I'm new here and am a guitar player that has a small studio, 8trk digital recorder type stuff. nothing complex. I decided that getting a workstation would be a good idea.After spending a lot of time sifting through the usual manufactures websites and reading reviews, i feel more lost than ever.
my choice would be a pro line wkstation, but frankly,the" this one has that, the other one doesn't, this one isn't dependable" syndrome has got me off track. I'm somewhat knowledgeable about product and am intentionally NOT mentioning what i've seen.
I don't need to buy the newest, just the best for the money . I like to buy good products when i buy. I realize there are trade offs to each. Can you guys give me any directtion? I really need some help to cut through all this crap.
I thought guitars and amps were bad! how do you do it? Any help would be most appreciated
!!

Check out www.generalmusic.us
They have some great stuff!!

Jerry M

Thanks for the reply, The website doesn't offer a lot in terms of patches other than piano.Any other suggestions?
thanks

When you say you want a workstation, what exactly do you mean? Do you want to compose music on a keyboard, building tracks, do you want sampling, do you want auto-accompanyment, chord recognition, save performances to CD-ROM.

You need to communicate clearly what you are trying to do!

Yes i want to compose and use it as a workstation in my studio. I'm not interested in auto accomp.or chord.recognition. Sequencing is a feature i would like but am unsure to use an onboard or not. mainly looking for good authentic patches with flexibility (eq,filtering,etc)I'm sure I'm looking at the major manufacturers and am tring to get some advice from people who have used these boards and have accumulated more knowledge than i have. i also realize that is opening it up to personal opinions and that great.
thanks

Well I am a guitar player and Keyboardplayer and I also use for composing some synth's.

Since you are not interested in autoaccomp.,
and you want a lot of filters etc...we can rule out all arrangers;

This is what I use to my satisfaction and which combination offers me all past sounds, todays sounds and future sounds;

1. Kurzweil K 2600 S + all daughterboards installed.
2. Virus C (rack controlled by the Kurz)

The ownly comment I can make, that The kurzweil will probably take the rest of my life to completely find all the possibilities.
This is a synth with a very high learning curve, which is also the reason that most button pushers don't like it.
Allthough it is now 5 years on the market, Soundwise/quality it is still a top synth.
(Not sure about future service if needed, as the mothercompany Young Chang filed chapter 11.)

Some other suggestions;

Easy to operate specially if you are new to synth's / workstations and offering high quality;

Yamaha Motif series

Roland Phantom series

Korg triton

If I had to make a choice out of above three I probably would go for the newest Roland, as I do have more Roland boards which have proven to be very reliable,(I use those on stage)

Hope this helps.

Fred

If you're not looking for auto-accompinament, I would suggest a Motif ES or a Triton Studio; maybe even a Fantom-X. It looks like Roland may have a decent hybrid in the G70 some time in the spring.

great post Fred- I don't know what a virus c is, but i'll find out. Have you run into any problems with the Kurzwiel? this was my first choice until i read the horror stories about them breaking and their dealer network not being worth much. having to send a nearly 100 board to Kurzweil doesn't get me all warm inside. Do you think if i was able to aquire a k2500 upgraded that would do the job? i thought so. My recording will be primarily for the benefit of my guitar playing and for fun. How's the piano and organ patches on the Roland? comparable to Kurz or are they just in another class?
I have a friend who has a motif that i'm going to check out. By the way if you know of anyone who has used equipment in good shape send them over if you wouldn't mind.And thanks cassp for your input.

http://alesis.com/products/Ion/About/


http://www.rolandus.com/Multimedia/Flash/junod/index.html

Hello I just sent you an email.

Dan O'

------------------
Ketron, Yamaha, Casio,Roland arranger keyboards.
http://www.keyboardcity.net

1-866-348-8876

You can find the virus C here;
http://www.access-music.de/products.php4

Kurzweil problems;
No real problems so far and I have the K2600 since I think 1999 or early 2000.
I only had some dust problems with one Key, which is basicly my own fault as I am too lazy to use dustcovers, but I could solve that easily myselve, so no service needed so far.
The K 2500 had some horror stories with B-stock what I heard, but I cannot say if these were exceptions or regular faults.
I wouldn't advise anyway to buy a K2500 as there were a few essentials which make the K2600 much more attractive.
1. KDFX
2. Upgradable bios by software
3. Better built
There are more differences but cannot recall by head.
If you go for a K 2600, make sure you buy one with the Sampler Option installed!
This way you can run your guitar or any other electronic instrument through the KDFX effect board of the K2600.
You can also save samples and store in one of the programs etc...
You can edit samples and use all filters of the K for editing.
To get an idea I would suggest you download the manual from the kurzweil site (it's huge!) which will give you a good impression.

Patches called programs in the Kurz whether these are organs, piano's or other ready to go sounds are personal tasts.
I honestly couldn't say this or that one is better.
All high end synth's have good patches.
Main difference is how deep can you edit, add effects, create new original sounds, which is in fact a synth was built for intentionally.

If you just need good patches you are better and way cheaper off with a sampler and a midi controller keyboard or even software synths will do the job.

I am in the Netherlands so I don't think I can send someone over with used gear
I would cheque E-bay and final bids to get market values of used gear.

Prices are great in USA. (I do buy sometimes used guitars way byond european prices)
Due to the difference in voltage unfortunately gear makes no sense.

For technical question about Kurzweil you might visit the Kurzweil community.
http://community.sonikmatter.com/forums/index.php?s=2536fb5a5b9fb1927aa1927ff6d06594&showforum=14

Fred

thanks Fred- you've really helped a lot. Hope to visit the Netherlands someday.....I think from all the input i've gotten that a controller is where it's at.