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Inexpensive amplification for student's Nord


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A music teacher buddy of mine is trying to find a colleague's daughter an amp for her Nord Electro for under $200. That rules out most of the amplification that's discussed on this forum, even the kind we make fun of. :wink:

 

She's just going to be playing at home for now, rather than taking it out to perform, so my thought is some inexpensive studio monitors would be nice -- I imagine she doesn't care about stereo, though I'd prefer to make a stereo-capable recommendation. Still, for max $200, what would you folks do? Look for an inexpensive set of "studio" monitors? Find a decent powered active monitor? Just use a set of Dell computer speakers from the side of the road and/or any office I wander into at my place of employment?

 

I've never spent less than $500 on keyboard amplification that I didn't rescue from a garbage pickup, so I'm wondering what you all would recommend!

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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Used Fender Rumble 40. Small, light, punches above it's weight and cheap. Has a decent DI and good EQ. Not real loud, set it up at ear level and it's plenty.

Our bassist gigs with one all the time, DI to the PA, tilt it back for a monitor, done.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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For playing at home with reasonable volume, especially if you're not having "band practice" where you need to compete with other instruments, a decent pair of small stereo active monitors would be my recommendation. For $200/pair you're looking at smaller guys with ~ 4 - 5 inch woofing. But two of them should be fine for home use. You don't need "big bass" for a decent piano sound.

 

If I had a small stereo amp laying around, or a cheap way to acquire one, I would probably grab a pair of these Polks on sale right now.

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An amen to "practice grade" bass amplifiers.

 

I take a 15 watt (10" speaker) Acoustic bass amplifier with me whenever I travel.

 

That said, don't underestimate a nice 2.1 channel computer speaker set. That should give a very satisfying sound, and you can put the tweeters at a nice height. Obviously, some kind of mini-TRS to 2xTS "Y" cable will be needed too.

-Tom Williams

{First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com

PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361

 

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Small studio monitors would be good. Maybe she can get a good deal on a pair of JBL LSR-305P MKII monitors - if she waited until Black Friday or similar they're often marked down to $89 a piece instead of the regular $129-149.

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

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I will say though that one can get by with home stereo speakers with an amp/receiver with RCA in using 1/4" to RCA cords.

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

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I will say though that one can get by with home stereo speakers with an amp/receiver with RCA in using 1/4" to RCA cords.
Beat me to it. Plus you can pick that kind of stuff up for peanuts on auction sites. Everyone's trading theirs in to buy bluetooth docks and smart speakers.

 

Cheers, Mike.

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I put "keyboard amp" into an ebay search and turned up dozens of pre-owned brand name amps in your price range. Honestly, though, if your colleague can swing another $50-100 it'll be worth every penny in the long run. Bottom barrel price rarely translates to a worthwhile investment.

Keyboards: Nord Electro 6D 73, Korg SV-1 88, Minilogue XD, Yamaha YPG-625

Bonus: Boss RC-3 Loopstation

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I will say though that one can get by with home stereo speakers with an amp/receiver with RCA in using 1/4" to RCA cords.

 

While this is true, one must also carefully inspect the woofers. I see tons of this stuff at thrift stores and many times the foam surrounds on the woofers are toast.

 

On the other hand, I have a pair of JBL P40 9" 3 way speakers I found at Starvation Army for just under $30 so I do agree that bargains can be had. I love these JBLs.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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A pair of computer speakers. I have 2 sets. You can get decent stereo sound and volume for $100. You'll need an adapter to go from the the TRS 1/4" output from the Nord to the mini-plug for the speakers.
These are only my opinions, not supported by any actual knowledge, experience, or expertise.
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I was shopping for something along similar lines (that my daughter could fit in her dorm room where she has a keyboard) and I'd second the PreSonus Eris powered 'studio monitors'. I was looking at the $99/pair E3.5, which has balanced TRS inputs and RCA jacks, add bluetooth for another $30 or so. I haven't heard it myself, but reviews and online videos suggest it'd do a decent job of representing the quality of the Nord sounds at practice-level volumes. My daughter told me she was fine using earbuds, so my advice is purely theoretical.
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I used studio monitors and love them for that task, but they can get pricy too. Plus what if she wants to play with friends I say a lowend powered PA speaker might be a better choice and they typically have a mix for a mic. Checkout Guitar Centers house brand Harbinger they are a inexpensive and are on sale or in the outlet store for less than $200. I bought one of the 1x12" and ended up selling it to a friend for his groups rehearsals. He still uses it for rehearsals and as a monitor on gigs. GC also has the Alto powered speakers and they are in the same price range.
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I"m still impressed with the Ion Pathfinder I bought from BJ"s 6 months ago. Decent sound, AC or battery operation, and both 1/4 and 1/8' inputs. I had a coupon for $20.00 off for a total of $120.00 USD.

 

Worth a look.

 

Jake

1967 B-3 w/(2) 122's, Nord C1w/Leslie 2101 top, Nord PedalKeys 27, Nord Electro 4D, IK B3X, QSC K12.2, Yamaha reface YC+CS+CP

 

"It needs a Hammond"

 

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I will say though that one can get by with home stereo speakers with an amp/receiver with RCA in using 1/4" to RCA cords.

