Tech question for Jens - From Sao Paulo’s show

[dalpozlead]

Hi Jens, I was in the Sao Paulo show yesterday (great to see you live again!) and noticed that in the middle of the gig you’ve powered off and then on the JV-1080.
Was there a problem with it?
As a synth fan I had to ask you
Thanks for your music!

[Ricardo1701]

I noticed that, but I don't know if he turned it off, or just changed its configuration, I was near, and it looked like he moved a knob, or somthing like that..

[dalpozlead]

I noticed that, but I don't know if he turned it off, or just changed its configuration, I was near, and it looked like he moved a knob, or somthing like that..

I’m pretty sure he powered it off...
I think after the reset he started playing in the COMBI mode…
Maybe some MIDI bug made him do it?

[JensJohansson]

I noticed that, but I don't know if he turned it off, or just changed its configuration, I was near, and it looked like he moved a knob, or somthing like that..

I’m pretty sure he powered it off...
I think after the reset he started playing in the COMBI mode…
Maybe some MIDI bug made him do it?

Powered it off. For some reason a volume=0 message had been sent (or some other midi message misread). That's what I think happened at least.

Shit like that happens sometimes..

-shrug-

Cheers from godly EQUADOR...

[Ricardo1701]

bugs, something that will ever exist on eletronic things...

one day my Korg X-50 bugged, it had stopped all commands...I had to shut it off, and then it back to normal

[dalpozlead]

Thanks for the tech reply Jens!
It was a great show!

[Plisken]

I noticed that, but I don't know if he turned it off, or just changed its configuration, I was near, and it looked like he moved a knob, or somthing like that..

I’m pretty sure he powered it off...
I think after the reset he started playing in the COMBI mode…
Maybe some MIDI bug made him do it?

Actually he is always in performance mode (or combi mode in Korg language lol). Live he never goes into patch mode.

[Special A2]

i would love to know how to use a midi controller (in this case, the Axiom 61 form M-audio) with a laptop, omg Midi language is SO COMPLICATED
all i know is i need my laptop, the midi controller and an interface, and it's all here but...to program de the midi controller, assign the midi messages like what am i gonna control with ''X'' knob or with ''Y'' drawbar, and where the f..k can i change my sounds u.u' it just pisses me off =(

does somebody? ... thanks

[Special A2]

oh by the way Jens,
did you actually changed your keyboard? i think i've seen live a DX7II, am i right?why's that?:lol: but i think the sound module remains the same the JV-1080 (i want one of those).but where i am it's hard as hell finding one

[Plisken]

i would love to know how to use a midi controller (in this case, the Axiom 61 form M-audio) with a laptop, omg Midi language is SO COMPLICATED
all i know is i need my laptop, the midi controller and an interface, and it's all here but...to program de the midi controller, assign the midi messages like what am i gonna control with ''X'' knob or with ''Y'' drawbar, and where the f..k can i change my sounds u.u' it just pisses me off =(

does somebody? ... thanks

its actually not that complicated once you get into it. First thing though is what VST are you using on your laptop?

Also to find out what MIDI message corresponds to what button/knob/slider you are going to have to look in the manual. Their is a huge list in there that says exactly what MIDI message is assigned to what button/knob/slider.

[Plisken]

oh by the way Jens,
did you actually changed your keyboard? i think i've seen live a DX7II, am i right?why's that?:lol: but i think the sound module remains the same the JV-1080 (i want one of those).but where i am it's hard as hell finding one

Where do you live :S? the JV-1080 was (maybe still is?) the most popular sound module for a very long time. Go check out ebay. There are a lot over there.

[Special A2]

oh well i'm french born but i moved to venezuela (parental working reasons, you know) here it's almost impossible to find it :/ but...besides of that, will it be that safe to play live with a laptop,etc? i'm afraid it will crash in the middle of something and that would be no good XD
well, i will try to learn all of those crappy things about midi messages and stuff, and i'll try with FL studio which i love =)<3
i have tons and TONS of vst's dunno like, pristine harpsichords blah stuff, lots of things, i'll try to take a look at some manuals =)
thanks by the way =)

[JensJohansson]

1080 performance mode: yes!

