Rick Wakeman gives a tour of his 2016 ARW rig, part 1 (11/22/16)
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- Опубліковано 21 гру 2016
- Rick Wakeman explains to David Bryce (moderator of The Keyboard Corner) how he navigates the various keyboards for the 2016 Anderson/Rabin/Wakeman tour. Wakeman also describes how he and his tech figure out solutions for making all of the required sounds available no matter where he is in the song.
Curious about his Minimoogs? Wakeman has 9 of them, as well a numerous Hammond organs, which he also describes. He even shares some anecdotes about Bob Moog.
Filmed on November 22, 2016 at the Orpheum Theater, Los Angeles, California.
If you interview the greatest keyboard player in the world, spit out the gum.
He's American.
But your right you could see Wakeman avoiding eye contact.
Whatever.
@MorbidManMusic
Both are then , because America is built on it.
Stole the land then called locals foreigners.
We originated from Africa anyway.
Well personally Betelgeuse
Greatest keyboard player? That's debatable. Maybe in the Progressive Rock Genre. Obviously, you haven't heard classical pianists and jazz pianists much.
Regardless of the whining in response, yes, PLEASE spit out the gum. Ridiculous that this even aired.
The keyboard wizard of all time! One of my favorites! Rock on, Rick!
What a lovely guy Rick is and a fantastic musician. Long live Rick.👍👍✌️✌️👏👏👌👌
awesome
I met Rick last year after one his Piano Odyssey tour dates. He was going through the motions nodding about his time in Yes etc whilst signing copies of his CDs. I thought 'don't bore the chap guys' so when it came to my turn I asked him about the pianos he liked playing and his face suddenly lit up. We had quite a long chat (much to the irritation of others who were present) about the pros and cons of Steinways, Bosendorfer etc. A really nice, down to earth guy with incredible talent.
Rick is an old school and used to do all his own programming. Digital changed everything...Erik however understands all the new stuff. Don't know who convinced Rick to buy the Kronos, but very glad they did. Rick is in his 60's and still plays better than most of the keyboardists half his age!
I love Rick! Always good for a story, or five.
I could listen to Rick all day! Nice to see he still has the Fantom X, one of my all time favourite keyboards. Also of course good to see the Yamaha Montage in there :)
I was a guitar player and yet I was always amazed at what Rick does. I stood in front of his area at an outdoor Yes concert in the mid 70's (old Buffalo War Memorial stadium?) and was so moved by his talent. I thought he was genius. I still find myself glued to anything he does or says. The whole band was fantastic.
I think this video is also fantastic. Thank you for sharing. It's funny to see some of the older equipment still so relevant.
I always enjoy a Rick Wakeman interview . Thank you for posting :)
This is a quite interesting & illustrative interview, Thanks Greg!!, as I have always said, Rick Wakeman is a Keyboard God of Prog Rock, may life give him long & healthy living🎼🎶🎹🎶
It continues to amaze me, watching all these rig videos of people standing amid tens of thousands of dollars of gear, that no one seems to have a friggin' lav mic.
As mentioned in a previous comment...we weren't given the opportunity to mic either Rick or me. We shot the tour on an iPhone - it was all we had time for. It was only supposed to be a quick tour, but we kept going...
Yes must include Rick, he blows me away with extra talent...
The words 'keyboard overkill' spring to mind...
Thanks for posting. Great master, great instrument.
Love RW!! Love him even more now I know we both kept and love the little Korg X5DR
I love Rick and his interviews always remind me of spinal tap
What I'd like to see one day is a "Rick Wakeman introduction to the mini moog" Thanks for the share/upload.
My favorite keyboardist of all time , Mr Rick Wakeman..
I agree with Rick on the JD-800....amazing keyboard, I've owned two of them since the early/mid 90's and yes, sadly, they both suffer from the red glue of death issue....However, I was able to purchase a replacement key bed from Roland (they still had JD-800 ones in stock!) a few years ago and swapped out the bad one on one of my units with the new bed and it has been fine ever since.
12:00 Rick actually torched his Mellotron. Note he has a Memotron and not a M4000D. Tony Banks said he and his keyboard tech used to have more or less to rebuild theirs before every gig and it was a complete nightmare. Or in the early days it was probably Richard Macphail.
You have to think: all those keyboards, mixers, rack mounts - and no hum. The cabling for this rig must all be so well screened.
Wakeman talks about the Mini Moogs being thrown around and not designed for tour type situations...I have to wonder what Keith Emerson had to endure keeping his giant modular Moog up and running with the tour schedule that ELP kept...must have been a full-time job for the touring keyboard tech.
