Keyboard/Synth

[Tristan Needler]

I'm looking to buy a moderately priced keyboard/synthesizer but I know nothing about them. I was wondering if anyone could give me some info on different kinds or give me some recommendations that won't break the bank.

I understand that I'm extremely vague about what I want, but that's because I don't know how to describe what it is I'd like. So it would be great if someone could describe a few different types and show some examples so I can better pinpoint what it is I'm looking for.

[hmmmmmm]

If you want a sound that is going to be more elctronic oriented then you want to look at synthesizers. I recently bought a Korg MS-2000 that is awesome. It is my first real synth since I was using 2 midi controllers and Reason. That is another thing. If your computer is capable of running reason 3.0 then I would look into that because you get the best of everything. Good piano, good Rhodes, some real sampled strings and other ochrestral instruments, 2 different types of synthesizers that you can edit, A good Drum machine, and some cool FX. That is what I started with because it has everything you need for any kind of sound you are going for. I am now starting to get real syntesizers and keyboards just because they are more fun and not such a hassel.

Ok...hahaha.

What type of sound are you going for?

[Tristan Needler]

The thing is, I want to be able to make electronic and synth sounds, but I want good piano sound too, and I have no idea if synths like that offer that too. As far as the computer stuff goes, I've thought about things like that, but I really would like something I can play with my hands with a real piano-style keyboard.

[hmmmmmm]

The thing is, I want to be able to make electronic and synth sounds, but I want good piano sound too, and I have no idea if synths like that offer that too. As far as the computer stuff goes, I've thought about things like that, but I really would like something I can play with my hands with a real piano-style keyboard.

I use 2 keyboards with reason. They are midi-controllers which means they are not stand alone keyboards but work through a computer with a program like reason.

How much would you be willing to spend on a keyboard?
I know Workstations offer a wide selection of sounds like piano and synth but those can run like 1,000 and more.

Clavia Nord makes amazing keyboards but they range from like 1,000 to 3,000

My syntesizer is a pure synth. They have some presets that try to be like an electric piano and stuff but they sound awful because that is not what it was made for.

If you have any like big music stores like Sam Ash or a Guitar center near you I would go check that out because they have alot of different keyboards/synths to offer and you can play on them to see if it is what you want before you buy it.

[Tristan Needler]

I use 2 keyboards with reason. They are midi-controllers which means they are not stand alone keyboards but work through a computer with a program like reason.

How much would you be willing to spend on a keyboard?
I know Workstations offer a wide selection of sounds like piano and synth but those can run like 1,000 and more.

Clavia Nord makes amazing keyboards but they range from like 1,000 to 3,000

My syntesizer is a pure synth. They have some presets that try to be like an electric piano and stuff but they sound awful because that is not what it was made for.

If you have any like big music stores like Sam Ash or a Guitar center near you I would go check that out because they have alot of different keyboards/synths to offer and you can play on them to see if it is what you want before you buy it.
Yeah, I need to do that. I'm not even totally sure of the price range I'm looking at, because my parents wanted to buy me one for a Christmas gift. I don't want to make them spend a ton, but I don't want a piece of crap thing like my sister or my dad has.

A friend of mine has one of these (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-MOTIF-ES7-76Key-Music-Production-Synthesizer?sku=707442), which is amazing, but really expensive too, as I now see. But he also uses one a little more like this (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-P70-88Key-Digital-Piano?sku=707070) for piano. I don't want something only for piano, nor do I want something only for synth, nor do I want a piece of shit, nor do I want something absurdly expensive. Maybe that just doesn't exist in the real world haha.


Something like this (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-YPG625-88Key-Weighted-Portable-Grand-Keyboard?sku=707462) or this (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-YPG225-76Key-Portable-Grand-Keyboard?sku=707460) seems nice, although I don't know what kind of sounds you can get out of them as far as synth stuff goes. I also have no idea if they're decent or not, and the first one is a bit expensive I don't know of any big stores like that around, but I should take a look because I want to try some out too.

Thanks for the advice.

[Tristan Needler]

I know I messed around on one of these (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Korg-MicroKORG-SynthesizerVocoder?sku=702244&c_tid=topseller) in a store once and it was really fun, but no piano. I also want something with built-in speakers because I can't afford an amp or anything. I know that probably translates to lower quality, but I don't know.

[Tristan Needler]

Well after a little searching I think I may have found something. But I'm not really sure on the terminology, so I don't know if I'm wrong. I believe this keyboard (here (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Casio-Casio-WK8000-88-Note-Digital-Workstation?sku=706087) and here (http://www.casio.com/products/Musical_Instruments/High_End/WK-8000/content/Introduction/)) has some synth abilities on top of piano ones. I'd just like to know if anyone knows anything about it or can tell from the write-ups, and if I'm right in thinking it has some decent synth capabilities as well.

