Recommend me a good keyboard/synth

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   I'm looking into getting a good synthesizer and was hoping some of the
musicians around here could help me get the best bang for my buck.
Keeping in mind that I'm not looking to spend much more than $500,
what's a good keyboard I can get with the following features:

-sounds good (duh); by this I mean there is a wide variety of voices,
preferably proggy-sounding ones. I just want something that sounds
strong and is also versatile. The ability to create my own
patches/voices would also be a great feature to have, but if that's not
possible within my price range, I guess I could do without it. It also
has to be something I can use to play shows.

-the ability to pitch bend, either with a wheel/joystick or a ribbon or
both. My current keyboard doesn't have one of these, so I'd really like
to have one.

-the number of keys isn't really important

That's all I can think of off the top of my head... if there are any
other features I should be looking for, please don't hesitate to let me
know. Thanks in advance to anybody who can help. 

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Ty1020 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: April 24 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 721	Topic: Recommend me a good keyboard/synth Posted: November 08 2005 at 17:16
	I'm looking into getting a good synthesizer and was hoping some of the musicians around here could help me get the best bang for my buck. Keeping in mind that I'm not looking to spend much more than $500, what's a good keyboard I can get with the following features: -sounds good (duh); by this I mean there is a wide variety of voices, preferably proggy-sounding ones. I just want something that sounds strong and is also versatile. The ability to create my own patches/voices would also be a great feature to have, but if that's not possible within my price range, I guess I could do without it. It also has to be something I can use to play shows. -the ability to pitch bend, either with a wheel/joystick or a ribbon or both. My current keyboard doesn't have one of these, so I'd really like to have one. -the number of keys isn't really important That's all I can think of off the top of my head... if there are any other features I should be looking for, please don't hesitate to let me know. Thanks in advance to anybody who can help.


polumbric Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Groupie Joined: October 27 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 54	Posted: November 09 2005 at 12:53
	Being a keyboard player in Canada I can tell you the following: You'll either have to buy a used keyboard - which for $500 might be pretty old - or buy a midi controller keyboard ($200) and buy a separate "box" aka "sound module" with sounds - not sure what you can find for under $500, though. But for $700 you can probably get a good combo of keys and sounds. If you live in a major city and have a long&Mcquade store, check if they have a sound module that they rent out (in other words: used) and see how much they'll sell it for. I bought a Roland xv-2020 for $500 this way and saved $300. Hope that helped

Ty1020 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: April 24 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 721	Posted: November 09 2005 at 16:32
	Well, I already have a beginner's Yamaha Portable Grand (or something like that); I know absolutely nothing about keyboard tech, but I'm pretty sure it's midi-based, so would I be able to buy a sound module and hook it up to that?


polumbric Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Groupie Joined: October 27 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 54	Posted: November 11 2005 at 19:49
	Yes. In this case you would be using your keyboard's keys and controls (i.e. pitch band) only and the module for the sounds and effects.

Ty1020 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: April 24 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 721	Posted: November 11 2005 at 22:40
	One of the main problems with my keyboard is that it doesn't have a pitch bend, which I'm thinking would be rather userful, so it looks like I'll have to go for a new one anyways... that is, unless there's some way I could buy controls like that seperately and add them to my current keyboard? I'm assuming that's not possible, but yeah, if it is, that'd be cool.


polumbric Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Groupie Joined: October 27 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 54	Posted: November 12 2005 at 18:46
	I never came across separately sold controls, but even if they do exist, I think they will be very inpractical, especially during a live show.

Ptah Khnemu Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: November 20 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 11	Posted: November 20 2005 at 18:07
	My keyboard is kickass for the price. I have a Casio WK-300, and it cost me like $300 at Guitar Center.It has all the effects, and a Pitch Bender wheel, which I have plenty of fun with.
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