Hello my name is Rick Wakeman and I'm a keyboard hoarder ...lol
First time i saw Yes he used a Baby grand, hammond c3, minimoog d x2, Mellotron, Arp string synthesizer and thought a Rhodes 88, and others i didn’t recognize
Prolly a Clavinet v6
Artem Makarenko Tnx, definitely on Tormato tour
He used to haul a Steinway concert grand on tour.
I’m literally drooling over Rick and his gear. He’s a prog god to me. And surely this rig is more of (part of the show), than practical, cuz no matter how you think of it, what can you do on TWO 88 Kronos that you can’t do on one?
Keep rocking Rick ❤️👏🏼
None ever told Rick you don't need one keyboard per sound anymore! Dang!
Puny Poppy He doesn’t play in bars :)
Yes you do.
Can you show me how you play all kinds of different patches simultaneously when you jump from one sound to another in split of a second?
He knows his stuff, he probably knows more about keys than most of us put together, yet there alwaus just some smart ass who thinks he ate Solomon's shit for breakfast and thinks he is smarter than anyone.
Yeah, Jordan Ruddess uses mainly one workstation and he switches between the sounds (he used to do that on OASYS) but his stuff has totally different architecture than Wakeman's does.
Wakeman uses different sound characters of different keyboards and his choices are such that the patches don't interfere with others even when in multiple layers.
You can't say that about Ruddess.
His sound choices are awful at best because he revels in sharp, ear piercing sounds so he can't really put 3,4,5 layers without the listener getting a unrecognizable sauce of millions notes per second where everything goes haywire.
Wakeman always makes his patch choices very wisely - and that comes from somebody who isn't even a huge fan of his music.
He has a fantastic ear for sound colors and precisely because he uses multiple keys all at once, he knows what and how to blend it.
You can't do that with one workstation because no matter what, each has its unique color because of the hardware that generates it. In other words, anything you create out of one keyboard will have that keyboard's unique characteristics.
Yes, if you are just regular Joe Schmoe who can listen mainly to Metallica, than yes, you won't recognize jackshit.
But Wakeman is no metalhead, his ear is a finely tuned processor that hears everything that you don't.
Don't be a fool.
Fantastic Gear!!!!!
Definitely a fantastic musician.
I had the red glue issue on both my JD-800 and D-70. The Roland factory in LA replaced both keybeds for free for me several years ago. I bought my JD-800 back when they were just released, and except for the nice deep scratches Roland put on it when replacing the keybed, it still looks and functions like new.
Fantastic synths for live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its great when you get an interviewer who knows when to be quiet!
Nice to see Dave rubbing elbows with the big boys.
Dave? No more caffeine, no more sugar, no more coke.
Otherwise, nice interview.
Believe it or not, I already stay away from that stuff! :D
I was actually just really stoked for the opportunity to talk with Rick....
Dave's not here, man!
Great interview man. I love how Rick knows the gear he is using.
Thanks, David!
I owned 3 mini moogs 1 micro moog, sold them then they started being sold for thousands.......damn!!
I like the Minimoogs and the JD-800. I am too old for the touchscreens.
Rick and his usual army of keyboards...surprise to see him with a Kronos and Montage added to his synth library...he has more than 2 hands i swear!!
The Maestro
Where does he stash the Vindaloo?
Melhor tecladista do planeta 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏fã YES .BRASIL
wonderous stories!
'They do everything it says on the tin plus more', classic. 'Unless you're rocket scientist' OMG why isn't this interviewer pissing his pants with laughter and just gormlessly chewing gum as if he isn't listening ?!
good he has the Minimoog back, irreplaceable.
I wish the sound was better (I wish Rick was miced better) but thanks for the upload. With all the technologies I've watched evolve over all this time, I'd really love to see Rick get together with some cutting edge engineers/producers, and Jon and Trevor, and create some really unique sounds for some new songs between the three of them. I've felt for a long time that the technology is terribly under-utilized, not directed at Yes at all, but instead the industry on the whole. Tho admittedly, I don't bother searching much anymore for new music because so much of it is crap to me since around 1990. Regardless, would love to hear Trevor, Jon and Rick collaborate on a new album, it'd be a definite buy without hesitation.
Scent Snob per Trevor, the plan was to introduce some new music. They did do some different arrangements of their classics. I have the same requests. Take these cutting edge keyboards and push beyond the boundaries and make some new incredible music. And do some music from talk and big generator
Agreed. With Trevor now having movie score background, I think they could come up with some really amazing new Yes material that could be a completely new approach and really blow their fans away. I would love to see them push this envelope. The single Trevor released a few years back was amazing (can't recall title, it was the name of a street if I recall). Would love to see Jon also get ultra-experimental lyrically again as well. I think a huge part of their fan base wants the same things I want.
