Good keyboard amp?

[genesisfan]

Still have not posted any manufacturer with excellent Frequency Response!!

 

[jpscoey]

Who are you referring to - yourself or other contributors???

 

[genesisfan]

Everybody

 

[AdamGBB]

I might jump in here too.

I myself am looking for a keyboard amp/moniter. I am in a band, a six-piece heavy rock band at that. We do the occasional gig. My bandmates now want me to start supplying my own amplification for gigs and jams.

In our repertoire I use a wide variety of sounds/tones: for example, crushing and powerful reverberating church organ, searing lead tones, soft ambient voxes, yeah. You get the idea.

I don't have a lot of money to throw around.

Would it still be a good idea to get something cheap like the KC150? Any KC150 or other cheap keyboard amp users out there, who ALSO use a variety of sounds/tones who can recommend an amp to me? Or perhaps recommend I avoid certain amps/ brands?

At the moment I'm just running my synth through the clean channel of an aging 65W Marshall Valvestate guitar amp. Would this suffice?

Thanks for any educated opinions

 

[Mourndark]

Ooh, that Marshall is NOT good for keyboard sounds - it'll colour the sound enormously and won't have nearly the frequency range for your playing. Certainly you'll loose many of the lower harmonics of your church organ sounds, and with that the crushing power.

I'd go with the KC150 if you're on a budget. For the benefit of those interested, I think the FR is 49-20k, but it certainly doesn't sound like it to the average ear as it has HUGE bass power. I would say it's not great for piano, particularly at high levels, but it doesn't look like this'll be a problem for you.

 

[kanthos]

I've been happy with my KC-150. Then again, I play at church where we have monitors, and I also strongly encourage everyone else in the band to turn down and not have our own amps at really high levels, since all that does is make the stage really noisy and make it harder for the volunteers at the mixer to keep things balanced, so I haven't really needed to push the KC-150 to full power. I do use a variety of sounds though, occasional church organ, synth leads, strings and pads, and mainly B3, piano, rhodes, and wurlitzer, and I've been happy with it.

 

[genesisfan]

20Hz 20KHz

Please assist i listing any keyboard amps with frequency response, is their a website that lists the above mentioned for comparison?

 

[kanthos]

Don't know; does Google say there is? You could also try looking for frequency responses on individual amps (I know Roland makes theirs available, either on one of their websites or in the product manual) and determine from that which one(s) you want to pursue further.

 

[Stokely]

Hello,

New here, obviously, and I found this forum to get info on amps specifically so I'll pile onto this thread rather than start a new one. Lots of good info on amps, speakers and the lack thereof I'm hoping some recommendations on what might work for me. I haven't played live in a long, long time...my last amp was a Peavey KB 300 in the early 80's. (Please, if it's heavier than that thing, I don't want it!)

I need something for practice to be heard over a heavy-handed drummer I'll need something for stage monitoring as well as "mains" for really small gigs (maybe). We play pop/rock.

I'm leaning toward a PA speaker, something like the Mackie 450s, vs an amp (see budget ramblings below).

On build quality and budget:
My budget is "as low as possible". This is a casual band, not going to make tons of money here, so "the boss" has fixed me (and my credit card) in her baleful glare I hate cheap crap that breaks, but the reality is I don't have tons of cash to throw around. I'm hoping for $300 or under. I should mention that I'm only (unfortunately) planning to run mono, so that's for one speaker. Brand-wise (at guitar center, I get a discount there), that leaves me with things like Gem, Gemini, Behringer, Harbinger and American Audio. The Tapco Thump 15" is at the top of my budget range. For amps, I could get one of several Behringers or one of the smaller Roland or Peaveys.

I've sort of targeted a 12" speaker as a compromise between weight, cost and having some bass...Do you think a 10" or even 8" might work (if spl will be enough)? I'm an old guy now, light is good

Anyway, seems like a great site. I welcome any and all comments!

 

[meisenhower]

Stokely:

I posted a complete response on your "other" thread on the subject!

R

 

[genesisfan]

I think Groove Tubes Spacestation might be an nice choice that you may consider. The SFX MK2 100watt X 2
18.5" x 11"x12" weighs 32lbs.

 

[Doug Dixon]

How loud do you want it?

I have got different amps for different usages. For home use a per of studio monitors would be ideal as you don't need high volume. If you are playing in public you will need an amp that will give you the power of output needed to project the sound. I use a per of Edirol MA-15 powered monitors at home. These give great sound at low volume and didn't cost alot. I was using a Roland KB100 amp but found it too heavy which is a problem with most keyboard combos. I now use a Yamaha EMX512 powered mixer and two Walfdale Titan 12 speakers.
This gives me a very flexible system as I can use it for small to mid size gigs or as monitors with a bigger PA system, plus you can plug in more keyboards, sound modules, mics ect.
One other thing to check out is a new Roland amp/pa system called the BA-330 portable PA system. Roland UK - Guitar » Amplifiers » Battery Powered Amplifiers » BA-330
Hope this was some help.

 

[genesisfan]

Motion Sound KP-200

Hi There!
By December Xmas time
I am considering the KP-200 Motion Sound Amp w/slave unit for Stereo option.
I'm also looking at the LESLIE 3301 keyboard amp, it does not have a rotary but does have a 15inch woofer.
I like strings, pads & choirs.
With the Motion sound units there is a rotary unit available as an option for organ
Which do you suggest.
Thanks

+1 to the hand truck idea. I own a Motion Sound KP-200s, weighing in at 55 lb! No way in hell I"m lifting that unless I absolutely have to. 37 lb should be light enough that lifting it whenever you can't roll it would work no? Albeit I don't have back problems so I can't comment, but seriously... get something with wheels... hand truck or otherwise.

