Keyboard with good strings sound?

mjbphotos

mjbphotos

Moderator
Listening to a keyboard at a store can be deceiving, so looking for those who keyboards they use that like the strings sound they produce!

For recording, I've been using my Casio WK500. If I record 1 instrument (note pattern) at a time I find I can get a passable background string sound, but playing chords (no matter which sound setting I use) does not sound anywhere near as good.
Is there any inexpensive keyboard with better strings sounds - yamahas, for example? I'm not concerned about weighted action, 61 keys is fine, looking for something that could be used as a second keyboard for live playing.
 
vintage Korg Poly 61. Portable, cheapish, if you're looking for that 80s vibe.

I am partial to the ARP Omni type string sound though. . .
 
All those keyboards are going for $400 (up) used. About twice my budget - at most! I think at this point I'll be making do with what I've got.
 
In you price range, I think you need to look at the used market. If you're looking at realistic (sampler) as opposed to stylized (synth) maybe an older Ensoniq ?

You specified US$200.00 give or take, 61 keys, and portable, and a 'realistic' string sound. (So the string machine 70s-80s --Crumar/ARP/Korg sound is out?)

I also like the Yamaha sound. Again, I'm not sure exactly what you're after, by 80's vibe, I meant more the Cure, Modern English etc type string sound.
 
No, I want a 'true' string sound. Think the Beatle's Eleanor Rigby! With 2 keyboardists, one of us will be doing the short-attacked chords, the other the cellos.
 
String sounds

Instead of looking for a keyboard / workstation, you might want to be looking for a module or soft synths instead. I love the string sounds of my Korg X5DR, but I don't use it much anymore since Studio Instruments VSTi is available for Cakewalk and other DAWs. Soooo pure! Plus there are many vintage string packages available. I have to believe that someone in your band has a laptop and MIDI interfaces are not expensive. With soft synths you're on your way to a world without boundaries.

Hope this helps

EFaaT
 
The Kurz strings are good, but really no different than my Casio's sampled sounds. We've talked about using MIDI-ed sound effects for some tunes, but no one has gone further with it. For my use, I don't want to go that way, and was really thinking of having another keyboard, for when I need multiple sounds in one song. Splitting the keyboard only goes so far.
 
I'm not familiar with the WK-500, but many older Casio stereo synths employed a chorus on the right channel to achieve the stereo effect. The chorus can make the sound muddy when playing chords. Luckily, the left output on these instruments doubled as a mono out. Try recording only the left/mono channel for each part and creating your own stereo image at mixdown.
 
I was looking for something for live play (I will be using the Casio in mono mode for that). For recording I layer multiple tracks, playing 1 'string' at a time, and I like how that sounds. I picked up a Kawai K4, which, though dated by 20 years, should give me what I need for live work with the Beatles tribute band.
 
mjbphotos said:
For recording I layer multiple tracks, playing 1 'string' at a time, and I like how that sounds.
Click to expand...

Right. If the keyboard throws a chorus on it and you record both channels for each string, there's gonna be phasing madness from all the layered choruses. Best to get rid of the chorus when tracking and add your own effects later if needed.
 
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