Amp recommendations

[Hugh O Kelly]

Thanks Jimmy James,

I always like to have an ear out for my next lot of gear.

Right now I can do a gig bringing my gear on a bike.

The bose on the carrier on the back and the PX5s on my back.

There is a new hammond XK1c (as apposed to the XK1,very confusing)     the smallest lightest keyboard I have ever seen

 

 

Buzz internally…..not good.

At the volumes I play which seems to be getting softer and softer, perhaps it would not buzz  ? ?

but I love the spread of sound so as many speakers as I can have, the more I like it.

Thanks for the info

Hugh

[Edward]

A couple of musicians I know have Fender Passport PA systems.  One is an older 200 watt unit; the other is a new 300 watt unit.  After hearing them, I decided I should check them out.  I demoed a StagePas 600 side by side with the Fender Passport 300.  It really surprised me, but the lower wattage Fender sounded better to my ear.....so, that is what I brought home...the Fender Passport 300.

 

I also have a Roland KC60 40 watt amp that I purchased to use with my Roland FP5.  The PX-5S sounds not terrible running through the Roland, but it is really not so good either.  BUT...when I hooked it up to our Passport 300, the sound just blew me away.  Absolutely beautiful.  WIth the speakers about 3 feet behind me and separated by about seven feet, the sound just wraps around me....it is crystal clear, full, and rich.  Bottom line is that I am very pleased with my Fender Passport 300.

[andymcd]

I reviewed the Nano for a songwriting magazine here in the US. At the time, I had the Privia PX-310 and it sounded great!  The Nano is light but very solid. You do have to be okay with setting up the satellite speakers...the reward is that you get nice stereo separation. I found it worked great in small venues and even on stage as a monitor.  I've used the QSCs (10 and 12s) on stage and they sound great and get very loud. If you are doing anything with splits with bass or driving drum sounds it's the way to go. With any larger speakers, especially powered ones, you have to consider if you'd be prepared to move them. The weight of any professional powered speaker can get old.  I also reviewed the Line6 amplifi and while it is a stereo design it has only one low-frequency speaker (two mid and high that give you stereo effects and separation). It's a great amp for guitarists who like the solid-state/DSP amp and cabinet emulations and it worked well for a light rehearsal for keys. However, I don't think it (150 watt) would hold the low end of a grand and cut through a band on stage--small venue maybe--and didn't seem to have a warm low-end for keyboard sounds. Then again it's a guitar amp, right? The full-range nature of the amplifi is probably overkill for most guitarists, but maybe not enough to call it a keyboard amp. The Bluetooth feature is nice, too.

 

Bose L1 systems work well for small venues and we've used as many as five to cover a larger venue by chaining them together. They provided a great full-range sound, but they are not conventional speakers and not stereo. While they pack up and transport well, be aware that they have a pretty large footprint. More than once we've found ourselves putting the on the floor in some venues with small stages. Their design gives the sound 'depth' but not true stereo....I mention this only because some people love them and others not so much. They certainly make the bottom of the piano sound nice...if you really want to shake the house, there is a B2 sub option. As to adding a speaker to the L1 to make it stereo, I'm sure that would have the engineers at Bose poking themselves in their eyes. They carefully designed the L1 to be a psychoacoustic marvel and you're throwing a bunch of waves around room. While, I've never tried it, I'd be concerned that you'd undermine the critical directionality of the vertical speaker array by having another speaker unlike it and not carefully phased with it in the same space. When we use multiple L1s, we are careful to space them for this reason.

 

Personally and after a few years of lugging equipment around for keys, I've concluded that I need two rigs: something small for rehearsals that also sounds good enough for small venues (HK nano is great for this) and a large box that will represent keys well in a band situation and handle splits with bass and other challenges (I've had Mackie 450s for years and would probably replace them today with something like QSC). For medium venues, I'll use two powered speakers. Occasionally, one on a stand and one down as a monitor, but that's usually some sort of band/PA situation. Past that, it's time to hire a real sound company. I decided a while ago that keyboard amps were a thing of the past. The ones that are heavy enough to sound decent, don't sound as good as QSCs or the like and are harder to move, store and locate on stage.

 

Final bit of advice: Buy some good covers. Your equipment will last longer, look better and be worth more when you sell it.

 

Hope some of that helps.