[hmmmmmm]

It all depends if this is going to be more for practice, recording or live performance because those casio keyboards are good for people who want to just play for fun. They do have sounds that are syntesizery but they are pretty terrible. my brother bought a Yamaha that looks like that casio and it is a good keyboard for piano and organ stuff but it is definatlly not made for live playing or recording. Now that yamaha Motif is like one of those workstation keyboards that has a strong syntesizer and piano but they cost a ton.

http://http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Roland-GW7-Keyboard-Synthesizer-Workstation?sku=700452
This seems like a pretty strong workstation for the money. It does not have built in speakers but all you need to do is get a pair of headphones and a quarter inch converter.


http://http://www.zzounds.com/item--KORTR61
Korg is a great synth company and this workstation looks pretty good. There is also a B-stock one available that is 800 dollars and that is alot lower then the original price.

How much are you willing to spend?

[Tristan Needler]

I don't know, I would feel bad spending much more than $500, and even that seems like a lot to me. I mean, it's from my parents for Christmas so I'm not sure what they're willing to do, but I would feel bad asking for more than that.

I wouldn't be using it for any performing, it would mostly be for having fun at home (which is why I want the speakers) and a little not-very-serious home recording with my computer and audacity.

I suppose I could always go for a keyboard and then get some program like fruity loops for adding synth stuff to my recordings if I want.

I don't think there are any stores around here that would have more than two keyboards, all there is here are tiny stores, which sucks.

[Tristan Needler]

There, look at all that crap I deleted and locked!

I think I deserve a few more opinions now haha.

[xTJx]

I'll sell a digital piano for 2.5 G's. It does everything. It has midi outputs, about 100 different pre-set rhythms and beats, and about 150 different instrument sounds.

[Little Jeans]

There, look at all that crap I deleted and locked!

I think I deserve a few more opinions now haha.

Thanks again, I dont know too much about synths but I have played both Yamaha and ROland keyboards that have synth sounds that I liked. For my self Im looking into some old vintage electric Piano such as the rhodes and the pianet.

[Tristan Needler]

I'll sell a digital piano for 2.5 G's. It does everything. It has midi outputs, about 100 different pre-set rhythms and beats, and about 150 different instrument sounds.Haha I wish I had that kind of money.

Thanks again, I dont know too much about synths but I have played both Yamaha and ROland keyboards that have synth sounds that I liked. For my self Im looking into some old vintage electric Piano such as the rhodes and the pianet.Yeah, chances are I'll just end up with an electric piano.

[xTJx]

Haha it was worth a try, right?

[Tristan Needler]

Absolutely.

[John Yates]

I just purchased a Roland Juno-G which I think is amazing. Probably a little out of your price range. I started out using a midi keyboard and plugging it in through my computer. This also opened up the door to recording for me as well.

[amplific]

roland jx305 groovesynth! has sick synthesis and nice workstation options

[snowtires]

there's honestly not much out there that can do synth sounds as well as convincing piano sounds and do them both justice. actually i don't really know of anything that can do synth and piano and sound well, outside of computer-based sampling programs. just about every 'professional' uses a motif for piano sound nowadays, but they seriously sound like nuts. that and the motif has, quite possibly, the worst user interface i've ever seen. it's like they ran out of time when it came to designing the display, so they taped one of those old school gameboys to the inside of the case.

but, then again, sample-based keyboards across the board pretty much suck when it comes to reproducing piano sounds, tritons don't do much better. tritons and motifs and the like are like those shitty guitar multi-effects pedals: yeah, you get a lot of different sounds, but they all are totally half-assed because there's only so much internal memory to go around. whereas, if you got like, a stand-alone distortion pedal, it will most likely sound hands-down better than anything in a muti-effects unit, because the entirety of its circuitry is dedicated to ONE sound, as opposed to fifty.

honestly, for your first keyboard, skip the piano sound. nothing under $3000 is going to sound anywhere close to a real piano. get a microkorg or an ion or something like that, they're relatively user friendly and they can do a decent amount of stuff. and, if you have a laptop, you can get a plugin like synthogy's ivory (which sounds a hell of a lot more like a piano than the motif or triton), get a cheap midi interface to hook up your brand-new synth to said laptop, and bam, you've got a synth and a piano. if you're a super hacker dude, you could skip buying the synth, get an el-cheapo midi controller and just download a pirated version of reason.

also, take my advice and stay as far as you possibly can from stand-alone digital pianos. they are shit, no exceptions. you'll be sorry you bought one, especially when people are giving away *actual* pianos on craigs list alllll the time.

can you tell i used to be a keyboard salesman?

[MightyMaxxMiles]

you should just get a mini-korg. it's like $250 and you get lots o synth. unfortunately no piano. but amazing quality for its price. and you'd have money left over to get an amp. Trust me. If you're gonna play live. You can't use a keyboard with built in speakers. It'd be awful.

hope that helps

take care
PEACE!

ps- I (used to) use a roland fantom xa. Our new keys player plays it now. It's still mine though. haha. I'll kill him if he hurts my baby.

