Keyboard question.

[JerryD]

I mostly play guitar but wanted to add some keyboards to my recordings. I don't need a ton of features and don't plan to add a lot of keyboard parts so can someone suggest a keyboard under $500 I can get off ebay?

[jpmorris]

Originally Posted by JerryD

I mostly play guitar but wanted to add some keyboards to my recordings. I don't need a ton of features and don't plan to add a lot of keyboard parts so can someone suggest a keyboard under $500 I can get off ebay?

Have you thought about what kind of keyboard parts you're after?
Piano? Strings? Organ? 1970s lead synth? 1980s polysynth?
You might just be able to snag a second-hand Korg Triton or something - that would cover most of your bases. If that's too much, look into the older Roland workstations, the XP30/XP50/XP80 or a JV1080 rack and a controller keyboard. You should be able to get those for a song nowadays.

[JerryD]

Thanks. I'll check those models out.

[mikeh]

The Roland XP30 is a very good "bang for the buck" keyboard - over 1,000 stock sounds (many of them a very decent) and it has plenty of the stock sounds (piano, organ, sax, brass, strings, etc.). It also has plenty of menu options if you want to tweak sounds, layer sounds, etc)

[JerryD]

Thanks for replying I will check this model out.

[Gorty]

Originally Posted by JerryD

I mostly play guitar but wanted to add some keyboards to my recordings. I don't need a ton of features and don't plan to add a lot of keyboard parts so can someone suggest a keyboard under $500 I can get off ebay?

Any decent brands will have some nice sounds for those extra tracks. Yamaha, Korg even Casio are turning out some cheap great sounding units.

[JerryD]

Thanks for the tip.

[lumbago]

Korg Micro X and MicroKorg offer a lot of sounds inexpensively.

[mark merton]

As a keyboardist I would advise the following: There are tons of keyboards out there and to save you heartache I suggest you go into a few different music shops and try out the various keyboards (Yamaha, Roland, etc). No point in buying if you havn't tried out the instrument (feel, sound, etc). If you get a good deal there at least you've got some comeback if anything goes wrong while it's under warranty; ebay - personally, I think it's risky (at least where musical instruments are concerned). I've always been a big fan of Roland - you could look at the Juno D (if you're looking at a basic synth/keyboard); the Juno G costs exactly twice that in most places and isn't necessary if you just want keyboard/pad sounds to fatten out your music. I spent months before I homed in on the Fantom X7; drove the shopkeepers crazy with all the questions and checking the features up to closing time; also did a ton of research on the internet. Roland have a broad range of keyboards from entry-level to professional and I've always bought their products because of the quality and superior sound. So take your time, do the groundwork and consider the Juno D. (And no, I'm not on commission from Roland :-) !!!)

[JerryD]

Thanks Mark!

[daveblue222]

if you dont play keyboard but would like to have more fun than may i suggest the korg microkorg. its not really great for traditional keyboard sounds, but im sure you would find lots of uses for it, but its so much fun to experiment on if you dont know much piano.



-dave

[JerryD]

Okay I spent a ton of time trying to purchase a keyboard on ebay...sheesh

I can afford this one new. Roland E-09.

How do you guys feel about this keyboard?

I don't need any fancy sequencing. I only needs some synth and string sounds to fill some songs.

Thanks for any comments on this keyboard.

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by JerryD

Okay I spent a ton of time trying to purchase a keyboard on ebay...sheesh

I can afford this one new. Roland E-09.

How do you guys feel about this keyboard?

I don't need any fancy sequencing. I only needs some synth and string sounds to fill some songs.

Thanks for any comments on this keyboard.

Its probably fine, Roland makes good stuff. Its different than most of the ones mentioned in that it is an arranger keyboard aka one-man band, but that can be pretty fun. I have never seen it but Roland is Roland, you cant really go wrong as long as it is a recent keyboard and it seems to be.

[JerryD]

Okay Thanks.

[dragonworks]

Just my 2 cents. I have an Alesis QS8, 88 wighted keys, fatar keyboard, 4 voice, 64 note polyphonic, 628 presets, 100 user presets. Can be found for around that price.
I am a guitar player and my name is Jerry D., so you have to take my suggestion

here is one on ebay now a QS8.1, a newer version of the QS8, it gives all the specs and is bidding at just around five bills.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Alesis-QS8-1-64-...QQcmdZViewItem

The only difference between the QS8.1 and QS8 it the point ones body is plastic and its readout is larger. The QS8's body is all metal but the LED readout is smaller. I would go with the metal body myself, and since being older it should be cheaper. That is if you decide to go that route.

there are three of them on ebay now all around five bills.

[knightfly]

Especially if you intend to do any "solo" work with a keyboard, I'd second Mark's vote for Roland - once you've tried their combination pitch/mod LEVER, you'll NEVER want to use a pitch WHEEL again.

Also agree on quality - can't be beat. However, a lot of their keyboards are less friendly than some others - documentation is sometimes kind of sparse and operating systems aren't always intuitive.

Still, if you're gonna keep the thing I'd rather have Roland than "pieces of a piece of junk"... Steve

[JerryD]

I finally got a XP 30 for $320 off ebay.

Thanks for all the help. Sounds cool.