What to buy???

[JimDavis]

From 1 to 10, 10 being the best I am an amateur musician with keyboard skills could be labeled as 3

I am 59 years old and semi-retired.

I am planning to purchase a workstation type of keyboard to fool around at home. My goal is to make make & record my own music in similar style/s you hear at Enya, Kitaro, Enigma, vs CDs... or create some jingles and movie soundtracks type of themes...

Because of my piano skills are not sufficient to do any impressive work, mostly I rely on the interesting sound effects and loops and sequences.
Over 20 years ago for a short period I owned a Korg Wavestation and managed to do what I like to do at my home. I want to go back to do that but I realized technology changed a lot in 20+ years...

I was looking at Roland FA06/08 and Juno DS/88, Yamaha MOXF, Korg Krome and few more...

Any one of these setup with a small sound system enough for my little room and recording software etc going to cost me around $1500-1700 range.

but then it dawned on me and I wondered this; Will I be in a better shape if I buy a used but mint Integra 7 for $950 + A800 Controller for $400 instead of purchasing a Juno or FA type of keyboards?

I already have a Macbook and iPad Pro for my recording needs...

What do you guys think?


On a side note: I also came across a used but really clean Fantom X7 for $700... Does it worth to look at it or is it too old and limited in number of sounds and limited in memory side.?

 

[Rayblewit]

Welcom to forums Jim.
Before going any further, you should try and delete the duplicate post. This will confuse ppl getting mixed responses on both.
Cheers ray

 

[JimDavis]

Oh, sorry. I thought Roland specific forum was different than the general forum.. I thought different people may see my post if they only follow certain forum.

I tried on the other form to delete my post but there is no delete option.

 

[happyrat1]

Hi Jim.

To be honest, at your skill level and for what you plan to do, the FA-08 is overkill.

The Juno DS-88 retails for about $899-$999 USD street price these days, and it is what I consider to be one of the best keyboard bargains on the planet these days.

You don't need an onboard sequencer if you'll be recording on a computer DAW anyway.

Plus the Juno has some nifty features like built in sampling and vocoder and expandability with the sound banks on the Roland Axial website.

You'd be better off in my estimation if you bought the Juno and with the money you saved put another $699 USD into a Behringer Deepmind 6 to give you an analog palette to choose from as well as the PCM sounds of the Juno.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1341972-REG/behringer_deepmind_6_true.html

To my mind that would be an ideal starter studio for someone with your budget and aspirations these days.

Gary

 

[JimDavis]

I truly appreciate you taking time to help and a big Thank you for your response.

I agree Deepmind is looking good but it is a little overwhelming to me. I agree I've found the FA08 overkill and not for me after a lengthy inspection at my local GC.
Again my goal is not to make my own sounds by manipulating switches and sliders, oscillators etc. I don't want to spend most of my time trying to create a cool sound but rather to sit in front of a keyboard which has thousands of good sounds already built in.
That's where the Integra 7 came to in to play for me.
To be honest until yesterday morning I did not even know what a sound module was... My first thought regarding Integra 7 was " why this thing is not inside of a keyboard with a large screen?".
If it was offered like that I would've bought it yesterday.

But again what do I know..??

When it comes to budget, my goal is to stay under $2000 and one keyboard that offers the most number of sounds or effects or whatever they are called without me programming or creating them...
You know; the ones named like "Raindrops" or "Sunny Day" rather than 100 different "Clarinet" or 50 different samples of "Jazz Organ" sounds...

Like I mentioned I've found used but mint I7 for $950.. Now if I add a really nice controller to it I think I'll be set. Then choose one of 6000 preset sounds and record on Track 1, then another one to Track2 and so on until I am bored and then do it all over again...

Majority of the time I will not even record my masterpieces(!) but rather create a piece sounds like an Enya song or like Donna Summer's I feel love then sit back and adore myself like if I was a musical genius!

 

[happyrat1]

While I agree that it's nice to have thousands of sounds to play with, the reality is that as you evolve and grow with your gear you will probably find yourself going back to the same few dozen sounds over and over again.

There's a reason most keyboards have registration or setup or favorites buttons because this is true for most players.

Chances are while the integra has a brilliant collection of sounds, you will find that about 70% of them differ from each other only marginally to the point where you'll only actually find a handful which you would consider usable for your needs.

I'm not knocking the Integra. It's a superb piece of pro gear but like the FA-08 I think it's overkill for your purposes.

You'll probably have to also budget for some sort of step sequencer or rhythm box as well unless you plan on doing all your beats on the computer and using that to drive the I7.

Ultimately it's your decision. You asked for our opinions and this was mine. Take it or leave it.

Good luck in your future musical endeavours.

Gary

 

[happyrat1]

BTW, many keyboards, including the Juno DS are supported by user community and commercially created sound modules that you can load in and out on a whim.

Roland has the Axial Website with tons of extra sounds for the DS models free of charge.

http://axial.roland.com/category/juno-ds61_juno-ds88_xps-30/

The Sweetwater thumb drive is basically a dump of the axial site onto a thumb drive.

Gary

 

[Fishingmusician1]

I will defer to Gary for advice on your choosing. I'll only chime in that I have the Yamaha MOXF6 and while I have barely scratched the surface of it's potential, that tells you something. It is not intuitive like the Roland XP-60 and Juno G that I owned before. The acoustic sounds and orchestral sounds are incredible but the learning curve is steep. Just giving you one to maybe cross off your list. A Happy Rat won't steer you wrong

 

[tassiespirit]

Jim, looking at what you have said,just to clarify things a little. Do you want one or two keyboards, one with the sounds and a midi controller; or would you be better suited to using a midi controller and a DAW on a laptop etc that you already have. The DAW having thousands of sounds available through software and it can be recorded/saved for later.
As you play to can use it over time to hear your improvements ( which is a good learning tool for some) ; and know you are getting better at things.
You can get your MP3's in and cancel out the channel(s) you want to play yourself etc. Lots of fun and it might suite you better and just a workstation.
Anyway, just look into it and see what you think would be a good fit for you. There are others on this Forum with great knowledge than me in this area.

Allan

 

[JimDavis]

Thanks Fish and Rat... These are the only two animals when they are around me I'd like to catch
Also thanks Allan...

The only reason I was leaning towards Integra7 and a controller is because of the richest sound library with the simplistic access; or at least I think it is...
What I mean is on a device like Integra 7 all I need to try the preset sounds and if I like it use it in my own creation. One ofter another just pick those sounds of the shelf and use it basically. If I need more, go to other libraries or Axial or wherever and download even more interesting sounds that fits my musical aspirations.
I agree after a while I may only be limiting myself to 10-20 maybe 30 sounds that I like the best.
But until I get there I'd like to taste every flavor out there rather than start with 100 or 200 or even 500 sounds while I have the chance or option to have 6000 or more of them ready to use.
IMHO most of the preset sounds are like DirecTV Programming packages. They tell you that you are getting 200 channels but do not mention that 7 of them 24hr a day nonstop Ginsu Knife selling channel, or some other type of idiotic infomercial filled channels. Really watchable channels are not more than 10 possibly and I end up only watching one or two of them 90% of the time.

That's happens when musicians finds their "sound". That's how we recognize most artists even right after the first few notes of their music is played. Even if we never heard that song before we immediately say "wow it must be xxxx" and almost all the time we are correct.

Yes I want to find my own sound too of course but I want to search for my sound at the Congressional Library rather than at the local Barnes and Noble...

Also my other problem is that I fall in love with almost every keyboard model so quickly after listening in the hands of the able musicians like most of you guys. But then I have to look at the instruments and hard reality sets in.
While you guys turn knobs to serve a purpose I am looking at them like a 3 yr old looks at the steering wheel of my car... which has no idea what it is for but looks fun to turn it around...

That's why I want something that comes or can be loaded with thousands of interesting presets sounds which could be played without me perfecting them by changing their envelope, pitch or frequency etc.

By time I may add another keyboard and other devices to my setup but impossible I want to start with one keyboard.

Fish mentioned MOXF6 and after saying "whaaat" I went ahead and watched a few YouTube videos and now I am in love with that model too.. Sound-wise and Price-wise is a thumbs up option too...

Again what intrigued me towards the I7+Controller Setup was the combo being solo rich with sounds yet the keyboard wasn't so intimidating to use.. Believe me, at my age, you don't want to go to a 4 yr college again to earn electrical engineering degree to use a keyboard for making some music at home for fun...

But again if you guys know any other model on the market (even if it's not the latest model) with thousands of preset sounds already on it or downloadable and very user friendly with the easiest learning curve pls let me know...

I don't want to spend 30 minutes to setup sequences and other kind of prep in order to play a 3 minute long fun tune.

 

[JimDavis]

Also does anybody have an idea how a Fantom X7 fits into my description of what I want to do.
Could it be a good fit or should I not even go there?
Like I mentioned one really clean and good condition for a very reasonable price...
But I have no idea what's the limitations on that instrument and how it effects what I want to do...
Any help there?

One of my major goal is to be able to do something like this :

 

[JimDavis]

My latest love is KORG KROME 61... Kind of all in one package for me.. and at $950 (New @ GC) is a good deal I think... I don't have to deal with computers, USB cables, other software etc.
Now all I need to find a really good quality sound monitors so I can enjoy this...!!!
Any ideas???

 

[CowboyNQ]

I've owned a Krome 61 one for about 4-5 years now. I gig with it regularly and if I had to select only one weapon to take with me into battle it would be this little beast.

Pros:
Sounds great
Light weight
Very deep sound editing potential
Reliable

Cons:
Keybed action is squishy and unresponsive
Sequencer is not the most intuitive thing to use (to be fair I rarely use it)

Whether that makes it the best keyboard for your needs I'm not sure. If I had to home record with it I'd go the DAW route. Brilliant live gigging keyboard though.

 

[JimDavis]

I've owned a Krome 61 one for about 4-5 years now. I gig with it regularly and if I had to select only one weapon to take with me into battle it would be this little beast.

Pros:
Sounds great
Light weight
Very deep sound editing potential
Reliable

Cons:
Keybed action is squishy and unresponsive
Sequencer is not the most intuitive thing to use (to be fair I rarely use it)

Whether that makes it the best keyboard for your needs I'm not sure. If I had to home record with it I'd go the DAW route. Brilliant live gigging keyboard though.

What monitor/amp you're connecting to it at home and/or on stage?

 

[tassiespirit]

Jim, 1. Go into a music store and have a play with the midi controllers, Yamaha MoXF6, Korg Krome61 ( I would grab a good second hand Yamaha XF6 any day) etc etc, check out the keyboard feel and layout. One thing I found is you have to be happy with the feel of the keyboard itself, not too plastic, flimsy, or too light weight - that's my gripe! Then look at what you get for your $$'s. Also, look online and download the owners manual of the items you are interested in. You will find out how many voices you can get on them and the support group Forum, say for Yamaha is on Motifator Forum, Korg has a great Forum too - lots of support and ideas there on both( as well as here). You seem keen on the Integra 7 , OK then it is a bit old school now, but you can use it and a synth and increase your library that way. Modules are not in use as much these days but you are doing your own thing, so there are no rules to break, lol.

then 2. go with your heart!