[Tristan Needler]

Thanks for all the replies. Money is kind of tight now, so I wont be getting anything for a while but I'll definitely take all this into consideration when I can. Please continue posting thoughts or anything you want about keyboards though.

[mattybobviously]

I'm interested in buying an entry synth, would want to be able to perform on it, and don't have a lot of cash. Whatever I end up purchasing, I'll probably buy used, but I thought I'd look for some advice as to what I should look for/stay away from.

[Tristan Needler]

I'm interested in buying an entry synth, would want to be able to perform on it, and don't have a lot of cash. Whatever I end up purchasing, I'll probably buy used, but I thought I'd look for some advice as to what I should look for/stay away from.
I lived in Essex Junction until a year ago. Do you have any siblings I might know? Are you a freshman or in eighth grade?

[mercutio7]

oh man. I have the Nord Lead 2x and it sleeps on an altar. it is fucking amazing. (see my profile pictures)

[mattybobviously]

I lived in Essex Junction until a year ago. Do you have any siblings I might know? Are you a freshman or in eighth grade?
Freshman, I don't have older siblings, but I know a lot of older kids.

[Tristan Needler]

Freshman, I don't have older siblings, but I know a lot of older kids.
Do you know an Allie Needler? She's my sister. She's a senior this year.

[mattybobviously]

Do you know an Allie Needler? She's my sister. She's a senior this year.

I recognize the last name, isn't she on the ski team?

[Tristan Needler]

I recognize the last name, isn't she on the ski team?
Hahaha yes, that's her. She's my sister.

[mattybobviously]

Hahaha yes, that's her. She's my sister.
Small, small world.

[yodaa]

Hey, I am looking to buy a keyboard just to mess around. Any suggestions for one under $200 that could have some potential? thanks

[Tristan Needler]

Hey, I am looking to buy a keyboard just to mess around. Any suggestions for one under $200 that could have some potential? thanks
I merged your thread with this one, you might find some good advice (I was asking the same thing, but I decided to get some recording equipment instead) and some others will answer more questions I'm sure if you get more specific.

[brianl7]

I merged your thread with this one, you might find some good advice (I was asking the same thing, but I decided to get some recording equipment instead) and some others will answer more questions I'm sure if you get more specific.
What kind of recording equipment did you get?

[Tristan Needler]

What kind of recording equipment did you get?
I haven't actually dropped any cash yet, but I'm planning on getting a Emu 0202 interface and a Shure SM57 for now. I'm just going to record some acoustic guitar and bass, maybe a little singing. Like I've said, I don't have a ton to spend, and I'm not about to blow up in the music scene haha. Just basically for me to have fun with for now, and I'm thinking about pursuing recording/producing albums a little more seriously in the future eventually; but that's just a thought for now. It's all for fun at this point.

[mattybobviously]

Now that this thread has come back to life, I'm still looking for advice on a synth, or if someone thinks I'm better off just buying a cheap MIDI controller.

[trancedsailor]

Roland SH-201 is a good analog synth..

Yamaha X50 is wonderful too...

Roland Juno-G is nice

Yamaha MM6 is coming out in April and if I didn't have any of the above then I would definitely wait for this one...

You can't go wrong with any of those. Look them up on musiciansfriend.com

Long live synth!

[karmapolicia]

Now that this thread has come back to life, I'm still looking for advice on a synth, or if someone thinks I'm better off just buying a cheap MIDI controller.

MIDI controllers are really affordable, but consider this:
-If the controller is also USB supported (which most are), you would need a really powerful PC/Mac to process the samples from your virtual instrument software. (I'd recommend going w/ a Mac)
-Purchasing a decent analog synth module for your MIDI controller runs into $1,000+.

Best bet is to go with a workstation. Best bang for your buck would be the Korg Triton, although it's out of production, you can find used ones for a decent price (I found one on eBay for $478, that's more than half it's original cost).

[karmapolicia]

I haven't actually dropped any cash yet, but I'm planning on getting a Emu 0202 interface and a Shure SM57 for now. I'm just going to record some acoustic guitar and bass, maybe a little singing. Like I've said, I don't have a ton to spend, and I'm not about to blow up in the music scene haha. Just basically for me to have fun with for now, and I'm thinking about pursuing recording/producing albums a little more seriously in the future eventually; but that's just a thought for now. It's all for fun at this point.

I have tons of gear that me and my friend don't use anymore in our studio. All of it in good condition if you're interested. :-D

[Tristan Needler]

I have tons of gear that me and my friend don't use anymore in our studio. All of it in good condition if you're interested. :-D
Got an SM57 you want to donate for cheap?

[karmapolicia]

Got an SM57 you want to donate for cheap?

Sorry buddy. All I have are SM58's, but we use them for pre-production and for bed tracks. If you're going to use a mic for recording, I suggest you get an inexpensive large diaphram mic instead of a dynamic mic used soley for live applications. Check out the Audio Technica AT2020, cost about $100 and is great for the home studio.