Big Generator was when I discovered them, big fan of both pop and prog Yes. Talk was cool but not a favorite (tho had some gems for sure, Endless Dream, State of Play and a couple other spots). Just want to see them get mega-creative, and I want to hear completely new exploration with the keyboard technologies.
And I don't want them to even try to appeal to their fans or any kind of mold. For me, ABWH was amazing, and Magnification had some of the last of their real alternative pursuits that I loved. Cheers.
Market Street. I wish they would push the envelope on the synth technology, and do something like the album Close To The Edge and just do what sounds interesting to them now and not necessarily what a yes album would sound like.
I absolutely agree! I like Rick! Hé is vere authentic and had à big houmour! Hé is à genious on everything!!!!!!
We can see Minimoogs,JD800,Korg Kronos,Sycologic system but
what else ??
What synthesizer he use to play the piano ?
There is a synth part on Yours Is No Disgrace. That song is on the Yes Album with Tony Kaye. Don't think he played it though. Maybe Anderson? Rick does play the synth part when they perform the song. How funny!
What a Dude.
I can fix the JD800, Rick.... :)
16:17 Was that Trevor Rabin?
Yes, it was!
Long LIVE al MAGO MERLINO del rock e più precisamente del PROGRESSIVE ROCK !!!!!
Love it!!! Except for the gum chewing!!
The gum chewing was so I could remember to shut up and let him talk. Seriously....
Haha :D
Best comment about replacement technology and losing connectivity options. Give me USB fine, but don't take away MIDI Din please!!!! Very interested in the Arturia MK ii controller coming out soon. Has USB, MIDI Din, Gate and CV, and several expression pedal inputs that I'm guessing will be map-able...
17:15 apart from a short synth part in Perpetual Change.
Edit: and in the intro of Yours Is No Disgrace (in the left channel around 0:40 on my CD copy) and throughout.
Oh, and Starship Trooper. Apart from those, no synth at all :-) "Tony Kaye piano/organ/moog" in the credits.
I got The Yes Album recently on CD and was surprised to hear the Moog here and there. That would have been a very early Minimoog in 1970 unless it was modules.
Bravo
Ladies and gentlemen it's the Lord of the Ring keyboard player extraordinaire Rick Wakeman and one hell of a funny guy long live the king😂🇺🇸
Branson Soundworks works on old legacy keyboards that no one else will attempt to repair! Here in NJ. Moog White elephant, Older Vox, Farfisa, Etc.
Memotron just uses the CD samples of the mellotron set, the new digital Mellotron is actually much much better tonally; I hope he hears one soon!
Agreed. I love my 4000D!
OK, we'll take it as read that Rick is a keyboard genius, but history will record that his real achievement lies in raising the dishevelled look to an art form.
I couldn't hear what model of monitor speakers he's using. In fact, how about putting a complete list of this gear in the description? Please! :-)
He says "EV speakers" (Electro-Voice), but he does not mention the model.
When it comes to keyboards, Rick's like a kid in a candy store. And he owns the store.
And the music he creates and produces is the ultimate ear candy.
With ARW, he's taken his talents to new heights.
This IS Yes
ARW is the easiest payday he has ever had.
What is that Sycologic synthesiser ? I tried to find some information on that name and did not find much.
The Sycologic is not a synthesizer it's a MIDI Switcher that controls all the patch changes in each keyboard or MIDI sound module for what song he's playing.
Where is that Sledge synth that you said on previous video you will incorporate to your rig...?
The Sledge is in Lee Pomeroy's rig. He told me he was using it for bass pedals.
I also have a pro mega 3. I don't use it much because it really doesn't have good sounds except for the mellotron emulations. I prefer to use my DX7 EX5 and Triton Extreme
Garrett simms-rowe I love my Promega 3. I feel like the piano samples are good for an early 2000's board. Love the organs and the EP's as well.
Forse ha il MEMOTRON che può riprodurre il suono di diversi tipi di Mellotron , Chamberlin, Mark 2 , M 400, Novatron , Birotron, e anche Orchestron .
Impressionante setup muito foda
@17:16 In addition to Hammond, there's piano and some moog synth on The Yes Album. And yes, the gum chewing is very bad.
No B3? WTF man!
Did he as him a question about some parts done by a bloke who left the band 45 years before?
