cp-the-nerd

A conversation from you to start with would've been nice, given that this is a forum and not twitter. I laughed at your blatant exaggeration that one can only develop piano skills on an acoustic instrument, which if taken literally is obviously false, and returned volley. 😆 I wasn't aware the OP intended to be a pro classical player given that their playing gigs are rarely on acoustic piano, but please offer more of your unnuanced and dismissive tone.

Nope.

Owning and maintaining an acoustic piano isn't always realistic, and personally I don't like the sound of most upright pianos so there would be multiple hurdles in that situation. For what it's worth, I actually did grow up with some sort of well-worn spinet piano similar to Nord's Bambino Upright sample in tone which I liked quite a bit. I think access to a good weighted keybed does most of the job there, creating a sense of percussion that a synth action just can't pull off. It's one of the reasons I kept my SV-1 88-key after getting my Electro 6D: it's a joy to play the hammer action and have a full 88-key spread. I also still like many of the analog-invoking warm sounds it produces. I highly recommend owning something with hammer action, but not exclusively. Variety is a wonderful thing for the same reason I recommend against any sort of obsessive brand loyalty in keyboards.

Hey now. Getting personal.

I don't know how you guys feel about this, but I think at least from a marketing standpoint this synth is pretty a shameless cash grab. It's an OG Minilogue from 6 years ago--not the updated XD--with a completely new color scheme and new factory patches plus a deceptive name, the Minilogue "Bass," that makes it sound like a new product. I'd probably be fine with it if it was just called the Minilogue special edition to give the OG a last hurrah. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MinilogueBass--korg-miniloguebass-4-voice-polyphonic-analog-synthesizer

I thought the opening post was confusing enough, but now I have no idea what you were getting at. I can't think of a time when piano technology (and music tech in general) was better than we have it right now. I have a fairly modest keyboard rig and home studio room by this forum's standards, but it covers a huge spectrum of musical sound and I have a looper pedal with enormous creative potential. There are even several recent keyboard instruments that have expanded the possibilities of music expression for piano players, like the Polybrute, the Seaboard, and the Osmose. In short, any keyboard player who struggles to have fun in the current era is doing life wrong.

My understanding is that it's a well rounded sound range and has been a choice of keyboard players for some time now. I have not used one yet myself but I couldn't pass up the price. I have seen numerous recommendations to use this amp for keyboard purposes, including video reviews on youtube.

I have been keeping an eye on the Fender Rumble 100 for quite some time because it's one of the best bang for the buck keyboard amps, even if it's billed as a bass amp. I was really disheartened when Fender raised the prices on their Rumble series last year up to $380. This past month, I saw it was on sale for the old $299 price tag, then tonight I saw it dropped to $265 on Amazon and immediately bought it. I don't know how long it will last, but if you're in need of a lightweight, great quality gig or practice amp, buy the Rumble 100 right now. https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Rumble-Bass-Combo-Amplifier/dp/B00I56QW30/ref=sr_1_2?crid=874VNN202CAC&keywords=fender+rumble+100&qid=1662163727&sprefix=fender+rumble+100%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-2

I used that video (and his subsequent video explaining his actual tone settings) to recreate this on my Minilogue XD. I've created a handful of patches on that handy little synth by watching him and trying to reproduce his settings. His channel has been a great analog synth learning tool for me!

I appreciate the clarification and the invite, but I moved far away from Baltimore and haven't looked back.

That's a pretty cynical take. He has a quality youtube channel.

The consensus around the web seems to be that the Moog One presets are the worst feature of the synth. I think Matt Johnson has the definitive review and the best videos that show it off. He also sells his preset packs for those that don't want to start from scratch.

This hits the nail perfectly on the head. Compared to the repeating patterns all the way down the neck of the guitar, learning chords and playing different keys on the piano must feel like complete anarchy.

5 years ago I was going through the motions in a cover band with just my SV-1 at home. I had it set up for the song list so it was pretty uninspiring for pleasure playing. I was basically stuck on a plateau. After I left the cover band to focus on my personal life, I got my humble keyboard rig (SV-1/YPG-625/KC-550) set up at home entirely for enjoyment and started picking away at that mental plateau. Something pulled me toward looking at looper pedals to test the waters of fleshing out my original music without the shackles of tedious recording work, and I have never had more fun! You expand your horizons very quickly when you go from playing whatever you can manage with two mortal hands to writing bass lines, drum parts, and other accompaniment layers to fill out a complete song. I've improved in every facet of playing, but especially my rhythm control.

Early indications point to drugs. That is not yet confirmed, though.

My Yamaha YPG-625. I bought it when I was young and ignorant, I didn't know anyone who could point me in a better direction. The longer I owned it, the more I realized I'd bought a glorified toy keyboard, but I didn't have the means to replace it for a loonng time. It has 500 tones and maybe 20 of them are decent. All of the interesting features/effects are buried in cumbersome menus and the preset favorite system is awful.

If I can take into account bang-for-the-buck, I have to give a nod to my Korg Minilogue XD. The thing is so damn versatile and fun for a budget polysynth. It makes me smile every time I start messing around with the analog control knobs. If anyone wants a solid analog polysynth for well under $1000, you would be crazy not to consider the Minilogue.

