Hmmm...What will it be i wonder?

Will it be the vintage white face ARP Odyssey he has up in his loft space?

Or..?

Will it be a mix of the G-Media Oddity & Imposcar?

Or..?

That nasty lil' 'new synth on the block' the Waldorf Blofeld...OH YES ANDREW, IT SCREAMS LIKE A B******!!!

I've heard from a very unreliable source that they're doing the entire set using Stylophones... Can you believe that!?

Hahaha.

I can imagine Billy, Midge and Chris all stood in line as the curtain drops. Warren yells "1, 2...1, 2, 3, 4" and teh drums crash.

Meanwhile a cacophony of frenzied noise and scratching bursts forth from the amps.

There's a pause...

Midge steps forward to the mic.

"Can you tell what it is yet?"

Chris then starts his bassline on a wobble board.

I honestly think one of the synths he should use is an access virus TI.

Very interesting question Sleepy!

I really don`t hope it`s going to be a software
thing with laptops!!! Software is great for what
it is, but (especially) in a live situation softsynths just don`t have the balls to cut through (like I want it) in a rockband!
Performance on softsynths is a very strange
experience too - and very diffucult to do a proper way.
If I were them I would choose/think about using something like this:
Minimoog Voyager
DSI Evolvers and/or Prophet 08
SS-30`s (they still work)
A hardware sampler or two
LinnDrum II (not released yet)
For the old CS-80 ribbon controller sounds, there
are only two I can think of - the AN1x and the Andromeda A6 (they are both great!)

PS: There is only one synth that is able to sound like the Arp Odyssey - and that`s the
Arp Odyssey!!!

So let`s hope....

According to the video that shows Midge and Chris in the studio I think they will do it with MIDI-keyboards and the old sounds are reproduced with modern technology softsynths. But somehow I doubt this could be done for the solo synth. So there are some possibilities:
- MIDI controller and Imposcar/Prodyssey or similar
- modern analog or VA-synth like Nordlead or Virus
- no compromises and using THE REAL THING

Chris might use a Voyager, but I doubt it, as Midge seems to have recreated the bass sound on his software.

I think since the band have had access to the original masters, they may do an OMD job on it & sample quite a bit of the orignal sounds

Access TI Polar maybe?
Alesis Andromeda A6...folks are hailing this synth as the best analogue polys ever made, so they'll maybe be an option.

They may go for the cheaper option & use the software emulations over MIDI?


Most of us will find out soon enough!
Maybe the guys will do another Sound On Sound or Future Music interview for the tour???

I think Billy should use an Oscar & ARP Oddy MkIII, Chris should use a black Voyager for the bass lines and Midge will probably need a good condition SS30.

Now where could they get their hands on such in demand kit??

Chappie

I can't see a software solution being used - the Oddity just doesn't have enough resolution on some of the controls and just sounds a bit zippy sometimes.

I personally wouldn't have a problem using Gmedia's VSM for the SS30 or Rhapsody.

I'd definately go for either the original gear or Alesis Ion/Blofeld as an ARP replacement

I wonder what Billy will do about his CP70? Dave Formula had the same problem, but I think he settled on the Nord.

Chappie - no better time to start a hire business

The best solution for soft synths in a live environment is a rack unit such as

http://www.smproaudio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=76

which you then control via your master keyboard.

I still think an Access Virus TI would be a great choice for Ultravox.

I think Billy will use the Odyssey again for a 14 date tour. After all, why compromise? I'm sure the boys would want to sound like the real deal and unless Billy has re-learnt another hardware controller he seems to know his way around an Odyssey better than most.

The Moog could be updated to the Voyager perhaps but there doesn't seem to be an Odyssey replacement.

Access TI is a very good synth (have one myself) but it isn't an ARP.

I reckon on stage there will be an Arturia Origin, ableton live 7 doing various bits and one or two keyboard controllers, also maybe something like a Korg M3 or Roland Fantom.

If you've not heard about the origin here is your you tube link http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4QFgs0K0j88

Although it seems a lot of bands these days tend to have a Nord Lead with Microkorg.

So:

No StyloPhone and a couple of cow bells then?

Stylophones rock
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zZt64_XOflk&feature=related

Or maybe not
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4IUXlQ1k8tY

Regarding the second link maybe the health & safety exec. should be involved.

Brilliant!

Hi all,

I think I can help shed some light on the gear Billy is planning to use on the RTE 09 tour.

