keyboard for r&b and hip-hop

Take Your Pick

Take KORG YAMAHA ROLAND put their names in a bag and whichever 1 you pick will work. I havent demo the new keyboards but depending on what kind of sound you are looking for may have a reflection on choice in my opinion.....what kind of hip hop ? I personally like the fantomx for overall sounds...... I have a motif which has certain sounds that are great but bass is ass....unless you wanna use real acoustic bass.....But I use a Studio Electronics ATC and it is all I ever will need for bass ( impossible not to find the sound ya want)....In your price range you could get a the new motifxs 61 keys.(($1800) A used FAntomx rack($800) and a used ATC( $600)...you would be all in the game.....of course i use a MPC3000 to sequence my shit. But The keyboard you will get has a sequencer.
 
We all know that one of the Korg Tritons is Da Thing when it comes to RnB do'og. Right out of the box, it will help you do all those hackneyed beatz in no time.
 
there is no best keyboard really. all of them are over used and raped heavily in the industry. I prefer vintage boards for that Reason. I use shit that nobody in hip hop fucks with. I am looking for more and I really think I should treat them like cats treat their records. Whats important to you in a keyboard?
 
50cal said:
Take KORG YAMAHA ROLAND put their names in a bag and whichever 1 you pick will work. I havent demo the new keyboards but depending on what kind of sound you are looking for may have a reflection on choice in my opinion.....what kind of hip hop ? I personally like the fantomx for overall sounds...... I have a motif which has certain sounds that are great but bass is ass....unless you wanna use real acoustic bass.....But I use a Studio Electronics ATC and it is all I ever will need for bass ( impossible not to find the sound ya want)....In your price range you could get a the new motifxs 61 keys.(($1800) A used FAntomx rack($800) and a used ATC( $600)...you would be all in the game.....of course i use a MPC3000 to sequence my shit. But The keyboard you will get has a sequencer.
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too many cats jump on the same boat. except for that ATC thats a rare board to find in hip hop. As much as I like the Triton and the Motif (Im not a fan of the Fantom) I would hope cats don't solely depend on those boards. Find something different to go along with them. Help define your own sound. Yes the way you play will have a lot to do with it but when everyone is playing the exact same preset sounds over and over again the keyboards start to all get old really quick
 
Thats why people create their own patches.I disagree the fantomx has the most all around user sounds and the keyboard is built well...It will make a great controller for all your synths and it can be upgraded by adding the expansion cards which has lots of classic sounds.
My thought as far as vintage is I think it's great to have at least 1 true ANALOG synth for BASS and leads.having 1 newer keyboard will give you the best sounds like electric pianos/strings and such.Then you can almost never have too many sounds,thats why some people own all the major keyboards not cause 1 is better then the other,but because they all have certain differences in sound.
 
50cal said:
Thats why people create their own patches.I disagree the fantomx has the most all around user sounds and the keyboard is built well...It will make a great controller for all your synths and it can be upgraded by adding the expansion cards which has lots of classic sounds.
My thought as far as vintage is I think it's great to have at least 1 true ANALOG synth for BASS and leads.having 1 newer keyboard will give you the best sounds like electric pianos/strings and such.Then you can almost never have too many sounds,thats why some people own all the major keyboards not cause 1 is better then the other,but because they all have certain differences in sound.
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I can somewhat agree with that. However when I say they sound the same its more so due to sound character. How many people can you think of in the mainstream that spend a lot of time making patches? A lot of people especially nowadays would much rather browse a ton of presets. I am all for presets or patch building whatever you choose. I keep Reason around just because of that. However I feel one of the big 3 should be enough for some of your bread and butter sounds and then using a lot of vintage boards to throw everyone off. Like where the hell did he find that piano or how the fuck did he make that string so dirty but crisp at the same time I haven't heard anything like that in a long time. I kind of think of keyboards in a way crate diggers think about records. Find something rare and keep it to yourself so nobody can figure it out until years later
 
You could save some change and go slightly retro with the Yamaha MO 6-According to a lot of musician reviews,it's the BOMB!
You could try your local craigslist,the trading post here at Sweetwater or ebay.Offer to buy the slightly used demo from your local music shop.

I think I saw a Fantom Xa going for $650 the other day on the trading post-check it out if the MO doesn't do it for you.
 
The big 3 (Triton, Motif, Fantom) are all good but it all comes down to the composer. You gotta take the sounds and make em your own. Even if all u do is add a slight hi pass filter to a lead. Make it sound like you want it to sound.

Personally, I can only afford one at a time (had a motif ES but later had to sell it). Right now I'm on the Fantom X which built me a nice album. I had a Triton LE but didn't like the limitations (I'd much rather have the full Triton) and sold it too.

