RMS Keyboards
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Overview

Many musicals from the recent past have been arranged with specific synthesizer parts in mind. To the musical director interested in an authentic performance, this can pose a number of problems.e First, many of these vintage keyboards are no longer made, and therefore are difficult if not impossible to find. Second, most of these musicals use sounds that were created specifically for that show, and the descriptions in the keyboard parts may be obscure at best.

LES MISÉRABLES, for example, is orchestrated for a specific Kurzweil keyboard model (which is no longer manufactured and increasingly difficult to locate). On top of that, the keyboard books indicate patches only by numbers, with no further indication of the type of sound required or how the sounds are split or layered on the synthesizer. A two-page section of Keyboard 1 in the song "The Docks" from LES MISÉRABLES lists, in short order, the following patch changes:

  • 37 : 3
  • 5
  • 3
  • 38 : 5
  • 39 : 3
  • and so forth!

Up until now, the keyboard player, in order to achieve authenticity, would be forced to listen to a cast recording and attempt to design keyboard sounds that best approximate what they hear and see notated in the score. This is an arduous process even for a seasoned keyboard programmer, and will inevitably result in setups that are less than ideal. In addition, the setups need to be ordered correctly and efficiently so that the player isn’t searching for the right sound in the middle of a rehearsal or performance.

RMS Keyboards ® is designed to eliminate all this work. Each show in our library has been meticulously researched, and the correct sounds have been arranged in the correct order with an easy to use software application that supports as many keyboards as the show calls for. Simply connect your controller keyboards to the ports on the computer, hook up your audio interface, follow the easy to use wizard installation guide, and you are ready to perform!

For those who wish to evaluate the product before making a purchase decision, all our shows come with a trial version. The trial version is fully functioning for the first few songs of a given show. Thus you can be assured that what you purchase will work for your organization’s production.

Features

With RMS Keyboards ® , you have:

  • Authentic sounds for every keyboard part within a specific show
  • Individually programmed setups, in correct order
  • Setup names identical to the names in the parts book
  • The ability to modify names of setups and songs to reflect individual productions
  • Individual panning and volume controls for every patch in the show
  • Easy advance to the next setup with programmable hot keys
  • Global volume control
  • Built in reverb controls
  • Mod wheel and portamento control
  • The ability to connect as many keyboards as is required by a given show to a single RMS Keyboards ® installation, with multiple audio outputs supported through your audio interface
  • The ability to route individual sounds to external MIDI devices, while still retaining any show-specific programming (i.e. layered maps, triggers, transpositions, etc.)
  • The ability to mute keyboard parts or setups
  • The ability to reorder, remove or duplicate any setup to fit the requirements of your production
  • An easy to read reference window showing the current setups
  • Backup and restore of your configuration
  • On-demand technical support