Synth Purchase on a Budget.

J

jumpmanjr

New member
Hi,

I wonder if anyone here can give me some advice. I have a piece of crap Casio keyboard from about 1989 . Because it doesn't have touch sensitivity, I am looking to get something new. I don't want to spend more than $500.

I have been recommended to purchase a used Korg M1; I think that I can probably get one for just over $300 on ebay. I enjoy the Pet Shop Boys albums from the early 90's so I think that the M1 will be good to use to play along with albums. The thing is, lately I've been into Keane and Coldplay, so I'd really like to have a solid piano sound as well. And I don't think that the M1 has weighted keys. I plan on running the M1 through a midi port into my 750MHz computer using an Maudio sound card (~ $150) to get more sounds. Will I have any limitations that I should know about using this keyboard with MIDI on my relatively slow computer (512 MB ram if that matters)?

Does anyone have any other suggestions or do you agree that this is probably the best bang for my buck?

Thank,
Peter.
 
Personally, if my budget was $500 and I was looking for a sample-based synth, I'd go with a used Roland XP-30. It's a lot newer than the Korg M1 in question, though it will run the entire $500. The sounds are bound to be better than the M1's, and supposedly the key action is quite good. The piano sounds are pretty good, as well. I have the JV-1010, which is more or less a rack module with most of the same sounds.
 
IMHO the M1 sounds like what it is - a good idea from 1989 with no place in 2005.

The Yamaha S03, Roland JunoD and Alesis Ion or Micron would all fit into your price range and any one would be a huge step up from where you are now...
 
It sounds like he needs a sample-based keyboard, so I'm not sure the Ion or Micron would be good for him, being virtual analog synths.
 
I think you'll be much better off getting a new model rather than a used one. It's very risky buying used keyboards. They either won't last you more than a month or they'll just die when you start using it.

It doesn't sound like you need a synthesizer, just a better keyboard. Take a look at Yamaha's PSR series. Touch sensitivity is standard on the PSR-273 (at $170) and all higher models. The Yamaha DGX series are the first in the line to feature piano-style keys, and most of them fit right into your budget.

If you are lookin for a synth, though, go with the Yamaha SO3 ($495). The Roland Juno-D is a great board if you're willing to go slightly above your budget.
 
Budget Keyboard follow-up

First of all, thanks to everyone so far for your replies. I find the task of getting a budget keyboard quite difficult and confusing. There appear to be a lot of different suggestions. I have seen some of the Yamaha's in Radio Shack and they seem more like toys than semi-serious recording tools. I don't think that I will get a Yamaha.

I am not exactly sure what an analog keyboard is but my guess is that it may be too confusing for my liking; is it just a keyboard with turn dials instead of digital buttons.

As far as buying used goes, I think that I just need to take a chance because I can't afford to buy a quality keyboard new. I think that I can get something better by buying used.

One of the things that I noticed is that no one has yet recommended a Korg of some description.... is there a reason for that? I thought that Korg was one of the industry standards.

The music store guy told me that the sounds that are offered on a keyboard should not be too important because you can get most any sound by hooking up to a computer using midi. Can any of you confirm this idea? If I get a Roland for example can I get the M1 sounds through midi?

Some of these cheaper keyboards don't have an arpegiator... is that important do you think?

By the way, I think that I am confusing the two terms synthesizer and keyboard. I have been using them in place of each other but it sounds like there is a difference between them.

Thanks for everyone's input... it is greatly appreciated... I'd like to purchase my keyboard by the end of the May and your advice will help.
 
Really, the Yamahas you'll find in a Radio Shack are mostly toys. Once you hit their synthesizers though, you'll find that that's far from the norm for their products. The aforementioned S03 is definitely not a toy.

The reason that you haven't heard Korg mentioned is because they have very little product in the price range you specified. Buying used can work well, and generally works out; however, there's always that chance.

