keybdwizrd - Studio Tour Part One

[mpresev]

are the neighbors pretty cool when you play loud? Do you play loud?

[keybdwizrd]

@mpresev I do play rather loudly, but I live in a single family home, so neighbors aren't a problem. I guess they can hear some stuff in the summer if I have the windows open, but no one has ever said anything about it.

[orientalflux]

.... very expensive keyboards and synths.... nice.... I hope you use this setup for making trance... (since this virus is one of the best for trance genre)

[adrianh63]

Awesome Home Studio!

I've enjoyed your Home Studio video, very educational!

Please update you Home Studio videos, please.

I'm an beginner Keyboard hobbyist

i'm putting pieces together for my home studio, it takes $ and in God's time it will come together.

[keybdwizrd]

@adrianh63 Thanks. Nothing much has changed - I have other keyboards at times but they all remain connected the same way. But I should do a video about how software synthesizers work.

[whosabid]

i have a question i think you can help me on. I recently own a MPC 500 and wanna get a "M-Audio keystation keyboard" which comes with Protools . Do you think i can sync my MPC 500 to Protools?

[keybdwizrd]

@whosabid Sorry but I have no experience with the MPC 500 (don't even know what that is) or Protools. I would suggest you try one of the synth forums on the web, such as the one at Harmony Central.

[drakeishfyre]

Just out of curiosity, what is the purpose of owning so many synths? Obviously there is collecting them and also bragging rights, but are all of them capable of producing radically different sounds? I'm not trying to criticize, I actually think its awesome, but I'm just curious what their purpose is. Do you, say, sequence a few of them for your backing rhythms and then play on one or two at a time?

I'm fairly new to the world of the home studio composer :P Only have an R3 to my name atm.

[keybdwizrd]

I am not interested in collecting or bragging rights. I actually own more synths than are shown in this video, but am also in the process of selling a few.

They are, indeed, very different instruments. Analog synths, digital synths, and sample-based keyboards all have their own qualities, strengths, and weaknesses.

That being said, I don't believe someone has to own lots of synths to create good music. Too many can even be a distraction, IMHO.

[vjrei]

But the Roland Fanthom would be the same as having the 1080, no? Rolnd products since the JV reries are to the XP are basically the same. I had a 1080 and I believe it was fantastic as long you use the patch sound with all the body.

Now, I really like Digital Performer, even better than Logic as long I do not need virtual synth. I have the same mackie and I used to have the Event 20/20p too, those speaker are underated and you have them in the perfect position.

[keybdwizrd]

Well, the Fantom X series debuted in 2004, ten years after the JV-1080. I don't know the specs offhand, but it has many more presets and onboard waveforms than the JV-1080. That being said, I love the JV-1080 (it is much easier to use, IMHO), and may sell my Fantom XR sometime later this year. It has lots of great sounds but the user interface is not very intuitive (to me).

[vjrei]

I really liked the 1080, actually Pet Shop Boys had 4 on stage. It is a ver professional machine but you get the best of it in Patch mode, just like the JP 8080, you need two JP, one for leads and another one for baselines.

I believe what you say about the Fantom... too many features in a single module is not functional. That happened to em with the Kursweil K2500RS I had... too messy to the point that you spent more time programming that actually doing music. I went beack to my ASR sampler.

[rewo1972]

I love the Phatty !!

[LikeNoOthr666]

amazing studio man... nice synths too =D

you have the same "spare" external harddrive as me :D

[sonnybrown]

This is a serious set up. I like it!

You probably get this question all the time, but what's your favorite synth? Both sound wise and usability wise? I want a Roland V-Synth, but trying to go around to people like you who are using a lot of differen't synths and find out what they think of differnt synths. Awesome stuff again man.

[BezemerPeter]

I also have the Fantom XR!

nice stuff you have there!

[thrcman]

Love your setup! I got most of your gear myself and love the follow the same philosophy in regards to space and gear: unless its close, i dont use it.:)

[ProducerMattyB]

Wow man that is awesome!