Billy is interviewed by Richard Allinson in the January 2009 podcast on the Yamaha website, and he explains that he's currently preparing for the tour, and using a Yamaha CP300 stage piano (which he plays and explains how he recreates the classic CP70/80 sound - although he refers to it as a CP30, which was an older electronic piano), and a Yamaha Motif XS7 workstation. He implies that he may use these to control the Oddity, ImpOscar and CS-80V VSTi's, but it's not 100% clear.

http://www.yamahapodcasts.yamaha-europe.com/podcast_jan2009.php

In any case, it's a really interesting interview, and Billy shares his thoughts on his old "classic" keyboards (Yamaha GS-1, CS-80, PPG Wave + Waveterm, ARP Odyssey, Yamaha SS-30, Oberheim OBX etc. - he's not that nostalgic about them, but would like his CS-80 back if he had the chance), on the Live Aid performance (they were mad to do it with a whole new set of gear that they didn't know that well (Billy: Kurzweil K-250, DX7 + TX816 rack - Midge: Emulator II to replace SS-30 strings etc.)), on how the re-union came about, and future plans.

Is there a limit on the size of posts on this BB, 'cause if not, I have a transcript of the interview I could post?

Cheers,

Pete

Hi Pete,

Lovely job, thanks for the link! Can I ask how you go the transcription - are you involved with Yamaha? If not, we'd have to ask permission, or just send out the link for people to listen to it. If you could let me know, that'd be great.

Cheers!
Cerise.

Hi Cerise,

No I don't work for Yamaha, I just typed it up myself ('cause I didn't know how long Yamaha would keep the audio up there, and I wanted to record the info for myself).

Good point about getting permission - I hadn't thought of that. Is seeking such permission somthing you've experience of how to do?

Cheers,

Pete

Thank you very much for providing the link, Pete ... very much appreciated.

So, it sounds as though they have finally met-up and with Billy playing a piece from Astradyne, hopefully that's a hint of what's to come ... even that little bit sounded great!

Hopefully, they'll be a lot more promotional items like this come our way between now and April.

I still can't believe this is really happening and I'm going to be able to see them ...

Really enjoyed this. The directors cut makes interesting listening, as Billy states that after the tour they may be doing some festivals and possibly doing some shows in Europe and Japan later in the year. It may be that the tour isn't a one off. Here's hoping !!!!!!

Wow - thanks for the link. Interesting to hear that there are festival appearances and another tour in the pipeline at the end of the year.
Having zero musical talent myself (I tried to pick up the Bass guitar a few years back, but gave up after 12 months of misery!!),I don't understand too much of the 'techy' stuff they're talking about, but I do appreciate good music, and what I'm particularly impressed with with Billy is that he has a distinctive style - even on piano I'm able to say "ah - that's Mr Currie playing". I'm sure that must be a really difficult thing to achieve on a keyboard instrument, more so than a guitar, because you're 'detached' from the instrument.
Anyway, many thanks for the link and I'm really looking forward to more promotion of the tour.

Hi Pete,

All the time - we ask permission for everything that goes on the site, that we didn't create ourselves...

Yes, we'll approach Yamaha - would you mind emailing the transcript to me, at ev@Ultravox.org.uk? I'll send a copy of it along with our request.

Thanks for that!

Cheers,
Cerise.

Thanks for the link Pete, great interview for a synth nerd like meself!

Thanks so much for the info, Pete.

I am so looking forward to hearing Billy play.

Thanks a lot for the link Pete!!!

Great interview that finally reveals something.
I hope Billy decides to do the solos on hardware
though...

All The Best
Jesper

PS...ahhhh, yes....that CS-80....

Thanks for the link Pete.......interesting interview.......

PS I shouldn't have listened to it so late at night though cos I had a bizarre dream about Billy and synthesizers .......that's a first lol!

Thanks for the link Pete, that was very enlightening, and excellent listening to boot =)

The more I work with synths and production equipment, the more I understand the need for a stable live rig. As some have suggested, the Waldorf Blofeld might do the famous Currie solos nicely, but if I know Billy's method of thinking right, he's using a dedicated controller for the GForce Oddity/impOSCar softsynths with proper function assignments. A lot of people tend to ignore the fact that most high-end MIDI controllers nowadays also have a host of assignable switches, buttons, knobs and sliders that can be assigned to your parametres of choice.

I've played the CP300 in shops and stuff, and I don't think Billy could have made a better choice. It has been one of Yamaha's flagship stage pianos for quite a while now, and with good reason - it plays wonderfully. As for using a Motif XS7 as the main (and as far as we know, only) hardware synthesizer, it's up for the job. I know many of the purists are afraid of admitting it, but there are some modern synths and workstations capable of producing the sounds of your vintage machines of choice, and the Motif XS can do that.

Pardon the lack of brevity.

I'm glad people found it interesting - I know I certainly did, but then, I'm a bit of a sad "gear head" - just wish I had some talent to go with it!

Great link - thanks very much!