Rick Wakeman gives a tour of his 2016 ARW rig, part 1 (11/22/16)

we're here at the Anderson Raven awaken welcome to my world I am Dave Bryson keyboard magazine we're here with the incredibly talented and very tall Rick wman and the check's just cleared that I've given him which is wonderful thank you very you're getting that time and basically this is this is the rig that I I use basically how it works is I always have this conf configuration I've had this configuration now for uh about 15 years but what we do is according to whatever show it is or whether it's one of my shows or a yes show or another band show we select the instruments that we're going to use from our collection at the at the store so we look at the music we're going to play and we look at what is going to be most ideal for us to to use soundwise what to create and also lengths of keyboards and touches cu the touch is very important depending on what what you're actually doing so there are a few instruments that will always remain they will always be there the mini Mo to to other side I have nine of them CU they basically um they need quite a bit of love uh we've got a wonderful guy called Tim Warhead in South London who works very hard at keeping them all a float for me we've got four out here on the road and we are after 10 weeks down to the last two uh so uh when they get back they'll go off to be serviced and then they'll be rotated with uh uh with the the next slot but they do remarkably well considering they were never ever meant to be thrown around on on big tours in cases uh I mean Bob M who was one of my dearest friends was always amazed that that they survived like they did um so they they remain remain exstatic um the Kronos which I love uh we've got two uh I think they're just a an amazing amazing instrument replace thews you had for a while yeah I mean although amazingly enough the o0w Pro X um I still use a lot cuz it's got some sounds on it which all developed from the original from the M1 and M2 one of various things it's got some sounds that really are still very unique to that instrument you know so we do drag it out occasionally but not not very often um but the Chronos is we we love I mean it's just they do everything that says on the tin plus more so we're really pleased with those the the V syns down here were a great tool it's um it's we always look for things that can do things that other instruments can't do we try not to to replicate it's very easy to stick a whole load of a very similar make or very similar thing but then all you're doing is is is sort of replicating all the time so we always look for different things and different sounds of things that we want to do and this is uh I I I think a an instrument A lot of people it sort of missed the net a bit with lot of people a lot of people didn't realize what they you know what it what it was and what they could do with it I think they thought it was a keyboard in was certainly my and it's not it's really a sound mangling device that happens to have keys that you can use to trigger we we we rarely use it as a standalone but we've re-edited a lot of the sounds and the things to to use with other re-edited sounds and things that we play around with uh and it's one of those things that we find sometimes when we've got a sound uh we'll find a sound on here that it own um I think Eric D there would agree could sound pretty horrible you go that's a pretty horrible sound but you put it with something that's a pure sound and you end up with something really quite quite unusual so we like that a lot so we play around with that a lot uh the Montage is a fairly new edition in fact it's a very new edition um uh Traer I met the guy from one of the guys from Yo came around he said you've got to you've got to try the the Montage and we've got the Montage and also the the rack which is the motif the rack is is brilliant it is it is again it's got some great sounds on it that you won't find anywhere else that we play around with and uh and works extremely well and it is completely different from the from the Montage uh it's um I've had to get used to a few things you know with know with settings and various things because it it won't talk to the psychologic uh so uh but we found a way well Eric's taught me how to how to deal with it to make life as easy as possible new machines are getting so like less dependent on midi and more upon USB I think I know and it's and it's and I I I I think you know it's one of the things that annoys me sometimes about all companies that when they get something new they look upon it as a replacement not as an addition and they should learn really that you know it's an addition uh it's U you know it's it's like with the comeback of vinyl because we read CDs and that it's an alternative iPads iPods alternative downloading alternative it's not a replacement and the word replacement really is is a little bit of an error but this is a great machine we love the Montage a lot another Chronos series you see which we which we absolutely adore the Phantom what a great Mission I love the Phantom we've got got three of different different keyboard lengths and so depending on what we we take out um I I like it a lot it's well designed it's it's uh again does everything it it says on the on the tin and and we're very fond of our Phantoms I think they're a good machine very very good machine uh I think both the Kronos and the Phantom in particular perhaps all of them really to some extent there are keyboard players as well as keyo technicians that have had their input things which helps