Hi I currently have a Kurzweil PC2x digital piano, which I run through a Roland KC-300 keyboard amp. I currently use the acoustic grand piano sounds most, then the rhodes sounds and then the organs. I use this setup mostly for live jazz gigs. I am about to get a Fender Rhodes electric piano. From what I have read, I gather that a Fender Rhodes won't work through most regular keyboard amps, and that it sounds best through guitar amps, like a Fender Twin Reverb or Roland Jazz Chorus 120, or even a Peavey Classic 30 or Music Man 410HD. However I know that piano sounds will not sound so great through these guitar amps. I probably won't be using both keyboards on the same gig together, but I haven't got much money to spend, so I am looking for the cheapest alternative, whereby I can get that classic authentic Rhodes sound, when I use the rhodes, and also retain the beautiful acoustic grand piano sound on the PC2x, when I use that. Thanks very much
Hi Jon I've been in the Roskilde festival backlineservice (amongst other funktions) for almost 10 years and there is a reason why everybody's ordering th fender twin reverb or Roland Jc120 I must have seen the first 200 cases of that wish so I say go for it, you can't go wrong and also these amps can give your grand pianosound a bit of color. best regards Henning vincent "Jon" <> wrote in message news:... > Hi > > I currently have a Kurzweil PC2x digital piano, which I run through a > Roland KC-300 keyboard amp. I currently use the acoustic grand piano > sounds most, then the rhodes sounds and then the organs. I use this > setup mostly for live jazz gigs. > > I am about to get a Fender Rhodes electric piano. From what I have > read, I gather that a Fender Rhodes won't work through most regular > keyboard amps, and that it sounds best through guitar amps, like a > Fender Twin Reverb or Roland Jazz Chorus 120, or even a Peavey Classic > 30 or Music Man 410HD. However I know that piano sounds will not > sound so great through these guitar amps. > > I probably won't be using both keyboards on the same gig together, but > I haven't got much money to spend, so I am looking for the cheapest > alternative, whereby I can get that classic authentic Rhodes sound, > when I use the rhodes, and also retain the beautiful acoustic grand > piano sound on the PC2x, when I use that. > > Thanks very much
"Jon" <> wrote in message news:... > Hi > > I currently have a Kurzweil PC2x digital piano, which I run through a > Roland KC-300 keyboard amp. I currently use the acoustic grand piano > sounds most, then the rhodes sounds and then the organs. I use this > setup mostly for live jazz gigs. > > I am about to get a Fender Rhodes electric piano. From what I have > read, I gather that a Fender Rhodes won't work through most regular > keyboard amps, and that it sounds best through guitar amps, like a > Fender Twin Reverb or Roland Jazz Chorus 120, or even a Peavey Classic > 30 or Music Man 410HD. However I know that piano sounds will not > sound so great through these guitar amps. > > I probably won't be using both keyboards on the same gig together, but > I haven't got much money to spend, so I am looking for the cheapest > alternative, whereby I can get that classic authentic Rhodes sound, > when I use the rhodes, and also retain the beautiful acoustic grand > piano sound on the PC2x, when I use that. > > Thanks very much I'd suggest getting a POD pro, or something similar in the way of amp modeling and keep the Roland you already have. You can run the Rhodes through the modeling device into the keyboard amp which is essentially flat. Gerry
In article <>, Jon <> wrote: >However I know that piano sounds will not >sound so great through these guitar amps. I routinely play regular piano through a Fender Deluxe on the clean channel. It's loud as hell, and crystal clear, and it's a whole lot of fun to play through the overdrive channel too. I think it's every bit as good as any of the solid state "keyboard amps" I've heard. Big Fender tube amps have plenty of bottom end for piano, and they are quite clean yet warm, so I don't quite understand what the problem is supposed to be. Probably, a bass amp would be a better fit for piano. But the circuit on my Deluxe is precisely the same as the same-year Bassman head, so that argument is out the window as far as I'm concerned. We're talking about rock piano only, right? I don't think anything about this setup is a good idea for chamber music
> I am about to get a Fender Rhodes electric piano. From what I have > read, I gather that a Fender Rhodes won't work through most regular > keyboard amps, and that it sounds best through guitar amps, like a > Fender Twin Reverb or Roland Jazz Chorus 120, or even a Peavey Classic > 30 or Music Man 410HD. The only thing I can imagine you might mean by "won't work" would be that the Fender doesn't put out quite as high a level as a typical modern keyboard. Or maybe the sound is really biased in EQ in a way that, once filtered through the typical EQ imposed by a guitar amp, it sounds the way it is "supposed" to sound. Either problem is easily fixed by first running through a relatively cheap ($100 should do it) mixer. -------------- Marc Sabatella The Outside Shore Music, art, & educational materials: http://www.outsideshore.com/
