Kit Marsden // Musician

Gear

  • Why Does A Keys Player Need A Pedalboard?

    Why Does A Keys Player Need A Pedalboard?

    Kit Marsden

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    This is something I get asked about from time-to-time… I know you don’t commonly see keyboard players using boards of effects pedals, like guitarists often do, but I have put a lot of thought into the setup I’m using on my gigs and I feel like this rig fits my workflow and my approach to my playing well.

    I enjoy using tactile pedals to add or remove layers of sound ‘in the moment’, shaping the tone of my playing to fit the contours of the song; I have tried to build something which allows me to achieve a wide range of sounds on the fly, whilst keeping load-in and setup easy and convenient.

    Check out the video for a full ‘rig rundown’ of the setup I’m using on my gigs at the moment.

    Click here for a full break-down on my custom rotary speaker speed-switcher pedal, as mentioned in the video.

  • More Sharma 2000 Modifications

    More Sharma 2000 Modifications

    Kit Marsden

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    The long-awaited follow-up to my original post from January 2020 on modifying a guitar amp channel footswitch to change the motor speed in a Sharma 2000 rotary cab is finally here! I will give a small précis of the 2020 post here, for context.

    The Sharma 2000 has a nine-pin Amphenol connector on the rear panel, and three of these pins are concerned with the speed of the rotary motor; grounding Pin 6 (ie. by connecting it to Pin 1, the ground pin) spins the motor fast, whilst grounding Pin 7 spins the motor slower (and with neither pin connected to the ground of Pin 1, the motor does not spin at all). I rewired a generic footswitch to use a TRS ¼” jack connector to change which pin was connected to the ground. Because I was doing these modifications in a bit of a hurry – just a couple of days before a gig on which I planned to use the Sharma rotary speaker – I left it at that. But I always planned to return to the project at a later point and finish the job.

    Despite all the unexpected free time afforded to me by lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, I only managed to return to complete this project within the last few weeks.

  • Axis Percussion Artist

    Axis Percussion Artist

    Kit Marsden

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    Axis bass drum pedals and hihat stands have been been my number one choice for years. For me, the build quality and the responsiveness of the direct-drive mechanism Axis use are second-to-none.

    As a session musician playing a lot of live gigs every year, I need to have absolute confidence in the quality and reliability of the equipment I use – especially pedals, which take a big beating on every show. Even with the rigours and stresses of regular touring – traveling around the country and loading in and out of different venues all the time – I know that Axis pedals won’t let me down on the road, and that my feet will feel fully connected to the drumkit when I am onstage. I still regularly gig with the very first Axis pedal I ever bought, over ten years ago, and it feels just as comfortable to play on as it always has.

    In the studio, the smoothness of the pedal action and the quality of the components mean that I always get the consistency of tone and the lack of extraneous pedal noise which my remote recording clients expect from my playing.

    Over the lockdown period I have enjoyed some extremely productive discussions with the guys at Axis, and I am very honoured to be able to announce that I am joining the Axis Percussion artist roster this summer. I

  • Sharma 2000 Modifications

    Sharma 2000 Modifications

    Kit Marsden

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    In November I achieved a small dream of mine, as a keys player – I bought a genuine old vintage rotary cab for gigs and sessions where I’m mainly playing Hammond organ-type parts. My studio setup has evolved so that I try to stay away from emulators, and capture the sounds of real hardware and genuine components, wherever possible. So to be able to record and play live with a real rotary speaker for that sweet bluesy organ tone was a really exciting prospect for me.

    The speaker I got is a Sharma 2000 – Sharma was a British firm which was a competitor to the famous American Leslie cabs during the ’60s and ’70s. It maybe a lesser-known brand, but the Sharma speaker still sounds just like the organ tone I’ve always wanted from my playing, and put a huge grin on my face from the first moment I sat down to play organ through it. (I’m playing it from my workhorse Nord Stage 2 keyboard setup as a B3 emulator – you can’t avoid emulators altogether! – but with the Nord’s built-in rotary function switched off.)

