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Post by Panagiotis on Mar 11, 2006 13:33:44 GMT -5
What are your favorite synths to use with quarter tones...also, has anyone been able to modify thier old non-midi boards. Somehow, I don't think it's possible because of how older analog synths are designed. They work on voltages and somehow the voltages are converted into equal tempered scales. One old guy who used to work on Moogs explained it to me once but it has always been a dilemma on older synths. This is why the Prophet 5 v.3 was so cutting edge......it was analog but it used digital controllers so that altered tuning became possible. If you notice, Roland didn't jump on the the bandwagon until fairly recently. Yamaha and Kurzweil had scale tuning capabilities a lot earlier. Of course, GEM had one of the easiest interfaces...right on the front panel! But again....all these boards are digital. You will notice that the first electronic synths to be used in Arabic music were the Prophet v.3 and OB-8...both from about 1983. The farfisas they used were modified by actuall opening the case and retuning the desired pitches.....very tedious if you play in more than one key! Actaually they used to do this back in the early 18th century and prior. They'd retune the harpsichord to just-intonation in whatever key they were going to play in. This was common practice until Bach wrote the Well empered Clavier and showed everyone that equal temperment was the way to go.
Pete
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Post by taki on Mar 13, 2006 12:25:26 GMT -5
Pete,
Actually, the earliest keyboards used in Arabic music were the Sigma and SH-2000. The Korg Sigma which was created in 1979 had a quarter tone button on it where it allowed the musician to hit to adjacent notes together at the same time to get quarter tones.... Likewise, the Korg's analog hardware was able to be messed with to get the actual quarter tones switched... I have seen and heard the Korg Sigma that was augmented in this fashion... Likewise, If I could attach a picture, there is another keyboard forum where someone that used to own a SH-2000 has the quarter tone customized switches added to it...
So, even though the keyboards you mention are revolutionary, there are still some others that were used with quarter tones before the one's you mention... And the ironic thing is that they are still sought out by many Greek abnd Arabic keyboardists due to their unique sound...
BUT, to make them sound like they should, there is a special style of playing that is needed that includes how the portomento is used along withe bending, and of course, with the gyftiko style that the keyboardist needs to have within his heart and skin to play appropriately... in other words, americanized Greek keyboard players need not look to buy these two keyboards...
My '50 cents' (in quarter tone language)......
Taki
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Post by Panagiotis on Mar 21, 2006 22:41:35 GMT -5
Pete, Actually, the earliest keyboards used in Arabic music were the Sigma and SH-2000. The Korg Sigma which was created in 1979 had a quarter tone button on it where it allowed the musician to hit to adjacent notes together at the same time to get quarter tones.... Likewise, the Korg's analog hardware was able to be messed with to get the actual quarter tones switched... I have seen and heard the Korg Sigma that was augmented in this fashion... Likewise, If I could attach a picture, there is another keyboard forum where someone that used to own a SH-2000 has the quarter tone customized switches added to it... So, even though the keyboards you mention are revolutionary, there are still some others that were used with quarter tones before the one's you mention... And the ironic thing is that they are still sought out by many Greek abnd Arabic keyboardists due to their unique sound... BUT, to make them sound like they should, there is a special style of playing that is needed that includes how the portomento is used along withe bending, and of course, with the gyftiko style that the keyboardist needs to have within his heart and skin to play appropriately... in other words, americanized Greek keyboard players need not look to buy these two keyboards... My '50 cents' (in quarter tone language)...... Taki I did not know about the Sigma's 1/4 tone capacity. That is very interesting. As far as the Americanized Greek players go, they probably are too young to know what we are talking about anyway! I always wished that I could modify my Minimoog for 1/4 tones.....all the techs told me that it wasn't possible, unfortunately. Pete
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chris
New Member
Posts: 5
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Post by chris on Jun 29, 2006 11:47:50 GMT -5
Taki & Panagioti, I am one of those American - Greek (Cypriot) keyboards players that doesn't really know my 1/4 tones from a hole in the ground. Taki, I only wish that I could play your style. How did you pick it up? When I hear your solos on the Sigma, I break out into a cold sweat. One of these days I'm gonna figure out what you do to make it sound so good. As for 1/4 tone tuning, I only use the Triton. You can save the tuning as needed per patch or performance and it's easy to change the key if needed. Taki, when you get a chance, e-mail me your address so I can send you our new cd. levendes@comcast.net
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