Keyboard

hotpickups · June 2018

One of my band members is looking into getting a keyboard but on a very tight budget. Which at this stage rules out a nord synth type keyboard but what would be a good introductory / more affordable level keyboard would you advise to get? Looking for the hammond type sounds and piano etc. Maybe used for some ok horn sounds too

Funkfingers · June 2018

Is your keyboardist a formally trained pianist, an experienced drawbar/tonewheel organist or more of an all-rounder?

Pianists will probably be discontent with anything less than a hammer action. Organists will expect drawbar access. Some analogue synthesis fiends would want a panel full of controls to tweak. Only the more generalist keyboardist is going to be happy with plastic, semi-weighted keys and a heap of push-button preset sounds with limited real-time editing.

Plenty of pre-owned KORG, Roland and Yamaha ROMpler workstation instruments would fit the bill.

hotpickups · June 2018

Funkfingers said:

Is your keyboardist a formally trained pianist, an experienced drawbar/tonewheel organist or more of an all-rounder?

Pianists will probably be discontent with anything less than a hammer action. Organists will expect drawbar access. Some analogue synthesis fiends would want a panel full of controls to tweak. Only the more generalist keyboardist is going to be happy with plastic, semi-weighted keys and a heap of push-button preset sounds with limited real-time editing.

Plenty of pre-owned KORG, Roland and Yamaha ROMpler workstation instruments would fit the bill.

I don't know. Ill have to ask her

horse · June 2018

How tight is a very tight budget?

A used Roland vr09 might be worth a shout. Hammond and elec pianos sounds are good on it, acoustic pianos ok in a live mix but not stellar on their own, synth sounds are good, keyboard doesn't feel great to play but is okay if youre not fussy. Very light which is a bonus. I sold one pretty cheap on here a year or two ago.

hotpickups · June 2018

horse said:

How tight is a very tight budget?

A used Roland vr09 might be worth a shout. Hammond and elec pianos sounds are good on it, acoustic pianos ok in a live mix but not stellar on their own, synth sounds are good, keyboard doesn't feel great to play but is okay if youre not fussy. Very light which is a bonus. I sold one pretty cheap on here a year or two ago.

She mentioned at this stage only £150 realty. I'm not sure she's accounted for the amp she'll need for it though

hotpickups · June 2018

Funkfingers said:

Is your keyboardist a formally trained pianist, an experienced drawbar/tonewheel organist or more of an all-rounder?

Pianists will probably be discontent with anything less than a hammer action. Organists will expect drawbar access. Some analogue synthesis fiends would want a panel full of controls to tweak. Only the more generalist keyboardist is going to be happy with plastic, semi-weighted keys and a heap of push-button preset sounds with limited real-time editing.

Plenty of pre-owned KORG, Roland and Yamaha ROMpler workstation instruments would fit the bill.

She mentioned she'd prefer a keyboard with a heavy key rather than a light one. Whatever that means @Funkfingers ;;;

Funkfingers · June 2018

hotpickups said:
She'd prefer a keyboard with a heavy key rather than a light one. Whatever that means

Probably means semi-weighted. i.e. Plastic keys, with a rectangular metal weight glued in underneath and a spring to provide some physical resistance. Aftertouch (key pressure) control is good for introducing sonic variation to preset sounds but the feel of it bugs some pianists.

hotpickups · June 2018

Funkfingers said:

hotpickups said:
She'd prefer a keyboard with a heavy key rather than a light one. Whatever that means

Probably means semi-weighted. i.e. Plastic keys, with a rectangular metal weight glued in underneath and a spring to provide some physical resistance. Aftertouch (key pressure) control is good for introducing sonic variation to preset sounds but the feel of it bugs some pianists.

I'd go with that type for her then. Anyone comes up with any models in mind I'll pass it on to her

Thanks

horse · June 2018

For £150 I reckon it might be a case of watching what comes up locally and then doing some research on YouTube / online reviews. You might get a bargain for something a bit big and heavy that is harder to shift - think I let a korg n1 go for around that money in the past, due to its size and weight, but something like that might fit the bill.