Or a powered speaker with a 10" cone... i.e. JBL eon 10 or Mackie SRM350... cheaper than the barbeta I think. From what I've seen... keyboard amps (as opposed to powered speakers) tend to be heavier when looking at similiar volume/wattage.

 

[PianoMan]

If you're looking at getting Motion Sound w/ slave I'd look at two powered speakers instead, as that'd be a cheaper route and a lighter route... QSC K10 or K12 or EV SXA360 or something along those lines.

 

[genesisfan]

Money is not the problem
I will pay whatever it takes for good clean, rich keyboard/synth sound

 

[PianoMan]

Alright here's the deal. My amp is a Traynor K4. The reason I have this amp is because it is a stereo image in a single box, making transport simple, whereas if I wanted stereo and purchased powered speakers, I'd have to always bring 2 speakers. This would be the only reason, in my opinion, to buy the Motion Sound KP-200s, which I also had for a while and to me was underpowered, so I'd opt for the 500w model.

To me, getting the KP-200s and the slave makes no sense, since you'll probably get a richer nicer sound by buying two powered speakers. Something like
QSC K10 | Sweetwater.com or
QSC K12 | Sweetwater.com
depending on if you wanted 10" or 12" speakers... also the older JBL EON G2 models are decent, or you could get EV SXA-360 which are 12" powered speakers. I haven't heard any of these myself, just going on reviews. Another setup would be two
Buy Accugroove Tri112L Bass Cabinet | Amp Cabinets | Musician's Friend with
Buy QSC PLX1804 Lightweight Professional Power Amplifier | Live Power Amplifiers | Musician's Friend
as an amp is apparently a good setup, especially for acoustic pianos (which are the hardest to get to sound good).

If I were buying amplification and money and setup was not an issue, I would be looking at the QSC K10s or K12s, from what I've read. There are other powered speakers as well, which you could do some research to find out some good ones, but basically I personally wouldn't be looking at the motion sound amps if buying a slave is entering the picture. Only reason I would get one would be for the convenience of having a stereo image in one box, otherwise you'll might as well spend a little more (or less, maybe?) and get powered speakers.

Just my 2 cents. Again I haven't listened to a lot of powered speakers, but it's what I'd be looking at... the little I have heard sounded good to me.

 

[genesisfan]

Thanks Piano Man for the message
I already own a pair of Mackie SRM-450s powered monitors
Just looking to improve the sound of patches, choirs,pads & strings.
I want better sound rich & fat
Maybe the Motion Sound KP-500 & adding their subwoofer would solve the issue
What are your thoughts of the above mentioned?

 

[PianoMan]

I'd say go listen and judge for yourself. From what I've read about the Mackies... they tend to be shrill in certain high registers, and in general are not as good as the other brands I mentioned. This is only from what I've read. I imagine the Motion Sound would be an upgrade from the Mackies, but if you're gonna buy the KP-500 and a sub, you might be more satisfied with the accugroove setup or QSC setup. I'm not sure, your ear will be the judge, my opinions are based solely on what I've read, which has been the opinions of other musicians.
The POWERED SPEAKERS Thread - MusicPlayer Forums that forum is where I've received most of my info, and that thread deals with powered speakers as well as
Accugroove setup vs. SXA360 - who has heard /used both? - MusicPlayer Forums
To JBL or to Accugroove, that is the question - MusicPlayer Forums

Hope that helps, unfortunately as I have no personal experience with much I can't tell you what to get.

 

[keysmccarthy]

I use a Behringer ultratone k1800fx. Which is not only a 180 watt keyboard amp but a PA system also. Like Mourndark, when Im giggin I use it as a monitor and play through the whole band's PA System. At home, I also use it to play my Korg through as it has no integrated speakers.
This amp now goes for about £200 to £250 from what I can see from the internet. I would recommend it as I have had no problems with it and it is more than enough power for me I also use it to put a couple of mikes through along with the keyboard simultaneously for when I practise for a 2 piece I'm in. This is very usefulness of it being a PA also.

 

[JayRox]

I might jump in here too.

I myself am looking for a keyboard amp/moniter. I am in a band, a six-piece heavy rock band at that. We do the occasional gig. My bandmates now want me to start supplying my own amplification for gigs and jams.

In our repertoire I use a wide variety of sounds/tones: for example, crushing and powerful reverberating church organ, searing lead tones, soft ambient voxes, yeah. You get the idea.

I don't have a lot of money to throw around.

Would it still be a good idea to get something cheap like the KC150? Any KC150 or other cheap keyboard amp users out there, who ALSO use a variety of sounds/tones who can recommend an amp to me? Or perhaps recommend I avoid certain amps/ brands?

At the moment I'm just running my synth through the clean channel of an aging 65W Marshall Valvestate guitar amp. Would this suffice?

Thanks for any educated opinions

You say that "I am in a band, a six-piece heavy rock band at that." You will not be happy with the the Roland KC 150 amp! The high end will shreak like crazy. If you want to stick with Roland, then the Roland KC 350 is the smallest amp you should consider, and the KC550 would probably better suit your needs.