Other Instruments?

rsm

rsm

Well-known member
Anyone else play other instruments? In addition to guitar I play bass and saxophone (haven't played in decades) and keys. I have modular, semi-modular and digital synths, but my favorite non-guitar instrument is organ.

At present, I have three Hammonds, including a one-owner 1962 A102 and matching Leslie 142 in fruitwood, a digital A3 and SK5 with lower manual and pedals, a Vox Continental 61 and lower MIDI, and Vox Continental 73. My favorite is my Viscount Cantorum Trio with 30-note pedals, digital pipe organ, and I have a laptop dedicated to Hauptwerk VII organ models, both pipe organ and theatre organ.

Here's my Viscount Cantorum Trio. What about you?

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Wow, nice organs bro'.

I've rocked rack mount synths since the '80s.

The absolute standouts for me were:
Roland JD-990
Korg Wavestation SR (had every commercially-available ROM built in.
EMU Audity 2000
EMU E4 series samplers
Novation Supernova Rack
Roland INTEGRA 7

Sold my '73 Precision bass for a pittance, something I regretted right-away.
Moved over to Music Man Stingray 5s - one fretted and 1 fretless.
Beasts!
 
@Monkey Man thanks, I explored some synths mostly software synths including Arturia V Collection. have a couple of the Roland Boutiques, Roland AIRA system, and the Behringer 2600, Odyssey and Poly-D, Integra-7 in a rack in the corner. The organs are a blast, watching and hearing accomplished organists is amazing IMO
 
Piano, violin, cello, bass, drums, synths, midi, flute, pots and pans, strummed a harp once or twice. I don't have any vintage synth/midi gear anymore as I sold most of it off back in the early 00s, but have a few cheap behringer roland/moog clones, couple yamaha and roland keyboards. I remember when carts were hundreds of dollars a piece for almost no return.

My good friend and I used to mod them and write our own stuff directly to e/eprom. We were also very "instrumental" in the early days of game emulation on the internet if I have any claim to fame. Lots of firsts to release rom and emu creations. We even dev'd midi cart interface to command the NES and SNES soundcards directly in real time. I miss those days. Now I feel like my inspiration is lost with so much software and it doesn't seem as fun as a trip to radioshack or breaking apart 80s/90s toys/synths for salvage. Used to be pretty obsessed, tbh.

Sorry for rambling on. Guitars are front and center for me these days, but it's fun watching my kids get into stuff I was into. Just have to keep quiet about it, because teenagers know everything. :ROFLMAO: So instead of saying "why don't you try this," I say "I wonder if there's a way you could..." and let them figure it out. But I digress.
 
@Funk'n Metal nice list,

yep I kinda went wayyyy deep into organ the last few years, still doing guitar and synths, while trying to get as many toys before I retire.

My kid plays piano, then got into guitar,. now he's more focused on his girlfriend, car, friends...Cheers!
 
rsm said:
@Funk'n Metal nice list,

yep I kinda went wayyyy deep into organ the last few years, still doing guitar and synths, while trying to get as many toys before I retire.

My kid plays piano, then got into guitar,. now he's more focused on his girlfriend, car, friends...Cheers!
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Haha, I can't even get my kids to tell me what their gf/bf names are. My husband has a way with getting that kind of info out though. Makes me a bit envious 🟢. Love the car thing. My son was just asking me last night about early 70s Monte Carlo knowing I grew up around muscle cars, and I'm like "gas $$$, little man."
 
I hope the organ players around here have discovered Jimmy Smith... for their own sakes. :dunno:

Some don't realise that he was pedalling those walking baselines whilst displaying the virtuoso dexterity and musicality on the main boards he was famous for.
 
Monkey Man said:
I hope the organ players around here have discovered Jimmy Smith... for their own sakes. :dunno:

Some don't realise that he was pedalling those walking baselines whilst displaying the virtuoso dexterity and musicality on the main boards he was famous for.
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Honestly wasn't aware. I've not delved deep into that world, tbh. Bit on the young-ish end of the scale(for the era), but will have to check it out. I was more into the synthwave/industrial stuff in my youth. This is a pretty accurate depiction of me and my friends getting ready to battle the renaissance fair nerds in "my day" :ROFLMAO: :
iu
 
Hey, been there too sis'. :LOL:

I'm guessing that Jimmy recorded over 50 albums, so you won't have any trouble finding him. As far as organ playing goes, he is king and I stand by that.
 
Monkey Man said:
Hey, been there too sis'. :LOL:

I'm guessing that Jimmy recorded over 50 albums, so you won't have any trouble finding him. As far as organ playing goes, he is king and I stand by that.
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Already on it! "The Cat" currently in the background. I do recognize a few songs already though! Thanks for sharing good inspirations!
 
rsm said:
saxophone (haven't played in decades)
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Why'd you drop the sax? I was in a ska band about 20 years ago for a while with this dude who would tear up the stage with his saxophone. Absolute monster and really pulled it all together. My heart really couldn't get into the groove though and was honest with my bandmates about it, so moved back on to darker pastures. Funny that my next band competed against them in a BotB and we took second. I was thinking beforehand; we're going to kick the shit out of these hippies (lovingly so, they're my friends) with our metal. Well, turns out that among a crowd of half women, metal doesn't take home the prom queen or king. That's when I came to terms with being an outlier these girls have no taste😜.
 
Funk'n Metal said:
Why'd you drop the sax? I was in a ska band about 20 years ago for a while with this dude who would tear up the stage with his saxophone. Absolute monster and really pulled it all together. My heart really couldn't get into the groove though and was honest with my bandmates about it, so moved back on to darker pastures. Funny that my next band competed against them in a BotB and we took second. I was thinking beforehand; we're going to kick the shit out of these hippies (lovingly so, they're my friends) with our metal. Well, turns out that among a crowd of half women, metal doesn't take home the prom queen or king. That's when I came to terms with being an outlier these girls have no taste😜.
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I played alto, then tenor and baritone sax in the high school concert band and jazz band, and city youth symphony through junior year. Senior year I got first chair (lead) guitar in jazz band; after that playing in punk, hard rock and metal bands, not much need for sax. I traded my sax for a guitar amp IIRC.
 
I only own guitars currently, however I grew up playing bass. It was my dad's instrument of choice and I've been messing with them as long as I can remember. He gave me his 60's bass and amp when I was a teen, but I can't bring myself to take it out of his house. I really should consider getting it someday and retrieving my bass amps. I also have dabbled with a few harmonicas and many synthesizers in my 20's.
 
Your musical journey sounds incredibly diverse and fascinating! Playing bass, saxophone, keys, and having a collection of synths is truly impressive. It's wonderful how you've embraced a range of instruments. Your love for the organ shines through, especially with your Hammonds and the Viscount Cantorum Trio.
Speaking of musical instruments, have you ever considered exploring the realm of bouzouki instruments? They add a unique flavor to any musical ensemble. Keep making beautiful music and enjoying the rich textures your instruments bring to your melodies!
 
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CarlHaney said:
Your musical journey sounds incredibly diverse and fascinating! Playing bass, saxophone, keys, and having a collection of synths is truly impressive.
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thanks; definitely music gear is an obsession, and happy I can get most of the gear I want. I'm also selling gear to help offset the costs, while trying to get everything before I retire and won't have the same income.
 
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