My guesses are: 1) The preamp in the Rhodes is crummy, and the lack of highs from a guitar amp's speaker hides this. (You can bypass the preamp and run the pickups directly into a mixer if you want - use the RCA jack on the back corner of the keyboard/pickupassembly.) 2) Having a real keyboard as a source shows just how lousy these 15+piezo keyboard amps really are. Don't forget to take into account the issue of keeping a Rhodes tuned and voiced. My thinking is that even if you have the perfect sound on stage by using a Rhodes and a Twin (or whatever), by the time the mic and PA mess with it, the advantage will be lessened to some (possiblye a great) degree. Will the audience hear and appreciate enough of a difference to make it worth the cost and hassles (as compared to just running your PC2 direct into the PA?) "Jon" <> wrote in message news:... > Hi > > I currently have a Kurzweil PC2x digital piano, which I run through a > Roland KC-300 keyboard amp. I currently use the acoustic grand piano > sounds most, then the rhodes sounds and then the organs. I use this > setup mostly for live jazz gigs. > > I am about to get a Fender Rhodes electric piano. From what I have > read, I gather that a Fender Rhodes won't work through most regular > keyboard amps, and that it sounds best through guitar amps, like a > Fender Twin Reverb or Roland Jazz Chorus 120, or even a Peavey Classic > 30 or Music Man 410HD. However I know that piano sounds will not > sound so great through these guitar amps. > > I probably won't be using both keyboards on the same gig together, but > I haven't got much money to spend, so I am looking for the cheapest > alternative, whereby I can get that classic authentic Rhodes sound, > when I use the rhodes, and also retain the beautiful acoustic grand > piano sound on the PC2x, when I use that. > > Thanks very much
On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 20:53:43 -0800, Jon wrote: > Hi > > I currently have a Kurzweil PC2x digital piano, which I run through a > Roland KC-300 keyboard amp. I currently use the acoustic grand piano > sounds most, then the rhodes sounds and then the organs. I use this setup > mostly for live jazz gigs. > > I am about to get a Fender Rhodes electric piano. From what I have read, > I gather that a Fender Rhodes won't work through most regular keyboard > amps, and that it sounds best through guitar amps, like a Fender Twin > Reverb or Roland Jazz Chorus 120, or even a Peavey Classic 30 or Music Man > 410HD. However I know that piano sounds will not sound so great through > these guitar amps. > > I probably won't be using both keyboards on the same gig together, but I > haven't got much money to spend, so I am looking for the cheapest > alternative, whereby I can get that classic authentic Rhodes sound, when I > use the rhodes, and also retain the beautiful acoustic grand piano sound > on the PC2x, when I use that. > > Thanks very much electro-harmonix makes a nice tube preamp pedal that will boost the instrument level signal of the rhodes to a line level signal for your keyboard amp, and will also give you the characteristic tube warmth / overdrive that a guitar amp would give you. to me this seems better than an amp modeling solution because you'll retain an all analog signal path and really let the rhodes shine.
"Jon" <> wrote in message news:... > > I am about to get a Fender Rhodes electric piano. From what I have > read, I gather that a Fender Rhodes won't work through most regular > keyboard amps, and that it sounds best through guitar amps, like a > Fender Twin Reverb or Roland Jazz Chorus 120, or even a Peavey Classic > 30 or Music Man 410HD. However I know that piano sounds will not > sound so great through these guitar amps. > > I probably won't be using both keyboards on the same gig together, but > I haven't got much money to spend, so I am looking for the cheapest > alternative, whereby I can get that classic authentic Rhodes sound, > when I use the rhodes, and also retain the beautiful acoustic grand > piano sound on the PC2x, when I use that. > A *good* (Fender) tube amp won't color your piano sound that much, because part of what makes them good is the clean headroom. You'll want a sparkly clean Fender sound though, so something like a twin or a super, which will be way louder than you'll ever need for direct applications, and about 10x as loud as you'll ever need if you plan to mic it. Chances are, it will color your piano sound less than the pickup system you have in there. And a Rhodes through a blackface Super Reverb with the volume up about halfway is a beautiful thing. It adds that tiny bit of tube saturation that you hear in classic recordings (think Get Back by the Beatles) but doesn't do anything to it that could be called distortion. ryanm
