From tonysounds@yahoo.com Sun Feb 07 08:41:43 2010
Subject:Re: Clavia

Who says you must?  No one.
 
And while I prefer drawbars, I must ask the question: why must everyone be relegated to the same interface?  I'm glad I don't have to read by candelight; I'm glad we can communicate via the internet rather than mail; I'm glad I can use a cell phone instead of sending smoke signals; I'm glad I can fly to California from Chicago rather than drive. 
 
Things change, and as they become antiquated or deemed "quaint" or (sadly) irrelevant, something else springs up to take its place.  I prefer drawbars to play organ, I really do.  I've done the Nord thing for years, and yes, I bought it strictly for size and weight (I was touring via commercial airline and had no choice), and I thank Nord for putting out the Electro as it meant I had something that sounded better for Hammond than my Kurzweil SP76.  Did I LOVE the drawbuttons:no.   Did I adjust: yes, so much so that I continued to use it for 7 years.  I always went back to drawbars, but if the demand was made that the Electro was the only way I could get through the gig, the gig would not be over.  I managed to do all my Greg Rolie-isms (lots of drawbar tweaks, though not as many as Fly Like An Eagle), and other things I like to do.  And then when I went back to a drawbar, I was even happier. 
 
David, Hammond organ playing is (again, sadly) a dying art.  The art of pedals/LH bass jazz organ is going the way of the lute.  The organ sound is still alive, but in terms of popular consumption and execution, it's of the "set it and leave it" variety, which doesn't make the drawbar interface such a big deal.  You see the console on lots of stages, but dude, you and I know that the artists playing behind them aren't doing anything that would be devastatingly hard with drawbuttons, or a touch screen.  Joey D, or Tony Monaco, or the Organ Players we love might not be part of that cadre, but the fact is those are niche artists with niche audiences, and that subculture is not enough to keep a company (much less an industry) alive.  HS is constantly at financial war, and would be gone if they weren't a pet project of the CEO of a large corporation. 
 
As we've seen with Diversi and sadly, Voce, there just isn't enough of an audience to dictate a static environment.  Meanwhile, those changes in interface, especially touch screen, will continue to develop and evolve and find their way into other instruments. 
 
So, to answer your question: no one says you must.  But no one is saying they must stay the same....at least, not enough to make a real difference in the long run.

"The meek shall inherit nothing."  -FZ 
"Hitting 'play' does not constitute live performance." -T
www.myspace.com/tonyorant
 

--- On Sun, 2/7/10, David Jacques wrote: