Welcome to the Machine - Live

[CowboyNQ]

It's recorded live on stage, so I won't pretend my playing's 100% on point, BUT this does give you a good feel for what's possible with our synths. There's a radio interview wrapped around this which you can bypass if you like. Go to 1:55 to hear the song.

The King Korg does the heavy lifting here. Here's a breakdown of what you're hearing from a keys perspective:

- 1:55 at start of song. The throbbing bass noise is the Korg Krome. I'm very slowly opening the cutoff filter manually.
- All the stereo panning effects you can hear throughout the song that sound like machines, wind etc. are samples which I trigger from my iPad
- 2:53 there is a stereo panning bass sound. Done by the Krome.
- 3:17 a high pitched synth drone comes in. This is the King Korg with me opening and closing the cutoff filter manually.
- 3:43 and throughout the song from here you can hear a strings stab. This is done by a second keyboard player on a Roland VR-09.
- 5:10 synth lead done by the King Korg, lots of manual manipulation of the portamento time going on, plus closing the cutoff filter at the end of each lead break.
- 7:28 keyboard solo done by the King Korg.
- 8:55 that noise that sounds like a spaceship or something taking off and then slowing down is the King Korg.
- 9:09 people at the party are another iPad sample.

 

[DeeMaxx]

One of my favourites off of their wish you were here album...must say man,you all did a great job it sounded awesome..i enjoyed that thanx.

 

[CowboyNQ]

must say man,you all did a great job it sounded awesome

Thanks DeeMaxx very kind.

 

[Alchemy]

Sounded real good from what I could make out. My hearing is a mess (another bout with menieres disease). I haven't been able to hear music well for several days now let alone play anything. You mention cutoff slider but you have to be using sliders and dials throughout right? This may have reminded me I have been without sliders and dials like that since the early 80's when I had a radio shack moog and maybe this is what I need now. I played this then as well as dark side of the moon stuff etc. It seemed I could follow the whole songs while moving sliders, turning the dials and hitting a few keys. I guess I just got instinctive to immediately know how to copy a sound to where I could play right along. Is the king korg recommended to do all that today? Is there anyway I can do this on my JV? Probably not I guess.

 

[Alchemy]

Welcome to the machine to me is like "welcome to the matrix" or pretty much like the wall album, and animals. I think it's pretty much Roger Waters view of things but I don't know about the others so much. Roger seems full of meaning yet David is kind of abstract artistic. The sound at the end I think of as being sucked into the "great machine" of modern man just like the school children in another brick in the wall are sucked into the matrix machine of mind control.

 

[Oriane Lima]

Amazing. Great performance. Thanks for posting.

 

[Rayblewit]

Superb quality sound indeed!
Awesome drumming . . I love the power of your drummer's system.
I think I said this before.

Anyway not only drums, the whole package, guitar, vocal . . just incredible.

Pity about the keyboard. needs to improve somewhat!

Haha . . just joking.
That was truly sensational Paul. Those special effects and the synth sound were just mind blowing. Absolutely exciting stuff. I cannot imagine a real Floyd concert would be any better sound wise!

Keep 'em coming. cheers.

 

[CowboyNQ]

Sounded real good from what I could make out.

Thanks for the nice feedback, Al.

You mention cutoff slider but you have to be using sliders and dials throughout right?

The Krome has four user-programmable knobs that you can assign to pretty much any aspect of the sound you want. So in the case of this song I assigned one of them to filter cutoff. All I do is play the note once, hold down the sustain pedal, and slowly open the cutoff by turning the knob. The King Korg on the other hand has a dedicated cutoff knob which I twist open and closed during the song.

I guess I just got instinctive to immediately know how to copy a sound to where I could play right along. Is the king korg recommended to do all that today?

The KK is what's known as a Virtual Analogue (VA) synth. It's a digital keyboard, but it's designed to emulate analogue synthesisers and has various filters which emulate classic analogue synths by companies such as Moog, Oberheim, Roland and of course Korg. It's particularly good at this and it's also designed to make knob twiddling and sound shaping very easy during live performance, which is why I use it in our Floyd tribute. What it's not that good at is more "standard" keyboard sounds like piano, electric piano, organ etc.

 

[CowboyNQ]

Amazing. Great performance. Thanks for posting.

Thanks Oriane!

 

[CowboyNQ]

Pity about the keyboard. needs to improve somewhat!

Haha . . just joking.
That was truly sensational Paul. Those special effects and the synth sound were just mind blowing. Absolutely exciting stuff. I cannot imagine a real Floyd concert would be any better sound wise!

