Howdy

The other night we were working on a Merengue tune. My partner and I were hoping to have a nice little trombone section in certain parts. The problem was we couldn't find a time to get together with the trombone player. An idea struck me and I went into the back of my closet. There behind the cowboy boots was my Yamaha CE20.

I lugged this thing back from Japan a few years ago for one reason...the trombone sound. I fired it up and started playing it...I just want to say that this is about the most expressive instrument I have ever played. I remember when it first came out, it seemed even MORE expressive as very few synths had touch sensitivity. This thing has VERY responsive velocity AND aftertouch.

For those of you that don't know, the CE20 was a preset FM device (pre-DX). It 14 monophonic sounds and 6 polyphonic sounds. You can control the brightness and response of the instrument via front panel sliders.

The other odd thing is that it has a "slide" controller instead of a mod wheel. This controls portamento time...and let me tell you, the sh*t be bumpin'.

I'll post some pictures or sound clips if anyone is interested. Oddly, I have the perfect gig and recording date for this thing within the next week. I'm using it!

So, who else has a favorite "oddball" keyboard they use?