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Fun to play - Which keyboard?


ITGITC

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Silly question...

 

Which keyboard has been the most fun for you to play - ever?

 

Why am I asking? - Just for fun.

 

I have a feeling the answers will be varied - bigtime!

 

I think I enjoyed my Fender Rhodes more than any other. Moving it was a hassle, but playing it was great!

 

What say you? :cool:

 

Tom

 

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo
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I haven't played many, but aside from my Juno-60, I have to say my Kawai E65 organ has been really, really fun to play.

It's been a great $50 investment.

~ Sean

Juno-60, Juno-G, MicroBrute, MS-20 Mini, PX-5S, R3, etc.

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Nord Electro. Hands down.

 

I had a feeling this would be one of the responses, Mr. Drawback. And I wonder if the HP version will be even more fun - especially for folks who enjoy the piano.

 

That was a big deal for me in choosing the Fender Rhodes. I usually played it through a stereo chorus, but phase shift was a lot of fun too.

 

I dunno. Thinking about all the choices we have today made me wonder how you all would respond to this question.

 

I'll jump the gun and say that getting behind a B3 with a Leslie for the first time was killer-fun for me. I was probably 14-15 years old. The music store had a B3 as well as a Porta-B connected to Leslies. Yeah. I remember riding my bike home from the music store that day - so cool.

 

I'll stop for now & let others chime in.

 

It's important that a keyboard have good sound & feel - but it's also a high priority that it be a fun instrument to play.

 

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo
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Korg M3. Karma was a game changer for me. (Ducking)

 

Beers all around for saying "game changer."

 

 

 

http://www.barewalls.com/i/c/418232_Beer-Bottles.jpg

 

 

 

 

When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray.
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At the time the D-50 was a huge step up for me. I liked the D-50 ... still do but I never take it out anymore.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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Good thread topic, Tom. Positive. :thu:

 

For me, it would be the RD700 I bought from ksoper. I like making set-ups and playing along with the drums and stuff.

 

The Electro is up there too, though!

 

Regards,

Joe

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Acoustic piano.

 

Probably a cliche, Tom, I realize. But it provides the most direct and immediate connection for me to the widest range of creative expression, and it's the only instrument that really has a personality of its own. Some days it's your most willing partner and best friend. Other days it's like trying to wrestle a writhing snake with both hands.

..
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The Baldwin upright in my High School in the 70's. My mother worked as a night custodian. From the time I was 10 till my junior year I spent about 4 hours a night on it!

Boards: Kurzweil SP-6, Roland FA-08, VR-09, DeepMind 12

Modules: Korg Radias, Roland D-05, Bk7-m & Sonic Cell

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Acoustic piano for me too.

 

I've had fondness & hatred of various keyboards over the years,

 

but if it were a 'stranded on a desert island' type-thing, the piano wins every time.

 

(it'd be even better if I had my piano-tuning tools with me !)

John.

 

some stuff on myspace

 

Nord: StageEX-88, Electro2-73, Hammond: XK-1, Yamaha: XS7

Korg: M3-73 EXpanded, M50-88, X50, Roland: Juno D, Kurzweil: K2000vp.

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I guess my stock answer would be my Rhodes and Minimoog. I can just get lost with either or both of those for hours. Gimme a nice analog delay and a tube amp, and see ya...

 

The instrument that has really surprised me on this front, however, is the Kurz SP4-7. I got the SP because I thought it'd be a practical move, to lessen my dependence on my laptop and act as a controller with decent sounds if/when my laptop fails on a gig. But it has turned out to be a very playable, inspiring instrument. I spent about a half hour last night teasing out piano variations on a 4 bar progression from a fusion tune a friend wrote many years ago. There are probably way better digital pianos out there, but the SP is really doing it for me.

Turn up the speaker

Hop, flop, squawk

It's a keeper

-Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow

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Another vote for the Korg M3. I don't like waiting for it to boot, but it's fun for me once it gets going.

 

For more immediate satisfaction, the Kurzweil PC3 and Kawai ES6. They made me smile when I first demoed them, which is part of why I bought them and have no plans to change up any time soon.

 

Most recently I got that grin when demoing a Moog Little Phatty (which I tried before and didn't like because of the keybed, but now realize it might have been beat to hell).

 

Honestly, I haven't played a ton of different acoustic pianos (maybe 10 different grands and 30 uprights in my lifetime), and the vast majority just sucked. Or I sucked. Or both.

 

I played a Kawai baby grand @ our local dealer and it was like buttah.

I make software noises.
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I'm really digging the Nord Stage I got recently. It integrates perfectly for my needs with the S90ES for my one gig, and on my other gig where I use it by itself, it's just so much fun to dig in and tweak stuff on the fly. I never thought having an upright piano sound would be so cool, but it is and I'm using it a lot.

