jimmyjames

This Stage Setting attempts to improve upon the standard accordion tones that come with the PX5S. The underlying tone is a two-layer hex layer with the waves being the bandoneon samples. The knob/slider/modulation/pedal settings control the same functions as the ConcertGrand setting except: Knob 1 controls layer detuning so that you can increase the "musette" or "wet" effect of the sound as it is commonly referred to in accordion lingo. (* See further note on this below) The Mod Wheel adds tremolo as opposed to vibrato to better simulate what happens on the accordion when the bellows are manipulated to provide some modulation to a sustained sound...usually through a hand shaking motion. All-in-all it is just not possible to incorporate all of the physical attributes of playing a real accordion into any tone or Stage Setting on the PX5S (or any other electronic keyboard I have played except the Roland V-Accordion of course), Nonetheless, I am hoping some of you can "squeeze" something useful out of this...(ugh...). * For some reason, the Bandoneon waves seems to be sharp a fair amount so you will note if you dissect the tone settings, that I made a fine tuning adjustment. That may be a result of the detuning effect in the base waves themselves. When you detune the layers further with a Knob 1 adjustment, your ears may perceive the sound to be sharpening further. If you plan to use a detuned level more often, I would go in and further adjust the fine tune level...unless of course you like that bit of dissonance.

OK...I'm showing my age. I love this riff. Best used with the Nine Layer Organ stage setting.

This is a version of a nine tone layer organ similar to a B3 organ. I worked with a distinctly colored clone wheel to compare the PX-5S tones against. It will never be exact, but I think it is in the same zip code (perhaps the same ballpark if you use a Neo Vent) and could get you through a club gig if you don't have a clone wheel. It contains two hex layers in Zones 1 and 2 and uses all twelve available layers. Only nine layers will sound on any one note presuming the sliders are all in the open position. Twelve layers are needed to simulate the duplicative use of the tone wheels in the B3 in the extreme ranges of the keyboard (see excerpt from Sound on Sound magazine Hugh Robjohns article below regarding this - link to full article http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul03/articles/hammondb3.asp). Zone 3 contains a truncated version of an organ tone to bring in the percussion. The key range of this Stage Setting is limited from C2 to C7 so keys above and below this level will be silent. Slider/Knob settings: Slider 1 controls the equivalent of the 16' and 8' drawbars. Slider 2 controls the equivalent of the 4' and 2' drawbars. Slider 3 controls the equivalent of the 5 1/3' and 2 2/3' drawbars. Slider 4 controls the equivalent of the 1 3/5' drawbar. Slider 5 controls the equivalent of the 1 1/3' drawbar. Slider 6 controls the equivalent of the 1' drawbar. Knob 1 controls the distortion level. Knob 2 controls the vibrato/chorus setting. Knob 3 controls 3rd percussion. Knob 4 controls reverb. Mod wheel and Pedal 1 toggle rotary speed. "The New B3 has 96 digital tonewheel generators whereas the original B3 (and its siblings) had 91 active tonewheels (although there were actually 96 physical wheels in the generator, the unused ones being there to maintain the mechanical balance). However, if you do the sums, you'll find that there are actually 109 different tones required to produce nine harmonics on a 61-note keyboard. The original Hammonds overcame this problem by cheating — partial octaves were repeated at the top end of the keyboard, the repeating starting on different notes and octaves depending on the drawbar. On a stock B3 the 2-foot drawbar repeats only the top 'C' from the octave below, while the 1-foot drawbar repeats an octave and a half starting from the 'G', and the intermediate drawbars start repeating somewhere in between. This arrangement is usually referred to as 'fold-down' and it is an essential element of the subtle but characteristic tonal quality of the B3 and its siblings."

This Stage Setting can be used for the Phoenix song "1901"...one of my favorite songs of the past several years. It is a modified version of the 1.10 factory Stage Setting 7-7 "PolySynth" and retains all of the knob and slider settings from this Stage Setting. The setting contains three zones. The lowest zone is the sawtooth bass sound. The middle zone is the bell-like sound heard behind the rhythm guitar at the beginning of the song and during the choruses. The upper zone is the portamento synth sound heard at the end of the verses and sustained through the chorus (I love this sound...good thing 1.10 added poly portamento!). The sustain pedal only work for the upper zone so you can hold the portamento synth sound through the chorus while you play the sawtooth bass and bell sound below. My band doesn't play this song (we're not playing much of anything right now.. ). I would love to hear it if someone uses this to gig. Enjoy!

This is a slightly modified version of stage setting 4-3 that uses an arpeggio tied to the phrase "Ain't Nobody" by Chaka Kahn. The original can be heard here: You will need to download the "Ain't Nobody" phrase and place it in U-102. I also slightly modified the filter envelope to take some top end out of the sound so it sounds more like the sound in the original recording. You can adjust the filter to your taste by using Knob 1 as with the orginal setting.

This phrase is the notes in the arpeggio at the very beginning of the song "Ain't Nobody" by Chaka Kahn. It is a nine note phrase that I tried to space as evenly as possible in one 4/4 measure. This can be used in conjuction with the arpeggiator per the instructions on Page E-24 of the Tutorial. I suggest setting the tempo at about 200 in case that part of the data does not come together with this file. I will post a version of the JK Sweet stage setting (4-3) that refers to this phrase in the arpeggio. You may need to download this phrase into U-102 for the stage setting to work properly. Added information: with this function, you only need to use one note to play the entire phrase. In this case, you need to play E flat 2 to play the pharse in the proper key and octave. That information should already be saved as part of the Stage Setting that I posted.

This is the lead line from the Aha song "Take on Me" to be used in conjunction with the "Take On Me" Stage Setting.