Might not need an amp if you always have decent monitoring? Keyboard amps that sound ok at drummer volume aren't cheap.

hotpickups · June 2018

horse said:

For £150 I reckon it might be a case of watching what comes up locally and then doing some research on YouTube / online reviews. You might get a bargain for something a bit big and heavy that is harder to shift - think I let a korg n1 go for around that money in the past, due to its size and weight, but something like that might fit the bill.

Might not need an amp if you always have decent monitoring? Keyboard amps that sound ok at drummer volume aren't cheap.

Ok great I'll let her know. Thanks again

Whitecat · June 2018

At that price you could get a Yamaha PSR of some sort. Most of them will be labelled as 'beginners' keyboards but the sounds are average-to-decent. The build quality will be a little flimsy and they'll have a lot of features that will be unnecessary for someone who isn't just learning to play at home, but that doesn't mean they're unusable.

If she can find more cash, then going up the chain...

The Yamaha MX49 at around £400 is pretty much the starter kit for a "pro keyboard" IMO. It's "entry-level" pro of course but definitely a more serious piece of kit.

The Roland VR-09 is the entry-level option that also has drawbars for organ sounds. Red Dog had a VR-09B (the latest version) being blown out as ex-demo at their soon-to-close Leeds shop, if it were still available it's a snip at £460ish IIRC. New it's going north of £800 now. Second-hand it's still gonna be more than £500 because of that in most cases. Note that the VR-09 and the VR-09B are identical other than some minor cosmetic differences - the sounds, controls and engine are the same.

The best *overall* deal in the land at the moment in a genuine(ish) "proper" workstation is at A+C Hamilton, who have the Yamaha MOXF6 + a free 512mb flash expansion + a USB stick loaded with stuff you can put on said expansion for £699, or the MOXF8 with the 88-key weighted keybed for £999. It's a few years old now, but has a ridiculous library of sounds onboard. The downside is operation is fairly fiddly by today's standards, but it's pretty damn powerful otherwise. http://www.achamilton.co.uk/Yamaha/Yamaha-MOXF6.htm

hotpickups · June 2018

Whitecat said:

At that price you could get a Yamaha PSR of some sort. Most of them will be labelled as 'beginners' keyboards but the sounds are average-to-decent. The build quality will be a little flimsy and they'll have a lot of features that will be unnecessary for someone who isn't just learning to play at home, but that doesn't mean they're unusable.

If she can find more cash, then going up the chain...

The Yamaha MX49 at around £400 is pretty much the starter kit for a "pro keyboard" IMO. It's "entry-level" pro of course but definitely a more serious piece of kit.

The Roland VR-09 is the entry-level option that also has drawbars for organ sounds. Red Dog had a VR-09B (the latest version) being blown out as ex-demo at their soon-to-close Leeds shop, if it were still available it's a snip at £460ish IIRC. New it's going north of £800 now. Second-hand it's still gonna be more than £500 because of that in most cases. Note that the VR-09 and the VR-09B are identical other than some minor cosmetic differences - the sounds, controls and engine are the same.

The best *overall* deal in the land at the moment in a genuine(ish) "proper" workstation is at A+C Hamilton, who have the Yamaha MOXF6 + a free 512mb flash expansion + a USB stick loaded with stuff you can put on said expansion for £699, or the MOXF8 with the 88-key weighted keybed for £999. It's a few years old now, but has a ridiculous library of sounds onboard. The downside is operation is fairly fiddly by today's standards, but it's pretty damn powerful otherwise. http://www.achamilton.co.uk/Yamaha/Yamaha-MOXF6.htm

Thanks for that. I'll pass the information onto her

Whitecat · June 2018

If that budget really is almost totally inflexible then I'd beg or borrow just a touch more to get this - who knows what the guy will take, offer-wise: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-MX49-Synthesizer-with-original-box-power-supply-and-software/142809016730?hash=item214014a99a:g:h4wAAOSwnoVa0f8q

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