[leeskeys]

My 2 cents worth- I recently replaced a pair of Behringer K3000fx keyboard amps with a pair of Electovoice ZXL-12P loudspeakers which I picked up new for $650. 1000 watts each- much more power than I'll ever need. The improvement in sound quality was immediately obvious. Much more portable that the Behringer- each speaker weighs in at 37 lbs, versus 72 for the Behringer.

[Gmul]

Relevant topic for me too. I have/had the ev powered speaker and it knelt down on me. Been to two different techs and it's still out of commission. It started off with the buzzing on ep sounds and then suddenly I switched it on and nothing. Thought it was a faulty unit but reading this I realise there my be an underlying fault with the range. Disappointing.

[Burn]

Hi Mike and welcome to the forums. Most pros I have talked tend to agree that PA's sound better than keyboard amps. Of course, they tend to cost more. The one Mike was using at the Casio booth in at the Nashville NAMM show sounding amazing. I will find out what brand and model he was using. 

 

Scott,

 

Did you find out what "Mike was using at the Casio booth in at the Nashville NAMM show"? 

 

I have been practicing through headphones up to this point. My gal actually likes listening to me play so I figure it is time to add some external speakers for home studio use. Sound Quality over volume in a budget up to 500-600.

 

 

P.S. Hope I don't piss anyone off by reviving an old thread. 

[dlm]

What about the center point space station v3???

[rockinroller]

I used a pair of JBL EON 515xt active speakers my last touring season (last year) and was not impressed.  One used to shut down without warning and the overall output was less than what you'd expect from 625 watts and 15" drivers.  Prior to these I lugged around various manufacturer's bass combo amps, like the GKMB series (lightweight was their only virtue--kept blowing tweeters), Yorkville/Traynor, Peavey, Fender and others.  I loved the "thickness" of the sounds, especially for my Hammond B3 output, but the acoustic pianos, etc. were always muddy and not crisp.   Upon the recommendation of another keyboardist, I reluctantly purchased an Alto Truesonic 800 watt powered speaker, not believing that this "off brand" and its ( sub $300) price would give me anything of quality, let alone an improvement over the famous JBLs.  HAH!  Boy, was I wrong.  These active speakers are the SLEEPER OF THE CENTURY!!!  I have one now (the 12" version) and am thinking of getting another one soon, to split my keyboards (Hammond SK1-73 and the PX-5).  I perform in a touring classic rock tribute band and one of these cuts through the stage mix like nobody's business, and that's at 1/3rd volume.  The 12" driver is punchy and has enough thickness and bass to make my B3 scream.  The highs are so crisp you have to back down your mid-high and high EQs on your mixer a bit.  Plus these weigh under 40lbs so great for gigging.  The build quality seems so much sturdier and rugged than the JBLs.  I've been using Alto's mixer for splitting my two keyboard sounds and mixing them before sending them to the Mains, and that's been a quality product--better than the previous mixers I've used from Mackie, Peavey and Crate.

 

Amazon recently was selling the Alto speaker for $262 with free shipping.  They are routinely $299 online.

[Brad Saucier]

I have been researching the Alto Trusonic's.  They are getting great reviews everywhere.   A pair of Alto TS-110A is on my wish list.  
 

[moleskincrusher]

If you're willing to pay $1,000 and up you can get two powered PA speakers and stands.  That's a lot to pay and a lot to shlep IMO.  If you're decrepit and frugal like me ypu'll go for something less dear and more lightweight.

 

I suggest either:  (1) the Alto Kick 15.  43 lbs.  Digital AP patches sound great through it.  $450 but less when Guitar Center is having a sale.  Or:  (2) the Spacestation v.3.  40 lbs, stereo in a single unit, sits on the floor.  $750 from Sweetwater, no discount. 

 

I currently have a Bose L1 Compact but it's only useful in smaller venues.  I got mine at GC on a holiday (15% off) and with a trade-in so the price I paid was between the Alto and the v.3.

[Hozzer]

I use a StagePas 500.  Beats the socks off my Roland KC110.

I use the stagepas 300 at home, and we tended to use Yamaha stagepas 500 for hire, I tend to find the Yamaha amps are very neutral in sound and don't colour the sound unlike many other amps. Plus you get the full wide stero effects. The 500 was powerfull enough to run a Viscount envoy 3 manual digital church organ in cathedrals.