I went through this about six months ago. I was looking for something with 1. a good organ sim, 2. portability, and 3. auxiliary sounds (orchestra and whatnot). For a long time I was smitten with the YC61 from youtube vids after it came out, so it was a long time front runner. As a side note, I actually almost bought a Crumar Mojo black edition in a very ill advised impulse purchase that luckily fell through. Anywho, I considered the YC series, Vox 73, Nord Electro 6D 73, and the Hammond SK. Here are my impressions: YC + Great sounds outside of the organ + Well executed controls and features like split/layer - 73 key version doesn't offer semi-weighted keybed (which was a huge disappointment) and 61 keys is a major compromise for me - odd key width was off putting since I'd be stacking boards - not the best organ sim and broadly panned leslie Electro 6D 73 + Good sounds outside of organ plus Nord library + Strong organ section and related controls - Weak synth section - No pitchbend or mod wheels (wtf) Vox + Best price by far - Lackluster auxiliary sounds - Lackluster features and control execution (comparatively) SK Pro I gotta be honest, I gave this keyboard the least consideration. I don't like how it looks and I didn't need the impressive synth section. I probably listened to one or two videos covering the sounds and wasn't impressed at the price point. I bought the Nord, it checked all the right boxes and had the most overlookable weaknesses (for me personally). I just couldn't get past the YC keybed options, and the least impressive organ sim didn't help things. Yamaha should be kicking themselves for being the one organ focused keyboard in this segment that doesn't have a waterfall 73, it for sure would have made my decision far more difficult if not changed the result. No regrets on the Nord Electro 6D. It makes a fantastic, highly portable pairing with my Minilogue XD.

I'm not sure what problem you guys think is solved or improved by turning off the public view of dislikes that any creator can still see on their end. This is the most blatant attempt imaginable to kiss the ass of corporations and politicians who are tired of getting ratio'd for putting out embarrassing or unpopular content. It's not even a well thought out solution because the first comment on these videos will just be "Dislike" and it will have more likes on it than the video itself. By the time youtube censors that, the internet will already move on to the next codeword meaning the same thing. Don't cheer on corporate ass kissing just because they publicly tell you it's to stop bullies or some such nonsense. I look for the dislike count frequently to gauge content before investing my time, now that it's gone, the "Like" count might as well be removed as well because it's meaningless without the context of dislikes.

I second the yamaha mg06X. Though if you can swing it, always go for more channels. The mg10 is only $40 more and gives you more input flexibility. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MG06X--yamaha-mg06x-6-channel-mixer-with-effects

That mackie is perfectly good for the job. My one suggestion is if you plan to expand your rig at all, this doesn't give you any flexibility. I have a Yamaha MG10XU (10 channels) and it can cover absolutely anything I want to do. Even so, I can see myself shopping for 12 or more channels when it's time to replace it. If your budget allows, I would nudge you toward something with 8 or 10 channels.

I actually happen to own a Minilogue XD module and a Nord Electro 6D. That's a really strong combo. The Minilogue XD has a cool little joystick for mod/pitchbend control and it really lets you rip a great mono lead while you play via midi connection. I do butt up against the 4 voice limitation when I'm doing poly synth stuff, so sure a Prologue 8 would be ideal, but in terms of portability and cost, the XD is second to none. As an add-on synth section to another keyboard for gigs, it's fantastic. I've had the Electro 6D for about a week and my nitpicks are few. It's just silly Nord doesn't put pitch/mod controls on it, like being deliberately stubborn for no reason. Also, the effects/EQ controls are pretty clumsy if you're trying to adjust on the fly. Other than that, I freakin love the thing and despite being my first semi-weighted keyboard, I find it a joy to play. The high quality auxiliary sounds have been a ton of fun, too. A really inspiring keyboard.

I've had a minilogue XD since christmas and it's a badass synth for the money. Huge sound and great range. Really my only knock on it is that it seems like I run into the 4 note polyphony limit a lot. If you can swing the Prologue 8 for a few hundred bucks more, go for that. Either way, you won't be disappointed. Seems like every time I start playing with the minilogue knobs, I end up with a new sound that I can't get enough of. I am pretty evenly split between big mono leads and poly synth tones.

Paughrock, you're just coming off as bitter by making arguments that are irrelevant to my thread. I don't currently own an organ sim and I sure as hell don't want or need an actual organ. I play to create music on my own and occasionally jam with musicians who *do* appreciate quality gear. I'm buying a $2600 Nord because it will be my most portable keyboard, it has a good organ sim, and the auxiliary sounds and functions are worlds better quality than my old beat-up yamaha. Color me SHOCKED that everyone else is also discussing keyboards that fit the topic.

Good thing I'm buying it primarily for an audience of me, then! Seems a little bizarre to sneer at people discussing sub-$3000 keyboards on a keyboard website. A real organ makes zero sense for my needs, nor is a real hammond particularly more affordable. Maybe next you can join a car forum and holler at everyone buying new sports cars when a used 90s corvette does the trick.