Vintage Synth Explorer Forums

Not sure if this is the right part of the forum but........I was watching the telly last night and YES were playing a concert in Rome, it was filmed recently. I was wondering if anyone could id the keyboard in this piccy



Its the long one next to the moog, ( top left ) logo on the back was 3 letters long if thats any help.

It's the Gem Promega 3. Rick has toured with one since shortly after it was released.

Yup, that's the one!

Saw them on their 35th anniversary tour in Stockholm. Fantastic! Rick was amazing!

Rick sure is. The thing that kills me though, is that even with how important it is to their sound, he no longer tours with a real Hammond!

I mean, even Reba McEntire tours with a B-3 and most of her fans wouldn't know the difference! I figure that a good few of Rick Wakeman's fans would care about what keys he plays. Where's the authenticity?

Clavier wrote:Rick sure is. The thing that kills me though, is that even with how important it is to their sound, he no longer tours with a real Hammond!

From his viewpoint, it kind of makes sense given his opinion of the Mellotron.

Why tour with a 200lbs hammond organ when he can get that and a hundred other useful sounds in a keyboard?
If you've toured with one and dragged it with you for a decade, you sure don't want to continue when you get other options. In a full band, one single instrument doesn't matter so much for the overall sound.

cornutt wrote:

Clavier wrote:Rick sure is. The thing that kills me though, is that even with how important it is to their sound, he no longer tours with a real Hammond!

From his viewpoint, it kind of makes sense given his opinion of the Mellotron.

What was that?

Bitexion wrote:Why tour with a 200lbs hammond organ when he can get that and a hundred other useful sounds in a keyboard?
If you've toured with one and dragged it with you for a decade, you sure don't want to continue when you get other options.

Not 200lbs, they're 350lbs. He doesn't move his own equipment.

Clavier wrote:

cornutt wrote:

Clavier wrote:Rick sure is. The thing that kills me though, is that even with how important it is to their sound, he no longer tours with a real Hammond!

From his viewpoint, it kind of makes sense given his opinion of the Mellotron.

What was that?

Quote: “There is not enough memory in any known computer to handle the answers to questions about what drove me up the wall with that instrument.” After one Yes tour, he took two out back of his house and set them on fire.