80's, brass, piano, organ, synth - which board has it all for giging player?

[NancyC]

I'm going crazy trying to find the right board. I'm a key/rhythm guitar player, so I need the keys to sound good but also to be user friendly. I've been using a KORG N364 for several years. It has lots of nice 80's synth stuff and good brass patches, but lacks greatly in the piano department, plus the board is wearing out. I recently purchased a Motif 61. I'm not happy with it. Maybe I'm wrong, but most of the sounds seem really midrangy; they don't cut through.......lots of fluff sounds and the piano stuff wasn't even that great. I know I could spend tons of time editing each sound and adding new sounds, but I'm busy and just don't feel like putting 15 hours into creating sounds for each song we play. Anyway, any input would be majorly appreciated.

 

[satchmo]

I'm going crazy trying to find the right board. I'm a key/rhythm guitar player, so I need the keys to sound good but also to be user friendly. I've been using a KORG N364 for several years. It has lots of nice 80's synth stuff and good brass patches, but lacks greatly in the piano department, plus the board is wearing out. I recently purchased a Motif 61. I'm not happy with it. Maybe I'm wrong, but most of the sounds seem really midrangy; they don't cut through.......lots of fluff sounds and the piano stuff wasn't even that great. I know I could spend tons of time editing each sound and adding new sounds, but I'm busy and just don't feel like putting 15 hours into creating sounds for each song we play. Anyway, any input would be majorly appreciated.

The Motif XS series and the Roland Fantom have the most sounds of the type you are describing. But they do require tweaking. I think you'll have a really hard time finding a board that does all of the above right out of the box.

 

[kanthos]

I'd suggest the Korg M3 as an option, if it's in your price range. It's pretty much the first Korg (other than the $7,500+ OASYS) that has really good piano sounds that would suit any context; earlier Korgs are definitely not the instrument of choice for classical and jazz. It's also got good reviews and ratings, is cheaper than the Yamaha Motif line, and, in my opinion, has better string and brass sounds than Roland (although, I admittedly haven't listened to demos or tried the Fantom G series, only the Fantom X and Juno series; the Fantom G might be much better in that regard).

Your best bet is to go into a music store and try out a bunch. Make some notes about what you do and don't like. You know best what sounds you're trying to achieve. Basically though, any of the workstation lines (not necessarily the arranger lines, those which tend to have built-in speakers) by Roland, Korg, or Yamaha will probably suit your needs to some extent.