Looking for a keyboard

kozdog · 11-03-2003, 01:07 AM

Hey there everyone,
I'm in the market of looking for a new keyboard. Price isn't really an object, but keeping it under $5000 might be desirable. My brother has a Yamaha S80 that I really like, and that's a sythesizer/keyboard in one I guess. I'm just wondering what the best ones out there are, I've heard conflicting reports about what brands sound best, i.e. wurlitzer, yamaha, korg, roland and so on. I would like to use it for more than just piano sounds, I like lots of voices and effects to play with too, but I would like a really nice grand piano sound also. Weighted keys are also a must! Any advice would be great. Thanks!

Nate · 11-03-2003, 03:14 PM

Hahah... you shouldn't have any problems finding a good keyboard for under $5000.

I'd recommend looking at the Roland XV-88 (this is what I use, it's great... has a huge selection of preset sounds and is extremely expandable as well). Also, if you are into recording/sequencing (which the XV-88 will not do), definitely look at the Korg Triton Pro-X and Yamaha Motif 8.

Other possibilities include the Kurzweil K2600 and the Roland Fantom S-88.

Really, for $5000 you could get whatever you wanted... so all you need to do is go HEAR them for yourself and decide what you want. Unless, of course, your budget is more realistic than you'd have us believe.

In His love,
Nate

Nate · 11-03-2003, 03:16 PM

One possibility (with $5000 anyway) would be to get MORE than one keyboard. You could one board for piano/electric piano type stuff, one for organs, and one for crazy synthesized stuff. I'd suggest looking the Roland RD-700 or Yamaha P-series for pianos/EPs, the Roland VK-8 for organs, and maybe a Nord Lead 2x or Novation K-series for synths. With a few good deals, these three together could possibly come out under $5000... and you'd have sound selection coming out the wazoo.

In His love,
Nate

kozdog · 11-03-2003, 03:50 PM

Thanks so much KeyboardFreak, your comments are much appreciated. I had thought of multiple boards but really didn't know what kind of combo's to do. And yes, I was serious about my budget, so you didn't post that for nothing. Thanks also for all the advice you give everyone, just joined and browsed the other threads, some good stuff here.
God Bless
Kozdog

Nate · 11-03-2003, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kozdog

I had thought of multiple boards but really didn't know what kind of combo's to do.

It depends on what you want to do and what styles of music you want to play.

So... what do you want to be able to do with this keyboard(s)? And what styles of music do you plan to play? What kinds of sounds (be specific) are you looking for?

In His love,
Nate

webe123 · 11-03-2003, 07:18 PM

A friend of mine has a Yamaha Motif 8. (88 key keyboard) He is VERY picky about the feel of his keyboards and the sounds of the pianos! He chose a Motif 8, because he tried the triton and he said the Motif line pretty much blew everything else away he had tried! Go to yamahas site and listen to the motif samples......they have a woman singing an entire phrase on one of the sounds for the motif! Incredible!

kozdog · 11-16-2003, 12:06 AM

Well I'm in a christian rock band, as for a style for what we sound like you can go to calvarysking.com and check out some of the samples, I think that would be better than me trying to describe it. If you forced me to describe though, I'd say I want good strings, a great sounding grand, some hip hop voices, maybe some cool drumbeats but I don't use all those preprogrammed beats all that much, if there are going to be other sounds, i.e. brass, guitars, I'd like them to sound as real as possible but again, I wouldn't hardly ever use them as far as performance goes. Oh, also, something with excellent organs would be nice. Maybe that helps?
Kozdog