Left hand challenge

[breezybellows]

Who's up for a challenge? How much of "Seven Nation Army" can you play with only your left hand. No backing tracks or loops allowed.

 

[Thomas N]

Hah! I really like your videos Breezy! You do funny things, but they all combine to make you a better accordionist and are interesting to watch.

I'd rather watch a video like the one above than yet another person playing Flight of the Bumblebee for the umpteenth time.

 

[John M]

Breezy,
Very effective use of the Korg. Seems to me, the different ways you can program (set up scenes) is almost limitless. I have a feeling, the versatility of the programming/setup is much greater than what the 8X/Evo have to offer.
What's your opinion?
John

 

[breezybellows]

Breezy,
Very effective use of the Korg. Seems to me, the different ways you can program (set up scenes) is almost limitless. I have a feeling, the versatility of the programming/setup is much greater than what the 8X/Evo have to offer.
What's your opinion?
John

This is going to be a long response.

I feel that user programs and user program lists in 8x/Evo offer a more elegant way to program sounds and seamlessly transition without taking hands off of the keyboard.

From my current understanding, I didn't see any big advantages with scenes, but I see a few functions in which it falls short.

For example, consider a video like this.




For a performance like this, I'll do the following on the 8x/Evo

Step 1: create user programs

UPG A: strings on treble, bass guitar and slow strings chords
UPG B: Brass on treble, tuba bass and string chords
UPG C: steel string guitar on treble, bass guitar and slow strings. Add drums
UPG D: Brass+ Trumpet fall on treble, bass guitar, attack strings chords and drums.
UPG E: Sax treble, bass guitar and stack strings
UPG F: Sax + strings treble, bass guitar

Step 2: Create UPG Lists
These lists are programs that you already created. You can create these lists in the order in which you'll be using each of your programs for a particular song. This can include duplicates of the same UPG for the sections that you revisit an earlier sound.

My example UPG list can be something like

UPG A
UPG B
UPG A
UPG C
UPG D
UPG B
UPG D
UPG A
UPG E

I can make this list "Spy medley".

Step 3: Set up chin switches
There are 3 chin switches and each of these can be programmed to do a bunch of different functions. I set one of the chin switches to move to the next UPG in my list. This makes performance extremely simple. Whenever I need to switch to the next sound, I just hit the chin switch. Doesn't matter how many times. You can program the sound of your entire concert as one list (if you perform in the same order).


Scenes are not UPG Lists
Scenes allow you to sign a sound to each of the 14 register switches for each of the sound type (accordion, orch1, orch2, organ, soloist). So each scene gives you several thousand combinations. But, there is no way to recall those these combinations. Switching from accordion to orch 1 and then turning off the drum needs two touches. Selecting the required register in orch 1 needs one more touch. On the Evo, so if these can be done with a single press of the chin switch whole the hand stays on the keyboard.

These is a way to do all of this using a single press of the chin switch. But that would require moving to a new scene. So all of the thousands of combinations in a scene are not readily accessible during performance. There is one more limitation for using scenes as a substitute for UPG Lists.
There are only 600 scenes. In that example list above, there are 9 items. So I can't even do this for 100 songs. 8x/Evo has separated out UPGs and lists. Lists can have duplicates. But the Korg's scenes doesn't have the equivalent of a list. You'll have to have duplicate scenes and that will eat up one of the 100 available slots. In my opinion this is extremely limited.

8x/Evo let's you have 100 lists with several items per list (I've had over 20 in several lists). I've never run out of space on a given list so far. But the Korg only has 600 scenes in total.

So far I haven't found any advantages of scenes.

 

[Thomas N]

Korg had ten years to think about how to improve on Roland's UPGs, which I use extensively. Sometimes when you reinvent the wheel it's a few steps backwards. The old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" axiom.

I will say that I have been impressed with the Korg's sounds in the past few YouTube videos you and others have put out. The piano is much improved and I feel the bass parts sound clearer and more realistic.

Jury's still out for me. Appreciate these informative tips, Breezy.

 

[John M]

This is going to be a long response.

I feel that user programs and user program lists in 8x/Evo offer a more elegant way to program sounds and seamlessly transition without taking hands off of the keyboard.

From my current understanding, I didn't see any big advantages with scenes, but I see a few functions in which it falls short.