Haha...don't worry Ray I'm my own worst critic. When I hear these recordings all I hear is the mistakes I'm making - but I put this up here more to show off the sounds than the fallible bit of flesh standing behind the keyboard making them. We played a show last night where we did Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 6-9 and I'm afraid I made a bit of a pig's ear of the Moog solo at the start. It happens in live performance, we just smile and move on!

Thanks for your lovely kind words, much appreciated.

 

[Alchemy]

Thanks for the nice feedback, Al.

The Krome has four user-programmable knobs that you can assign to pretty much any aspect of the sound you want. So in the case of this song I assigned one of them to filter cutoff. All I do is play the note once, hold down the sustain pedal, and slowly open the cutoff by turning the knob. The King Korg on the other hand has a dedicated cutoff knob which I twist open and closed during the song.

The KK is what's known as a Virtual Analogue (VA) synth. It's a digital keyboard, but it's designed to emulate analogue synthesisers and has various filters which emulate classic analogue synths by companies such as Moog, Oberheim, Roland and of course Korg. It's particularly good at this and it's also designed to make knob twiddling and sound shaping very easy during live performance, which is why I use it in our Floyd tribute. What it's not that good at is more "standard" keyboard sounds like piano, electric piano, organ etc.

Now that's a masterpeice reply! I love it! Well except the part at the end . I'm thinking THAT'S IT! Thats what I need , then OH nooooooo! I gotta have me piano and guitar sounds too You, as well as demos I watched, make it sound like a more advanced, much easier, much more versatile, moog. That part I want but I like playing full songs and pretty solos too. If so, I guess it would be more for pros who are justified to have several expensive keyboards?
edit: now I see you were talking about two keyboards. I think I missed that from the beginning . I was only thinking of the King Korg. Don't worry, I'll get it figured out.

 

[Oriane Lima]

Revisiting. Super.

 

[Alchemy]

Me too. Sounds great from what I can hear but my hearing is still bad. What strikes me when I hear this among so many things lately is "love to drive a jaguar" and I think "WOW I actually have one now, wow, that used to seem so far away." I actually bought a very nice Jaguar 2 or 3 years ago and I just stored it and never drove it except a few miles to test when I got it. I keep forgetting I have it. I have other vehicles I drive and it's not practical to register them all. Jaguar was not really the car I always wanted, it was just a good deal. I did get the car I always wanted a few years before. I also have machines in my plant that sound just like this song, freaky
Also, when I'm doodling on my keyboard sometimes I get off into going up and down the keyboard in Em and C only, with an occasional "G F# drop" (piano or 12 string) and I'm essentially playing an improvised desolate sounding version of this. Strangely, it sounds pretty good. You ever do that Paul?

 

[CowboyNQ]

Also, when I'm doodling on my keyboard sometimes I get off into going up and down the keyboard in Em and C only, with an occasional "G F# drop" (piano or 12 string) and I'm essentially playing an improvised desolate sounding version of this. Strangely, it sounds pretty good. You ever do that Paul?

Al, I'm always noodling and doodling on the keyboards, most of it doesn't make much sense but now and then I trip over a sound or a scale that reminds me of something else. So short answer, yes!

 

[Alchemy]

I got a rare occasion where my hearing is maybe 90% (hearing distortion more than hearing loss) and wow, its really sounded great. You nailed it! You must have spent some time remembering all those little parts and getting them down. For some reason I think my favorite part is that little strings chords thiing near the end. Man I'd love to be able to jam this one out with a little band. That would feel awesome. Oh, one I have tried with a couple guitarists a long time ago and it felt great was Pigs- three different ones. Thats an awesome song you probably well know also. I forget how much keyboards right now except that cool intro and how well it sounds with the guitars coming in.

 

[CowboyNQ]

Oh, one I have tried with a couple guitarists a long time ago and it felt great was Pigs- three different ones. Thats an awesome song you probably well know also. I forget how much keyboards right now except that cool intro and how well it sounds with the guitars coming in.

That is a great track for sure. We actually haven't learned that one but it's on "the list".

 

[Alchemy]

I think sheep is the biggest hit on that album, at least in the US. I'm going to relook at that one. It's been a while. Their propheticness often newly astonishes me.

 

[hoanguyen99]

The King Korg does the heavy lifting here. Here's a breakdown

 

[Fishingmusician1]

Great job on that, envy all you're doing there. Like the look of those Premier drums, had a set back in the nineties and don't see them that much these days. Great rendition!

 

[CowboyNQ]

Great job on that, envy all you're doing there. Like the look of those Premier drums, had a set back in the nineties and don't see them that much these days. Great rendition!

Thanks very much. Yes, our drummer Jason is very proud of his Premier kit - they don't manufacture them any more so it's something of a collector's item. He keeps it in immaculate condition.