Good keyboard amp?

If you're just playing at home either a good computer speaker system might work (might blow the speakers though, I don't know) or powered monitors are the way to go. Powered monitors are designed for up-close listening... they are very clear up close but the sound does not project very far. Not ideal for gigging. Very ideal for home/studio use. Hope that helps.

If you're just going to be playing at home, computer speakers will be fine, and loud enough.

A warning about computer speakers: they're consumer-grade, and tend to colour the sound somewhat by design. It matters much less for keyboard playing than for mixing a recording, but don't be surprised if you plug your keyboard into an amp someday and it sounds slightly different in a bad way (a sound may have too much bass, not enough treble, etc.) Still, if you end up as the keyboard player in a band, that kind of subtlety probably won't be noticed by anyone but you.

That said, this is a pretty subtle thing, and shouldn't dissuade you from using computer speakers with a 1/8" female to 1/4" male adapter to save some money.

Application is everything when amplifying keyboards.

If you're playing at home, good quality monitors will be fine. At a rehearsal or gig situation, you have to look at the "range of sounds" you'll be using. Sweeping synth or fat bass patches, lower register B3 sounds tend to eat most run of the mill keyboard amps alive.

I've found that the majority of dedicated keyboard amps simply aren't up to the task. My solution was the Mackie SRM450's for my personal stage monitors (and for larger applications, or more low end, I add the SW1501 subwoofers). I use a stereo 8 channel line mixer and send the mains to the FOH, and the mon/effect send to my stage mix. Works like a charm and doesn't color the sound like some amps.

The downside? Expense and multiple cabinets (for a stereo rig).

If I had to use only one dedicated integrated keyboard amp, I found the Traynor K4 a pretty good choice and preferred it to the Roland's, but the Roland's are fine too.

Behringer all the way. i got the 150 watt version, and it is awsome. but no matter what amp u get, u need a bandana..... wait WHAt a bandana? that has noting to do with keyboards! wrap it around the handle on the top. if you dont the amp will rip your hand to shreads! well... not litterally, but the hard rubber/plastic stuff hurts your hands.

Behringer is not a good choice. Poor build quality, stuff breaks on them quite often. A friend of mine has a Behringer... don't do it. You get what you pay for; they are cheap for a reason.

Yeah, I've had nothing but trouble from Behringer, ranging from a FoH digital compressor that approximates everything to what sounds like 128kbps (when it works) and a mixer which literally blew up...

ok.....I have to tell you all somethying about keyboard amps.................BURN THEM ALL....eveyone has it in their head that because the guitarist has an amp so too must the keyboard player.....look at any well know player they dont use amps....the use monitors, their is one big reason behind this, must keyboards are designed to put out a stereo signal....this requires two speakers.....simple as

Monitors are harder to position correctly at a gig, and if you're not running into the house mixer in stereo, stereo monitors don't make any difference to anyone else. My personal preference is to get a sound as close as possible to what people in the audience would hear.

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Maybe I've missed something here, but no-one seems to have mentioned frequency
response.

The range of an 88-note piano/keyboard starts at 27.5Hz.
Hz = cycles [or vibrations, if you like] per second.
The lowest bass note (A1) is 27.5Hz, and the top note (C88) sounds at 4186Hz.

What you find with guitar amps/speakers, for example, is that the very lowest frequencies are not catered for simply because the guitar does not play notes as low as that.
If you look at the specs of many amps the lower frequencies may only go down to 50Hz -
this means that the whole of the bottom octave on an 88-note keyboard is not covered
(the 11th note - G11 - sounds at 49Hz)

Now to the treble end.
You may think that because the top note (C88) is 4186Hz, an amp that exceeds this would be ok.
Wrong!

The thing that gives any stringed instrument it's 'character' is the presence of harmonics - see examples shown here.




Illustrated are the first three harmonics, but this goes all the way up to 16.
Beyond that the audibility is negligible.

Each harmonic has a higher frequency than the one that preceded it, so high-end frequency response is equally as important as the low-end in order to ensure sound clarity and 'tone'.

Most adults (your hearing range decreases as you get older) cannot hear frequencies above about 16-18,000Hz, with a maximum of up to about 23,000Hz (in the case of a good piano-tuner, for example!).
So an amp/speaker combo exceeding this should cover the bases. 18-20,000Hz is usual for most decent quality systems.
Incidentally, a dog hears up to about 45,000Hz, a cat 64,000Hz, a mouse 91,000Hz and a porpoise
a whopping 123,000Hz!

I hope this is of some use!


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