hello!
i'm new to this forum and could use some advise. my wife, best friend, and i had a top 40's band in the mid-eighties, but had to give it up for family. at the time of our diss-band i had 3 kb's, roland juno 106, korg dw 6000, and a roland jbx3. now all i have is a little casio i bought my son for xmas 3 years ago. we've decided to start playing again (just a basement thing for now) and its very folksy, accoustic guitar and electric bass. we bought a new pa system and are working on some old america tunes, but would like to try some more contemporary music. also, i would like to do most of the bass lines on the kb. what kb would you suggest will give me both a solid bass sound, then split the keyboard and permit to select a range of tones. would like to be able to expand in future. have about 1.5k cash available, will need an amp to. thanks, from some old rock n rollers.

Hi roney,
You can get a wide range of KB`s out there, personally, I like the Yamaha. Recenly they came out with a PSR2000 it has a ton of sounds and vocal input. It has, however,had it`s share of bugs but it is nothing that is preventing the KB from functioning. Mostly minor "gliches" if you go to the "general arranger" section of this BBS you`ll find even more info on the 2000 as well as many others. I think (can`t be sure) Yamaha is trying to correct the problem and make a lot of people happy. I would say read around and check out www.yamaha.com for more info. BTW welcome to this group, there`s a GREAT bunch of people hear that can help and share info so , welcome to this corner of the web!
jedi

Even his old setup is better than the PSR range of toys.

I suggest you check out some Kurzweils, Rolands and Korgs.

-tek

Hey Tek,
I agree,even though like the features that Yamaha has to offer for the price, there is no getting around the fact that the PSR line does have a "toyish feel" to them. If they could just make them with REAL synth action key`s, not so much "hammer action" but somthing that is actuly strudy enough to play!! I mean they have "velocity touch" keys, but any real velocity and your fingers will go right through the KB!! Well maybe not that bad but still not like it should be.
jedi

HEY THEY DON'T CALL ME THE PIANOMAN FOR NOTHING. BUY YOURSELF A KURZWEIL PC88. IT IS THE BEST SOUNDING HAMMER ACTION KEYBOARD FOR THE PRICE. I BOUGHT ONE WHEN THEY FIRST CAME OUT AND PAID BIG BUCKS FOR IT. NOW THEY ARE AFFORDABLE. THE ROLAND RD 150 AIN'T BAD EITHER.

Unless you're really going to need auto accomp and or you're going to be a "one man band" act, the PSR line isn't going to give you what you are looking for compared to other types of boards. Every major manufacturer has something decent to offer in your price ranfge though.

A lot of folks are pretty much going to tell you that their favorite brand of keyboard rules, but you're best bet is to take what you info can get from us here, maybe with a little grain of salt and go out to a good music store that has keyboards and try some out. If you haven't played any of the newer boards in a while, you're gonna be in for quite a surprise.

As for me I love the sounds in my Yamaha Motif, but some of the features aren't the easiest to navigate. The next person may not like it at all, but the truth is, sounds and even features are so subjective to the person using them, so whatever you choose has to feel and sound right in YOUR hands.
If you're gonna spend the big bucks, plan on spending some time with a few different boards. Not only have the sounds inmproved dramatically since the 80s, the features available now are incredible. I almost went into shell shock a few years ago when I went to replace my already 10+ year old Korg M1
( Note Tek..I had an ESQ1 for about a week and then traded it back in for the M1 ..lol )

Cheers,

AJ

Ah, but the ESQ1 is decent compared to the evil design of the SQ1+, which I had >:)

-tek