the Hohner Clavinet for more advanced players
in our tuition series.
I hope you enjoy this issue – see you next time.
Issue & Web Site Update - August
2007
Welcome
to the August
issue of Keyboard Player which is now available to puchase
and download.
To start we have the first part of Andrew Gilbert’s
two-part in-depth review of the new top of the range PSR-S900.
Elsewhere John Bates gets his hands on the first Kawai
MP5 in the UK and is very impressed with this eagerly
awaited stage
piano.
We also have a feature on other new Kawai
pianos, for both home and stage being launched this autumn.
If you
like to sing and play, Korg’s
new R3
Vocoder Synth might be worth a look. Mark Jenkins reviews
it in this issue and believes it should prove popular, thanks
to its compact layout, wide range of analogue sounds as well
as the slightly gimmicky vocoder facility.
I’m sure we’ve all got a record or two in our
collections by artistes who had one massive hit and then seemed
to disappear off the face of the Earth. Of course, just because
we no longer hear about them doesn’t mean they’re
not having successful and eventful careers in music. Billy
Swan, who had a worldwide hit in 1974 with ‘I Can
Help’ is one such musician. Now 65 years old he’s
still in the business and making records and he’s got
a good story to tell both before and after ‘the big
hit’.
Not a lot on the
software front this month with quite a few items awaiting
arrival, so Computer
Music reviews a new digital sheet music system called
MusicPad Pro. We also look at The Fast Guide To Cubase 4.
Mark Jenkins examines the new phenomena of musicians who have
succumbed to ‘the lure of the laptop’ ie music
that is composed, mixed, equalised, mastered and burned entirely
on a laptop. There are reviews of CDs by Mike Oldfield, Enigma,
Tangerine Dream and Jean Michel Jarre who’ve all taken
this course.
With Classnotes
of special interest to ragtime
fans, plus the usual musical selections, this the is our August
issue. See you next time.
Issue & Web Site Update - July
2007
Welcome
to the July
issue of Keyboard Player which is now available to purchase
and download. After last months new product news from Yamaha
and Roland
we have news from Korg
and Casio
on forthcoming products.
As promised we have the first in-depth review from the new
Yamaha
range. Top of the range CVP409
Clavinova gets a pretty big thumbs-up from Andrew Gilbert
and believes that Yamaha
still lead the way with top line ensemble
pianos. Computer
Music previews Sibelius 5, reviews a book on Cubase 4
and checks out a couple of digital metronomes from Korg.
Hammond
have at last launched their modular drawbar and controller,
the XM-2
and XM-2C. John Bates puts them through their paces and
finds much to admire in terms of sounds, versatility, portability
and price.
In Key People this month, we talk to Mike
Smith who was lead singer and keyboardist with the 60s
pop band The Dave Clark 5. They had some massive hits covering
R&B artistes like The Contours (Do You Love Me) and The
Isley Brothers (Twist and Shout) and were, for a while, nearly
as big as The Beatles. When the band split up he turned to
studio work but decided to return to the road in 2003. Then
a tragic accident changed his life completely.
One of the finest jazz pianists of all time, Oscar Peterson
is the subject of Rhythm
Kings this issue and Classnotes
reaches part 25. We have a special offer for those wanting
to get earlier parts of the series.
This is our July issue which we hope you’ll enjoy.
Issue & Web Site Update - June
2007
Hello
again and welcome to the June
issue of Keyboard Player. We’ve reached that time
of year when the major distributors are starting to release
their new products and Yamaha
and Roland
both feature largely this month with a multitude of pianos
for consideration.
John Bates recently attended Roland’s piano
launch and gives us the low-down on their new ranges. One
of these, the FP-7
gets an in-depth review which he describes as a really innovative
instrument. Reviews on the other models will follow during
the next few months.
Andrew
Gilbert takes on the new Yamaha
pianos, and starts with three ‘straight’ (ie no
rhythms etc) pianos, the Modus
H01, YDP-S30
and the NP30/30S
which range in price from a whopping £5,000 to a modest
£199. With other Yamaha
piano reviews coming up including a major top range CVP model
there would seem to be plenty of choice this summer for those
looking to buy a piano.
Talking of pianos,
one of the world’s leading piano manufacturers, Kawai,
celebrates their 80th anniversary this year. We look at the
history of the company that arguably makes the finest acoustic
piano in the world today but uses their experience to
bring us excellent digital
models as well. They too are launching some new products
which we will be looking at over the coming months.
If you are reading this update the chances
are that you play a keyboard instrument and possibly compose
and produce your own music. And if that is the case you
may also have thought about how to get your music heard
by more people than just friends or family. Well, it may
not be as hard as you think. Mark Jenkins starts a short
series titled ‘Who
Needs A Record Label?’ this month in which
he looks at how to produce and sell your own music. Mark
Stanway, one of the most experienced keyboardists on
the UK rock scene talks about his 25 years with Magnum and
his stints with Whitesnake and more recently Robert Plant,
in this month’s Key
People feature.
For UK keyboard students building towards LCM grades 6-8,
Andrew Gilbert’s Making
The Grade feature will be of particular interest in
this issue.
With the popularity of World Music increasing all the time,
it is only natural that musicians will want to produce ethnic
instrument sounds from their keyboard. A new software package,
MOTU
Ethno allows you to do just that. Mark Jenkins investigates
in this month’s Computer
Music feature.
With a special Tangerine Dream CD feature plus the chance
to win a limited edition Tangerine Dream DVD, signed by
Edgar Froese, this then is our June issue that we hope you
enjoy.
See you next time.
Issue & Web Site Update - May
2007
Welcome
to our May
issue which is now available to purchase and download.
Our main review this month is the E-60
workstation from Roland
(pictured left). Andrew Gilbert takes this one through
its paces and believes it’s a worthy addition to the
mid-range keyboard market with a good mix of sounds and styles.
Andrew also looks at the Pocket
180 speaker system from SR
Technology which at around £500 is designed specifically
for the home and studio keyboard set-up. Read his in-depth
review in this issue.
