Advice on a new syth please :)

Hello all. keysmccarthy here. Its been a while since I've written on this thing.

So, the long of the short of it is, I am a professional musician who gigs about 3 or 4 times a week and along with my Korg SP-200 stage piano, I am still using a Yamaha PSR 550 for a synth when I play live.

On a positive note for the Yamaha, I do believe (for a cheap keyboard) the sounds, (especially the acoustic sounds) of the PSR range are great and also, MIDI capabilities and pitch bend, etc, are about as adventurous as a musician such as myself needed, or even wanted....until now.

But quite honestly, it is not designed as a live gigging instrument (which is evident in the fact that it has a "Output/Phones" output - cutting off the internal speakers when a jack lead is taken from the board to a DI or amp). That, in addition the the fact that is not a full sized keyboard, that it is really intended to be a starter board, and that I wish to broaden my horizons and get more out of a synth and therefore- live gigging, make me want a change.

I've been doing a bit of research on the matter, and one that caught my eye was the Roland Juno-stage. I have never played a Roland, however, it is a 76 key light weight synth with 128 voices, pitch bender, MIDI outs, XLR mic input (with phantom power), USB port, the ability to save "favourite" patches to easy to reach buttons, etc etc etc. One thing that did stand out in particular, which I thought would be a brilliant addition, is the Patch selector PEDAL - meaning you never have to take your hands off the keyboard.

However, as good this keyboard seemed, and as right for me as it seemed, at £1000 (sterling), it is a little out of my price range.

I wonder if anyone out there in keyboard Forums, knows of a synth at around the £600 mark or less that isnt that dissimilar to the Roland Juno-stage. If not, could anyone at least point me in the right direction.

Any advice at all on the matter, including that of, "Wise up keysmccarthy, you'll never get what you're looking for for that money"...will be greatly appreciated

Cheers
keysmccarthy

hi keysmccarthy, have you thought about trying to find a used one?

and if you dont mind used boards, try a used triton or maybe a motif. their both workstations but i think they would be great for you.

i think that would send you in the right direction,

I never had a "thing" for Roland. It seems they never offer stuff every other brand does for the price they sell their keyboards for.

Switching sounds with a pedal is really a basic workstation operation, and every
mid-range workstation can handle that.

If you need a good synth-workstation take a look at the mentioned Triton line (extreme preferably), the Motif ES
(the newer XS is out of the price range), Yamaha MO (Exact copy of the motif ES without the sampler option and with 64 note polyphony)
and the Korg M50 (which is basically the M3 without the sampler, KARMA, and some other stuff you won't be needing).

Note that Yamaha has great acoustic sounds, pianos, e-pianos, while Korg has better
pads/strings. Once you narrow it down - go check the keyboards at the local store

Thanks very much for your help guys. Checking out the Korgs at the minute.

Ill keep yous posted!


keysmccarthy

I've replaced all my live gear with a single Juno Stage. Sounds great, very light, keys feel good. A great gigging keyboard. Maybe look for a second hand one?

The Korg M50-73 has really caught my eye. Read some brilliant reviews on it, its bigger than the 61 (which is too small) and does not have weighted keys like the 88 key model.

However, everywhere I look, it seems to be going for around £1000 Sterling. Although, some of the American sites have it going for around $1300 American dollars. With the exchange rate being as it is (around 50pence to the dollar) theres a big difference in price here, for the same board!

Is it plausable to ship the keyboard over to Ireland from the states, or will that cost me around the same money as just buying it over here? In which case, I would save the "hanlin" (meaning "trouble" in Ireland) of shipping, etc.

Hoping someone can help :S


keysmccarthy

It's always been like that. Prices in America are almost half as the prices we're having here.

For example: I payed my Yamaha CP33 around 1200€. The price in America is only 999$. That makes a difference of almost 400€ (or almost 500$)

So you're saying the price of the shipping wouldnt be worth it, and to just buy the gear over here?

dang guys i am sorry for you guys over there. i had no idea that it was that bad. makes be happy to be in america even if we have..... well lets just say we have problems....

Yea... Try getting on the "good side" of the store and you might get a discount.

I bought tons of stuff at our local Yamaha dealer so i get up to 30% off the price.
Try to save up cash too - that usually "helps" them to give you even more off the price