New member

[Dinkley]

Hello everyone!

I'm Dan, and whilst I've been playing piano for roughly 15 yrs, I've never delved deep into the world of keyboards. However, I've recently joined a funk band, and I need a 'board in the region of £1000 ($2000USD). My top priorities are:

* Action - the weightless keyboards I've played (regardless of touch sensitivity) mess with my timing and feel too eager to play after years on a piano. I need something with a good weight to it, and an intuitive response to a piano player.

* Electric Piano Sound - I'm not that bothered about acoustic piano sounds, but the electric's got to be just right. If anybody know John Martyn, that chiming sound off I Don't Wanna Know (solid air) is what I'm after, and a funky crossover clav sound would be a bonus (think early stevie wonder).

*Transpose would be a plus for ease of jamming and tuning - we've all got our favorite key sigs, and i get tired of playing in E and A. give me black notes!

I tried a Roland RD 700 SX at a local keyboard store and was very impressed by the action and electric piano sounds, and this sits neatly in my budget. However, I am reluctant to buy the first keyboard I see!

If anyone has any recommendations of their own, or experience with the aforementioned Roland then this would all be very helpful to me. Thanks for reading!

Dan

 

[Gratwhol]

Hello there. It seems like the Roland RD 700 SX comes with everything you wanted in a keyboard, Hammer-effect keys - feels just like real piano keys.

I have not heard this keyboard in action myself, but since you think the sounds are impressive, that's not much of problem is it? And yes, this keyboard has got the transpose feature, no worries there. One thing though, it appears to come without any speakers, so you would probably want to buy a couple of studio monitors or a keyboard amplifier.

Seems like a great keyboard all in all, but I haven't had the chance to try it myself.

An optional suggestion could be the Yamaha S90 ES: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/S90es
Again, no speakers, but it's a great keyboard, I've played this one myself, and it's a beauty in every way.

Oh btw, welcome to the forum!

<<Gratwhol>>

 

[Dinkley]

Cheers Gratwohl!
I went ahead and bought the RD700SX in the end, with 2 roland 60W amps for stereo and it sound sweet as you like!

I remember playing a yamaha in the shop (I don't remember whether it was the S90ES) but it didn't resonate with me in quite the same way that the roland did, and it sounded slightly bright for my tastes, although this was more than likely the amplification. I've always liked yamaha pianos, but I play a kawai, so it's second choice again!

I can't believe I doubted that it would have transpose - after reading the manual until 5am! - but the stuff this thing can do is great, especially considering that it has a nice, simple appearance and easy operation which is uncomplicated by the features, I'm really enjoying using it and it's got a good difficulty curve on it.

Thanks for the warm welcome, great to be a member! Cheers

 

[Gratwhol]

I'm glad you found a keyboard that matches your needs. The roland keyboard amplifiers are great! I decided to go for the biggest one because I need the power when playing live. However, it would be sweet with a stereo setup, but buying another KC-550 is gonna be too expencive! Guess I'll have to live with a mono setup for a little while longer

<<Gratwhol>>