For example, consider a video like this.




For a performance like this, I'll do the following on the 8x/Evo

Step 1: create user programs

UPG A: strings on treble, bass guitar and slow strings chords
UPG B: Brass on treble, tuba bass and string chords
UPG C: steel string guitar on treble, bass guitar and slow strings. Add drums
UPG D: Brass+ Trumpet fall on treble, bass guitar, attack strings chords and drums.
UPG E: Sax treble, bass guitar and stack strings
UPG F: Sax + strings treble, bass guitar

Step 2: Create UPG Lists
These lists are programs that you already created. You can create these lists in the order in which you'll be using each of your programs for a particular song. This can include duplicates of the same UPG for the sections that you revisit an earlier sound.

My example UPG list can be something like

UPG A
UPG B
UPG A
UPG C
UPG D
UPG B
UPG D
UPG A
UPG E

I can make this list "Spy medley".

Step 3: Set up chin switches
There are 3 chin switches and each of these can be programmed to do a bunch of different functions. I set one of the chin switches to move to the next UPG in my list. This makes performance extremely simple. Whenever I need to switch to the next sound, I just hit the chin switch. Doesn't matter how many times. You can program the sound of your entire concert as one list (if you perform in the same order).


Scenes are not UPG Lists
Scenes allow you to sign a sound to each of the 14 register switches for each of the sound type (accordion, orch1, orch2, organ, soloist). So each scene gives you several thousand combinations. But, there is no way to recall those these combinations. Switching from accordion to orch 1 and then turning off the drum needs two touches. Selecting the required register in orch 1 needs one more touch. On the Evo, so if these can be done with a single press of the chin switch whole the hand stays on the keyboard.

These is a way to do all of this using a single press of the chin switch. But that would require moving to a new scene. So all of the thousands of combinations in a scene are not readily accessible during performance. There is one more limitation for using scenes as a substitute for UPG Lists.
There are only 600 scenes. In that example list above, there are 9 items. So I can't even do this for 100 songs. 8x/Evo has separated out UPGs and lists. Lists can have duplicates. But the Korg's scenes doesn't have the equivalent of a list. You'll have to have duplicate scenes and that will eat up one of the 100 available slots. In my opinion this is extremely limited.

8x/Evo let's you have 100 lists with several items per list (I've had over 20 in several lists). I've never run out of space on a given list so far. But the Korg only has 600 scenes in total.

So far I haven't found any advantages of scenes.

Thanks Breezy for the detailed explanation of how you use the Evo with UPG’s and UPG Lists. Also, comparing that to the Fisa with Scenes. The Fisa certainly seems lacking in the use of Lists.

When I use my 8X, I don’t set up a List as you do for a particular song. I don’t use UPG lLsts at all. I use a group of four 8X Banks (No.s 1, 2, 3, & 4.) where I have 14 UPG’s in each Bank. This gives me 56 UPG’s I can use for anything I play. I have my favorites in Bank 1. I can go “across banks” using the two Set buttons on the 8X. I know what sound I have in each of the 56 UPG’s. Once I go to a new Bank, I select one of the 14 register switches for the particular UPG sound I want. This requires, two key presses, not like the one key press you can get on your EVO using Lists.

The Fisa has 100 Banks with 6 Scenes in each Bank and each Scene has 14 register switches. I have a question about the 14 register switches in each Scene:
With the 8X, each register switch is a UPG and can be independently programmed from any of the three sound groups (Accordion, Organ, Orchestral). On the Fisa, for a Scene (say Scene A), can each register switch be programmed like a UPG using the Accordion, Organ or Orchestral sounds? Or, do you have to stay within one of the three tone list groups of Accordion, Orchestral or Organ for each Scene?

 

[breezybellows]

With the 8X, each register switch is a UPG and can be independently programmed from any of the three sound groups (Accordion, Organ, Orchestral). On the Fisa, for a Scene (say Scene A), can each register switch be programmed like a UPG using the Accordion, Organ or Orchestral sounds? Or, do you have to stay within one of the three tone list groups of Accordion, Orchestral or Organ for each Scene?

Don't quote me on this because I might be wrong. From my understanding the register switches don't store a combination. They only store one value each for each sound type. Think of scenes like sets in 8x