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Need to replace Motion Sound KBR-3D


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I have used my motion sound for 10 years in church gigs because I can emulate the Leslie cabinet and have other stereo channels for pianos and pads.

 

It just died and I'm tired of trying to fix it.

 

I'm thinking about getting something like a Roland amp that has multiple channels - 2 for stereo piano and then one or two for Hammond only that I could insert a Neo Ventilator or another good Leslie emulator pedal.

 

Looking for advice. I noticed that the Roland KC-990 has four channels -AND- a rotary emulation but I'm guessing the rotary emulation is unacceptable.

 

thx,

Robert

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Kronos 88, Korg CX-3, Motion Sound KBR-3D

 

 

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OK, you play organs and pianos at church gigs, and are now looking for amplification. Lots of choices, and lots of opinions. I have a KBR-3D unit which I almost never use, so I can somewhat compare.

 

Most (but not all) people here would steer you away from a keyboard amp, with the exception perhaps being the non-rotary Motion Sound units. They are heavy, directional and very often don't sound all that great unless you're doing a blues or classic rock gig. The KC-990 weighs in at almost 100 lbs, for example.

 

The go-to external Leslie emulation for most people is the Neo Vent (or mini-Vent). They sound great. I don't use mine, as the internal emulation in my Nord does the job with a lot less hassle. Rather than looking for amplification with multiple inputs, most folks use a small external mixer as it gives them the flexibility to control monitoring levels among other things. The smaller Yamaha MG units are a popular choice, or perhaps the Radial Engineering Key Largo if you'd like to splurge a bit.

 

Using a pair of self-powered PA speakers on short poles is very popular. Lots of choices here: QSC, EV, Yamaha, RCF, etc. For your kind of gig, I'd even consider the CPS Spacestation V3 if it's mostly swirly organs and you're not acoustic-piano-heavy.

 

I'm sure others will weigh in. Cheers!

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Since you are going to use a Ventilator for your leslie I'd opt for a pair of powered monitors rather than the Roland amp. A pair of powered monitors will be less expensive, lighter, louder and cleaner than the Roland amp, a win all the way around.

57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn

Delaware Dave

Exit93band

 

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The powered monitor route will need a separate mixer.

 

If you want a self-contained amp, at the price of the KC-990, I'd look at the Motion Sound KP 408S, which has really nice sound quality, plus a circuit to get more of a stereo spread out of the pair of speakers despite how close they are, and it's not as heavy to carry around. (They also have heavier ones which have bigger woofers if you feel you really need them, but at higher price.)

 

You also could possibly consider a Yamaha StagePas 400 or 600 series, though I haven't heard them, and they don't get mentioned all that often around here. In design philosophy, StagePas kind of splits the difference between a keyboard amp and powered monitors. Like powered monitors, you have a pair of speakers you can place independently to get the stereo spread you want, and being designed primarily as a PA, should have flatter frequency response than most instrument amps (almost certainly more neutral than the Roland, at least). Like a keyboard amp, though, it includes the mixer, and requires only 1 AC power connection instead of 3. (The mixer can be left inside one of the speaker units, or removed for more convenient placement).

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1) Do you need to move it much or will you leaving at the Church? If you only want to run one speaker the Centerpoint Space Stations are cool. The have big and little models. Heck you can run a pair also but a single monitor does faux stereo very well.

 

2) Even if you only needed 1 channel I would get a mixer for the gain stage. Some keyboard and powered speaker combinations are very anemic without the mixer"s gain stage.

 

3) Never played through the KC-990 but if you are used to the Motion Sound I doubt you will be happy with the Roland but that it just me ... and probably Moe also.

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can you think of a pair of powered monitors with 4 channels of input and XLR outs to run to the PA snake?

You would need a mixer in between to properly gain stage. An Alto L8 would work:

 

https://www.altoprofessional.com/products/l-8

 

I have one that I no longer use and would be willing to part with it. It's a backup but I actually have two other backup mixers so it is expendable.

57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn

Delaware Dave

Exit93band

 

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