OCReggaeKeys Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 Hi, everyone. I"m ready to stop playing my keys through my e-drum amplifier and finally get some good sounding speakers. Seems like the route to go is some nice powered speakers. In order to plug 2 keyboards and my drums into these new speakers it seems that ideally I would need two speakers and a sub for the kick and certain synth sounds. This also seems to be a pricey option. I want to get good sounds finally out of both my drums AND keys so I"m willing to break the piggy bank if that"s what it takes. On the other hand, I really only need living room jam-with-friends volumes. Can anyone point me into the right direction? I appreciate your input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 My bassist has a Kustom powered subwoofer he uses for a small home PA system. Certainly not top of the line stuff but it sounds really good at moderate volume. Just like this one - I have no affiliation with Guitar Center. https://www.guitarcenter.com/Kustom-PA/PA110-SC-10-in-Powered-Subwoofer.gc I am not up to date on what is decent in smaller PA speakers. I've had good luck with Yamaha gear, even moderatly priced stuff. Again, not top of the line by any means. I am not familiar with their current offerings. Maybe they make a decent subwoofer too. Sometimes good enough is good enough!!! The only frustrating thing about musical equipment is current times do not allow us to go try something out in a store first to see if it is good enough. Because no quite good enough is just not quite good enough. I'm sure others will chime in, hopefully with better suggestions. Cheers, Kuru Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCReggaeKeys Posted May 19, 2020 Author Share Posted May 19, 2020 Awesome. And the price is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKeys Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 Have you listened to Bose L1 compact? You can pick them up used for $600-$700. If you need more volume check out Turbo Sound 2000 or 3000. I have used the L1 with my trio in a small intimate restaurant setting successfully and the TS 2000 in a rehearsal that sounded great! Both are compact! If more volume is needed then a Small EV system would be my choice. Quote Jimmy Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others. Groucho NEW BAND CHECK THEM OUT www.steveowensandsummertime.com www.jimmyweaver.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 The problem is that for most keyboard parts, you sit in the mix better if you avoid the extreme lows. That is one complaint I hear about using 15" or even 12" cabinets. Many people here will suggest 10" two way cabinets for a clean sound. But I will say that my V-Drums sound great through 15" two way EV speakers. The bass drum really thumps and grand piano patches have that nice, low rumble of a grand. If you go with a big speaker, a good eq and selective routing of your keyboards through that eq may help with sitting in the mix. Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCReggaeKeys Posted May 19, 2020 Author Share Posted May 19, 2020 Very true. Are you saying that with a 15' speaker the sub might not be required? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCReggaeKeys Posted May 19, 2020 Author Share Posted May 19, 2020 Thanks, I"ll check those out. From one motif player to another, ðð Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 15' PA in a living room! Is your room the size of a Community Hall? Check out the PreSonus Eris range. Quote Col Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 Very true. Are you saying that with a 15' speaker the sub might not be required? I think with a 15" you can get by without. Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Motif Max Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 My drummer friend with a VDrums kit and I used to play for youth group services with just the two of us and a singer. He liked 12" speakers, and they did sound good. He had a massive Carvin setup with subwoofers and things that he brought in for when our church was redoing the sound system, and that was definitely fun. If you're plugging in an electric drum set and two keyboards, make sure whatever speakers you buy have three inputs. Or you could get a small format mixer. I'm a fan of Yamaha speakers, particularly for the Motif boards. I currently use an MSR-100, but that's been discontinued. Something like a pair of Yamaha DXR10s would be my first choice, or maybe for you DXR12s or QSC K12.2s, both of which sound quite good. Not sure you really need a sub. My MSR-100 is plenty and it only has an 8" speaker. Quote Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000 Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboKeys Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 Just a bit of experience --- My usual rig for keyboards is a pair of EV ZXA1's. But a few years ago in a situation where i was adding E-Drums as well, i found the kick to be severely lacking, through either the ZXA1's or an EV ZLX-12P (that i bought thinking it would have more low end). Picked up a small subwoofer (EV ZXA1-Sub) and the kick was suddenly totally there. I think there's something beyond simple low-frequency-range response that's needed for the sound of a kick drum to punch through --- the speaker in the ZXA1-Sub is only a 12", but it's apparently tuned for a transient sound such as a kick drum. Or it may also be because the low freqs are running through their own power amp (like we did in the old days of passive cabinets) --- but either way having the sub works some sort of magic on the kick. - Jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCReggaeKeys Posted May 19, 2020 Author Share Posted May 19, 2020 Awesome. You"ve mentioned the speakers that I have in my shopping carts online. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 To echo Biggles, what you need depends first on the size of the room and how many people will be in it (Bodies absorb sound energy). Secondly it will also depend on the volume levels you hope to achieve. People will give you their practical advice based on their rooms and audiences. Do filter that good advice through your particular situation. All the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 It also depends on the PA. Do you need a subwoofer, or does the PA need one? Are you using your keyboard amp to hear what you are playing on stage, or are you pushing it so that you don't have to run keyboards through the PA? Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCReggaeKeys Posted May 28, 2020 Author Share Posted May 28, 2020 Alright guys, so I decided to go with two studio monitors instead. I figured I have a drum amp to serve as a synth monitor if I play live and the house or band would have the PA. Now, what I"d like to know is how I can connect two synths to these studio monitors. I ordered one Y RCA cable but I don"t think that"ll work for both synths when I play internal voices on the slave. Do I HAVE to get a mixer to make this work? Any suggestions on a cheap option if I have to? Very little interest in recording at the moment. Just want to unleash these boards to their full potential. Appreciate the continued help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 You really do need a mixer, but it can be small. A 4 input mixer should easily sit on the end of a keyboard. Even something like the ART SplitMix4. Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCReggaeKeys Posted May 29, 2020 Author Share Posted May 29, 2020 You really do need a mixer, but it can be small. A 4 input mixer should easily sit on the end of a keyboard. Even something like the ART SplitMix4. Thank you so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboKeys Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 Does either of your keyboards have an audio input ? If you can plug the output of one keyboard into the audio input of the other, that might obviate the need for a mixer. - Jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groove On Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 Here's a speaker that's worth a look: KRK Rokit 10-3 G4 - Powered Mid-Field Studio Monitor - 3-way/tri-amped woofers: 10", 4.5", 1" - Freq. response: 26Hz! - 40KHz - retails for US$499 https://www.krksys.com/Studio-Monitors/ROKIT-10-3-G4 Notes: - only has 1 input channel, so you'll need a mixer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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