you know because CU there were it went through that era of certain keiles where unless you were a rocket scientist you know you know it was just an absolute nightmare for people like me I just want to play uh the Hammond the SK absolutely can't believe that machine it was um Cruz hate carting around Hamm I've still got all my original Hammond how many of those I've got uh two threes split one which I call my uh roundabout Hammer which is what I did fragile and round that kind of thing on it and then the other one which I call my close to the edge Hammer which is an American seaf which um has been modified a little bit um uh by a guy called Greg Hawkman who used to work for Bob Mo who put a phasing unit in it which was which is which was great because you almost if you mixed it in with the the VAB switches you could actually almost simulate a sort of Les quite good it was quite interesting it worked really really well I've got both those but they just wear a time to take out and I've got an M M100 m102 and an L100 and uh a couple of Home Hammers and things as well all in need of servicing which we going to get done there's a great guy that my son Adam knows uh in a place called St orb's near us who who uh specializes in Serv so they're all the cars there to be done um but this I was told about this uh from the um who was it oh the drummer from straws who also drums for me Tony Fernandez he went on the cruise to the edge thing or whatever it was and I can't remember who it was I think it was in proar they had one of the and and Tony said you've got to check out it is so good well so many people have tried not come CL I was so impressed this we got this in time to do the the the new King Arthur album uh and what's interesting the original King Arthur album uh didn't really have any handam on it at all hardly if any but we we put a load on the new because it was just so good and it and it works really well again the only side problem is it doesn't talk to the my lovely psychologic which I loved a bit does anyone you say talk to just talking like program changes yeah won won't take it interesting LSB MSB well actually that's not strictly true it takes some of the changes but for example on the others where we've done um because different keys where we've done transpose changes it won't take it will change something but it won't do the my transposition so I have to remember to do all the rpn i f some people make it common and some people have their own language no I know so but it's but it basically I'm so impressed with that we love that to bits um one of my absolute loves and it's tragic that they're coming to the end of their life which is the JD 800 I love the JD 800 for the first time I ever got one because it's one you can play with while you're playing and an old school like me it's but as you probably well know uh they all eventually suffered from something that I've been told is red glue um which obviously nobody knew at at the time we've got two of them and basically the moment we can only use them for uh to be mitted from because uh they have hu they have ridiculous problems this one uh certain notes you play decide to play on the notes as well as you oh that just a key bus thing [Music] uh yeah I got it but if you do that it's only with that combination not as as freaky a different inversion that might do it a different inversion yeah look yeah I got rid of I got rid of mine to get the rack cu the rack has that extra filter too it has the the has better architecture but then you don't it's you I mean I'd like to get hold of a rack actually I really would like the 990 is a it's great as I said there this whole other filter and whole other architecture in there that takes it up to the next keep your ey on eBay for us will you because I uh is it the 9 n J 990 990 keep an eye out for us 350 400 bucks you'll be fine it was Eric who found us another psychologic car ring just what we found which is brilliant um but uh but there's and there is a keyboard which we've got coming indeed haven't we oh oh yes yes that that is uh that will do what this does system the X the jdx8 oh yeah okay sure so we've got maybe yeah so we've got those those coming and these will just end up as they'll probably end up in the studio to be used midi wise of various things but uh it's got a nice keyboard I used to do a lot of solo stuff on them uh cuz I there was a certain nice key it was different the feel from the mini Mo so always have the two in close proximity so I can play and they they work really well so I really really enjoyed that and this little baby the memotron got two of those I just love them to bits uh and then after the ceremonial burning of my alrons when I just F out enough although I still we still have all the tapes don't we did you actually burn them one I did yeah it was a big b fire guy FKS night in England there was just a nightmare there was just a nightmare to keep in should keep on the road I'd walk on stage there'd be tapes Flo around all over the floor although we still have got probably got about a dozen tape racks know the original racks for the for the uh melron still got all of those there is some someone said what one point in time during Tales you actually had tapes of yes vocals that you had inside the melons I they weren't yes vocals they were vocals I did um cuz the original melon only get S brass strings and flu and I made with different sounds about another 20 or 30 different sounds of I had quas I had different instruments come in and things um I at all the racks or all those somewhere but there's been some melon