Beginner Keyboard for Prog Rock Fan

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Numa Compact 2x : physical drawbar controls, good allround semi-weighted keybed, good built-in sounds, great MIDI capabilities, USB audio interface, aftertouch and paired with a base iPad (more than capable enough for sound modules, which there are plenty of and of high quality).
The 2x, iPad and a pair of speakers would be under the $1500 budget, I believe.

Of course, I still consider myself to be a novice myself, so I could be missing the mark completely...
 
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Numa Compact 2X is an okay starting point on a tight budget, but we can do better here. Limitations from a prog rock organ/synth and learning perspective are that the organ/Leslie sound is so-so (particularly weak on overdrive), synth editing is limited and menu-based, and there's no monophonic lead function (including no portamento).

Since we're also talking about used options, another board in the "entry level" category and price range would be the Casio XW-P1. It's only 61 keys and has no aftertouch, but its synth functions (both monophonic and polyphonic) are much stronger; synth editing functions are still menu-based but it has the advantage of having a computer editor; organ still has Leslie/overdrive issues, but you can address that if/when needed via an external pedal. Adding the pedal is more viable on the Casio than the Numa, because the Casio lets you pan your sounds to one side of the other, meaning you could put the pedal on just your organ sounds (which you'd have panned to one side) and not worry about other sounds going through it (since they'd be panned to the other side), a flexibility that the Numa doesn't have. Both boards are respectable MIDI controllers, letting you use their 9 sliders for MIDI functions. (In fact, the Casio supports 4 MIDI zones, while the Numa supports 2.) I also like that Casio lets you select sounds with buttons, whereas the Numa depends on the scroll wheel. That Casio was one of my favorite budget boards, it's a shame it's been discontinued. (As for the Numa, it retains advantages in its sampled sounds, so, for example, it's much better for pianos/EPs.)

Still for the task at hand and available budget, we've covered better stuff here.
 
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I was also thinking, the Hammond SK1, comes in 61, 73 and 88 flavours. 88 keys are not weighted piano keys but are heavier than the other two.
61 and 73 seem to be hard to find, 88 not a problem (73 and 88 model might be over budget).
Spotlights are on organ, of course, but they seem to have a nice collection of AP, EP and synth as well. Plus, they look the part !

73 and 88 are over budget but hey, if you want something...






https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-XBmjxYuFo
 
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I was also thinking, the Hammond SK1, comes in 61, 73 and 88 flavours...Spotlights are on organ, of course, but they seem to have a nice collection of AP, EP and analog synth as well.
Nah. Organ, sure. But there is no virtual analog synth, merely a handful of samples, with zero editability, no monophonic/portamento capability, no modulation functions, etc. All this was addressed in the new SK Pro, which could be a consideration if budget can stretch that high. (It's too new to find used.)
 
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Yeah, the SK Pro, seen that, too but way over budget... So, I thought, SK1, sounds really nice, and perhaps TS could do without all the editability...
Still, I don't think there's a board that meets TS's expectations within that budget.
 
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