Hello boys and girls. Have you been good little keyboard players and producers and songwriters all year long? You have? Well, then, this is what you’ve been waiting for. Put your greedy little hands together and thank your God for free-market capitalism, because the holiday wish-lists are in and there’s stuff here that’s going to tickle your sugar plums and light up your chestnuts!
We went to the poles of the earth to find out what’s making everyone’s heart go pitty-pat this year. Actually we surveyed 50 successful producers, players, composers — plugged-in pros whose business it is to make the sounds that the rest of us will crave. And here’s what they desire. Please note that all prices are MSRP. But Santa, as we know, would die before he paid retail.
Hot Gear For The Stage
Dave Smith Instruments Prophet ’08 Special Edition
www.davesmithinstruments.com ($2,699)
Dave Smith, who invented the iconic Prophet 5, reaches back into synth history to bring us this fabulously re-imagined 21st century version of that legend. This is the real deal with all analog signal patch, four fat LFOs, leapordwood end caps, red-backlit pitch and mod wheels, and to-die-for analog patches that you just can’t get any other way. The 08 is an analog purist’s wet dream and that’s why we put it first.
Victoria Vibrandoneon
www.accordions.it ($1,200)
Stevie Wonder and Donald Fagen have knocked us out with their little plastic Melodicas — those blow-through harmonicas with piano keyboards that can turn any piano geek into a swinging horn player. Now Victoria, the pre-eminent Italian accordion company, has upgraded the Melodica to Carnegie Hall status with quality brass, fine woods, and multi-reeds that fit right in everywhere from the Rive Gauche to your favorite blues band.
Yamaha NP30 Digital Piano
www.yamaha.com ($399)
This 76-key wonder has a graded piano action, terrific stereo piano samples, weighs 12 pounds, and runs on 6 AA batteries. It’s got built-in speakers so you could actually take it caroling if you wanted to, and it’s multitimbral for crying-out-loud with four different reverbs and 10 voices. All for a street price of about three hundred bucks. There is no excuse now not to have a piano in every room in your house.
Akai MPC500
www.akaipro.com ($1,099)
Another battery-powered version of a pricey favorite, everyone’s favorite sampler/sequencer is now stage-worthy and easier on the wallet. Heck, you could program your whole hip-hop act on the way to the gig. It’s got those fun-to-slap trigger pads and all the great sounds with lots of effects and USB for porting WAV and MIDI files in and out. This is the box to beat.
Nord C1 Combo Organ
www.clavia.se ($3,600)
In the search for The Holy Tonewheel, this sexy, twin-manual baby is the object of everyone’s holiday lust. Not only does it do a dead-on B-3 et al recreation, but it also gives you a perfectly modeled Vox Continental and Farfisa — so you can drive straight from the rock gig to the after-hours jazz jam with just one axe. And did I mention the uncanny rotating speaker simulation? The C1 ain’t cheap, but there’s a reason that you’re seeing so much red on stage these days.
Roland HandSonic 10 Percussion Controller
www.rolandus.com ($699)
Imagine a V-drum for hand percussionists and you’ve got the newest version of the Handsonic. It’s got all the congas and bongos and ethnic drums and slaps and mutes you could ask for. Plus it includes lots of built-in patterns to play to, and a Rhythm Coach function so you won’t embarrass yourself in your Holiday Drumming Circle. For sheer bang for the buck, you can’t beat it.
Zen Riffer
www.zenriffer.com ($3,900 and up)
You may have seen Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess strutting the stage with a keyboard controller that looks like a cross between a custom guitar and a Klingon battle sword. This is the sort of thing that you’ll either turn your nose up at or dedicate every waking moment to possessing. Go to www.myspace.com/zenriffer to see which kind of person you are.
Technics SL-DZ1200 CD Turntable
www.panasonic.com ($1,199)
Release your inner DJ with a CD turntable that lets you scratch and slip like you would 12" vinyl and also does a lot of stuff that keyboard players instantly grok. Like marking audio loops on the fly that you can trigger with sample pads. And inserting cue points that you can recall with a button touch. It’s got RCA and coaxial digital in/outs and it’s a really beautiful piece of machine sculpture. And, in a pinch, it will even play your CDs.
