I’m in two bands and also take hired-gun gigs. I’m
lucky to have accumulated over 90 keyboards and
rack modules from which to build rigs for a specific
purpose—good job, Keyboard advertisers!
For my ELP-style band MTR, I use a Yamaha
Motif ES7 and a Korg CX-3, which has the “organ
power-down” sound I can trigger with a pedal. I
use a Roland JD-800 and a Minimoog Voyager
Anniversary Edition, and I work the knobs on both
for the whole show. An M-Audio Oxygen 8 is
MIDI’ed to the Voyager, extending its key range to
hit the low notes in “Tarkus.” For getting out front,
the Casio AZ-1 is my favorite keytar due to its aftertouch
and left-hand controls layout. I bring out a
vintage Minimoog and Multimoog for choice gigs.
Then there’s Last Licks, a classic rock group in
which I use a Hammond XK-2 because it really nails
the Jon Lord sound, and I can almost get a Vox Continental
out of it for Doors-style playing. In this band,
I need quick sound changes more than realtime control,
so a 73-key Korg M3 with the Radias expansion
really delivers with its splits and layers. Then,
it’s a Roland VK-1000 MIDI’ed to a Yamaha Motif
Rack, and a Korg MS2000 for its button layout and
easy sound manipulation. Bruce MacPherson