Hello,

I play keys in a band which for the most part plays "jamband" type music, mostly improvisational rock. (think of Phish)

I have a Yamaha P120 digital piano currently for the great piano feel (I'm picky about my piano feel) and it also has spectacular other sounds (rhodes, wurlitzer, organ, clav)

Now I need something to create all kinds of tripped out weird effects and synth sounds for our original music and any covers we feel like doing. So what I'm looking for:

- should have <88 keys (for portability, weight)
- doesn't need weighted keys
- doesn't need good piano sound or other "authentic" sounds
- should have loads of preset sounds
- should be able to program other sounds
- pitch wheel
- MIDI stuff (duh)
- less than $500 hopefully

Some other decisions:
- As for analog vs. digital synths, I don't think I'd need something with analog controls. I don't understand all those knobs and waveforms. Willing to take suggestions though.
- Also, here's a question. My P120 has MIDI In and MIDI Out. Would I be able to play keys on my future keyboard and have it connected to the P120 so that it can play with the sounds from the P120? (I want the feel of the non-weighted keys with the sound of the P120)

I've read about the Roland XP series, the Yamaha S series, some about Alesis. Korgs might be a bit too much for what I'm looking for. Any suggestions on those brands or others?

Well, if you don't want to spend a lot of money Technics keyboards are pretty good.
I've got tons of synths and keyboards in my studio, but my favorite master keyboard is a japanese built, rock solid reliable Technics SxWSA-1. It's got a semi-weighted action keyboard with great feel, good aftertouch (with some of my other stuff I have to practically "stand" on the keyboard to get the aftertouch going ), lots of controls, 2 separate MIDI INs and OUTs, BIG and bright and well backlit front panel display and some good sounds. Especially clavinets,rhodes and B3s (it actually models them). The piano samples are a bit short, but nevertheless good sounding.
Technics made a 61, 76 and an 88 note models. Search for SxWSA-1s on E-bay 'cause you won't find those synths in the stores nowadays.
Also check out other Technics stuff.

But if you wanna go "mainstream", then check out Yamaha EX, S and MOTIF keyboards. Also check out some Korg stuff. If you'll manage to track down an 01/W pro X - you're a lucky man.
There's a lot more....but I'll save it for later.

One guy that you should definitely talk to on this site is Uncle Dave, I don't necessarily agree with everything that he says, but he knows his stuff and will be able to give you a good advice.

PS
Oh, You'll be able to control your keyboard with another MIDI keyboard without a problem.

Bye for now.

-ED-



[This message has been edited by 3351 (edited 10-18-2003).]

If you want a really easy synth, get a Roland Juno-106. It's only six voices, but it's six voices that most new synthesizers can't even come close to.

It doesn't have loads of presets, only two banks, but it's so fast to dial in new sounds, you don't need that many presets.

Prices on good 106's start around $300. It has really nice string and lead sounds.

-tek

[This message has been edited by tekminus (edited 10-19-2003).]