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By jodella
#655235
I'm going to be playing keyboard/synthesiser for a couple of bands soon (rock) and I'm completely at a loss, as a piano player, as to what keyboard to go for.

To date, we've been playing on my Yamaha CLP280 digital piano at home with the CD on in the background, but soon I'll need something transportable to the studio and to gigs.

Any recommendations? From a random Google search, the [url=http://www.roland.co.uk/synth_room_catdet.asp?id=JUNOSTAGE]Roland Juno-Stage[/url] looks ok, but then what do I know? :roll: :?
Last edited by jodella on Tue Sep 23, 2008 2:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By Timothy
#655243
As pianos, there is no doubt that the top-of-the-range Yamahas are better than Rolands, but I hear that Rolands are more popular on the stage, possibly because they are lighter.

The piano we were humping around Edinburgh a Yahama CP-300 was a total of 65Kg. 35 for the piano, 20 for the case and 10 for the stand (which has to be heavy duty to be sturdy). That's a lot of weight.
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By jodella
#655254
Thank you, Timothy. That does sound awfully heavy though. Otherwise, it looks like a good option.
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By Sharpie
#655321
The new Roland Juno-Stage is an excellent keyboard and is specifically designed for what you want it for. It has a full size 76 note keyboard which will be good for someone coming from piano. One point, it won't have weighted keys so you'll have to get used to that but it is of course velocity sensitive.
Another keyboard you could check out is the Korg X50:
http://www.korg.co.uk/products/pro_keyboard/x50/pk_x50.asp
It only has 61 keys but this is enough for stage use in bands. It sounds great but don't expect the piano sounds to be Steinway quality!

I have examples of both Roland and Korg in my harem and they are great machines and highly reliable. My Roland particularly has done probably 250 gigs and still sings despite the roadies best attempts at slinging it out of windows and driving the van over it!

Other products to look at include the Yamaha Motif but be aware that these are rather more sophisticated and therefore not so easy to use at gigs.