 

While this is true, one must also carefully inspect the woofers. I see tons of this stuff at thrift stores and many times the foam surrounds on the woofers are toast.

 

On the other hand, I have a pair of JBL P40 9" 3 way speakers I found at Starvation Army for just under $30 so I do agree that bargains can be had. I love these JBLs.

 

Well, yeah. I guess I was thinking that people would do that anyways, but maybe not. At least a 4" woofer though. And some cheap speakers are prone to vibration noise.

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

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I know Nords can be picky about speakers for pianos. There's not a ton for powered monitors (not studio monitors) in that range, but something like this might do the job for about $20 more. Behringer Eurolive B108D 300W 8" Powered speaker

 

My church uses these guys for monitors sometimes. Not a lot of low end at all, but they're surprisingly good for what they are. Needs to be mounted on a mic stand base or similar. Behringer 205D

There's a cheaper version that's within the budget, the Behringer 105D. I can't vouch for them, having never heard them.

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

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I will say though that one can get by with home stereo speakers with an amp/receiver with RCA in using 1/4" to RCA cords.

 

Ironically, this is exactly what I did when my son (who just started college on a music scholarship) needed both a keyboard and a way to be heard, since in these Covid days everything is being done virtually. Normally the "keyboard class" is in a lab room full of keyboards.

 

I had several rca to 1/4 adapters and plenty of rca cables, and a receiver and speaker system that isn't all that old but basically I barely ever use. Small speakers, I have a powered sub as well but didn't bother with it. It sounds fine, it's in stereo and boom I don't get to use my Mox8f any more :) Eventually I'll get it back, though hopefully he gets more into keyboards and wants to keep it (he's a trumpet player). I would have bought him an es110 but they were out of stock everywhere, ended up getting the moxf8 used from my buddy for a great deal.

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Small studio monitors would be good. Maybe she can get a good deal on a pair of JBL LSR-305P MKII monitors - if she waited until Black Friday or similar they're often marked down to $89 a piece instead of the regular $129-149.

She could also start with one for now, and add a second for stereo down the line of/when that better price appears.

 

If a "keyboard amp" is desired, I've read good things about the Vox VX50KB though never heard one. It's close to being in budget.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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TC Helicon VoiceSolo is a great piece of kit.

 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FX150--tc-helicon-voicesolo-fx150

 

It's a powered FRFR speaker with built-in FX geared towards vocalists.

But it can do double duty as a nice sounding keyboard or even a light duty bass amp.

Its built-in mixer will grow with her needs, especially if she sings.

 

- phantom power, bypassable vocalist FX (de-ess, comp, gate)

- 3-band EQ per channel

- 2 combo XLR / 1/4" inputs

- 1 mini stereo AUX input

- built-in TC quality reverbs

- dual XLR outputs (bypass/thru and normal mono out)

- set it vertically on mic stand as mini PA

- or use the mic clamp to horizontally mount it

- or use it as a desktop / floor wedge

 

I've used mine mounted on a mic stand as my "more me" vocal and keyboard monitor on stage.

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preSonus Eris 4.5

I use these at work to monitor the audio of social media livestreams, not really sure how they would sound for piano. Good suggestion, just no way to know until they get tried out.

 

I only have a Yamaha digital piano and they sound good and imo cannot be beaten on price.

 

Even the Eris 5 is only $250 for a pair.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/PreSonus-Eris-E5-Active-Monitor/dp/B00CP4IJH0

Col

 

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I don't think I've heard this mentioned yet, but you could probably find an inexpensive "home theater" receiver and 5.1 speaker setup on your local Craigslist for well under $200. The key is the SUBWOOFER which will really make a difference in combination with the small speakers. Set up the "front" and subwoofer, and you'll have a really good home sound setup for keyboard.

 

You can also do this with a "computer" speaker setup, provided it has a sub. I'm sure that powered computer speakers with a sub are available under $200, certainly used in that price range.

 

Lou

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Although I also have expensive monitors, I often prefer these for home use.

I have an old set of these : https://www.ebay.com/itm/Logitech-SoundMan-X1-Computer-Speakers-/302992801526

Surprisingly good sound both on my Nord and on my Hydrasynth. Good volume for personal use

 

So it do not need to cost an arm to get some decent sound, even from a Nord, but I have to add, I have tried other Logitech computer-speakers that sound like crap in comparison.

I might have been happy with my model.

/Bjørn - old gearjunkie, still with lot of GAS
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Also, unless others need to hear it--and maybe if she needs to play along with other things--what about headphones? I got a great Sennheiser hd600 model by massdrop for 150 bucks, and you can get something decent like AKG 240s or Senn HD280s for a fair bit less. (I really like open cans for comfort when I don't need isolation, so the hd600 or those AKGs or similar would be my choice.)

 

Some Nords have an external in even if she needed to play along with something, I used my Electro 6 as a submixer for a second keyboard for while using an 1/4" to 1/8" adapter.

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