At 00:30 why is everything almost full up. Surely Rick tweaks the parameters of those channels during a performance or what would be the point of utilizing such a big assed unit ??
Rick mentions somewhere in the video that the volume levels will automatically change for different songs. I don't think he said whether it was him via midi or his tech controlling it off stage.
From Allen&Heath website - True digital mixing is about being able to save and recall Scenes (snapshots) at the press of a button. Qu can store up to 100 full Scenes for recall and Channels or Mixes can be made Safe from being overwritten. Qu-32 features 33 motorized ALPS faders, 32 allow instant access to all input channels and masters over 2 layers, and a dedicated master fader dynamically follows the Mix selection. A third user-defined Custom layer is available for ad-hoc strip layout, where any combination of Inputs, FX Sends, FX Returns, DCA’s and Mix masters can be assigned.
14:50 Gem Promega has good Mellotron strings?
It has an okay mellotron sound…Works better when blended with other strings sounds because on its own you can tell it’s not quite a mellotron. If you listen to 2003-04 versions of YES’ And You And I, you can hear Rick use the GEM Mellotron sound (mixed with other strings) during the “Eclipse” section.
What is Rick talking about with the check clearing at the beginning of the video?
My observations... Ask Rick if he ever played his patch in the Hammond XK-2, it's called Yes Rock. The setting is 888473256, V3/C3, Chorus on, Leslie on slow, Percussion on Fast, Soft. I realize he also plays a bunch of pipe organ sounds. What's interesting is it doesn't seem he has a Ventilator for a Leslie. I wonder if he's using the Leslie simulator on the SK1 or if he just leaves the Leslie off. He did mention that with V3 and C3, it almost sounds like a Leslie.
The thing that would really be cool is to get a play by play from the keyboard tech of what sounds each keyboard is running for each song. I'm sure he's got a listing of what each keyboard is set up to do. That would be mind blowing to say on this song, here's how all the keyboards are set up, and what Rick is playing.
For concerts, put cameras above Rick and show his hands on a big screen behind him. When I play, I try to turn sideways so people can see my hands. With Rick, it's hard to see his hands because he's so high up.
The check clearing? Jokingly suggesting he paid the interviewer to speak so highly of him.
Exactly.
@13:59 - Lady Rooster Laugh!
"no clip tracks , we play "
The Roland V synth gt (under the Kronos) is a brilliant & innovative keyboard, so brilliant in fact that Roland don't make it anymore! In my opinion that's a big mistake.
Now the solution is MainStage 3
Cyril Blanc looks a bit boring on stage though
@@benmychree190 if you use great midi controllers it is not boring at all. I was giging with a laptop only with Cantabile. Imagine having 20 vsts and omnispheres live.
Mapping nightmare.
@@RayyMusik you have plenty tutorial on UA-cam
@@cbhrcbhr I know how it works. That doesn’t make it less tedious. I used MS for 2 years, until it somehow shredded 2/3 of my concerts. Since then I rely on hardware synths, Wakeman-style. More expensive, but also more reliable and much more fun.
Rick should get a JDXA.
A great instrument in it's own right but very distinct from a JD-800
Maybe hire an audio team so we can hear him
David St.Hubbibs meets Woody Allen.
I'm so glad that I never learnt how to play keyboards; for the price of those I can fill my backyard with "hand wired" Plexis...
How can you Chomp like that in front of the God himself ??
Rick is biggest gearhead in keyboard world :-) Why to bring so many boards? Modern technologies offer possibility to root everything to one or two master keyboards and just switch layouts and programs , as Jordan Rudess does. I think he likes just be surrounded by all this stuff
awaken77 yeah I think at this point it’s more of a Rick tradition to have the big wraparound rig. It’s a very visual thing.
Why doesn't he use the Roland D-50? It is much better than the JD-800
Roger's guitars and stuff 99% of the time he uses the Wailing Guitar patch on the JD800. He used a D50 before the JD came out but he's always used that patch as an alternate lead sound.
🛸🛸👌👌😎😎
this little man interviewing Rick is disturbing.
And I thought that my owning 7 guitars was excessive................
I like Rick but that is total overkill.
I can see the Moogs and maybe a Hammond since they are a hallmark of his sound. But you could do everything else on the Kronos. It amazes me that Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater uses almost one keyboard for the amazing sound he has.
arw = alcohol related whoopsie, i should think both rick & myself have had a few of those.
Ma il MELLOTRON RICK WAKEMAN non lo tiene più nel suo arsenale TASTIERISTICO ??? In questo video NON lo vedo !!!!!!
