HOCKEY TALK and alittle on Friga's Whale

[Carlitto H@kk]

I'm curious about the 1/2 step experiment in the UK.
For Neal and Ross this is pretty simple; no change in playing, just
alittle extra work for their techs.
For a long time I thought that The Whale was pretty much
gutted and just a synth/workstation in a big, fancy shell but
was told other-wise a few weeks ago in here. You see,
that would've made the 1/2-step drop pretty simple for Friga if
they ever chose to do it because it would've just been a few button-pushes away.

But if The Whale hasn't been gutted, how is Friga accomidating the new tuning?
I know Friga can play anything but I would think it'd take awhile for him to get
completely accustomed to 'playing' everything a 1/2-step down; totally different
chords, getting his 'fingers' to break 27 year-old habits.

Can you actually 'tune down' a piano, in essence, like you would a guitar?
I mean, that would make complete sense. No changes in 'playing', no re-learning anything.
Just curious...
Anyone know?
Jeff, you lurking?

[Rockindeano]

Can you actually 'tune down' a piano, in essence, like you would a guitar?

I am not sure, but I know you can tune a piano, but not a fish.

[Granny]

Can you actually 'tune down' a piano, in essence, like you would a guitar?

I am not sure, but I know you can tune a piano, but not a fish.

what happened to the sunglasses? they were cool!!!

[Carlitto H@kk]

Can you actually 'tune down' a piano, in essence, like you would a guitar?

I am not sure, but I know you can tune a piano, but not a fish.

I thought I'd get at least 2 replies before that
joke got dropped!


Love the new Av, BTW.

You happy with your trade-deadline moves?
I think the Pens did ok. We'll see.

[Todd H]

When did they announce they would be tuning down half a step for the UK tour? I must have missed it when I was busy dodging tornadoes down here in Georgia.

[lights1961]

Can you actually 'tune down' a piano, in essence, like you would a guitar?

I am not sure, but I know you can tune a piano, but not a fish.

Probably one of REO's best Albumbs...



Rick

[Rockindeano]

Can you actually 'tune down' a piano, in essence, like you would a guitar?

I am not sure, but I know you can tune a piano, but not a fish.

Probably one of REO's best Albumbs...



Rick

Yeah, their best IMO....The Flying Turkey Trot is a great tune.

[Gibby]

This is the first I've heard of the tuning down as well. Maybe they aren't gonna do it for every song and keep the piano in tune for stuff with Deen and use the digital boards for anything tuned down. If the entire set is going down a half step then I would assume any new material would be written down a half step - or - watch for many guitar changes throughout the '08 show.

Great idea to take a little heat off of Jeff's pipes but a minor bitch for the guitar player that has to keep switching axes from E to Eb depending on the song.

[Rockindeano]

You happy with your trade-deadline moves?
I think the Pens did ok. We'll see.[/size]

Hell yes I am happy...Smolinski will add some forecheck and a little scoring, and we got that Steve perry lookalike Brent Sopel back from the Queens...he was a 'Nuck before. We are set for the big push.

With Luongo in Net, I say Vancouver is going to the Stanley Cup, and once there, win the whole fucking thing.

[Rockindeano]

Now, I can add a little insight to the setlist.

I do know Kevin Elson didn't particularly like the way Jeff sounded on BGTYT or Only the Young. So, perhaps they tuned those bad boys down. Need to confirm that.

[RedWingFan]

Can you actually 'tune down' a piano, in essence, like you would a guitar?

I am not sure, but I know you can tune a piano, but not a fish.

Probably one of REO's best Albumbs...



Rick

Yeah, their best IMO....The Flying Turkey Trot is a great tune.

Gary Richrath was the man. My favorite guitarist, great writer. Say You Love Me or Say Goodnight is a better tune though

[Carlitto H@kk]

This is the first I've heard of the tuning down as well. Maybe they aren't gonna do it for every song and keep the piano in tune for stuff with Deen and use the digital boards for anything tuned down. If the entire set is going down a half step then I would assume any new material would be written down a half step - or - watch for many guitar changes throughout the '08 show.

Great idea to take a little heat off of Jeff's pipes but a minor bitch for the guitar player that has to keep switching axes from E to Eb depending on the song.

Jeff mentioned it in here last week.
He didn't elaborate on songs or if it would be for the entire set.

As for Neal swapping guitars, I hope he does!
The CLPs are cool as hell but I like seeing
him tear up with the Strats every now and again
He did alot of guitar swaps with SS. I imagine there was
some Drop-D and possible Eb going on there.

[ohsherrie]

Jeff talks about it on the second page of this thread, JSS needs to pass to Deen on "Keep on Runnin'" .

[RedWingFan]

You happy with your trade-deadline moves?
I think the Pens did ok. We'll see.[/size]

Hell yes I am happy...Smolinski will add some forecheck and a little scoring, and we got that Steve perry lookalike Brent Sopel back from the Queens...he was a 'Nuck before. We are set for the big push.