there's been some sample stuff done I've never been really that that impressed and then I was introduced to this little German fellow the memotron and my dear friend Eric there Mr skeptical when it first arrived went and then I came into the studio went very impressed and we are impressed wasn't we Eric is it just doing the one set of tapes this yeah so it's because I've just gotten a 4,000 D recently the one from Marcus yeah it's got you know 24- bit samples all the way out for each key and this Eric would Eric would explain we got everything on this something we really he did he took us on a little toet great uh and and uh I I I mean I I I love it to bits and it's reliable and that and the truth of the matter is you know coming from the early late 60s and early 70s when nothing was reliable if you finished a show with 50% of stuff working is absolutely remarkable uh you know as things have changed what you need now with with shows getting so complex and and what we have to play and what we have to do um reliability is plays a massive part so the instruments that were always your worry which was the melron and the minis you used to be but we've got the Min run away and you know Eric talks to them a lot you know they know that they're loved you know things uh and uh uh but then when this I always miss the melotron side it was great especially because you can have it on its own you can mix it in with stuff and it works really really well um but until this came along although having said that uh there was a a pretty decent string melron sound on the prga the G prga if anybody out there knows where I can get my prga serviced and brought back to working uh I will be very very grateful Rich maybe along with my valesta uh gr electri gr can which I think is a power so probably is not very happy brother Jack hotop said to when when I got a chance to talk to you to ask you about a soprano voice that you had done for this yeah that was have they they might be using it actually because what they did quite and a couple of other it was a company called G media who did a lot of samples of various things and they took a lot of M uh types and things to make from so it's very possible that that's where that came cuz I know that they dealt with them to get a lot of their samples cuz I'm I'm pretty certain a lot of those in there would have been my originals the original tapes um the question that the people in my forum who knew that I was coming to see you a couple of them who you've met on the road in the meet and greets the one question that was overwhelming was how you approached the Tony karts you know did you try and duplicate his sounds did you just go in and say Here's the song and I'm going to play what comes he basically played all them right so it was it was some hits it wasn't it wasn't difficult u i mean I basically basically hello my friend how you feeling oh see you in a sec the um basically work on the I've always worked on the principle yeah if there's a a theme or play people want to hear it but work on the prin say we work with this this show is obviously there a lot of songs that Trevor was on a lot of songs originally all was on WE imagine okay we'll play the parts that are necessary but you imagine you were in the band at the time what I played and that's what we do so I play all my own stuff on this but if there's a a certain thing that needs to be heard then you you you play it go back I'm not into com the point but the the thing was with with t t was basically played the Alum when I mean I came in 71 I joined the band uh so they only really been it only really affected the Yes album and T which were all um which were all Hammer really it was all hammered there really anything else on your there no it's all Hammer so it it wasn't difficult to uh you know to sort of go well I do what I want really so know so that's that's never never worry the same as Trevor with he he doesn't you know does the parts that that are important that Ste Steve play but uh the rest of it he does what he would have done if he was in the bed and it makes it it it does really work it's it's uh it's you don't pieces don't lose anything they just add an awful lot more which is great simply cannot wait I've been out of my waiting to see any of the tapes of the shows or anyes same tapes you want talk about another very quickly just down here sure thanks that little baby I've had for God knows how many years and it's just got some great useful little sounds that we use the Triton now not the Dr yeah uh no I'm talking about the the X5 drr no you are talking about the Dr yeah well I love that to this again another one uh they're very old now Triton rack does your job again it's got slightly different sounds and things so obviously being stepped back from the Chronos and things like it does a good job The Motif we love to bit um what else we got down there the XR oh the XR Phantom Exile which that works a tra um just doing duplication for this or is this it's it is a case it's almost like the backup of of that one where we be like oh I like this sound um but I also need that keyboard to do something else so we can then take that sound and have it coming out there instead it's like having two of them is there a he set up from there a lot of people page just in case something goes [Laughter] down I didn't ask that question there are a million things that could go wrong toilet paper really that's and if any one thing goes it's potentially show stop yeah we we don't we don't talk we don't I didn't I did not ask that question scrub scrub this desk uh even though I do