Bose L1 Model II with T1 ToneMatch Audio Engine and B1 Bass Module
www.bose.com ($2,998)
Simply stated, this is a combo amp. But what a combo amp. The lightweight, two-part tower has 24 drivers that radiate an even cylinder of near-perfect sound supported by the small bass module. It all goes through a fantastically sophisticated EQ/effects module that individually optimizes whatever you’re playing. If angels came down from on high and sang to a joyous world, this is what they’d use for sound reinforcement.
Bösendorfer CEUSmaster Stage Piano
www.bosendorfer.com (about $20,000)
You read it right. Twenty-thousand smackers. Bösendorfer lifted their concert-grand piano action right off the shelf and teamed it (in a Rhodes-size ebony-ish case) with a Vienna-Symphonic-produced sample piano library of the 290 Imperial sample sounds. Un-looped. No expense spared. Now, why would you want this when you can get that Yamaha NP30 for about three bills? If you have to ask, don’t ask.
Hot Gear For The Studio
Korg mini-KP Kaoss Pad
www.korg.com ($250)
Smaller than some Christmas cookies (and a whole lot tastier) the mini-KP does much of what the big Kaoss pad sound processors do but on a battery-powered budget. A hundred great FX like pitch-shifters, flangers, distortion, and sync-to-the-beat presets let you turn “Silent Night” into “It’s the Most Wackiest Night of the Year” in one touchpad finger-flick. This is five power-packed ounces of holiday mayhem that you don’t actually need a studio to enjoy.
CME USB Cables
www.cme-pro.com ($34.95)
Here’s my vote for an Xmas miracle. These three little guys pump different signals into the USB port of your computer. The U2GKB lets you run a guitar, bass, or keyboard through its little A/D and D/A converters. The U2MIC has +48v phantom power and A/D-D/A converters in its cable for high-end mics. And the USB MIDI transforms 16 channels of MIDI info into USB talk. They all do more than I can say here and they’re all plug and play for Macs and PCs.
Monome Hardware Controller
monome.org/40h ($500)
These guys win the Bauhaus trophy for most minimalist website and product of the year. Their controllers are grids of backlit silicone pads and buttons on a surface of anodized aluminum that interface with an ever-growing world of open-source software. It’s kind of like a Christmas tree that you can fondle and poke — and you get music out of for your troubles. You can organize the pads to do a world of sophisticated stuff or just sit there and twinkle like a USB 2.0 menorah.
Permacel P-68 Vinyl Coated Gaffers Tape
www.shurtape.com ($25)
This is no joke. Cables need concealing. Amp cases need repairing. Set lists need securing. Band vans need constant and desperate repair. What would you do without pro-grade gaffer’s tape? It’s incredibly strong and won’t leave a gooey mess on your client’s carpet. In the words of my favorite roadie: “Sticks like hell, comes up clean!”
Universal Audio UAD XPander Xtreme Pak
www.uaudio.com ($2,599)
Now you can use the unsurpassed UAD Neve, Pultec, and Universal Audio plug-ins on your laptop. The XPander uses the new lickety-split Express Card 34 audio connection to run these high-powered emulations without taxing your CPU. And, with the Xtreme Pak, you get all the UAD plug-ins. If you haven’t worked with these high-end tools, your holiday gift to yourself should be a couple of hours in your audio store checking them out.
Boss DB-90 Metronome
www.bossus.com ($199)
Remember when a metronome went “click-click”? Well this one has four different click sounds on separate faders and a human voice that will speak the rhythm “one-and-two” so you’ll always know where you are — at least, musically. Not only that, but plug in a V-drum (or keyboard) and the DB-90 listens to your rhythm playing and teaches you how to keep those sleigh bells on time.
M-Audio IE-30 Dual Driver Reference In-Ear Monitors
www.m-audio.com ($299.95)
You haven’t actually heard your iPod until you’ve heard it through these. They’re surprisingly comfortable, accurate and quiet. In fact, the silicone and foam eartips provide 26dB of noise isolation — about the same as a good pair of earplugs — so you can listen at a lower volume and spare your ears a little. And they work great as on-stage monitors too. M-Audio makes three models at different price points.