    The Sharma speaker has the same 9-pin Amphenol connector you get on Leslies which carries input signal, volume information and various other program-change style controls.

  • Sampling Moogs For Live Sounds

    Sampling Moogs For Live Sounds

    Kit Marsden

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    Recording samples of real analogue bass synth sounds from the iconic Moog Voyager and Moog Little Phatty synthesizers in the studio last night, for use in live shows and sample packs.

  • Working With Samples And Nord Keyboards In The Studio

    Kit Marsden

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    Spending a lot of time in the studio, working with the Nord Sample Editor to get my Nord Wave synth ready for some new upcoming projects this year.

    Nord Wave in the studio
    Nord Wave In The Studio
    Nord Sample Editor in the studio
    Nord Sample Editor In The Studio
  • Touring Setup With Ultra ’90s

    Touring Setup With Ultra ’90s

    Kit Marsden

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    I wanted to write a little bit about the gear I am using on the road with live ’90s dance music show Ultra ’90s this summer, and share some of the reasoning behind why I’m playing this setup and why it suits this show so well. Here we are in setup at Golden Coast in Woolacombe, Devon, from behind the kit:

    Ultra '90s at Golden Coast
    Ultra ’90s at Golden Coast

    The kit I’m using is my Carrera custom ‘Sound’ kit with an 18×14″ bass drum and 10×6″ and 14×10″ toms; it’s perfect for touring, as it’s small and lightweight (which helps in reducing the strain on the stalwart Ultra ’90s van which has to carry to the entire rig from place to place!) thanks to the thin birch shells, but the toms still have good projection despite their shallow depth. The toms are also close mic’ed with Sennheiser E604 drum mics. The bass drum is fitted with a mesh head, and all the bass drum sounds are triggered with a Roland RT-10K, going into an Alesis DM5 module.

    I’m using two snare drums here – my 14×5.5″ steambent maple Carrera Tunkan Ingan prototype is my main snare, but I also have a 12×5″ Mapex hammered steel snare as an auxiliary snare.

  • Carrera Drums Announcement

    Carrera Drums Announcement

    Kit Marsden

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    As most people will know, I have been a proud ambassador for Carrera Drums since the start of 2011, and have been honoured to play their drums and be involved with the company for the past four years.  Everywhere I go – on live shows and in recording studios – I get compliments on my Carrera gear from artists, from other musicians, and from engineers and producers.

    Sadly, however, Carrera Drums is winding up in spring of this year, and will cease trading as of the end of March.  This is the official announcement from the Carrera Drums website:

    It is with the deepest sadness that we have to announce that Carrera Drums will stop trading as of the 31st March 2015.

    Dave Carrera has fought serious health issues over the last 3 years which have now deteriorated to such a level that he has decided to focus on attempting to recover or stabilise his condition which, even with good extraction, a dusty workshop hinders.

    We have all had fun making some fine instruments for some of the finest drummers active today and want to thank everyone for there support, kindness and love over the last 5+ years.

    Any works currently in progress will be completed and shipped before end of March 2015 and customers have been notified.

  • Recording With Lucan Mills

    Recording With Lucan Mills

    Kit Marsden

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    Here are a few shots of my keys rig in the studio with Lucan Mills yesterday:

    Full specs:

    • Kawai MP8ii stage piano
    • Nord Stage 2
    • Dave Smith Instruments Prophet 08 PE
    • Moog Little Phatty

    Lucan’s EP will be released online soon.

  • Carrera Cherry Custom Photoshoot

    Carrera Cherry Custom Photoshoot

    Kit Marsden

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    I did a little photoshoot to show off my beautiful new Cherry Custom kit from Carrera Drums…

    All photos by Rob at Freshpack Photography.

Kit Marsden // Musician