I haven't taken the step to try to use a computer yet, I'm worried about reliability issues, but may some day.

Not so much crashing, just the physical integrity of the computer itself in a rack being thrown around by airline employees, ran over by forklifts, dropped by stage hands etc.

I would probably use Win XP or something from that family running bidule or something like that. (And why not have yet another PC/Mac flame war here, I've srot of enjoyed the previous 5 or 600,000 I've read the last 20 years. Maybe something new could be said in this one. Maybe the easter bunny creates an account here and adds his point of view on Bill gates )

DX7II weighs a little less and i thought since they were built later in the 80s they might be a bit more reliable. So far my experience with that idea has been mixed. But the IIs weigh about 3 kg less, sometimes this matters when you have to pay 36 euro for every kg over whatever the airline allowance is..

[Plisken]

yah man you should be fine playing live with a laptop as long as its a pretty decent laptop you should be fine. I have never had mine crash on me while using VST's so you shouldn't have a problem. Of course if you put very demanding settings from your VST then if will crash cuz your computer wont be able to take it. So I would say experiment with the Lag Latancy and Sample rate and find the sweet spot for you laptop.

I actually dont use my laptop anymore to use my VST's. I load them up on my Receptor2. Its much faster and MUCH easier to use and go around with. Also it will never crash, latency is almost 0 and you can seamlessly change from one patch to the next.

I think jens used his laptop for a few VST's when stratovarius played live in there "Stratovarius" album tour. Not anymore though.

Edit : oh I guess not lol. He did have his laptop up on stage with him though! im sure of it >.<?

[Plisken]

1080 performance mode: yes!

I haven't taken the step to try to use a computer yet, I'm worried about reliability issues, but may some day.

Not so much crashing, just the physical integrity of the computer itself in a rack being thrown around by airline employees, ran over by forklifts, dropped by stage hands etc.

I would probably use Win XP or something from that family running bidule or something like that. (And why not have yet another PC/Mac flame war here, I've srot of enjoyed the previous 5 or 600,000 I've read the last 20 years. Maybe something new could be said in this one. Maybe the easter bunny creates an account here and adds his point of view on Bill gates )

DX7II weighs a little less and i thought since they were built later in the 80s they might be a bit more reliable. So far my experience with that idea has been mixed. But the IIs weigh about 3 kg less, sometimes this matters when you have to pay 36 euro for every kg over whatever the airline allowance is..

have you tried the Receptor2 (by Muse Research) jens? I was worried about the same things but really with the Receptor its in the same boat as my JV1080. It doesnt crash like a computer with Windows or Mac would and is faster then what you could achieve with a laptop all together.

I was surprised when I saw you start using the mkII, I tired it and I found the original DX7 to be MUCH more solid. The MkII is lighter for sure but it also feels much more flimsy. The key action was the same so that was cool but buttons you have to press hard sometimes or even clean them out.

oh and screw windows and mac. Long live Linux!

[Special A2]

muse receptor? holy burrito that would be dreamy to play with! but i'm afraid it can't be found here either, and when i saw one in a shop in paris, it was like...5000$? i think an Oasys deserves 5 grand:lol:
i really want to start to play with pc live because, i want to play some techno sounds and most of all to run sequences and blah blah, some kind of ''galneryus'' stuff? the good thing is that, with a laptop i can also ''vocode''? i have already tried and i was like in love . i'm ok with my current gear (Korg X50, Axiom 61(new guy) and some behringer sustain and exp pedals) but i want to ''expand horizons'', and...i want to bring back to life my OLD HYPER OLD Technics SX-Kn 920...it's the most beautiful keyboard:oops: <3

[Plisken]

$5000!? wow the most expensive one is $2,600. I think you can buy it online from their website.