Xtrememac MicroMemo
www.xtrememac.com ($59.95)
Now that you can really hear your iPod, start recording the world around you. The Micro memo is a teeny-weeny mic and adaptor that turns your Nano into a stereo recorder. An 8GB Nano gives you 12 hours of 16-bit/44.1kHz recording time — which the Nano screen will display. There’s even a little speaker so you don’t have to use those ear-buds if you don’t want to. Developed for voice recording, it sounds great on music too, so you can catch those spontaneous holiday jams anywhere they happen.
Bili Footime Laptop Stand
www.bilila.com ($69)
Many of us have been taking laptops to gigs despite the paucity of acceptable options for placing and securing the things onstage. Until now. This super-lightweight yet secure stand folds up and stores in two compact carrying bags, can be adjusted to any height easily, even with the laptop strapped on — and yes, the straps are provided! Thinking of using your notation program or PDF files for reading at the gig? Why not? Just add Bili’s Page Turner USB Footswitch for an additional $30.
Backbeat Books
www.backbeatbooks.com ($14)
With all kinds of entertaining music biz and how-to-play titles, Backbeat’s catalog is another perfect holiday resource. Our favorites include Robin Meloy Goldsby’s amazing Piano Girl, which contains excruciatingly funny tales of solo piano gigs from around the world.
Jazz Icons
www.jazzicons.com ($21.98 each title)
This series of DVDs distributed on the Naxos label features live and TV studio footage of some of the greatest artists in jazz. Captured from the late ’50s through the mid-’60s, these amazing performances feature piano greats such as Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, Jaki Byard, Wynton Kelly, McCoy Tyner, Harold Mabern, Monk, Basie, and more. Superb sound, excellent commentary, and informative booklets make the series shine, and some proceeds go to benefit the International Association of Jazz Educators’ outreach programs.
Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series
www.musicdispatch.com ($17.95 – $18.95)
Ever get intimidated by the sheer number of how-to-play books on the market? Hal Leonard seems to publish the majority of them, and it can be a challenge to narrow your search down to the one from which you’ll benefit the most. We recommend the titles in Hal Leonard’s Keyboard Style Series. They come with a play-along CD, the examples are clear and fun to play, the explanations are concise and useful, and there are a whole bunch of styles available, from prog rock to salsa.
Hand-held Holiday Hotties!
Remember last New Year’s Eve when you took that awesome solo and blew the room out to where Pluto used to be? Well, this year you can catch that never-to-be-repeated moment and listen to it on the way home from the gig.
It seems that everybody wants at least one hand-held stereo digital recorder. Here are the five top picks to choose from. They all record to some kind of memory card (except for the Korg MR-1 which has its own 20GB internal hard drive), they all include stereo mics, and they all have USB ports for easy file transfer. Not that you’d ever need to overdub, but the Zoom H4 is actually a 4-track recorder that records two tracks at a time.
M-Audio MicroTrack II
www.m-audio.com $399.95
Zoom H4
www.samsontech.com $499.99
Edirol R-09
www.edirol.com $450
Sony PCM-D1
www.sony.com/professional $1,999.95
Korg MR-1
www.korg.com $899
Holiday Thank-Yous!
This article would have been impossible without the help of the following wonderful, talented people: Adam Levine, Becky Reardon, Bob Malone, Bob Schleeter, Colin Wenhardt, Dennis Scheyer, Don Giller, Dylan Jones, George Daly, Jon Herbst, Jimmy Hammer, Ian Hoffman, Ann Horwitz, Peter Hume, Jim Mandell, Jim Lum, John Turner, John Hoy, Jeff Rona, Jeff Linnell, Joshua Raoul Brody, Mike Hatfield, Bennett Miller, Michael Kahane, Judy Munsen, Jeanne Parson, Rick Riemer, Tim Train, and all the Keyboard staffers who appear at the front of this mag, especially Mike Gallant and Steve Fortner.
