desperately need advice

[ArtGuy2]

ok. So i am about to get all new gear. I have been playing on a Yamaha Clavinova for the last 13 years and have finally decided to get serious about the music thing; so i need a complete overhaul. Here are the requirements i need:

 

1) an excellent weighted-hammer-action-so-damn-close-to-an-actual-piano-you-won't-believe-it's-not-a-steinway keyboard.

 

2) a bunch of so-perfectly-sampled-that-you-won't-believe-it's-not-the-real-thing piano, organ, hammond, wurli, rodes, etc. voices

 

3) really good percussion, string, and cool synth voices

 

4) a sequencer

 

...and it can't cost over $3,000 (really. and that's REALLY pushing it for me)

 

anyway, i know that i'm dreaming, but i figured that some of you gearheads out there would be able to give me some suggestions -- just do me a favor, if you are going to recommend something to me, could you give me some details about it as i am totally out of touch with the current models.

 

Also, it doesn't matter to me if i get just a single workstation, or if i get a controller and a rack mount. I don't really know which would be the most advantageous for me.

 

Anyway, any help would me SO greatly appreciated. i went into Sam Ash today and just got more confused. plus, i'd rather get advice from people who AREN'T trying to get a commission from me.

 

anyone who wants to can e-mail me privately at ArtGuy2@yahoo.com

 

 

thanks again

[sbrock1san.rr.com]

I'd like to make a few suggestions. It's better to have more than one sound source because if everything is coming out of one synth it will sound one-dimensional. The real magic happens when you have different synth sounds from different manufacturers all colliding with one another. That's why I would never recommend an all-in-one unit.

 

Roland RD600-great weighted action, grand piano, realistic electronic pianos, clav.

 

Emu Proteus 2000 for synths and strings.

 

Roland MC50mkII- dead easy-to-use hardware sequencer that I see selling for 450 dollars US online. If you have a computer to sequence with that would even be better. Basic sequencer programs are inexpensive.

 

All that could be had for just under 3 grand.

[Guest]

ArtGuy: you are the ideal customer.. I would love to see you enter my store.. that is if I were still working there.

 

I initially thought to recommend the Kurzweil PC2x - it has everything you are desiring, except the sequencer. A nice sequencer to add is the Kawai Q80ex - it is a very capable sequencer and is only about $350 New. The Roland MC-50mkII recommended above is also quite good (I own one) but you would have to buy it used from either ebay or the Recycler. I think the Kawai is a tad better, I would've bought it instead but found out about it after I'd purchased the Roland.

 

For an all-in-one option, you could just barely afford either a Korg Triton ProX (usually goes for 3350 but you could get one for 3100 or so from a good dealer) or a Kurzweil K2500X. The K2500 is a slightly older model and is being closed out in many places for excellent prices. You can check out the Thread that compares these two for more info, but you'll need to try them out yourself. The Korg is a bit easier to use for a beginner although its action and its features set are of lower quality than the Kurzweil.

 

The third option is to use a dedicated Stage Piano: either the Roland RD600 or the Kawai MP9000, both of which are $1500 or so. Then you'd need a synth and a sequencer to add to the piano oriented sounds. You could go with a hardware sequencer as I mentioned above with a synth such as the Roland JV1010 or jv2080, but you could also get a Kurzweil K2500 rackmount from (I hope this hyperlink works)

musician's friend which is a killer deal at $1400. (Plus it has my lucky number (44) at the end of its ID#!) I bet they would even sweeten the deal a bit in conjunction with the Kawai MP9000....

 

Anyways, that's all the info I've got for now.. please feel free to email me with other questions, or for comparison help when you're getting closer to buying.

 

Steve