What keyboards brands you most often see being used in gigs (including yours)?

[EVC]

To give some context to the poll, looking at a (polemic) topic in another forum (FWIW, Pianoworld - polemics is very common 😃 ), stage pianos were mentioned. The question made me curious about what brands are most commonly found on gigs. By keyboards I mean mostly digital pianos and synths/workstations.

 

[AnotherScott]

Off the top of my head, I'd say probably (in no particular order), Roland, Yamaha, and Korg. Then Kurzweil. I sometimes see posts about how commonly people see Nords, but I really haven't... I think they may be more common in Europe, where they don't have as much price premium as they have in the States. In fact, I'd say I've probably seen more Hammonds than Nords. 

 

But also, over the last 10 years or so, it's become increasingly common to see "none of the above"... i.e. controllers by M-Audio or whoever, driving software. 

 

All that said, I don't go out and see lots of bands, so my "sample size" is small.

 

As for my oen gigs, this century, I've gigged with lots of stuff, but more than any other brands, my rig has almost always contained a Yamaha or a Casio (often both). After those two, Korg was probably next most common. I've also gigged with Roland, Nord, Numa, Kurzweil, and Dexibell, but not as frequently. Actually, for the last couple of years, there's always been a Kurzweil, it's just that covid has meant there haven't been so many gigs!

[Morrissey]

I voted Yamaha, Nord, and Other.  My "other" is Hammond; I see quite a few SK and XK clonewheels around town.

[Mighty Motif Max]

It's all Yamaha, Korg, and Nord up here in the northern half of MN for the most part. I've seen 1 or two Casios, 2 Rolands, and only one two Kurzweils other than my own ever. No Kawai, and not much for other brands either.

 

Edit: forgot I saw a PC2R in a theater production rack a few years back. Ironically the other Kurzweil I've seen is a PC2x, so both from that generation.

[kaptainkeys]

By me in the NYC area, it's mostly Yamaha, Roland, Korg, and Nord.  Kurzweil is seen every once in a while, usually in a Broadway orchestra pit, although it can be spotted once a month in MSG, being played by Dave Rosenthal.

[brenner13]

Glad to break yet another curve gradient…I love my Studiologic. Very pleased to not be obsessed with the most popular brand of most any subject. I do the research and take chances on what might work best for me. That’s how you find the rare gems. However, I’ve had plenty of duds…I always have been one to learn the hard way.

 

Sure do see a lot of Nords and Korgs around, though.

[Spider76]

Here in EU (Italy) it's definitely Nords and Yamahas, with Rolands and Korgs not even close.

 

Other brands are almost unseen, there will be the occasional Casio lately, thanks to the great price/quality ratio of the newer Privias.

[AnotherScott]

I see lots of people are mentioning Nord, even in my area. Luck of the draw, I guess.

[BluMunk]

Thinking just about 88s here, locally I see, in descending order of frequency:

 

Nord - the single most prevalent by far.
Roland - Roland RD's of all eras can frequently be seen. 
Kawai - A few jazzers (is that a word?) in town play on Kawais; an ES7 I think, and an MP-something.
Korg - A few SV1/SV2s, as well as occasional sightings of old Tritons. I don't think I've ever seen anyone local gigging with a Kronos.
Yamaha - actually, I don't really know that I see anyone gigging here with an 88 key Yammy. Well, brother Fortner has a CP I know he's taken out. But that's kind of it. 
Casio - I gig a PX5S. And I occasionally see a road-weary Privia wielded by a singer-songwriter
Kurzweil - I have never (almost) seen one in the wild newer than the PC2
 

[CEB]

Hammond, anything else is just a clone.

[nadroj]

Nord and Korg by a country mile. 

[stillearning]

Nord and Roland. When I see a clonewheel it’s usually a Hammond.

[El Lobo]

Nord

[Sean M. H.]

Definitely Yamahas far and away in the gospel world...all versions of Motifs and their related boards (MOXF for example)...

 

After that, it's a mix of Nords and Korgs (Kronos and some old Tritons)...followed by Roland and others

 

Rarely ever see Kurzweils around...which is ironic, because my primary gig axe right now is a PC4.  I have a Roland Fantom-07 for gigs where I need 2 boards (formerly had an FA-07).  

 

I do in fact have a Yamaha MOXF as well, but I've relegated that to home/studio duties.  Musicians around here have all sorts of questions when I break out the Kurzweil lol.

[RABid]

I'm seeing a lot of really cheap keyboards now. Not many premium workstations.

[Outkaster]

Nord , Yamaha, Korg. and Roland.  Never Hammond.  Most guys play what they have access to and play out with a lot of cheap gear also.