They discontinued making the Oasys so you cant actually buy them new anymore. Really what made the oasys so good was that it was part soft synth. You could load up VST's on to it.

[Special A2]

uh yeah, it had empty slots to store the vst's etc. it was a real good synth, i wonder why korg stopped it.
and yeah, i saw a Muse Receptor in a music instrument shop and i t was 3500 € it's like...4000$? something like it? anyways, t was expensive as hell, oh talking about it jens, you should really move to Vst's/samples and computers one day, or at least, use your V-synth live say, is it a good synth? because i've been told the new JUNO is the latest in the market.
oh Plisken by the way, i was searching the web over here and i found a guy who actually is selling racks here in Vzla, he's selling the Korg TR rack, i wonder as you may be experienced, is this a good one?
thx in advance =)!

[Plisken]

uh yeah, it had empty slots to store the vst's etc. it was a real good synth, i wonder why korg stopped it.
and yeah, i saw a Muse Receptor in a music instrument shop and i t was 3500 € it's like...4000$? something like it? anyways, t was expensive as hell, oh talking about it jens, you should really move to Vst's/samples and computers one day, or at least, use your V-synth live say, is it a good synth? because i've been told the new JUNO is the latest in the market.
oh Plisken by the way, i was searching the web over here and i found a guy who actually is selling racks here in Vzla, he's selling the Korg TR rack, i wonder as you may be experienced, is this a good one?
thx in advance =)!

The Juno cant compare at all to the V-Synth. The Juno series from roland is there entry-level keyboards for the most part. Totally different level then the Fantoms and the V-synths.

The Korg TR is alright but I found really the only rack worth getting from Korg is there Triton Rack. Its filled with some pretty good sounds for just about everything. I would say its the Korg equivalent to rolands JV-1080. But I still prefer the JV-1080 more. The JV's harpsichord is unmatched (well...I have to admit kurzweil's harpsichord is pretty damn good). The Choir is unmatched, the strings I have made on it are better(but the triton racks are really good too).

The Triton rack does have a much better piano. I hate korg's piano's usually but the JV's piano is even shittier lol. Of course on the JV you can attempt to create jens lead sound and get pretty close if you know your way around the roland synth engine. On the Triton Rack, derek sherinian was pretty kind to let Korg put his "Monster Lead" sound as factory default on the rack. So if you get the Triton Rack you will already have a pretty cool lead sound, no need to create it from scratch. I personally find jens lead to be the most expressive for a multitude of situations, thats why I tried creating it.

[Ricardo1701]

uh yeah, it had empty slots to store the vst's etc. it was a real good synth, i wonder why korg stopped it.
and yeah, i saw a Muse Receptor in a music instrument shop and i t was 3500 € it's like...4000$? something like it? anyways, t was expensive as hell, oh talking about it jens, you should really move to Vst's/samples and computers one day, or at least, use your V-synth live say, is it a good synth? because i've been told the new JUNO is the latest in the market.
oh Plisken by the way, i was searching the web over here and i found a guy who actually is selling racks here in Vzla, he's selling the Korg TR rack, i wonder as you may be experienced, is this a good one?
thx in advance =)!

The Juno cant compare at all to the V-Synth. The Juno series from roland is there entry-level keyboards for the most part. Totally different level then the Fantoms and the V-synths.

The Korg TR is alright but I found really the only rack worth getting from Korg is there Triton Rack. Its filled with some pretty good sounds for just about everything. I would say its the Korg equivalent to rolands JV-1080. But I still prefer the JV-1080 more. The JV's harpsichord is unmatched (well...I have to admit kurzweil's harpsichord is pretty damn good). The Choir is unmatched, the strings I have made on it are better(but the triton racks are really good too).

