I may finally be ready to buy a keyboard amp... just a few last minute questions!

[SKYflyer]

First off, consider me a sucker for cheap stuff, so while you may waste your breathe bashing me for choosing behringer, don't bother =P.

Now to my questions: currently i use a guitar amp for my keyboard, and i don't like it because it emphasizes my middle notes more than my bass/treble notes. The middle range of the keyboard is decent, but above or below that, it sounds much quieter and just sounds worse in general. I assume this is because guitar amps emphasize the middle range by design since this is good for guitar sounds (correct me if i'm wrong). Also, I have tried using the EQ on the amp by turning the middle down to zero and turning the treble up to 10, but it still doesnt help much.

I just want confirmation before i actually buy this amp that it will fix my problem of having the middle notes being emphasized too much when i use the guitar amp for my keyboard. I assume keyboard amps are more designed for keyboards (duh) so my problem should go away, right?

Also, would anyone happen to know why this vendor, www.bananas.com has the product before anyone other store i can find on google has this behringer amp? They have it here: http://www.bananas.com/productdetail.asp/pid_8362/productname_Behringer-ULTRATONE-K1800FX and even the behringer website says the amp has not been released yet (it says the date is "to be announced": http://www.behringer.com/K1800FX/index.cfm?lang=ENG). Why does bananas.com have the amp before anyone else? I think i am going to buy it from them.

Thanks for you help guys!

 

[rweiss]

If Behringer's website says it hasn't been released yet, it hasn't been released yet. ...If you order from that Bananas site, they will probably send you a back order invoice or something, and make you wait until it actually comes out, much like preordering it. It's just another way for them to make money I suppose. I don't know what kind of gigs you're trying to accomodate, or how much sound you need, but that 180 watt Behringer might be stretching things a bit far, as far as that low price tag and the features go. If you want to spend a little bit more money, check out this 60-watt Roland Keyboard Amp here. People seem to be happy with the Roland keyboard amps, and 60 watts should be plenty for you, unless you're trying to drown out a live drumset in front of 50+ people. If I were you, I'd save up some extra money, and go for something a little better instead of trying to save a buck and having to upgrade a year later.

-Ryan

 

[shiatzu]

personally, i'd stick with the guitar amp, it'd be serviceable for practices and for shows you can always just go DI through the PA.

 

[SKYflyer]

If Behringer's website says it hasn't been released yet, it hasn't been released yet. ...If you order from that Bananas site, they will probably send you a back order invoice or something, and make you wait until it actually comes out, much like preordering it. It's just another way for them to make money I suppose. I don't know what kind of gigs you're trying to accomodate, or how much sound you need, but that 180 watt Behringer might be stretching things a bit far, as far as that low price tag and the features go. If you want to spend a little bit more money, check out this 60-watt Roland Keyboard Amp here. People seem to be happy with the Roland keyboard amps, and 60 watts should be plenty for you, unless you're trying to drown out a live drumset in front of 50+ people. If I were you, I'd save up some extra money, and go for something a little better instead of trying to save a buck and having to upgrade a year later.

-Ryan

well i think they might already have them in stock because a little while ago, it listed the behringer amp as "coming soon", but now it says "new arrival", so maybe they do have it, i guess i'll call them or something. Also, part of your post doesnt make sense to me. You say that the 180 watt behringer might be stretching things a bit far... does this mean that you doubt the quality of it (an understandable concern)? Also, i dont think 60 watts in the Roland would be enough for me. I used to play through a 90 watt guitar amp at practice, but it wasnt loud enough for me to be heard above drums/guitar.

 

[shiatzu]

wattage isn't the same as volume. i've got a 50watt tube amp with 2x15 speakers and i jam with it on "1" and play shows with it on "3". i know it's a little different with solid state but you shouldn't ignore a certain amp just because it has low wattage, you'd definitely be selling yourself short.

 

[rweiss]

wattage isn't the same as volume. i've got a 50watt tube amp with 2x15 speakers and i jam with it on "1" and play shows with it on "3". i know it's a little different with solid state but you shouldn't ignore a certain amp just because it has low wattage, you'd definitely be selling yourself short.

Agreed completely.

And yes, I did mean that with 180 watts for 200-some dollars, you might be sacrificing some quality.

 

[cawhite12]

Just my 2 cents, but I use this: http://www.bananas.com/productdetail.asp/pid_1768/productname_Behringer-KX1200-Keyboard-Combo-Amp

It's the Behringer KX1200 Amp to play in a rock band. I probably wouldn't have considered it except a friend of mine had one that he played in a funk band with and it blew away the other keyboard players Alesis that looked identical (probably where behringer stole the design from LOL) Anyways, it has plenty of power to play over my extremely loud band, and also has a pretty nice sound, plus it's got 3 band EQ to play with it, so... Just another thought...