That oh so important first keyboard purchase!

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ditnoj

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'Sup!

I am buying a keyboard. Why? because I have to!
I need it to
practice the keys chops (I'm a drummer/percussionist by birth!),sequence (all kinds of music from Bach to Bop), as a main source for recording (see kinds of music above), and general all around multi usage. I like acoustic sounds, I need electric sounds, obviously at least a 16 track sequencer, you know the deal!
Of course I don't WANT to spend a lot for this muffler (you do remember Big George's commercials?) but I am more interested in getting the right keyboard the first time.

What can you oh esteemed ones reccomend?
 
A few routes:

Used Kurzweil or Korg or Roland or Yamaha

New ~ there are so many out there...what is you price range? (bottom and top)
 
I think you've somewhat narrowed it down so far. Since it will be your only keyboard and you want it for all-around use, you'll want it to be a sample-based keyboard. (None of that virtual analog). Another thing you mentioned is that you want it for practicing. Does that mean you'd like a weighted keyboard? Practicing on a weighted keyboard will help you to develop finger strength. If you just need a keyboard for recording, you don't need a weighted keyboard. But if you want to also become a decent player, you may want to consider it. But it's not necessary. Also, how many keys do you need? If you want to try to play some classical stuff, you might need more than the standard five octaves. Bach doesn't need a big keyboard, though.

Are you willing to buy used equipment, or do you want something new? If you only want new, that narrows it down more. Your price range is important also. Whether you want new or used, all of the four brands that Flametop mentioned are good.

For new keyboard, there's the Korg N364 or N264 in the $1000 price range. I've always liked Korg stuff. (I don't have anything new though, just a DSS-1 and an EX-8000.) The next step up would be the Trinity and it would be a great choice, but that's around the $1500 range and may be to high. As far as Roland goes, they have the XP60. Another one you might check out is the Kurzweil K2000. I've had one for years and it's great. If you look around you might be able to find one used or refurbished for a good price. I have an AMS catalog that lists the K2000VP for $1,159 (Non-Factory seal box). They may have sold out by now, though. I don't know if Yamaha has a keyboard with a sequencer in the same price range as these other brands. It seems to me that you want the least expensive keyboard that has a sequencer.

If you go for a used keyboard, there are a lot of choices. I don't know all the possible keyboards that have come out over the last 10 or 15 years. The Korg M1 comes to mind because that was a very popular all-around keyboard. But I don't remember if it had a sequencer---probably not.

As always, you should go to the store and listen before you buy.
 
Hey JimH!

I saw where the Kurzweil 2000 has 32 track sequencer. Is that 32 tracks or 16 stereo? I saw a pretty good price on a refurbished at Musicians Friend.

As far as price range, around 1K, more or less. Did OK with taxes this year PTL!

Weighted keys...cool but not necessary, my finger strength is Ok, My practicing will be to acheive playing on the fly what I presently have to turn the tempo down on the sequencer to play as far as chord constructions are concerned!

Oh yeah, durability and lack of repair problems is a MUST! I take good care of my equipment (I still have and play the drumset my parents bought me in High School!) but---I live in Mexico...'nuff said.

Thanks and keep it comin'
 
As a stand alone "cheap" keyboard the Alesis Q series is pretty good. It is pretty basic meat and spuds and sounds okay...especially with a wide range of music types. You can buy sound cards (expensive) or load simple samples onto a RAM card using a free computer program (they give it to you on the CD0.

Having said that.... everyone likes different sounds and different features. Money usually plays a big role as well. There is no substitue to listening yourself. I would also invest the 6$ or so and buy the Electronic Musician 2000 buying guide or the similar publication from Keyboard. It will give you lots of stats etc and will help you consider keyboards which may not be the common, but which may meet your needs.... good luck!!
 
Sorry, just re-read your original message and there is no sequencer in the QS series...although you can play sequences using a card.... in any event... take a look through the buying guide.
 
Sounds like you have a clue already. The sequencer on the Kurzweil is really 16 tracks. But the sequencer lets you specify another song in memory to play back in sync with the one you're working on. So you essentially have a 32-track sequencer. It's really two 16-track sequencers slaved together. I'm not intimately familiar with the K2000's sequencer because I use a PC-based one. If you get it, though, make sure you get the v3.0 firmware. That one has the updated sequencer features. ( v3.0 came out a LONG time ago so I'm sure you'd get it.)

I could tell you tons of good features about the K2000. But instead I'll point out a few minor negative things you should be aware of before you buy. First, most users aren't crazy about the feel of the buttons. They kind of feel like they won't last forever. However, I've had mine for several years and haven't had a problem. Try them out before you buy.
The effects chip used is not quite as good as what you'll find in other comparable keyboards. It's the Digitech 128 chip from years ago. It's a bit noisy. But personally, I don't think it's that bad.
The K2000 has only 24 voices. Many other keyboards have more. So if you're planning on sequencing lots of parts at once, keep this in mind. The good news is that you can add extra oscillators on each voice to help thicken up a patch. So you don't have to use up as many voices as you normally would to get thick synth sounds. Also, Kurzweil has a good voice-stealing algorithm that helps make to best use of the available voices.

But those are about the only bad points. There are many good ones. The K2000 is very deep as far as editing sounds. It pretty expandable, too. You can add up to 64 Mb RAM. I've added an internal SCSI drive to mine. You can also connect an external SCSI CD-ROM. I've even connected to my computer via SCSI and used the computer internal CD-ROM drive to load samples. I also have the sampling option.

Well, enough blabbing from me. Check out this site, the K2000 Launch Pad. Lots of good info:
http://www.hyperindex.com/k2/k_main.htm

Jim
 
Oops! I don't know how that "mad" face got up there. I must have clicked the wrong place.
 
Hey Flametop!
You are so right about the case. That is why I still have in good condition the drumset my parents bought me back in high school! I can't understand how people expect to maintain an instrument covered in a "Hefty"!

D out ITNOJ
 
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