Live: Korg Kronos 2 88, Nord Electro 5d Nord Lead A1

Toys: Roland FA08, Novation Ultranova, Moog LP, Roland SP-404SX, Roland JX10,Emu MK6

www.bksband.com

www.echoesrocks.com

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Acoustic piano for me too.

 

I've had fondness & hatred of various keyboards over the years,

 

but if it were a 'stranded on a desert island' type-thing, the piano wins every time.

 

^^This^^

Gear: Roland RD700, Yamaha MotifES6, Roland Fantom FA76, Roland JP-8000, Roland AX-7, Roland Juno-106.
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Thinking back over the keyboards I've played, I can think of many happy times with many of them. Most recently, I'd have to say it is a tie between my XK3-c and SV-1. If I lugged my A100 to the same places I've taken the XK3-c to, it would probably be above the XK3-c.

 

Over all time? My mom's Wurlitzer console piano is where I've had the most hours of music playing happiness, but that is just because of the sheer number of hours spent on it growing up; not due to it being a particularly great piano.

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I no longer use the setup, but I used to really enjoy both my Hammond M3 and T-212 organs through my Pro3tm. Granted, it wasn't a B3/Leslie, but it sounded good. Fun stuff; real drawbars real tonewheels, real rotary sound. :)
Stuff and things.
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I don't own a grand, just a Baldwin Hamilton upright. About once a month (after i get my hair cut) I walk over to the local Steinway dealer (Sherman Clay Walnut Creek). It's so routine the guy knows me and points me to the best pianos they have in. I'll spend 30-60 minutes there just playing. For me, nothing compares to a well-regulated, well-tuned full size grand piano. Someday I'll have the discretionary scratch to buy one.
..
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Easily the Korg MS-20. This was built for fun. Patchbay, tons of fun knobs, great sound. This is the keyboard that you show up with to a gig or jam and everyone wants to play it.

 

After that, probably an acoustic grand piano.

 

 

 

 

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I don't own a grand, just a Baldwin Hamilton upright. About once a month (after i get my hair cut) I walk over to the local Steinway dealer (Sherman Clay Walnut Creek). It's so routine the guy knows me and points me to the best pianos they have in. I'll spend 30-60 minutes there just playing. For me, nothing compares to a well-regulated, well-tuned full size grand piano. Someday I'll have the discretionary scratch to buy one.

 

Baldwin Hamiltons are pretty good uprights, though, Tim, IMHO. I have one of those too. Mine is seriously of the best uprights I've played, though to be fair most uprights I come across in clubs or whatnot are in pretty bad shape. I've always kept mine well maintained, even now, when it's been relegated to a back room in the house to make way for the Kawai grand.

Original Latin Jazz

CD Baby

 

"I am not certain how original my contribution to music is as I am obviously an amateur." Patti Smith

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Too many to mention. Changes at every point in my life/career.

 

-I started piano lessons on a really cheap old wind organ that was in my basement, so getting a brand new Yamaha upright at age 9 was like getting a Steinway D.

 

-Roland RD-600 at age 18. Having full 88 hammer action with great (for me at the time) piano, rhodes and wurly sounds in a 50lbs board that I could bring to gigs was almost as good as losing my virginity.

 

-Nord Electro. Having a clonewheel for the first time changed everything for me. Until then never really fully understood the Hammond organ. Probably still don't, but I'm a lot closer because of the NE2.

 

-PC3x. This one took a while to understand and exploit to its potential. But once I figured out how to program it properly I never had so much fun playing keyboards.

Ian Benhamou

Keyboards/Guitar/Vocals

 

[url:https://www.facebook.com/OfficialTheMusicalBox/]The Musical Box[/url]

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Yep, Michelle, the Hamiltons seem to be real workhorses, mine has been. I grew up with one in my folks' home (sis has it now), and was given mine (in great condition) many years ago. I've yet to find an upright in a club that's in decent condition.

 

But it just doesn't provide the range of nuance that a great A or B (or an M for that matter) does, and every time I sit down at one it's like a crack addict. I'd Lindsay Lohan one but I drive a sedan.

 

..
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Both the Hammond B3 and acoustic piano (preferably my C7) are tied in my book, as I enjoy playing both of them equally, without equivocation.

 

I've been playing both for so long, they are part of my musical DNA and I can't imagine NOT playing them.

 

My favorite synth to play. Easy . . . the Minimoog (either Model D or Voyager).

Yamaha C7 Grand, My Hammonds: '57 B3, '54 C2, '42 BC, '40 D, '05 XK3 Pro System, Kawai MP9000, Fender Rhodes Mk I 73, Yamaha CP33, Motif ES6, Nord Electro 2, Minimoog Voyager & Model D, Korg MS10
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