I think it's due to the fact that only a few people plays synth... let me explain: many people play the guitar and always watch at the guitar during gigs, obviously many people sing, so they stay there to watch and hear the singer... only a few play drums and you can see them look to the drummer at anytime during the concert... there are many bass men out there but many of them are unsuccessful guitarist so they don't look at the bass but at the guitarist... (no one look at the bass).
No one keeps its attention to the synths too unless they play synths or the synth player act against the guitarist... if you win the war with the guitarist you'll gain a lot of attention, so if you don't want to use a keytar (I do and I gain a lot of eyes on me during concerts), try to find something really strange, maybe use a theremin, or a Continuum, or build a wall behind you from a BIIIIIG MODULAR SYSTEM (only if you have many $$$); acting is important too, whenever your guitarist play a solo, at the end you need to play a solo at double speed... and remember that the mixer is your friend... usually the synth man take care of the mixer, so YOU HAVE THE POWER!!!
regards, Lorenzo
Lorenzo wrote:acting is important too, whenever your guitarist play a solo, at the end you need to play a solo at double speed...
Works for me every time! I was once told by an audience member I was the next Kevin Moore, who was his favorite keyboard player (obviously I'm not even close )
Too bad not many keyboardist actually do any soloing nowadays
A guy after seeing Lorenzo play live with his AX-1: "Excuse me sir, I guess you've bought a broken guitar...it seems it has no axes...please, let me check, I'm a trained guitarist, I'm going to tell you Malmsteen secrets"
"Synth, what's that alien"...I guess no titles have been so right before!
Milter wrote:Seriously guys, if people don't pay any attention to your work on stage, maybee you should pay some attention to how Cool and his gang are doing it
Anyway, besides synths solos in flashy clothes I play synths and keys in a 70 like disco band, and all the songs we do would be nothing without the synth voices. All the themes that are so recognisable to the audience would be gone...
Maybee an explenation is exactly "alien"! Keyboards are the only instruments desicated to emitate other instruments. Drums, guitars, organs and pianos all have a destinct sound and physical form that people can recognice and relate to.
When I sample stuff on my triton (for like thunder effects on raining men or a guitar figure for longtrain running (NO not the main figure)) people seem to think it is cheating. Like "so your keyboard is nothing but a tape recorder" just press play .
The fact of the matter is that no one hears you play all the nice stuff you do. If you wanna get attention, buy a keytar, find a good sounding patch (flanger and some dist to a sawlead with some filter tweaking should blow your guitar player of stage) no need to play fast - just use a very nice sound that evolves in it selv and hold the notes. Copy the expressions of the guitar player... I mean how ofthen have you not seen them hold the same note for 4 bars just bending away on every 1/4 note and looking like they are going through the pain of their life
Kurzweil PC1SE
Korg Triton Extreme w/ MOSS
Roland AX-1
Spider PRO stand
NO NO NO NO AND NO!!!! you need to play at speed of light way more fast than your guitarist! that's the only way people will adore you like a god, the only way you gain respect from those little insects under the stage!
ok, stop, I was out of control due to the metal-speed-prog-powered Lorenzo behind my fingers...
I think everyone his hit on various elements as to the alienation of the synth from the public. However, I believe we are behind some of it. These are just my opinions, but let me explain.
Typically, but not all the time, but MOST of the time, the sounds that we mimic onstage as keyboardist/synthesist are piano and organ. So obviously this is going to cause the general public to view us as pianist or organist. If that is not what we do, then usually we are filling in for something else, for example horns or strings. Suddenly it appears that we truly have an identity crisis. The solution: change up whatever you do to include synth parts MORE than standard piano, electric piano, horn, organ, etc. parts. There will be some songs which make this change impossible, and you have to play a piano or organ sounding part. Just try to make MOST of your parts synth.
The second thing that comes to mind is that I see a lot of synthesist SITTING behind their rig. Drummers use all four and sometimes five appendages to play their drums. As synthesist, we may pedal, but that gives us no excuse to sit down on the job. In fact we have so little activity, many people probably wonder what we are doing behind our stack. So STAND UP! Also, if you can, put as little between you and the audience. My stack is off to my right, with one synth between me and the audience. On some days I have the Keith Emerson thing going on so that the audience sees me very active. I always get screams now when I dive into the solo from Toto's "Rosanna" during a set.
In my opinion the keytar, while causing us to stand up and get from behind the synth stack is more of an 80's joke to make us think we are somehow guitarists. What makes it worse in the last few years is that the keytar does not look much different from the controller for Guitar Hero. So to the general public we come off as frustrated guitarists, or video game lovers. Our synths are stationary and we owe that some dignity.
However, there are lots of stand innovations and other things that help synthesists to stand out. I like what Jordan Rudess did with his rig. The rotating stand is expensive, but he is viewed as a synthesist...not the pianist for Dream Theater. We don't have to go that far, but not falling into the above pits can help our audience appreciate us for what we really are: the true workhorse of any band.
JonSolo wrote: change up whatever you do to include synth parts MORE than standard piano, electric piano, horn, organ, etc. parts. Just try to make MOST of your parts synth.
Actually, I rarely play a piano or organ sound......usually I prefer a synth sound.
JonSolo wrote: The second thing that comes to mind is that I see a lot of synthesist SITTING behind their rig. So STAND UP!
so they don't look at the bass but at the guitarist... (no one look at the bass).
)
Synths rule 
I play synths and keys in a 70 like disco band, and all the songs we do would be nothing without the synth voices. All the themes that are so recognisable to the audience would be gone... 