With Luongo in Net, I say Vancouver is going to the Stanley Cup, and once there, win the whole fucking thing.

Well it would be about time, wouldn't it? Anyway, sorry Deano you're going to have to wait another year. The Wings got Berpussi. The Wings upgraded as well, Luongo HASEK Maybe next year dude

[stevew2]

I am a piano tuner/tech by trade. You you can tune a piano to any pitch. Most tuners{like me} use an electronic device to help them. The device I use can be set to any pitch.Many pianos I tune have been havent been tuned in many years and arent able to be brought all the way to pitch on the first tuning. So I have to tune a piano flat sometimes.If you are a musician and a great pianist like Friga it would sound like shit to the ear to play a piano a half step flat. I doubt he would even do such a thing.Im sure he could tranpose and play in diferent keys, but it wouldnt be fun,I bet he would say "fuck it". Friga dont play around.

[Carlitto H@kk]

You happy with your trade-deadline moves?
I think the Pens did ok. We'll see.[/size]

Hell yes I am happy...Smolinski will add some forecheck and a little scoring, and we got that Steve perry lookalike Brent Sopel back from the Queens...he was a 'Nuck before. We are set for the big push.

With Luongo in Net, I say Vancouver is going to the Stanley Cup, and once there, win the whole fucking thing.

Well it would be about time, wouldn't it? Anyway, sorry Deano you're going to have to wait another year. The Wings got Berpussi. The Wings upgraded as well, Luongo HASEK Maybe next year dude

You're smokin' crack! The Wings won't get past teams like Nashville, San Jose or the Ducks let alone take down the Canucks in 7.

In the East, you are now looking at the Islanders possibly making a run but I think it's gonna be Buffalo or New Jersey.
At least my Pens should be able to get to the second round. That'd be great for this young team.

How 'bout them kids???
First time since a young Edmonton team in the 80s w/ Gretz has a team had
three 20+ goal scorers ALL under the age of 21!
Crosby - 19
Malkin - 20
Staal - Turned 18 in training camp and leads the league w/ 6 Sh goals!

PHENOMINAL!!!

[Marc S]

As a longtime pianist/guitarist I'm not convinced a semi tone down from concert pitch would sound out of place, I also can't imagine that even a player as awesome as him would want to transpose and play arrangements into different keys after playing them for 25-30 years or so? I can only assume its a proper piano in that huge housing, if not its a piece of piss to do digitally. Tranposing piano is very tricky unless one sight-reads everything, on guitar its a doddle as you are just shifting up and down frets. They are more likely to tune all of Neals guitars down a semi-tone as songs like Stone in Love are based around open G and D and would not sound like the original. I'm going to Nottingham on Monday so will see how it all hangs!

[(Crazy)Dulce Lady]

I am a piano tuner/tech by trade. You you can tune a piano to any pitch. Most tuners{like me} use an electronic device to help them. The device I use can be set to any pitch.Many pianos I tune have been havent been tuned in many years and arent able to be brought all the way to pitch on the first tuning. So I have to tune a piano flat sometimes.If you are a musician and a great pianist like Friga it would sound like shit to the ear to play a piano a half step flat. I doubt he would even do such a thing.Im sure he could tranpose and play in diferent keys, but it wouldnt be fun,I bet he would say "fuck it". Friga dont play around.

agreed.

The only possible way I see if when Jonathan is playing guitar. but then Neal and Ross would have to re-tune back up the half between songs. or, Jonathan plays everything on synth and just pushes the transpose button and plays as usual. or Jon plays everything a half step down which would involve mucho sharps or flats. yikes. the whale could be an electronic whale, which would make this possible, but I sure thought it was an bondafide acoustic piano. retuning would be a nightmare and probably whack Jon's ears. who tunes the whale between shows? all that moving around would blast the tuning.

I am not seeing this for performance. maybe for re-recording the GHs??

[RedWingFan]

You happy with your trade-deadline moves?
I think the Pens did ok. We'll see.[/size]

Hell yes I am happy...Smolinski will add some forecheck and a little scoring, and we got that Steve perry lookalike Brent Sopel back from the Queens...he was a 'Nuck before. We are set for the big push.

With Luongo in Net, I say Vancouver is going to the Stanley Cup, and once there, win the whole fucking thing.

Well it would be about time, wouldn't it? Anyway, sorry Deano you're going to have to wait another year. The Wings got Berpussi. The Wings upgraded as well, Luongo HASEK Maybe next year dude

You're smokin' crack! The Wings won't get past teams like Nashville, San Jose or the Ducks let alone take down the Canucks in 7.

In the East, you are now looking at the Islanders possibly making a run but I think it's gonna be Buffalo or New Jersey.
At least my Pens should be able to get to the second round. That'd be great for this young team.

