Good keyboard amp?

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I am planning on buying a yamaha Mo8 and i do not know anything about amps. what would be a good amp to buy that is around 400 dollars that i would use for a fix of playing small gigs and home use?
 
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Hijacking this thread for a short question regarding keyboard amps. I haven't really understood what they're used for, I suppose that I need one if I have a keyboard without onboard speakers, but would it be enough to just buy speakers, and connect them to the keyboard? Or do I need an amp there in between?

Sorry for hijacking the thread, just didn't feel like creating a new thread for a short question like that.

Thanks in advance :)
 
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It really depends how much power you need. When I'm gigging I'm normally plugged into PA with my amp as a monitor, but at home I use internal speakers for keyboards with them and some 2.1 PC speakers for everything else.
 
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Okey, so at home, rehearsals and maybe small gigs, regular speakers would do. But when you need more power and more volume, I might be in need of an amp?
 
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That's right.

I bought the biggest of the KC-series, the KC-550, some months ago. Now I kind of regret it. It's not that I don't like the amp, the sound is perfect for my needs, it's just that it's too big, I'm probably only using one fifth of the amp's power. :rolleyes: I probably should have gone for 2x KC-150 for a stereo setup instead. But all in all, the Roland keyboard amplifiers rock! :D

<<Gratwhol>>
 
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Great, then I know. Thanks :D

You really learn something new every day on these forums xD
 
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Keyboard Amp

There are many good keyboard amps out there.
You MUST get around and listen to all or as many keyboard amps as you can before you put your hard earned money $ down. Then make your selection.
I failed to do that!
But the great one's are separated by price, size and their conditions for usage.
a) Will you be carrying them (constantly) for gigs?
considering weight of them amp and your lumbar area.
b) Are they going to placed in your home studio or as a hobbyist?
Enough room must be calculated to place a pair running stereo, or single amp
I had a pair of Mackie SRM-350 monitors with 10in woofers theyre good little workhorses with nice high end and roll off in the low end too soon. >ightwieght too.
I return/exchanged them for Mackie SRM-450 monitors with 12in woofers, a little more fatter on the low end and more power.
Good Luck!
 
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Behringer truths (B2031A) possibly the best price/quality speakers there are.
They're studio speakers but work perfectly on a synth for example.
 
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Oooh oooh!

Just another on the KC-150. I think it's not that great, even though it's OK. However, it really sucks at acoustic piano sounds IMHO. That's why I've put mine for sale (Pssst, don't warn potential buyers).

I prefer monitors. I haven't actually got a real set of studio monitors, I just found two gorgeous second-hand B&O speakers - paid 40 kroner / 8 dollars - and the sound is a lot better than the KC-150's, if you ask me. And another bonus is that I've got stereo now, har har!

:)
 
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Roland vs peavey

Hey there,

Try the Roland KC-series. The KC-150 should be the one for you, considering your needs: http://www.zzounds.com/item--ROLKC150

<<Gratwhol>>

I hope you don't mind if I jump in this thread.

I have a Peavey KB-2 amp. I have been thinking of selling it & getting a Roland KC 60 instead. Main reason? Because it is 10 lbs lighter!

Yes...I'm the old gal who couldn't go to a jam last week cause I sprained my back. I have chronic back problems and the peavey amp is 37 lbs, plus it has a fat profile that makes it necessary to stoop over to carry it, so ergonomics is out the window.

Of course the guy at Sam Ash told me how much better the Roland KC sounds than the Peavey (there wasn't one there to listen to). Then I saw a review saying how the KC 60 was way too soft for anything but practice (I'm not planning to play stadiums, but I'd like to at least hear myself at jams where there's guitars, drums etc.).

Can anyone compare these 2 amps?
 
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Yes...I'm the old gal who couldn't go to a jam last week cause I sprained my back. I have chronic back problems and the peavey amp is 37 lbs, plus it has a fat profile that makes it necessary to stoop over to carry it, so ergonomics is out the window.
I hope your back is feeling better, Laura!

Is there a relatively easy way to move these things without killing your back? Perhaps strapped to a hand truck of some kind? I look at the amps in the stores, first wondering about sound, then wondering about the best way to move them without throwing my back out.
 
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Hi There

Hi Laura
Hope your back is healed and little or no pain exists.
I sympathize with your back condition, i have been diagnosed thru MRI that a bulging disc exists in my lower vertebrae.
I would like to see you use a hand truck (cart) to stack you gear, amp etc.
I do not have on yet but i've narrowed it down to 2 choices.
In the back of Keyboard mag there is an advertisement off hand i'm unable to recollect but email me and i'll make more if an effort for the both of us.
I own a pair of Mackie SRM-450's they are setup next to my rig. I do not gig yet, still developing my skills (self taught). The amp i would like to get would be BARBETA SE41c.
Goodluck!
 
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+1 to the hand truck idea. I own a Motion Sound KP-200s, weighing in at 55 lb! No way in hell I"m lifting that unless I absolutely have to. 37 lb should be light enough that lifting it whenever you can't roll it would work no? Albeit I don't have back problems so I can't comment, but seriously... get something with wheels... hand truck or otherwise.

Or a powered speaker with a 10" cone... i.e. JBL eon 10 or Mackie SRM350... cheaper than the barbeta I think. From what I've seen... keyboard amps (as opposed to powered speakers) tend to be heavier when looking at similiar volume/wattage.
 
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Hi there,
which amp would you recommed for home and studio playing for beginners - no playing gigs or sth, just, you know for home usage mainly - is there some kind of compatibility btw keys and amps? or is it more like, accoustic sounds are better here and there, but strings suck - can an amp make the sounds better?

thanks for replies

kopec
 
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As long as your keyboard has 1/4" output (or, at least, 1/8" output with a 1/8" female to 1/4" male adapter), any amp will work. You'll want a keyboard amp instead of a guitar amp, since guitar amps are designed to colour the sound while the goal of a keyboard amp is to reproduce the sound most accurately. Sure, you *can* use your amp to colour the sound, but since you'll be playing a large variety of sounds at different pitch ranges on your keyboard, colour wouldn't make sense: you wouldn't want the same colour applied to a bass sound as you would to brass.

A particular amp may be slightly better at doing strings, for example, than another, but that would be because that amp more accurately reproduces the frequency in the range you're looking at.

Your best bet here is to go to your local music store and try out a few amps with the same keyboard to see what sounds best to you. Ideally, use the keyboard you already have, but it probably doesn't matter that much. With keyboard amps, you're comparing overall sound quality as opposed to how your instrument sounds through the amp.
 
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As long as your keyboard has 1/4" output (or, at least, 1/8" output with a 1/8" female to 1/4" male adapter), any amp will work. You'll want a keyboard amp instead of a guitar amp, since guitar amps are designed to colour the sound while the goal of a keyboard amp is to reproduce the sound most accurately. Sure, you *can* use your amp to colour the sound, but since you'll be playing a large variety of sounds at different pitch ranges on your keyboard, colour wouldn't make sense: you wouldn't want the same colour applied to a bass sound as you would to brass.

A particular amp may be slightly better at doing strings, for example, than another, but that would be because that amp more accurately reproduces the frequency in the range you're looking at.

Your best bet here is to go to your local music store and try out a few amps with the same keyboard to see what sounds best to you. Ideally, use the keyboard you already have, but it probably doesn't matter that much. With keyboard amps, you're comparing overall sound quality as opposed to how your instrument sounds through the amp.

thanks

kopec
 

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