not fully understand is just just phenomenal it is like having another instrument because being able to save everything that each keyboard does for me you know as as for balancing volumes and doing things and Echo all the things that I want this is just great CU it was always a problem with old desks of of you get a a sort of set but on another piece you might want it that bit louder you're forever turning around so do the patch changes include scene Chang from as well no is it automated or is it just scene per song have like real time changes in the songs as well no because I mean we're not going to click tracks or anything like that right of course so once the song is up it's just like you know you're going to do Cinema andq um all all the game structures all the effects are changing all the are effects are on called a live band no click tracks that was one of the things that Trevor and I know we said no not interested you know not don't want to know we play uh but this this I absolutely love and the EVS which I've got this year uh it's so important for mon to hear a sound that the sound you want to hear and we we tried quite a few different sort of speaker systems and things out and then these came up to our our our our store oural place that we have in England and uh I came in and I literally played for 30 seconds and when they're the ones and they've been very realiz ible and very good and again apart from s reliability is very important so we're we're we're I'm very happy with this this this is undoubtedly the best regular I had and I'm I'm not saying he's here but so much of it's down to Eric because it takes c a lot of pride in you know and we have fresh cabling we have everything is is is thought that to eliminate you know as as problems before they happen and that's really important M kill the help switch there no that is that lights up and over there for Eric I need that's that's I need you yeah if I have if I have a serious rather than turn on and go oh I mean there might be some sometimes during a show where FR goes off piece and starts changing sounds intentionally I might I might be thinking hang on what's going on and so I I would come running out going is everything okay and we go well of course everything's fine so by having the pedal I now know if the pedal goes down it's more us I mean for example when we at the O2 cuz Eric was miles away you know cuz I couldn't catch his ey Eric normally sues it you can hear the sound something's gone a little bit of bit of stay there been a funny spark somewhere but certainly when we're in places where he's quite a long way away you know I can I can hit that and uh but it's it's rare isn't it well I mean we haven't used it used it I mean we have one agreement though that I won't do that and then when he comes up I go can I have a cup of tea I've also noticed that you've got no control other than I'm guessing these look like they just are just acting as sustain so there's no modulation no patch change no nothing all the patch change is handled here any mod is either in after touch or on the wheels or real time mulle and any and any changes I make I make what I'm playing things that's fabulous that's how it that's how it works and it uh it works it works it works for me I I feel it's very important whatever you do you're comfortable and I I mean the the major problem which Eric finds quite hilarious is obviously when you're doing pieces sometimes you haven't play for this is a different setup to the one I had when I did the last year tour when we finished in 2005 so for the first days of rehearsal and for the First shows I could often find myself standing the position that I stood in in 2005 and it's a completely different sound because you've moved everything around so I might be going ah piano no it's not it's over here so there would be which which uh kept erus on on TI but that that's hard because it's amazing what comes out of the old filing cabinet of what you did before so you have to get ditch all of that and get used to your new routing and that's half the batt there really in a manner that still lets you be comfortable and and be musical without having to be in that into that digital world I'm very Happ there is there isn't one move that I have to do from place place that I am that I feel I wish I could find another way of doing it it all it all it all works without a without a panic so it's you should be done is it 207 shows is it so 29 yeah about 20 we 30 shows in so if I haven't got it bloody right now I probably never will do excellent we want to let you guys know that this gentleman over here that we've been speaking with is Eric Jordan kind enough to take us through the rig and just get us some of the fine points of this and we want to thank Dr wman for taking the time I'm not a doctor you should be I'm I'm a professor actually but for it's worth I never use it there you go we're looking forward to seeing the show thank you so much for your time sir Bri is a great friend of mine he's a doctor and he said he's doctor of astrophysics but it's said it's he said he still get other people who come out and they see as Dr Brian May and they go can you have a look at my leg and I say you don't know if you're a professor you don't have that problem because nobody ever comes up to because Professor nobody really quite knows what it means anymore there you go maybe some help with their homework

Channel: KeyboardMagazine

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Id: BQNWiCqFJaw

Length: 25min 23sec (1523 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 22 2016