"Hmm well I would occasionally require accustic sounds but my biggest passion is music such as Depeche Mode with Alan Wilder "

Then you might want to check out.

The Ion ( 600$/800$ ) or Micron ( 400$ ) from Alesis. I happen to like the interface of the Ion over the Micron...both sound great.

Or the MS2000 ( 700$ ) or MicroKorg ( 400$ ) from, well Korg :P Each have a nice dark grit to them...much like the boards from Alesis I like the MS2000 over the MicroKorg for real time controls.

While these are out and out virtual analog synths...you would be surprised some of the accustic/wind sounds you can get out of them. While you might not get straight up acoustic guitar out of them ( not what their made for )...you could just get a sub 100$ acoustic to meld with them...hahah plus you could run the acoustic guitar through the synths and all their filters/effects and so on.

Beyond that out of the workstations you listed...I would have to say the Triton. It would take care of the acoustic sounds you might need. Plus some peoples subjective gripes of the Triton could work for you...such as its sounds hollow, digital what the hell ever they might say. Plus if the Triton lacks something you need...just add the sampler option to it, problem fixed.

"Touch screens are not (IMHO) as reliable as real buttons."

I agree with this...just note Touch Screen isnt a factor of the Triton Le as it doesn't have one Only hell I dont like the $$$ that gets tagged on over a touch screen reliable or not, your paying for a " luxury " feature that does nothing for the sound. Heck I dont like a harddrive in my keyboard ( hahaha and that can enhance the sound )...my random wacky ways.

Anyhow to the topic starter...go to a physical store and play these all the keyboards they have in person for hours and hours. MP3 demos online dont help all that much, midi files dont help all that much, the words people say outside of try in person for yourself dont help all that much. That said you can get a kick keyboard for 1000$ or WELL under that...dont feel that more money is going to equal your ideal keyboard that gives you the world as there is compromise at any price point.

I've seen some of the synths I mentioned used on E-bay but honestly I don't trust some dude on E-bay with such a big purchase . Also I remember my parents once bought me a used Roland keyboard when I was young and that thing never really worked properly so I'm not too hot on used gear .

Hahaha yeah I've dealt with touchscreens on other tech gadgets , I don't like them too much , I also prefer real buttons .

As I mentioned the Motif ES does not come with any sampling memory though if as you say it uses PC RAM sticks those are not that expensive so that would take care of that . I'm still puzzled over the lack of mic input though , maybe they label it differently ?

Speaking of the Motif ES my small keyboard experience is with pressing buttons to selects sounds rather than searching trough menues or using touch screens so perhaps the Motif ES' so called complicated OS might actually suit me . I have played around with Yamaha portable PSR keyboards in stores and while I'm sure the Motif ES is much more complex I found the PSR boards easy to navigate .

The PSR and the Motif are set up quite differently. They are arrangers, the Motif is not. I like how the Fantom is set up, I just love the screen to, especially the X's They set it up in banks and instruments. Like Brass, piano, bas, pads synth and is all easily accessed at one screen or you can scroll through presets A, B, C ect. I dont know if the XA has this feature but the X and S both have bookmarks so you can save a screen and assign it to the pads. Which os the fastest way possible to call up a screen.

If you buy from ebay anything up to 1000 bucks is refunded if its a fraudulent purchase. If you buy from a good music store with thousands of items sold it its a good assurance that you will get exactly what is listed. Some places offer a money back guarantee up to 30 days or whatever.

Like I said before you cant loose, each board is great. My choice is by far any of the Fantoms then the Motif and last the Triton LE. It all depends on what you want to do with it.

Phil


[This message has been edited by Pennywizz6 (edited 03-28-2005).]

I see . If I've seen correctly then one needs to buy an expansion board to be able to connect a mic to the Motif ES , I think it's kind of silly that one has to buy extras for some very basic things as far as the Motifs are concerned .

Both the Fantoms and Tritons come with some sampling memory included ( more can be purchased) and both have a mic input .

I kind of like the Fantom X because it's kind of a middle ground between the Korg and the Yamaha in terms of sound and it has the things included which Yamaha deems should be sold separatly .

Yes it would probably be good only to buy from an established music retailer on E-bay .

Thats good choice if I were you id concider http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38090&item=7310843946&rd=1

Great price, respected member..

Phil

Yeah Im not that big on used gear...if its something thats still on the market I can get my hands on. Used or...vintage for some things is a good thing a very good thing.

Ebay...lol NO, even IF the transaction goes down without a problem you get the gear and its working the way you want...you still stand a chance that you just paid for some stolen gear. Someone lifts some gear in XXXX town...they cant play gigs there with it, they cant take it to a pawn shop without risk.......yet they can Ebay it :P

Heck one of the members in this very topic just lost a bunch of cash to a Ebay deal gone bad Not to say they are to blame for the dishonest actions of someone else. Note to the person...I hoped against hope for you and I was happy for you when you got your funds back from alternate sources.

