Hi everyone !
This article completes the one about the virtual instruments that I use.
Here are my real instruments.
I didn't buy all this gear at once. I have several of them for more than 20 years. Time made my collection bigger.
Come people always want to have the last instrument released. If my instrument still sounds great, I keep it ! Most of them are quite old, and selling them wouldn't allow me to buy another one, so I prefer to keep them.
Let's start with my main instruments: keyboards.
The Kurzweil SP2XS isn't my main keyboard, but it's the one with which I did the most of my concerts (something like 150 gigs with it). I now use it in my studio, to give piano lessons. It's the only 88 keys keyboard I have, and it's the one I use every time in the show "Ce soir j'attends Madeleine".
On the left here, there's a Virus Indigo 2, by Access Music, used for synth sounds, monophonic or polyphonic. I used it a lot in the compositions for the music of the Visitor from the Future, season 3 and 4, specially for the "bal" music in the 4th season.
Usually, I use it with the small white expander you can see on the keyboard: a Shruthi 4 pole mission, by Mutable Instruments. It's a monophonic digital synth, with analog filter.
My main keyboard, the one I use on stage when I don't use the SP2XS, is another Kurzweil, the PC3, a 76 keys keyboard. My opinion is that this keyboard is the most powerful synth nowadays. The Indigo and the Shruthi also are good synths, but the PC3 goes further in terms of effects, polyphony, modularity and realistic sounds.
Above the PC3, there's a Xylosynth, by Wernick Musical Instruments. It's a midi xylophone, that I use as master keyboard for the PC3 or other virtual instruments. I used it a lot when playing with David Keler, but I now use it very rarely. I will probably have the opportunity to use it on stage when playing the songs of my album "Shadows".
Under the PC3, you should see a blue flightcase, it's Beryl, a master keyboard I made, based on a midibox project and doepfer electronics. I don't use it for now, but I wish I have a project to use it again !
That's all for keyboards, I have some others not on picture, mostly master keyboards, that I use on stage, depending of the projects...I also have a toy piano, used on my song "Remembering children's games" from my upcoming album.
Let's talk about my second instrument, the instrument I really love: the bass.
On the left, there's a Ray34CA, by Sterling by Musicman. It's my main bass, the one you'll hear on all the songs of "Shadows", except one.
Next to it, it's a Fretless Jazz bass vintage modified by Squier. I use it when I need a fretless sound, or when the musicman sounds doesn't suit my requirements.
On the right is a Ibanez AEB10 electro acoustic. I used it a lot, but now I often play the musicman. I take it when I go on hollidays or if i go playing with friends who play acoustic guitar. You can hear it on the song "Le visiteur groove" from the 1st season of The Visitor from the Futur.
Guitars:
That's not my main instruments, neither the one I like the most. I have them because sometimes, it's faster and cheaper to record it by myself rather than having a guitar player.
The electric one is a Fender Stratocaster Black top, with 2 humbuckers, and some intermediate positions that I use to have a stratocaster or telecaster sound.
The acoustic is a Taylor Mini SG. I love the sound of that guitar.
If you heard some guitars in my songs, its one of them, except if I don't play it. The electric guitar is used in the songs "Octave" and "Richard" from the season 4 of the VftF. The acoustic guitar has been played by Florent Dorin when we recorded his song "Inside my Heart" for the final episode of the 3rd season.
My drums is Roland HD1. I never used the internal sounds. I use it to control my virtual instruments. I played all the drums part for my album with it. I also have a cajon, and a tambourine. You can see the cajon used in a
cover of the Monkey Island theme.
Wind instruments:
There was a podcast about me that Jul released last week. You may now know that I started music by playing the clarinet. Since that, even if I love playing keyboards or bass, I love wind instruments, specially flutes.
Next to my clarinet, you can see a melodica that I don't use as it is very out of tune. Next to it, there are several tin whistles, plastic or metal. There is one in Bb, one in C, three in D, one in Eb. I kept my two recorders from school. You can hear the plastic D one at the
end of the fake Frenchball movie trailer !
I have a Honner chromatic harmonica that I don't really use, because I don't really know how to play it.
Above it are two ocarinas from STL Ocarinas, one is a purple clay simple alto ocarina, the blue one is a plastic triple ocarina.
You now know everything about my instruments !
My next post here will be monday, I will tell you about the release of the digital album for the 2 first seasons of the musics from The Visitor from the Future !
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So I have a master keyboard, which I took with me on the train. My acoustic bass came in by car with the set we have on stage (and my other keyboard too, the one I'll be using on stage every night), and I have a mic, since it is during this month that I'm going to start writing the lyrics and melodies for the sung tracks of the album.
Personally, ambient light has a lot to do with it. As soon as the ambient light changes , as night falls , or if a big storm comes, something happens. It is mainly for this reason that I work during the night. As I don't want to wait the night to come to start working, I manage to create a light atmosphere by pulling the curtains , closing blinds, and playing with lighting.
For writing, no secrets. I have a small Moleskine music notebook, never far from my wallet, to capture potential inspiration when I 'm not home.