Allan

 

[JimDavis]

Jim, 1. Go into a music store and have a play with the midi controllers, Yamaha MoXF6, Korg Krome61 ( I would grab a good second hand Yamaha XF6 any day) etc etc, check out the keyboard feel and layout. One thing I found is you have to be happy with the feel of the keyboard itself, not too plastic, flimsy, or too light weight - that's my gripe! Then look at what you get for your $$'s. Also, look online and download the owners manual of the items you are interested in. You will find out how many voices you can get on them and the support group Forum, say for Yamaha is on Motifator Forum, Korg has a great Forum too - lots of support and ideas there on both( as well as here). You seem keen on the Integra 7 , OK then it is a bit old school now, but you can use it and a synth and increase your library that way. Modules are not in use as much these days but you are doing your own thing, so there are no rules to break, lol.

then 2. go with your heart!

Allan

Thanks Allan. I was keen on Integra because of simplicity and the richness of the sound bank. But didn't you hear the latest news from my world? I have a new mistress and her name "Krome 61"...

I went to my local GC and tried it and found the keyboard not intimidating and touch screen more intuitive, sound layering more logical, on board recording allowing to keep things simpler for me by keeping everything under one body. Just to add a decent amp or monitor pair and ta da!

Since I did not come from a keyboard or typical piano background I have no developed habits or expectations towards keybed or key types (weighted, semi weighted or not)... But when I tried I've felt that weighted keys are not my favorite at first. They seem hard to push and slowing me down....

Also a new Krome 61 under $1000 sounds like a good all around versatile keyboard for my purpose.
Still, search continues, but currently Integra 7 is at #2 position and Krome61 is at #1 spot!

 

[happyrat1]

To be honest, it sounds to me after all I've read in this thread that you'd be happier with an arranger keyboard than a workstation.

Here's a few choices in that category that you might want to research on youtube.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Arranger-Keyboards/ci/12262/N/4289936076

Maybe a Roland EA-7

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1232528-REG/roland_e_a7_61_key_expandable.html

or a Casio MZ-X500

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1268021-REG/casio_mz_x500_high_grade_music.html

or a Korg PA-700

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1365124-REG/korg_pa700_professional_arranger_61_key_with.html

You be up and at em creating Enya clones much quicker with one of these.


Gary

 

[CowboyNQ]

What monitor/amp you're connecting to it at home and/or on stage?

I don't play it at home but on stage I use a JBL 515xt as a personal monitor. I think a speaker of this nature would be way over the top for home use though.

 

[JimDavis]

To be honest, it sounds to me after all I've read in this thread that you'd be happier with an arranger keyboard than a workstation.

Here's a few choices in that category that you might want to research on youtube.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Arranger-Keyboards/ci/12262/N/4289936076

Maybe a Roland EA-7

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1232528-REG/roland_e_a7_61_key_expandable.html

or a Casio MZ-X500

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1268021-REG/casio_mz_x500_high_grade_music.html

or a Korg PA-700

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1365124-REG/korg_pa700_professional_arranger_61_key_with.html

You be up and at em creating Enya clones much quicker with one of these.


Gary

Even though I am pretty sure you may be right, arrangers remind me so much of the Really Expensive version of those $170 Casio models... Too much tic-tac to my taste since I don't really want to compose Bossa Nova or Samba tunes but rather electronic music. May be I am wrong but it seems to me that if I buy an arranger I'll be buying something with the capability of doing 1000 things which I won't be using 70% of it.... Seems like too much of wasted options for my purpose... Even though I liked the KorgPA700...

 

[happyrat1]

The problem is, for a novice, when it comes to playing along to accompany yourself, 1 or 2 finger accompaniment is a blessing to get you up to speed quickly.

If you think a professional arranger is overkill then what do you think a $2000 workstation is?

Seriously, an arranger like a PA-700 with expandable, downloadable style files is ideal for what you want to do.

Your prejudices aside, they come from a lack of information.

It's never a good idea to wake up one morning and say to yourself "I know nothing about keyboards. I want to buy the best one ever made today."

Like everything else in life it takes research and preparation to make wise choices in life.

This thread has gone all over the map with you telling us what you don't like about particular keyboards.

Now you have to fish or cut bait, and I suggest you take the next few weeks and do a lot of bait cutting before the Black Friday sales.

Learn to clearly define your goals in music and act accordingly.

Gary