How 'bout them kids???
First time since a young Edmonton team in the 80s w/ Gretz has a team had
three 20+ goal scorers ALL under the age of 21!
Crosby - 19
Malkin - 20
Staal - Turned 18 in training camp and leads the league w/ 6 Sh goals!

PHENOMINAL!!!

Yeah the young guys are impressive, but 1 goal only counts as 1 goal, even if you're 15 yrs old. Enjoy them now before the team bolts! (not wishing it on you, I hate teams moving) Anyway time will tell about the Wings. If they win this it this year it'll be 4 cups in 10 years. Not too shabby

[lights1961]

Jeff talks about it on the second page of this thread, JSS needs to pass to Deen on "Keep on Runnin'" .

funny shit, sherry!! I wont have a cow either on that, here either today!!

Still blizzardy in Iowa...I 80 was still closed this morning west from Des Moines to Omaha.

By the way--- Time for me to Fly was a great tune!!


Rick

[WalrusOct9]

I know it looks like a real piano, but I don't think it is. If you watch the Vegas DVD, he plays it on several songs, but with different piano sounds ("Be Good To Yourself" is a good example).

I'm sure someone knows a lot more about his setup than I do (I'm a guitarist, not much of a keyboard player), but I've seen other keyboards that look like pianos but still have lots of electronic buttons and sounds and such. I always just guessed it was an electric piano housed in a grand piano shell just for visual effect. But I'm pretty sure a real piano can't make the 80's sound he uses on "BGTY."

[stevew2]

I know they have a piano tuner on the road with them. I wish it was me

[strangegrey]

I know it looks like a real piano, but I don't think it is. If you watch the Vegas DVD, he plays it on several songs, but with different piano sounds ("Be Good To Yourself" is a good example).

It *is* a real piano. In fact, back in 01, during the arrival tour, I got to watch it get tuned up while standing right next to it. It has midi triggers somewhere in the lever mechanism of each key, so that Cain can plug the piano into some variety of controller/keyboard....and get keyboard sounds out of it as well....then control a mix (whether he or Elson does this, I have no idea) of both the piano, the midi triggered sounds from the piano...and any other keyboards Jon is playing.

As for tuning down, as mentioned above....it's not a big deal for a piano to be tuned up or down a 1/2 step. No different than tuning a guitar (only alot more strings to tune)...simply losen the keys down until you're not at A440, but 1/2 step down. When I saw the whale get tuned in 01, I was told that they tuned the thing before every show. Which is just nuts, I have my piano tuned (which is, I think, the same general make, model as The Whale...but black) every 6 months to a year. I suspect that the act of moving the piano every night is enough to warrant rechecking the tuning....

As for Neal and Ross, simply having different guitars tuned to concert pitch or 1/2 down would solve any problem. IIRC, Higher Place is played with drop-D tuning. If you look back to the 2001 DVD, Neal pulls out the green PRS for that one....but plays another guitar for the rest of the show.

Has anyone confirmed whether or not they are tuning down for the whole show? or just a few songs?

[JSS]

We have the 'B' rig out here which includes a different kit for Deen & the baby Whale for Jon which is a smaller scale 'shell' piano that has a module inside...so no, it is not a 'real' piano but the mama Whale is! That's the one used on the Leppard tour.

[WalrusOct9]

Heh...JSS to the rescue again.

[StevePerryHair]

We have the 'B' rig out here which includes a different kit for Deen & the baby Whale for Jon which is a smaller scale 'shell' piano that has a module inside...so no, it is not a 'real' piano but the mama Whale is! That's the one used on the Leppard tour.

So, the inside of the mamma whale is a real piano? One that needs tuned each time it's moved? Not electric inside?

[dcvader]

We have the 'B' rig out here which includes a different kit for Deen & the baby Whale for Jon which is a smaller scale 'shell' piano that has a module inside...so no, it is not a 'real' piano but the mama Whale is! That's the one used on the Leppard tour.

I remember hearing about 2 rigs at one point. Maybe it was the Gens. tour, both rigs were used? Depending on date scheduling, it's easier to deal with "back to back", long distance gigs with 2 sets of equipment.

I think this may have been on JC's site, not sure.

[ohsherrie]

one....but plays another guitar for the rest of the show.

Has anyone confirmed whether or not they are tuning down for the whole show? or just a few songs?

Jeff just answered that in the other thread too. He said they've changed their minds and explained why. Of course it makes perfect sense too.

[(Crazy)Dulce Lady]

We have the 'B' rig out here which includes a different kit for Deen & the baby Whale for Jon which is a smaller scale 'shell' piano that has a module inside...so no, it is not a 'real' piano but the mama Whale is! That's the one used on the Leppard tour.

I noticed from the Sheffield pics that Deen was behind a DW kit, not the painted scarab basses.

[(Crazy)Dulce Lady]

I know they have a piano tuner on the road with them. I wish it was me

for sure. I wonder if they need any melodic flute interludes?

I'd have to wash sox, dust the whale and make sandwiches the rest of the time, tho'.