The Triton rack does have a much better piano. I hate korg's piano's usually but the JV's piano is even shittier lol. Of course on the JV you can attempt to create jens lead sound and get pretty close if you know your way around the roland synth engine. On the Triton Rack, derek sherinian was pretty kind to let Korg put his "Monster Lead" sound as factory default on the rack. So if you get the Triton Rack you will already have a pretty cool lead sound, no need to create it from scratch. I personally find jens lead to be the most expressive for a multitude of situations, thats why I tried creating it.

just a stupid question, but Korg TR rack and Korg Triton rack wouldn't have the same sounds (or load a pcg to have the same sound), since the tone generator is the same in both of them?

[Plisken]

uh yeah, it had empty slots to store the vst's etc. it was a real good synth, i wonder why korg stopped it.
and yeah, i saw a Muse Receptor in a music instrument shop and i t was 3500 € it's like...4000$? something like it? anyways, t was expensive as hell, oh talking about it jens, you should really move to Vst's/samples and computers one day, or at least, use your V-synth live say, is it a good synth? because i've been told the new JUNO is the latest in the market.
oh Plisken by the way, i was searching the web over here and i found a guy who actually is selling racks here in Vzla, he's selling the Korg TR rack, i wonder as you may be experienced, is this a good one?
thx in advance =)!

The Juno cant compare at all to the V-Synth. The Juno series from roland is there entry-level keyboards for the most part. Totally different level then the Fantoms and the V-synths.

The Korg TR is alright but I found really the only rack worth getting from Korg is there Triton Rack. Its filled with some pretty good sounds for just about everything. I would say its the Korg equivalent to rolands JV-1080. But I still prefer the JV-1080 more. The JV's harpsichord is unmatched (well...I have to admit kurzweil's harpsichord is pretty damn good). The Choir is unmatched, the strings I have made on it are better(but the triton racks are really good too).

The Triton rack does have a much better piano. I hate korg's piano's usually but the JV's piano is even shittier lol. Of course on the JV you can attempt to create jens lead sound and get pretty close if you know your way around the roland synth engine. On the Triton Rack, derek sherinian was pretty kind to let Korg put his "Monster Lead" sound as factory default on the rack. So if you get the Triton Rack you will already have a pretty cool lead sound, no need to create it from scratch. I personally find jens lead to be the most expressive for a multitude of situations, thats why I tried creating it.

just a stupid question, but Korg TR rack and Korg Triton rack wouldn't have the same sounds (or load a pcg to have the same sound), since the tone generator is the same in both of them?

No such thing as a stupid question!
The Korg TR rack is a rack version of the Korg Trinity which uses ACCESS(Advanced Control Combined Synthesis System) as its tone generation system.

The Triton Rack uses the HI Synthesis tone generator. This is the synth engine all of the Tritons use.

Now that I think about it I think derek sherinian's lead sound was orginially made on the Trinity and later re-programed onto the Triton rack but I dont know if it is a factory default patch on the TR rack.

Still though The roland JV series is the best. Only if you cant find any from the JV series would I recommend the Triton Rack(the newer versions that they made).

[Special A2]

hummmm, very interesting now i find it! i know TR racks have already programmed Monster Lead, but, i really dont like it when a keyboard lead sound does this kind of ''distorted'' harmonics? like, jordan rudess lead? i don't want to disrespect but, it's annoying to hear that it sounds like a crying blue whale when you sustain a note and there comes this harmonic nagger, and it's not really clear when you play fast things due to a minimum amount is BT held GlideTime.
when it comes to leads, let's face it, Jens Johansson, or in the 2nd hand Warman's Lead sounds are the most effective; lfo's aren't abused, easy to create, nice flanger and chorus, and a little algorithm to create the this pulsey/sawy waveform...
oh by the way, maybe you know Richard Andersson? i love his lead sound and he uses as a module the TR rack, so i guess sounds can be created, or at least edited from there.
Plisken, what do you think?oh well those are just opinions, no need to call stupid questions or all that ''Ricardo''

