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About Jeff Gibbs

Posts by Jeff Gibbs:

5 JUNO-Gi Features for Multi-Instrumentalists

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The Working Musician’s Auxiliary Keyboard

JUNO-Gi is for the multi-instrumentalist

Why the JUNO-Gi is Great for Multi-Instrumentalists

Being a multi-instrumentalist in a band is like being the quarterback and the kicker of a football team. If one doesn’t show up, there’s an available backup; however, in a perfect world your team members are always healthy, always prepared, and always ready to put on a great performance. But, this isn’t a perfect world and stuff happens, and when “stuff” happens, someone has to pickup the slack. This is when the kicker becomes the quarterback, and in a band, this is when the keyboardist becomes the guitarist. Yes, both require a level of skill and competence in order to carry out their part. In a band, however, you’re also required to have the right gear to make it possible. More

The Evolution of Piano Foot Pedals

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Foot Pedals for Modern Keyboards & Synths

The Evolution of Piano Foot Pedals marque image

Image: V-Piano Grand Foot Pedals

Have you ever wondered what some of the jacks on the back of your synthesizer or stage piano are for? On some Roland synthesizers, you’ll see inputs for “HOLD” and “CTRL1 and CTRL2,″ and on other instruments, you might see inputs for “SOSTENUTO” or “DAMPER.” These inputs are actually for foot pedals that enable the player to change the timbre or the expressiveness of the piano. The modern piano foot pedal configuration has been in its current form since the late nineteenth century, with three foot pedals: sustain (damper pedal), sostenuto, and una corda or soft pedal (sometimes referred to as the shift pedal). More

Getting Started with Sound Design

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Two Basic Approaches to Synth Programming

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Image: V-Synth GT sound design parameters

Do you experiment with sound design? One common misconception about programming synthesizers is that it’s easier to modify an existing patch (tone) than to start from scratch. You’ve probably sat with your favorite synth, found a patch that you like, and went to town tweaking the parameters. Suddenly, you begin to find that your knob and slider adjustments are getting you further and further away from the original sound. This is the main problem with modifying existing patches. You often have to search for and remove unwanted parameters (which may be affecting the tone quite drastically) only to end up with something far from the original and a lot of frustration. More

Making Music with Organ Drawbars in the 21st Century

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The VR-09’s iPad Editor Enhances Playability

V-COMBO VR-09 Organ Drawbars

V-COMBO VR-09 Organ Drawbars

Roland’s renowned SuperNATURAL® technology powers the V-Combo VR-09’s classic tone wheel organs, while nine harmonic bars provide authentic, instantaneous performance control.

Promotion: Summertime Savings

Because of the almost infinite range of tone provided via the drawbars, the organ can greatly enhance the flavor of your music. You can find a sound that sets your playing or music apart from other bands with a little experimentation, and with the help of the VR-09 Editor for iPad, the job of finding just the right tone becomes easy. More

Roland V-Drums Artist Keith Harris

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Music Director: Black Eyed Peas and Fergie

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Keith Harris is a producer and musician and the driving force behind many top-10 singles and Grammy Award-winning hits. Although highly acclaimed for drumming chops that define the sound of multi-platinum selling recording artists The Black Eyed Peas and Fergie, Keith Harris is also an accomplished composer and powerhouse musical director. More

A Peek Inside Herbie Hancock’s Live Rig

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Herbie Hancock at 35th Playboy Jazz Festival

Herbie Hancock at the Hollywood Bowl, 17 June 2013

Herbie Hancock at the Hollywood Bowl, June 17, 2013. Photo by Ginal Ferazzi, LA Times

The picture above shows Herbie Hancock at the Hollywood Bowl during the 35th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival, and he is clearly digging into a song on his iconic Roland AX-Synth. What the picture doesn’t show, however, is the amazing infrastructure of technology that Herbie and his tech, Brian McCollough, have assembled for Herbie’s live show. From his use of multiple iPads to some fairly complex programming, Herbie’s live rig showcases both the creativity and necessity behind his ever-evolving live performances. More

Sky White is Addicted to Crowd Surfing

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The Audience Inspires His Daredevil Theatrics

Sky White of Foxy Shazam

Sky White of Foxy Shazam

Foxy Shazam has been making a name for itself since 2004, touring constantly and releasing four albums to date. With a keyboardist who is sometimes referred to as the “Evel Knievel of rock and roll” and having openly admitted their ambition “to be the biggest, most ostentatious band on the planet,” the Cincinnati-based quintet delivers heavy, keyboard-driven pop/rock with a ‘70s glam flare. Their last album, The Church of Rock and Roll, was released in 2012 on I.R.S. Records with the single “I Like It” reaching the top five of Billboard’s mainstream rock chart. More

Win Kern Brantley’s Custom Gaia SH-01

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The “Menacing” Black Finish

The custom synth you see here was constructed for Kern Brantley, a multi-talented music director who has spent years working with chart-topping icons. Kern’s tour schedule left no time to re-program some crucial Gaia SH-01 sounds into his Roland AX-Synth last year, and necessity bred invention, as the saying goes. His only option was to transform one of his Gaia SH-01 synths into a keytar. With the help of his keyboard tech and a stage hand, they used the handle of a paint roller to create a neck on one end, attached a guitar strap pin to the other end, and then painted it a “menacing” black color.
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