Synth to replace Fender Rhodes Piano Bass

[Henry Cobb]

Hello everyone.

I'm a keyboard player in a band, and I need a keyboard I can play with my left hand to cover basslines. Basically, I'm looking to be a bit more like Ray Manzarek from the Doors.

A Fender Rhodes Piano bass would be ideal, but they are unbelievably expensive ($4500~).
So I guess my question is this:

Is there any sort of synth that can make sounds similar to either a bass guitar or a Fender Rhodes Bass?
If so, what synth would be the best at doing this?

I really don't want it to sound synth-y at all, I'd just like some pure bass tones.

Thank you in advance to any and all who answer my question!

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Most any portable ROMpler keyboard should have plenty of bass sounds to choose from-- acoustic bass guitar, electric bass guitar, upright bass, synth bass, etc.

As far as synths, there are several smaller synths (octave-wise) that might be good for this, but I've no experience with any of them and so can't recommend any specific ones.

Another alternative might be to get a small MIDI keyboard controller and use it with a laptop running virtual instruments.