[Plisken]

hummmm, very interesting now i find it! i know TR racks have already programmed Monster Lead, but, i really dont like it when a keyboard lead sound does this kind of ''distorted'' harmonics? like, jordan rudess lead? i don't want to disrespect but, it's annoying to hear that it sounds like a crying blue whale when you sustain a note and there comes this harmonic nagger, and it's not really clear when you play fast things due to a minimum amount is BT held GlideTime.
when it comes to leads, let's face it, Jens Johansson, or in the 2nd hand Warman's Lead sounds are the most effective; lfo's aren't abused, easy to create, nice flanger and chorus, and a little algorithm to create the this pulsey/sawy waveform...
oh by the way, maybe you know Richard Andersson? i love his lead sound and he uses as a module the TR rack, so i guess sounds can be created, or at least edited from there.
Plisken, what do you think?oh well those are just opinions, no need to call stupid questions or all that ''Ricardo''

Yah I agree jens' lead tone is really perfect for just about any situation I find. Slow solos or fast solos its really expressive. Also It cuts through the entire mix very well, a problem I used to have before I made his lead sound. Warman's lead sound is also really great too! and very sutied for the music he plays with Children of Bodom. Its actually pretty easy to get warmans sound once you have gotten pretty close to jens'. Jens lead is actually not as easy to make as some make it believe. I have been working on it for over 2 years now and I still haven't fully nailed it. In fact I made another version of jens lead using my JV-1080 and Boss GT-Pro to use with my band live and on records until I finally get jens' lead right. The GT-Pro version has a lot of the characteristic of jens' lead but doesn't sound as lively and as expressive. What I actually want to do is do what Warman did with jens' lead. Sort of experiment with it. Try different things with it.

Yah I know richard andersson his lead sound is pretty cool too.

[Special A2]

oh yeah! Jens! give us your lead sound in a .syx archive
oh well yeah, if you want to fully achieve jens lead sound you need this Morley JD-10 british amp emulator? i think that over the years, he's still using it, i think that's what gives his lead sound this unique ''sound''
warman's sound is basically the same sound, in fact, jens some way or another ''gave'' his lead sound to janne warman, just warman modified some parameters and some controls as, the use of the mod wheel to add some ''distortion'' to it? i know jens never used the mod wheel, because he hates the way the ''fake'' vibrato sounds, and it's true, due to tempos and timelocks. but he could assing it to add some portamento, you heard this mini lead in the beginning of Falling Star? it really sounds LOVELY, and it has this little glide assignment? in a fact, maybe jens is gonna heckle me for that but, he should use more those ''Moogy'' sounds like, in S.O.S? it sounds perfect i think it's the same lead tone, but adding some glide.
what would you say Plisken =)?

[Ricardo1701]

No such thing as a stupid question!
The Korg TR rack is a rack version of the Korg Trinity which uses ACCESS(Advanced Control Combined Synthesis System) as its tone generation system.

The Triton Rack uses the HI Synthesis tone generator. This is the synth engine all of the Tritons use.

Now that I think about it I think derek sherinian's lead sound was orginially made on the Trinity and later re-programed onto the Triton rack but I dont know if it is a factory default patch on the TR rack.

Still though The roland JV series is the best. Only if you cant find any from the JV series would I recommend the Triton Rack(the newer versions that they made).

oh, that's true, I assumed that Korg TR rack was just like Korg TR, but I was wrong...thank you!!

I an learning yet how to use synts, I have a Korg X-50, and all patchs that I use are stock, the only thing I know is how to create combis, and put some effects, and some other simple things...

[Special A2]

oh you say haha! creating sounds in a korg X-50 is really hard, and i think it has to be done via computer , but it can be achieved and well done anyhow
i'm having a shitty time with the korg creating sounds and patchbanks, but some day i will arrive at it, some day

[Plisken]

oh yeah! Jens! give us your lead sound in a .syx archive
oh well yeah, if you want to fully achieve jens lead sound you need this Morley JD-10 british amp emulator? i think that over the years, he's still using it, i think that's what gives his lead sound this unique ''sound''
warman's sound is basically the same sound, in fact, jens some way or another ''gave'' his lead sound to janne warman, just warman modified some parameters and some controls as, the use of the mod wheel to add some ''distortion'' to it? i know jens never used the mod wheel, because he hates the way the ''fake'' vibrato sounds, and it's true, due to tempos and timelocks. but he could assing it to add some portamento, you heard this mini lead in the beginning of Falling Star? it really sounds LOVELY, and it has this little glide assignment? in a fact, maybe jens is gonna heckle me for that but, he should use more those ''Moogy'' sounds like, in S.O.S? it sounds perfect i think it's the same lead tone, but adding some glide.
what would you say Plisken =)?

