Robby520 Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 Can any of you give me advice on best gigging keyboard for 500-800? I will be playing light rock, maybe something like death cab for cutie, something that can produce good synth sounds, thanks for reading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 Casio Privia is a good starting point for you, mate. Regards, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby520 Posted February 13, 2006 Author Share Posted February 13, 2006 Thank you man, i really appreciate respone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Roland XP30 or Yamaha CS6 perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesdisciple Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 I have a Casio WK 3700. Nice sounds all around. Easy to use for gigs---you can store sounds in preset keys for easy recall. You can split sounds, layer sounds and record backing tracks too. $ 400.00 for the board, around $ 100.00 for a nice soft case. Check it out. Don't be put off by the Casio name---this is not a home toy keyboard at all. BD 1956 Hammond C3 with Leslie 122, Roland V-Combo, Trek II Preamp, Peavey KB 100, 1976 Natural Maple Rickenbacker 4001S bass And yes folks, I do gig with a Casio WK 3700...So there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesdisciple Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Also, if you are looking for a board from the "big 3" (Roland, Korg, Yamaha), Roland makes a nice little arranger-style board for around $ 600. I believe Korg has come out with a similar board too. I chose my Casio over the Roland for a number of reasons derived from a side-by-side test. The Roland is a sturdier-looking board though. I liked the features of the Casio better, even though the sounds were a tad bit weaker. BD 1956 Hammond C3 with Leslie 122, Roland V-Combo, Trek II Preamp, Peavey KB 100, 1976 Natural Maple Rickenbacker 4001S bass And yes folks, I do gig with a Casio WK 3700...So there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 In the used market, you can get a Yamaha Motif, Korg Triton, of Roland Fantom S at the top of your price range. This is if you need both sampled sounds and synth sounds. These are true professional boards, just a few years old. For just synth sounds, The Alesis Ion and soon to be released Roland SH-201 are hands-on VAs and priced new in the bottom of your range. But this guy doesn't know what "death cab for cutie" is, so maybe my recommendations are off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Ward MP Hall of Fame Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Yeah, bill makes a good call there. No reason to shell out $800 for a new board when you can get a used one that's substantially better for that price. My first real board was a used Jv-1000 that I paid $800 for. I love it and I'm glad I got that over the other ones I was looking at. I don't know too much about the Motif, but it seems like a solid board. The Fantom series is great as far as I'm concerned. So basically... what he said. "...Keytar in a heavy metal band is nothing more than window dressing" - Sven Golly Cursed Eternity - My Band Dick Ward - My Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DafDuc Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Alesis QS-8.x: 8.1's are the best, but 8.2's can be had new for $799. 8.0 and 8.1 are sturdier - metal chassis vs. plastic - and have an extra plugin for Q-cards. Decent sounds, though pianos and EP's aren't the best. If you want something smaller, 6.1, 6.2, 7.0, and 7.1 are great too. And dirt cheap used. Stay away from 6.0 - different sound engine. Icky-poo. Kurz KME-61 is cheap too, $5-600ish, with great sounds, but no sound editing. I played in an 8 piece horn band. We would often get bored. So...three words: "Tower of Polka." - Calumet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Ward MP Hall of Fame Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 drooool... metal chassis... "...Keytar in a heavy metal band is nothing more than window dressing" - Sven Golly Cursed Eternity - My Band Dick Ward - My Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverDragonSoun Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 I have a Casio WK 3700. Nice sounds all around. Easy to use for gigs---you can store sounds in preset keys for easy recall. You can split sounds, layer sounds and record backing tracks too. $ 400.00 for the board, around $ 100.00 for a nice soft case. Check it out. Don't be put off by the Casio name---this is not a home toy keyboard at all. I disagree. There are many better options that the WK3700. Casio has done wellwith the privia series but having some first hand knowledge with a friend who tried to record and gig the wk3700, I can tell you better options are out there for what you want to spend. There are some great used boards out there that will give you some serious bang for you buck. Begin the day with a friendly voice A companion, unobtrusive - Rush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidLifeCrisis Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Got to second Daf's QS x.1 recommedation. They give you a lot of bang for the buck and you can pick them up very reasonably. The 6.1 and 7.1 are running in the $300 - $350 range. Nice action, great mellotron and fun synth sounds. Some decent organ and a few of the EP/Piano layered sounds are fun. I still gig with mine. Steve A Lifetime of Peace, Love and Protest Music www.rock-xtreme.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 I would check around for a used Yamaha S80 also. I got mine at Guitar Center used for $800 almost a year ago and I LOVE it. The pianos are pretty good, EPs are the best, lots of synth type stuff. Action is on the hard side, so if you're not an experienced piano player you may have a hard time with that. The nice thing with that board if you're going to use it for synth is that you can edit the crap out of everything, layer up to 16 sounds in any configuration anywhere on the keyboard. You can control TONS of different paramaters using the wheels, two pedals, and a breath controller if you get them separately. On top of that you can expand it later with plug in boards (there are a couple that are specialized synth machines.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby520 Posted February 15, 2006 Author Share Posted February 15, 2006 Wow guys, thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it, now that i have some good ideas on boards, imma do some serious research, thank you all for the reccomendations, i appreciate them very much and ill let you guys know what i end up with. Thank you again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamis Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 I have to second both the S80 and the QSx.1. The S80 is great and the weighted keyboard is generally well liked. The QS7.1 is a versatile board also. Yamis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroehmann Showman Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 As you can see by my Avatar, I swear by the Alesis. Everyone will prefer different keyboards, based on what style they play (by the way, this is one of the most important questions you can ask a keyboard player when asking for advice on equipment). In my estimation, the Alesis QS series is not the best in any area, but they get an A-/B+ grade in every area you can think of (feel, sounds, upgrading capability, etc.) It sounds like that's what you're looking for... The QS8 series is HEAVY. The QS7 has a few less keys, but it MUCH lighter. Check it out... Another good series is the Roland Fantom series. They came out after the QS series, so I haven't gotten into them, but they seem to be the future of this type of board. If you can find one used, I'd probably even suggest that route first... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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