Greetings All -

I received my Motion Sound KP-200S Pro Keyboard Amplifier this afternoon. I had read many great things about this amp and decided it would be perfect for my Reedless Accordion / Ketron Arranger setup. Here are my initial impressions:

1) I have to put a good word in for Music123, where I ordered the amp. They had it drop-shipped from the Motion Sound headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Even the the shipping was free, they still had it sent Fed-Ex ground and I received it in three days. It's in perfect condition.

2) Packaging was excellent. Good foam around the amp itself and the amp was nicely wrapped. As I said earlier, not a scratch on it.

3) Documentation is adequate. I was a little nervous when I looked at the "manual" included with the amp. It's basically a photocopied 4-page document that is held together by two staples on the left side - doesn't look too professional. Also, it has a few typos in it (XRL instead of XLR, etc.) which makes me nervous about their quality. I looked at the all-product brochure they included and found an obvious typo on the back page. It may not seem important to everybody, but my general feeling is that if a common moron like me can find three typos in you literature upon my FIRST reading of it, and you sent it to print like that then you might not be so concerned about your soldering, finishes, ciruitry, etc. Just a personal comment that you might not find important at all.

3) The amp is cumbersome - seems heavy for 55 pounds. Too wide to grab by the two side handles and too heavy and "pointy" to grab by the top. Works well on a small cart, however. I mean I can carry the thing but it's not simple.

4) The amp finish is incredible. Seems tough as nails. I can't imagine scratching it or breaking it. Stronger than an anvil.

5) Controls are very positive and nice. The XLR inputs look nice, everything is labled nicely, and the knobs work well.

6) The 1/4" inputs seem a little loose. The cords easily slide in but don't seem to lock into place or appear to be solid. This might just be a dumb old accordion player whose last amp was a 20 year-old museum piece - but I recall the plugs fitting very tightly. Just my impression.

7) I don't have my Ketron yet so I could only test out my Millenium. FANTASTIC sound! Deep bass, great mids and highs. I really couldn't tell too much about the Expander stereo effect, however. I turned it to around 6 and noticed a kind of "reverb" sound. When I am able to crank it up loud tomorrow I'll really experiment with that effect. Also, my Quik Lok stand should be here tomorrow and I'll raise it a foot or so off the floor like they recommend.

8) Overall, I am please with the quality. Amp looks tough as nails, everything fits together nicely, controls work nicely, and the sound is wonderful. I even plugged my 1/4" plug from my Cordovox into the amp (totally analog signal - hard to amplify an acoustic accordion)and couldn't believe how well it sounded! The bass was rocking.

I'll let you all know how things go over the next couple of weeks. When I get my arranger I will really be able to tell how drums and other instruments sound through the amp. If you are considering purchasing this amp, please don't worry about the quality. This company seems to really care about their products (if not so much about their literature!) and put together a fine product. It does smell a bit like tar, however!

The really odd thing is that I looked at Music123 and there is a two-week wait for these amps now. When I looked at my Serial Number (under 200!) I figured that they don't have 10000 of these in a warehouse.

Yes, the plugs are loose fit in the jacks on my KP-200S also. Doesn't seem to cause a problem, though.

I wonder how much of a "sterio" signal the Millenium module sends? You would think that if sterio enhanced the sound, it would come with 2 audio cables instead of just one.

I would like to be able to pan the bass, chords or right hand to the left or right audio out however I wanted to. I think you would get an awsome sterio image out of the KP-200S if you could assign the left side of the accordion to left audio out only and the right side to right audio out only.
I've read through the Millenium manual several times and I haven't found a menu option to do that.

Glad you are pleased with the KP-200S. You should have talked to Dan O'Neil, though, before buying from Music123. But, you have an opportunity to talk to Dano or George Kaye before your next purchase.

RJM

I guess Petosa figured that two audio cables would cost twice as much. There's another $3.00 added to the price of a $6000 accordion!

I just checked George Kaye's profile. He's near me and you're right that I should have checked him out first. Oh well, I still need to purchase my XD3 and he'll be my first stop.

Thanks for all of the advice, RJ.

Would you email me privately ?

danosmusic@yahoo.com

I guess the KP-200s at 56lbs would seem cumbersome, but actually compared to something like a Peavey KB-300 it isn't. In fact, it's smaller overall than a pair of JBL EON10's but because the KP-200s is one piece instead of two, it's bulkier to carry. Again, I'm 6' tall and pretty strong so I can not only carry the KP-200s by either the side handles or the single top handle, but I can slide it into the back seat of my 2-door VW Cabrio easily - the point fits neatly into the spine of the seat.

I haven't noticed "loose jacks" on mine. For sure, the stereo expansion effect only works with a real stereo input. The documentation is simplistic but considering there are so few controls I don't know what more it could say.

I heard that the exterior is the same material used to cover pickup beds with and seems really tough, but the weak spot is the "point" - the speakers coule be easily damaged so I got the padded LeCover for it that was recommended by Motion Sound.

I think you'll enjoy the KP-200s for years to come. Today I am playing my first outdoor (tent actually) 500-guest wedding gig with only the KP-200s for PA and I expect it to do fine.

Pro -

Did you get the 1/2" thick padded LeCover or did you get the standard Road Cover? The padded one looked a little bulky but I sure hear what you're saying about the exposed front grill. I'm planning on ordering one of those covers next week.

Man, you must be one strong dude. I'm 6'2 and weight 235 and STILL think that darn amp is cumbersome and heavy. Maybe it's time for me to start bulking up!

Good luck with that gig tonight. I wish you the best.

Hi TA:

I got the 1/2" padded cover for the protection it offers. It's not too bulky but the cover is stiff enough to easily stand upright on the floor on it's own. It fits really well and I'd go with it again.

My gig last night went perfectly... it was a large outdoor wedding in a huge tent and I was "the band". I think I drove the KP-200s to near-distortion levels at times when it got to party time and this was as loud as I've had the amp. It worked fine. Amazing bass for such a small cabinet that was on an amp stand - I never felt like I needed more. If I played to a larger room/crowd, I'd likely take my powered EON's just to add more total wattage/volume but really the KP-200s was enough, and the most common audience comment I had was that I sounded "awesome" (yea!). That stereo expansion effect really has a nice psycho-acoustic effect that helped make the sound fill the tent.

Yep, I had to carry the amp across a big lawn and had no trouble at all. Maybe I'm used to it already.

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Motion_Sound/KP_200S_210_Combo-01.html




[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 03-23-2003).]

Just as a follow-up, I've had my KP-200S for a week now and am amazed by it. I hooked up my Alesis SR-16 Drum machine and was blown away by the bass. The Pro is right, it would be pretty hard to find a venue that would require more bass than that.

Plugging in an Iorio reedless that I have really opened my eyes as it gave me a chance to hear other instruments through the amp. Great tone and for the small room that I practice in I can't turn it up over 4 or it is painful. I stand up when I play so with a 15 foot instrument cable I should be able to crank this puppy to around 8-9 without any feedback and be able to play some pretty large venues.

I ordered the regular cover from LeCover and Larry said it should be here in about a week. I don't know how he custom makes each one and charges under $30 for them. Especially since they are 1000 denier. I guess he makes it up in volume. At any rate, when I receive the cover I'll review it in this thread.

Once I get my arranger I'll really be able to put this amp through it's paces.

So far, so good.