One single finger of Rick Wakeman worth more than the 99% useless untalented crap of so called "elektro players" (du(m)bsteppers (s)hut hoppers dj's etc..)
it's another post that tells the truth.
I don't like Wakeman at all but he can play better than the whole crap of untalented clowns that use toys as an instrument.
If QUALITY would be used to judge Music 90% of the garbage we listen around us would disappear.
So how do you judge that? There are a number of EDM/electronic musicians who are jazz and/or classically trained (e.g. LTJ Buke, Rusko, Andrew Bayer, Jojo Mayer are just a few examples)...is the fact that they aren't cranking 78943794 notes to every bar the only way to measure a musician or what he plays? You are not comparing apples to apples here, and it's at best unfair, and more realistically just contrived.
Yes, what I am basically saying is that your position is bollocks.
The fact is that they play BORING music with too much electronic toys.
Tell them to play acoustic instruments and let's see what they can create without the help of toys.
I agree that you don't need to play one million notes to make good Music , but it's time to re-commence to use ANALOG (read REAL) instruments in place of fake digital toys.
Music is ......MUSIC when it's played by REAL Musicians with REAL instruments otherwise is just a joke.
I've said that I don't like Wakeman solo music,but he can play FOR REAL ,anf this makes him more talented than a fuckin dumb dj unable to play a single note with a REAL instrument.
lietmar liet no, music is when sound is organized into discernable structures, period. Stop trying to pass your ignorant normative standard as an objective definition. It just makes you look foolish ( especially since I provided the two links above that make your statement completely invalid, and they are far from the only example)
What? No Cape? Call yourself a keyboard player?
Could you be anymore rude with the gum chomping? You’d be out the door if I was the editor.
Rick is anything but singing? Piano master
The interviewer seems very big headed saying I've got this and that just do your job and interview🤒
If you are going to feature the greatest keyboardist in the world, get a decent sound system! Can hardly hear it, thank goodness Mr Wakeman knows sound.
Rick vs. Yanni
Not even close. Rick would slaughter him.
UNBELIEVABLE!! Keyboard Fucking Magazine can't figure out how to properly mic Rick Wakeman so we don't have to strain our ears to hear what he's saying. It's EMBARRASSING!! Not only that but it makes for a trying viewing experience. You should be making it easy for the viewer. Who was in charge of this? They should be fired. This is a major bummer because I really want to watch but it's too hard to hear with the sound fading in and out.
We weren't given the opportunity to mic either Rick or me. We shot the tour on an iPhone - it was all we had time for. It was only supposed to be a quick tour, but we kept going...
Zoom makes a stereo digital audio recorder, it's $99. I have one. They sell them everywhere. If you know you're going to be talking to a legend like Rick Wakeman, it takes two seconds to throw one in your bag. Sorry to be a dick but you guys are supposed to be pros. You hold it in your hand and aim it at the person talking. Later you can combine it with the video footage. That is if you want people to actually listen to what you are taking the time and effort to do.
Youre not being a dick at all! Nothing wrong with saying what you think, brother...
I actually have a Zoom, but it wasn't working correctly. I've done a few other captures with my phone and not had a problem....but I have to admit I've never done one where the subject moved so much.
Also, it's diffcult to shoot a video and do an interview - especially if you need to use your hands for other things - so I had someone else hold the iPhone for me. Made it even harder to track the sound on this one.
No excuses - just telling you what I was dealing with.
i wasn't having trouble hearing rick at all tho... sounded okay to me
i had no problem understanding or hearing what he was saying.....maybe your computer sucks or you need to see an ear nose and throat specialist
Av an egg and bacon butty
the interviewer needs to relax.....makes me tense listening to him......yuk....
Nice video. Too bad micing sucks :(
Yup. As I mentioned earlier, we weren't given time to mic anyone or set up a camera. We just started shooting with the iPhone.
The alternative would have been no video at all...
I think you both did a pretty good job considering. These arm-chair critics forget how electrifying an experience it is, to be face to face with fame -- let alone doing so inside Rick's own keyboard circle). And then it went twice as long as expected? David, you did all right, and got the experience of a lifetime in the process. Me, I got out a pencil and started taking notes :) Sure, I'd love to know more -- what sounds go into what songs -- but we can't have everything, can we? Meanwhile: Eric Jordan is the man whose job is both dream and nightmare -- if one of Rick's keyboards goes out mid-show, I'd hate to be the guy who was supposed to make sure they all worked!
Fascinating. Wouldn't have been better without the irritating guy with the gum