"Speaking of the Motif ES my small keyboard experience is with pressing buttons to selects sounds rather than searching trough menues or using touch screens so perhaps the Motif ES' so called complicated OS might actually suit me ."

Perhaps it will...go demo the hell out of one, just when you do...PLEASE turn off the click track. Its funny as heck when someone wants to check out the sounds then you hear CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK on top of everything :P

" I have played around with Yamaha portable PSR keyboards in stores and while I'm sure the Motif ES is much more complex I found the PSR boards easy to navigate ."

Yup they are easy to navigate...and to an extreme the low line Yamaha boards can be workable within 80s synth pop ( whatever ). Something you MIGHT want to think about...cause if this is your "first" keyboard a 200$ PSR295 could bring you much enjoyment ( within reason ). Cause its 200$ for around 700 sounds, a five track sequencer, some reverb/chours effects, user banks to store your voice edits and so on. 700 voices when you can split and combine them gives lots of options. Heh plus maybe Im stupid or something...but stuff like synth square leads, transformation, many string sounds, electric pianos, some organs and stuff ( raw tone ) sound fine to me on it ( to spite its not a synth synth :P ). The only real lacking for what you might want to do...would be the fact the PSR295 lacks pitch bend/mod wheels, but its 200$ so what can ya say. Just know this is random idea mode Im throwing at you, not end all be all anything.

More random for you...cause you said Roland and spoke of navigation. The Juno-D ( while it doesn't have a sequencer < its got little arps for drum loops and stuff >)...I LOVE its interface. Its one of those things where its so simple you wonder why you dont see it more. All its soundbanks for FX / Drums / Keys / Guitar / Bass and so on have buttons from left to right ( or the other way around :P )...press a button scroll a bit simple as that. Its also got pitchbend/mod and a beam controller...plus real time knobs that let you adjust sustain/decay/resonence and all that ( much like the four knobs you see on the Triton ). Plus its got some nice samples in it...just basic FX stuff like a stream of water, thunderstorm, windhowling and whatnot I would put right next to a Triton without much worry. Juno-D also has a fair amount of effects to toy around with. NOPE the Juno-D is not a retro analog synth and YES you will encounter many that hate it just for this reason...but it puts out some nice sounds and if you feel you could deal with some drum loops and arps in place of a built in sequencer you might dig it. For me the Juno-D has some sounds I would use over stuff offered on the Triton/Motif without debate. Hahaha plus its black has to get some props for that with all the silver star trek boards floating around.

I wish you the best of luck with your keyboard shopping...cause to a point finding a keyboard you like is harder then finding a guitar a bass or an amp that suits you or at least is balanced with what you want to spend.

"Great price, respected member.. "

Much like the guy that got In a car wreck with your 700$

Right now the bids up to 1.4 K...he could get one, two, three random keyboards in random number new from a store he walked in for the same price or less.

For some reason I never really go with the buy something cheap and then buy something better as you need it approach . I always like to buy something that will serve my needs as my skills progress , furthermore I really once and for all want something that can match the sounds of what my musical idols use .

There is a store in my area which I believe carries all three of the brands I'm considering , I'll have to check it out .

"Hmm well I would occasionally require accustic sounds but my biggest passion is music such as Depeche Mode with Alan Wilder "
Then you might want to check out.

The Ion ( 600$/800$ ) or Micron ( 400$ ) from Alesis. I happen to like the interface of the Ion over the Micron...both sound great.

Or the MS2000 ( 700$ ) or MicroKorg ( 400$ ) from, well Korg :P Each have a nice dark grit to them...much like the boards from Alesis I like the MS2000 over the MicroKorg for real time controls.

While these are out and out virtual analog synths...you would be surprised some of the accustic/wind sounds you can get out of them. While you might not get straight up acoustic guitar out of them ( not what their made for )...you could just get a sub 100$ acoustic to meld with them...hahah plus you could run the acoustic guitar through the synths and all their filters/effects and so on.

Beyond that out of the workstations you listed...I would have to say the Triton. It would take care of the acoustic sounds you might need. Plus some peoples subjective gripes of the Triton could work for you...such as its sounds hollow, digital what the hell ever they might say. Plus if the Triton lacks something you need...just add the sampler option to it, problem fixed.

I just spoke with Yamaha Canada's customer support and they informed me that one of the Motif ES numerous inputs can be used for a mic among other things , they just don't label it that way so that takes care of that .

Actually I think Alan Wilder uses a Korg Pax Pro Keyboard these days among other things though I have no idea what he used to use in his DM days .