[cphollis]

Rarely will I see I nicer keyboard in my local market, unless it was a bigger act coming through.  I'm discounting the "duo with backing tracks" tiki bar acts, plenty of arrangers there.  What few non-arranger keys players there are tend to use what looks like CL or pawn shop gear.  There is one guy who brings a nice Hammond chop to his gigs, which is always nice to listen to. 

[uhoh7]

On 4/21/2022 at 6:38 PM, Sean M. H. said:

Definitely Yamahas far and away in the gospel world...all versions of Motifs and their related boards (MOXF for example)...

I do in fact have a Yamaha MOXF as well, but I've relegated that to home/studio duties.  Musicians around here have all sorts of questions when I break out the Kurzweil lol.

Haha....very interesting, I do wonder if Yamaha picks up on posts like this. I know many here love the Montage and MODX. Many good things about them, but when I broke it all down, I choose the old MOXF. No regrets. I know there are a number of features MODX has it does not. But I like all those buttons, over the touch screen. The Organs are not state of the art, but as I've playing them lately, better than I'd first thought. 

 

Basically there is not a lot of competition...these are the same players as 10 years ago, no? The laptop DAW has taken pressure off for innovation? The new bits are "features" in a world of decreasing overall capability. The machines that can do the most without a DAW are using very old hardware. Yamaha bought a DAW and maybe does not want to compete against it. 

 

I have a feeling there are less engineers working on "stand alone", and instead pushing various niches, as NORD has done so well. 

Meanwhile the one new keyboard I really forward to is stuck in quarantine....somewhere in China....

 

It's not on this list. Starts with O. :)

[EscapeRocks]

Around here, I mostly see Yamaha and Roland DP's and Synth/workstations  among gigging musicians.

[CowboyNQ]

No hard data to back this up, but when it comes to DP’s my observation is Roland by a fair stretch, then Yamaha then Korg.

 

I know why this is too - All the decent backline places around the country seem to stock different versions of Roland RD’s in preference to other brands.  I always specify Korg as a first preference and rarely get one.

 

When it comes to more “do it all” type keyboards  I tend to see Kronos being used the most.

[The Piano Man]

I play Technics (P30 and P50) and they are still seen here in Scotland. 
 

Nords are definitely appearing more and more. I see people jumping on the red bandwagon, paying over the odds for a Nord and then hooking up their expensive red keyboard in mono to a Roland KC amp!

 

After this, I generally see old gear such as Roland XP models, Kurzweil K models and some cheaper Yamahas (P35/45/115 etc)

[Outkaster]

I wonder how much of this is regional also?

[Stokely]

I somehow doubt we'll see more Nords in the states now that they've done a truly huge price hike.  Not like they were cheap before.  There's one less potential Nord player:  me.  I was contemplating getting a NS3 compact but not at well over $4K, that's freaking ridiculous.

I don't get out much for music other than my own gigs, and frankly most bands around here don't have keyboards.  They either don't use them at all or run tracks (and I'm not going to sit and watch a band with tracks.)  My keyboard playing friends have gone through a gamut of different keyboards, as have I!   I'm hoping to go and check out my buddy's new Fantom 07 this week, I really want to see if the keybed is nicer than my MODX7.  It has separate sub outs too, so that is very nice if I want to use a leslie pedal.

[stoken6]

I always get the same comments on my red rig: "That's Nord isn't it. They're the best aren't they? They sound the best, don't they?"

 

Well, no, not exactly, not always, not to everyone. You know - there's room for personal preference...

 

Cheers, Mike.

[AnotherScott]

48 minutes ago, Stokely said:

I was contemplating getting a NS3 compact but not at well over $4K, that's freaking ridiculous.

but possibly working in my favor, since I think I'm going to sell my NS3 Compact. Nice to be on the right side of a price change for a change. ;-)

 

48 minutes ago, Stokely said:

 I'm hoping to go and check out my buddy's new Fantom 07 this week, I really want to see if the keybed is nicer than my MODX7. 

MODX7 has a more solid landing,  doesn't push back as much, and is more even from front to back. So... don't count on it.

[Stokely]

Ouch.  Not sure "doesn't push back as much" is a good thing though, I find the MODX7 way too light overall.   I don't remember liking the FA series so you are probably right.   I'll find out tomorrow!  Also going to try out my Lester K against the built-in leslie.  I'm very happy at how much better it makes my Kurzweil organs sound.  Getting some really fun results running clavs and other instruments through it too.

I'm pretty sure that if I were to get a Fantom--which is far from a need anyway--it would not be the 0.  After reading and watching some comparisons, I think I'd be happier with the bigger one despite it's size, weight and cost.   Used on GC might be the way to go, there were two Fantom 6s on there but they were snapped up.  And as I said in the other thread, the Juno X has my interest.

[Docbop]

One thing that helps drive Nord sales is they hold their value when selling on the used market.     I know for me be it buying cars,  musical instruments, or any pricey item resale is important part of buying decision.