That said, if you have a Guitar Center nearby, I'd advise that you go there and try some of the keyboards there out. They're much more likely than any Radio Shack to have keyboards meant for professional use.

The music store person that you mentioned is only half right; yes, you can get almost any sound through MIDI. However, you'll have to own the synth that makes the sound in order to have the sound. A computer can't magically make a Roland Juno-D into a Korg M1.

A synthesizer is an electronic device, usually played through a keyboard, that generates sound through recorded samples or predetermined waveforms. In this case, they're being used mostly interchangebly.

In your price range, if you want to buy new, your best bets are the Yamaha S03 or a Roland Juno-D. If you buy used, you'll have a much wider variety of choices. A lot depends on how important sounds other than piano are to you; if they're not very important, you might want to get a digital piano which will likely have a full set of weighted keys. Hope this helps.

Oh, by the way, the easiest way to tell if a keyboard is more consumer-oriented (toylike) or professional is to look for speakers. Generally, if the device has its own speakers, it's junk. I know people will disagree with me on that, but it's the truth. Most if not all professional keyboards are meant to be used with an external sound system.
 
jumpmanjr said:
I have seen some of the Yamaha's in Radio Shack and they seem more like toys than semi-serious recording tools. I don't think that I will get a Yamaha.

As far as buying used goes, I think that I just need to take a chance because I can't afford to buy a quality keyboard new. I think that I can get something better by buying used.

One of the things that I noticed is that no one has yet recommended a Korg of some description.... is there a reason for that? I thought that Korg was one of the industry standards.

.
Click to expand...

YAMAHA DGX Series is very good

http://focuscamera.com/sc/main_item.asp?id=964595570&rf=pg&dfdate=04_29_2005

http://www.musiciansnews.com/piano/95/yamaha_dgx305_keyboard.shtml

I use the DGX-505 for recording and for live gigs. The DGX-305 is around $369. You can check out these keyboards at Best Buy. Yes, they have speakers and they are not junk. :)

Korg hasn't been recommended because I believe some of thier gear may still be out of your price range. I would highly recommend the KORG N264 Workstation, but starting bid on it is running at $800.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38089&item=7319393763&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Although the KORG X3 which came out right before the N264 is going for $399 with case included. I still own and use the X3 for gigs and recordings as well.

The YAMAHA SO3 at $499 will kick the KORG M1 in the butt.

http://www.geartree.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/1158325/vpcsid/0/SFV/29865

That's me with my X3 (top) and DGX-505 (bottom).

Cheers,
Ben
 

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Nowadays, the terms synthesizer and keyboard are being used in two ways. One, they are used interchangebly. Two, a synthesizer is a keyboard or module that synthesizes sounds. A regular keyboard has only presets that you can't do anything with. Synthesizers allow you to take the onboard sounds and tweak them with real time controls. Some very high-end synths let you synthesize sounds from basic waveforms or by making your own samples.

You can create your own samples by recording an acoustic or external electric instrument into the keyboard. For example, let's say that you have a great-sounding grand piano (acoustic) and you want to use the sound of it on your keyboard (electronic). You can mic your piano and record each note at various velocitys. You then program or assign the indiviual samples to various layers of the patch and the keys of the keyboard. You can assign each velocity as a different layer on the patch. To program the keys, you have to scale down the 88-key piano samples to the size of your keyboard (unless you have an 88-key keyboard, of course)

Just a little background information for you!
 
None of the boards mentioned so far (minus the XP30) can hold a candle to the M1. A used "high end" synth is a much better value than most of these new "budget" synths.

I bought both a Korg M1 and X5D. The X5 is long gone, but the M1 will never go - much better sound (warmer, fuller) and it uses the FS keybed (same as DX7, Triton and Motif).

The XP30 is also a good synth (I've owned mine for 5 years), but the keybed is not as nice as the FS keybed.

If you come across them, both the Korg T3 and 01/W would also be good values if you are after that early 90's sound. Any Korg after that really isn't worth the money (N and X series).
 
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