Jens has made some info on how to make his lead available to the public. If it wasn't for that info no one would have much of a chance to try and re-create his sound. So to that jens I thank you man!

The easiest way would be having a Morley JD-10. But I have emulated the Morley on my GT-Pro using the preamp. So its not impossible without the Morley. What gives his lead the unique sound is the RAW patch it self. with the right amount of flanger and chours. Then add in the Morley you have something special.

Yah jens gave his patch to warman in .syx form, at first all warman did was turn off the flanger and use a Big Muff Pi instead of the Morley. Later on he started messing around with the patch more.

Jens actually does use his mod wheel. He used it when I saw them live, but it does not control the LFO to do vibrato's. His mod wheel cross fades tones 1 and 2 with 3 and 4. Tones 3 and 4 are an octave lower, so he and got lower on the keyboard. Also he adds some resonance too, you can hear the sound becomes steeper and sort of a bit wilder.

Yah I love the sound he uses in the beginning of Falling Star. I dont think its the same patch as his lead though. There are a few patches on the JV that sort of sound like it. With a few adjustments to parameters that sound should be relatively easy to achieve.

oh you say haha! creating sounds in a korg X-50 is really hard, and i think it has to be done via computer , but it can be achieved and well done anyhow
i'm having a shitty time with the korg creating sounds and patchbanks, but some day i will arrive at it, some day

Yah creating patches on Korg keyboards a bit different then Roland. They use different terminology from roland. Also the algorithms are very different.

[Special A2]

oh yeah i could see that too! about jens using the mod wheel sometimes, if i remember right it sounds like it has some REALLY crazy stuff.
but still, i wonder why he's enphatised in using old synths as a controller i will not be surprised when he presents live with an old polysix , or his Oberheim, it would be even nice to bring back those old synths, and it would be awesome watching him use the V-synth he owns, but i guess he knows what he does, and well, he perfoms an awesome work

[Plisken]

oh yeah i could see that too! about jens using the mod wheel sometimes, if i remember right it sounds like it has some REALLY crazy stuff.
but still, i wonder why he's enphatised in using old synths as a controller i will not be surprised when he presents live with an old polysix , or his Oberheim, it would be even nice to bring back those old synths, and it would be awesome watching him use the V-synth he owns, but i guess he knows what he does, and well, he perfoms an awesome work

The DX7 is an awesome controller! its perfect for the JV-1080 too. The JV has 32 performance user patches, the DX7 has 32 patch numbers to choose from. Best part about the DX7 is the Keybed. It is pretty much the best I have ever tried in a 61 key keyboard. Only one that I found just as good not surprisingly was Yamaha's new keyboard the Motif XS.

Probably the reason he doesnt use the V-Synth is because he hasn't really used it with stratovarius. Also I dont think it will be a better controller then the DX7. It is one hell of an awesome keyboard though! I wish I had one >.<

[Ricardo1701]

oh you say haha! creating sounds in a korg X-50 is really hard, and i think it has to be done via computer , but it can be achieved and well done anyhow
i'm having a shitty time with the korg creating sounds and patchbanks, but some day i will arrive at it, some day

Yes, I use the computer to create, or edit...its much more easier than in the Korg X-50 itself

About Jens mod wheel, I noticed in Strings, that when we "raises", it add some choir sound...for me it's hard to explain, but its easy to see in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34hBiqrf6Wo (I was just a feel steps from where this video were filmed, closer to Jens)