[keybdwizrd]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.

[davcar23]

Hey awsome studio, thanks for sharing. Two questions. What projects do you use your studio on and how do you clean all that? Serious, I have a smaller home studio and I cant get to clean everything :-P

[keybdwizrd]

I mostly just use my home studio for fun. In terms of cleaning everything, the most valuable cleaning tool I have is a soft-bristled paintbrush. I use it to dust the keyboards and my mixer, and it does a great job of getting in between all of the knobs.

[DeRex9]

Great informative video for those of us who are learning about MIDI the hard way :)

[enthusia492]

seriously

[jesman1]

A big thanks for all your videos, you play beautifully. You might have (as you call it) a small studio, but it is very "techy" still to me. You have a lot to teach the less equipped droolers lol. Having nice gear/set up is one thing, being able to play that well is the true crafted gift. Put both of those together and it`s amazing really. Awesome!

[oli2808]

it ain't like cribs is it?

[UTSONUT]

thanks for explaining your set up man!

so I use Logic 8 and its effects/sounds. It is my only "synth" as off now, and looking into getting a Virus.

Would you rate it to be the most powerful one? the best sounding one?

did you consider the Virus table top Snow ?

thanks

[keybdwizrd]

I have not played every synth that exists, but I believe the TI is a very powerful, awesome sounding digital synthesizer. I have never played with a Snow. It came out well after I bought my Polar.

[enthusia492]

macs r awesome. time machine is awesome. nuff said.

[gutiarplyr411]

so many cables i bet huh

[keybdwizrd]

Yep, it is out of control. I have to label lots of them to keep it all sorted out.

[gutiarplyr411]

lol, im only 12 so i cant rly afford that much stuff now, but my cables are still crazy and my set up is small

[Marklar3]

how do you afford all this stuff?

[keybdwizrd]

I have been buying/selling/trading instruments over the course of a long time, so I guess this setup is the culmination of an investment across 25+ years. And although I have never made much money from music, I've been fortunate to be able to use income from playing gigs and whatnot to fuel my hobby. Also, FYI, my setup is actually quite modest compared to those that many people have... visit the synthesizer forums at the Harmony Central and Gearslutz sites and you'll see what I mean.

[mimoocho]

Heavens above...if you can't make money out of music what chance have the rest of us plebs (who think we can play) got!! :)

[novacronmusic]

Are you satisfied with your lexicon? I am looking to in invest in an effects processor with a strong emphasis on reverb? Your thoughts?

[keybdwizrd]

I think the MX200 is an excellent value for the money, especially since it will do two effects simultaneously. The reverbs are just fine for recording synths in a home project studio, for live applications, or typical rock band material. But for recording vocals, or instruments like solo acoustic guitar or piano, you may want to consider a more expensive model.

[oraleric34]

Thanks for sharing. Always been a fan and still are!

[Str3tchnut5]

I was looking into Korg MicroX's when I came across your demos and found out you have tons of useful videos for up-and-comers like me.

Your home studio is amazing!

Keep the awesome videos going!

-Stretch

[twelvebits]

Very inspiring!

[HalfordJetset]

Thanks for sharing, lots of great information and what not! And it's nice to finally hear your voice for once :)

[keybdwizrd]

No prob... I, like many, don't care for the sound of my own speaking voice, which is why I prefer to leave it out of my vids. :)

[HalfordJetset]

Hehe, yeah I know the feeling. You have a nice voice, should use it more often in your videos.

[IntegratedDerivative]

well you sound normal to me :P

[carbonatedbrainsauce]

Very cool setup you have. I like how it is very compact with everything in arms reach, it looks like a fun and inspiring place to make music. Thanks for sharing your setup with us.

[peter47a]

Good idea to hook up all instruments individually to the computer! I still have some wierd midi thru setup here, should change it one day!