All these boards are good to start with but keep your options open. I've been known to make some killer tracks on Fruity Loops (it was all the guy had in his studio...).

I've had good results with Reason as well.

Here's some recent stuff done COMPLETELY on the Fantom X - except the vocals, of course(drums are samples that I created and edited myself) http://www.myspace.com/coopdv
 
i am thinking about purchasing a motif rack es for my midi production studio.....i was wondering if anyone has any experience with the mod and is the sound engine the same as the full blown workstation?
 
No experience with the rack version but I do know it's the same sound engine. I'd say it's a good buy. The strong point would be the acoustic sounds (especially strings & guitars). I don't know about the outputs on the rack, but the outputs on the board are great. Pretty loud too.


You could use this board for anything you want some instruments to have a realistic feel. Don't expect great electronic/synth based sounds though. It has a few ok tones but nothing spectacular in this department.

Still, overall, it's definately worth having in your rack....
 
Trell Blaze said:
Don't expect great electronic/synth based sounds though.
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Dispensing wrong information is a big no no.

This kind of pointedly misleading drivel has no place on a board on which random answers leak onto Google searches and are accepted as fact.

The Motif is a flexible instrument, both in keyboard and rack form. If you don't find a use for the 'solo timpani' patch you're not required to use it. I do 'electronic/synth based' music and wouldn't hesitate to use one of the Motif series as my main sound source.

Trell Blaze --- think before you post your baseless opinions as fact.


.
 
scorpio01169 said:
i am thinking about purchasing a motif rack es for my midi production studio.....i was wondering if anyone has any experience with the mod and is the sound engine the same as the full blown workstation?
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I LOVE my Motif ES Rack. In general, rack version of synths tend to have the same engine as the keyboard version. I did, however try both the keyboard and rack versions and could not tell any difference sonically.

Also, I agree with SS - the motif can do excellent electronic/synth-based stuff. To elaborate on what he was getting at, because the synth is marketed towards the general music public, the presets are as well. It is extremely programmable though, and if you don't want to go that way, there are plenty of third party patches available.
 
ssscientist said:
Dispensing wrong information is a big no no.

This kind of pointedly misleading drivel has no place on a board on which random answers leak onto Google searches and are accepted as fact.

The Motif is a flexible instrument, both in keyboard and rack form. If you don't find a use for the 'solo timpani' patch you're not required to use it. I do 'electronic/synth based' music and wouldn't hesitate to use one of the Motif series as my main sound source.

Trell Blaze --- think before you post your baseless opinions as fact.


.
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You got a problem with me dude? You've been following me around the board nitpicking my posts since I signed up here.

When it comes to music discussion, most of it is opinion based. That's why people expect more than one person to reply certain questions - they expect more than one point of view. There is no way to keep opinion out of questions like "Is this a good synth?".

And you're one to talk about stating opinions- "I do 'electronic/synth based' music and wouldn't hesitate to use one of the Motif series as my main sound source." Isn't that a preference? Should everyone not hesitate to use it just because it gets your certification?

It should go without saying that my statement about the synth sounds is opinion...and one that I'll stick with weather you agree with it or not.

Just relax, man. Music is fun for us. That's why we're here...that's why we do what we do. Nitpicking should be reserved for the art...:D
 
And just for the record, I DID recommend purchase of the unit in question. That, too, is opinion based so I guess there's no way around that kind of thing, huh...
 
Trell Blaze said:
It should go without saying that my statement about the synth sounds is opinion...and one that I'll stick with weather you agree with it or not.

...
Nitpicking should be reserved for the art...:D
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Hey! I got a nitpick .... that should be "whether". :D

At least you're consistent with that particular spelling, though.

And I think that SS's complaint is the statement "Don't expect great electronic/synth based sounds though." comes across as though you are stating fact rather than opinion.
 
fraserhutch said:
Hey! I got a nitpick .... that should be "whether". :D

At least you're consistent with that particular spelling, though.

And I think that SS's complaint is the statement "Don't expect great electronic/synth based sounds though." comes across as though you are stating fact rather than opinion.
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Eh...when I do boards or chatrooms, I don't check for spelling or grammar. I just type really fast and hope most of it is at least partially coherent...:D

As for Ssientist, it's not just that one comment. This guy's been nitpicking me since my first post here. It's not that I care or anything...just curious as to why he feels the need to "correct" me like a school kid.

I have experience in this music stuff and while I'm not as tecnically on point as some others I have a very good ear and I know how to use it (actually I have two good ears but u get the picture...lol)....:cool:
 
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