trinityamps.com

Yeah not much help at all!

I don't have all your sick gear and nowhere near the budget for it.

My thinking is that maybe I can swing one decent keyboard that at least comes close to the sounds of my dream instruments...

Here's something you may be able to help with - I was going to pick up a Roland amp with my eventual keyboard, my buddy had one and it sure was sweet sounding. Now I'm thinking I got this mackie board why not just get a single Mackie SRM450? That way when I'm ready to get a full on PA system I just have to buy another one. Good/bad idea?

Well, I guess what I was sort of trying to say is that for me a used Triton for the fraction of the cost would be as good as a Motif...

This may or may not be helpful, and of course it depends on your application, but my favourite keyboard amp is a solid state guitar amp! The full range keyboard type rigs don't sit with guitars for me. Tube amps are too "slow" for keys, but solid state amps seem to work best for me... my faves are Fender Power chorus or Fender Ultimate Chorus (this is what I have). Having said all that, I think using the Mackie as part of a PA rig would work fine...

I think I'm probably a better guitar resource than keyboard resource despite being a keyboard player!!!!

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Brent Bodrug
Producer-Engineer/Songwriter

www.slyfichapel.com

Hmm....
I think you have to try my twin-15 by Crate.
Early; very cool!!!!

Blow any keyboard amp away you've got!!!!

Oh wait; it ways a million lbs. !
Damn, it's so amazing

What keyboard do you mix it with?

I'm looking into used triton's now brent. Realistically it'll take a year to save up for a motif and I still want a triwatt.

Revv, for what it's worth... I've been using an Alesis QS8.1 for years and really like it a lot (76 and 61 note/non-weighted key versions were also available). They later came out with an QS8.2 I believe, but I never got to play one. These are discontinued but can probably be had for relatively small coin. Also in my stack is an early 90's Kawai K4, and I always seem to find uses for this as well, especially string pads in particular. The point is there are many very usable keyboards out there for not a lot of money. Try not to get sucked in with the fancy ads. Things haven't necessarily improved that much in the past 10 to 15 years.
I monitor right through the studio monitors. For live applications my keyboard players used a full range monitor for themselves and some stage volume, and then we ran DI off of the keyboard mixer through the FOH. I'm not a big fan of modified guitar amps for keyboards. I like to hear my synths full range, especially my Moogs

Joe G

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Some assembly required,
Brain sold separately...

Yah, me too. I've been playing electronic kbds for over 25 years, ~ 10 of that professionally. I was never happy with standalone amps for keyboards. I settled on a small mixer (Mackie 1202) directly to the PA. Monitoring was sent from my mixer thru a stereo eq into a pa-style rack amp. I used a pair of smallish full range Toa monitors....one for me, the other was usually side-fill for the band. Still have that rig. Currently, I run keys directly thru a mixer/studio monitor setup. Can't beat a full range system for synths!


I absolutely agree with jv on this. Much of the progress in kbd tech that has been made in the last couple of decades has been in digital workstation capabilities that many of us will never use. Many of these instruments are highly capable, but the advanced features are far from user-friendly. The learning curve can be steep, to say the least. I prefer keyboards that focus on sound creation, rather than recording projects. These days, I primarily use a Kurzweil PC2 with an old Roland JD-990 rack synth and an Alesis Quadrasynth slaved to it. I love the sound of the PC2, but recommend against it due to the arcane interface and lack of community resources. It is totally worthwhile to find a keyboard with a good user community out there....especially if the keyboard can easily export and import patches. You can learn a lot from other people's sounds, & you may find just the sound you need for free.

Also, when auditioning keyboards, I recommend listening to them thru a moderately decent (or better) set of headphones...preferably your own. This takes amplification and environment out of the equation.

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- This Space For Rent -

In case this was in response to my post, just so we're clear, I didn't say anything about "modified" guitar amps... I like solid state guitar amps, specifically the Fender chorus amps... for live use. I've tried numerous keyboard amps, and full range PA's and could never really hear myself properly... and all the low end just got in the way of the bass player, and all the top end just sounded "tinny"... not enough mid-range "poke" for me... enter the solid state amps - mid range "poke" to compete with guitars, enough top end for anything I was using without that harsh PA top, and low end that was usable but stayed out of the way... But this is probably dependent on the kinds of tones the guitar players are going for... I never liked tube amps though because for sounds with a fast attack they were too slow...

In the studio, anything goes... sometimes I'll use an amp, sometimes I'll DI, sometimes I want all the frequencies, sometimes I want a "filtered" keys sound...

Obviously lots of different experiences with this one!!

_________________
Brent Bodrug
Producer-Engineer/Songwriter

www.slyfichapel.com

I think that's a great idea - there's lots of options out there, but the Triton (or equivalent from another company) should be able to cover most bases for a fraction of the cost of something new... The Roland modules xv3080 and 5080 cover a whole lot of ground too if you have some sort of keyboard controller...

Good luck! Let us know what you end up getting!

_________________
Brent Bodrug
Producer-Engineer/Songwriter

www.slyfichapel.com

OK reading all day im starting to fall in love with the yamaha S90 series....

Now that the s90XS has come out I should be able to find a used s90ES for cheap im thinkin

I'm placing a "Korg" Sampling Grand thru my twin. I love the sound of the bell 15's. Sounds incredible

Brent:
That's funny about the Fender SS's.
My son and I use the "chorus" twin -10. The chorus is phenomenal

Yeah I know! Lots of people think I'm nuts, but they really do sound FANTASTIC! I like the chorus too on certain sounds! Long live the Fender Ultimate Chorus!!!

_________________
Brent Bodrug
Producer-Engineer/Songwriter

www.slyfichapel.com

here's the lesson for you Coco;
If you've never heard the Fender SS twin, then you haven't heard chorus. cheap amp we're talking about, then go get it.
This is how you emulate tube chorus!!!!
To sound like this

Very cool