Best rig for gigs, for advanced player who's not gear-savvy?

Jon

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Hi,

I'm a drummer/band leader writing on behalf of our keyboard player, who's an extremely accomplished pianist but has very little experience with electronic gear. She needs a rig for gigs that...
- has a great action, like a real piano
- is very easy to use in terms of selecting (and switching between) sounds quickly
- can split the keyboard into two voices
- can store preset splits (that are quick and easy for the player to select once they're stored)
- has basic sounds: acoustic piano, organ, synth, brass, strings. (Our set list doesn't require a huge palette.)
- isn't tremendously heavy.

I'd be most grateful for any recommendations or advice. I'm not sure of her price tolerance so I'd like to be able to pass along suggestions in several "neighborhoods": ~$250; ~$500; ~$750; ~$1,000; ~$1,500. We're not averse to used gear if it's reliable.

Thanks in advance!
 
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Nord Electro4 HP76 should be available used for under 1500 dollars US. Great pianos,organ,synth is 'static'.....
and no wallwart(+) power supply! Fatar keyboard action,yummy!
Yamaha MOX8/MOXF8 used? less than 1200.Decent pianos,light weight,digital inputs.Many useable sounds.
Korg Krome 88,decent pianos,light,nice 'screen',about 1000 used.
Both the Yammy and Korg use wallwart(-) power supplies, and have GHA piano action(+)...
Summarize, Nord is best built,Yamaha has Motif LE sound engine,Korg has nice user interface.
Wouldn't balk at any of these 'entry level' keys,they have all been around since 2013.
Apologies to those who regard the Electro4 as other than 'entry level',it really is a pro keyboard.
YMMV.
 
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Welcome.

Up to $1000 check out Korg Kross2, Roland Juno DS 88,

Up to $1500 then the Korg Krome, Roland FA 8

Nord keyboards are great these would be my first choice the real beauty of a Nord is that all the prime adjustments are on the keyboard and not buried deep in a menu system

Korg and Roland in particular have great Video Tutorials in the use of their keyboards where each tutorial covers a basic function, Korg are labelled as Video Manual and Roland as Product Support. These will give a basic understanding of using the keyboard.

Once your keyboard player has a shortlist and has learned about said keyboards a pre-arranged visit to a music store to test out the keyboards will be a great help.

Good luck.
 

happyrat1

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One more "intermediate" keyboard worth mentioning is the Kurzweil Artis and the SP6-8 Stage Piano. For a gigging musician these cut a decent compromise between flexibility of programs/patches and ease of transport and durability.

Gary ;)
 

Rayblewit

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Hey guys
I hate to burst your bubble but Jon was last seen here 5 yrs ago.
I doubt he will even consider your recommendations now.:D
Ray
 

happyrat1

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Rats!!!!

Biggles sucked me in!!!!!

Still, maybe, jussssst maybe, the next noob who asks this question will actually bother reading similar posts before posting the identical question for the 400,000th time :p

Gary ;)
 
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Yeah and I was sucked in by Valleyboy.

No Noob EVER does a search if any forum, hell they do not even RTFM, its easier to ask a question in a new thread.

What really does take the preverbial is when they post and do not come back, mind you in Jon’s case he probably came back a few times and then thought it would be easier to get a new Keyboard player who had their own electronic Workstation than to faff about theying to get his keyboard player sorted.
 

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