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I'm looking to replace my Roland KC350 amp.  I am using a PX5s and a Hammond SK1 and I'm not happy with the sound that comes out of the amp. The clarity of the voices seem to get washed out. 

 

We're doing small bars and clubs doing mostly 60s and 70s classic rock so I need some power.  Any thoughts on using a stand-alone PA system to amp my boards?  What other amps have you using?  Any recommendation would be appreciated.

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  • 1 month later...

After reading leoaprilia2001's comment, has anyone else either bought or tried the HK Lucas Nano. I'm interested in getting one, but since I'll have to buy it online without the luxury of actually seeing or trying it (and will be unable to return it!), I want to gather as much hands-on information as possible.

BTW, I made the mistake of buying a Laney AH150 based on reviews and endorsements, and it is terrible. I bought it mainly for rehearsals, small gigs and onstage monitoring - it's lightweight, has 4 channels (mic, instrument/guitar, line in/ keyboards, iPad etc.) but I need to push the 2.5k EQ slider to its maximum to get anywhere near a decent sound. I even get a better result from a little Fender Frontman 25R amp (10" speaker and open back) that I used to take to practice to run my guitar through!

Worse still, my band members reckon that they would rather listen to the sound from the Yamaha DGX-505 that I used to own and now resides where we practice. What an insult to the PX-5S!

I hope there's no one else here that has a Laney AH150 and is offended by my comments! Feel free to disagree ;-)

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Hugh, I like the idea of the Bose L1 Compact, but at around $1700 here in Australia, it's a bit more than I am intending to spend. For that amount of money I can get two HK Lucas Nanos, or a pair of Yamaha HS7 studio monitors and a QSC K10!

Not that don't like Bose - I use Bose speakers for my stereo, home theatre system and Mac-based video production setup; and used Bose 802's with my band's PA system before I retired in the early 80's.

Since the band I'm occasionally gigging with these days use a pair of Yamaha DXR12's for front-of-house and a number of DXR10's and 8's for on-stage monitoring, I really only need to cover home use and practice/jamming.

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Scott, I'm also interested in your opinion of KC110. I was originally quite interested in this at the time that I was considering the PX-5S and following PianoManChuck's YouTube reviews ( thanks PianoManChuck! ). Since then, I seem to have nothing but negative comments and reviews - plus at $640 in Australia, it seems a bit overpriced.

I'm looking for something that I can also run my guitar through, bearing in mind that for gigging I use a MusicMan 212 HD130, which I wish was much lighter!

When I bought the PX-5S, I was hoping to run guitar through the external input so would only need something basic but with a good frequency reponse for practice and quiet jamming. Unfortunately the (?) noise gate (?) that clips the input signal before it has fully decayed makes it impossible.

I am also interested in the Yamaha Stagepas series. Your Stagepas 500 would be over the top for my needs, but I can a 150M for about the same price as the KC110, and the 250M for not much more. Have you (or any other member) had a chance to try either of these?

What I would really love is something that I can easily cart around to show off the superb piano sound that I hear through my Sony MDR-V6 studio monitor headphones - but that might be asking too much ;-)

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This is a little off topic but I'm curious, have you played a guitar through the Px-5s?  What is the effect you describe and at what volume?  Is the guitar running straight into the PX-5s or through a preamp first?  Is the input using a split adapter to run the guitar through both left and right inputs or just through the mono left?

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Ebonivor,

 

Yes the bose is a silly price ,£900 here and not many watts too.(£1600 and £2,200 for the bigger ones)

but it sounds great,I can carry it in one hand and I don't get complaints about it being too loud

except when I played with a really loud blues band and turned on full and the lead guitar player playing through the PA said I was too loud.(great!)

 

What I hate is seeing a company make an amp and speaker and it just the same as we had 50 years ago.

 

Line 6 AMPLIFi 75 Guitar Amp with Bluetooth ? Looks different
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Hi Choppin, thanks for your imterest. This issue has been discussed on another thread: http://www.casiomusicforums.com/index.php?/topic/4279-noise-gate-on-audio-input/

My inital intention was to run the guitar through either Amplitube or JamUp Pro on my iPad into the mini jack input. When I discovered the clipping, I suspected that the software was the culprit, so I tried going direct into the line inputs, and then via both an active and a passive DI box. The result was the same. Adjusting the input level made no difference. One poster recommended adjusting the compressor settings, but that also had no effect. Another suggested that I should try sending a tone through the input, recording it to the USB drive and then check the resulting signal waveform in Audacity to see exactly what was happening. Curiously, his post has been removed... possibly due to his suggestion that some electronics manufacturers were using a noise gate to mask the effects of low quality components. I think that it is more likely that Casio is using it to reduce noise from attached devices and if so, it would nice to be able to either turn it off or adjust it. Of course, it might be nothing like that.

Anyway, I actually did something similar what was suggested by the poster (sorry, I can't remember who it was).

I generated a repeating series of 5 second 400Hz sine wave tones with a cosine fade. I saved it as a WAV file and loaded it onto my iPad. I then played the file through the PX-5S and recorded it. The clipping was clearly evident both audibly and when comparing the the graph of the original and the recorded signal in Audacity. I was intending to post images of the waveforms and mp3s until I saw that the post suggesting the approach had been removed. Also, earlier in the thread Mike Martin had said that he had made Casio aware of the issue, and I was really only looking to see if the had been any update.

Sorry for the lengthy reply, but it might help anyone else who is experiencing the problem. Hopefully a fix is in the works,

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Hugh,

I don't have problem with the lead guitarist, because that's me too! But the drummer and bass player...that's a different story!

That Line 6 amp looks interesting... pity the don't make one just for keyboards with stereo 1/4" jacks.

How do you run that cheap second speaker off the Bose to get stereo? And wouldn't you get a noticable drop in quality? I guess I'm just a little bit tempted.

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Ebonivor,

 

From what I can see the Line 6 is in fact a stereo amp and you can play your hi fi through blue tooth and they make a more powerful one too

I was surprised but I have not had first hand experience but take a look at this ;

 

What I use is a stereo mackie mixer and because the bose is so sweet the dirty whatever on the other side of the stereo makes the sound better and meaner.

When you buy the bose first if you are used to 1200 watts you will find the bose not loud enough but will I sell it

NO

It's the best lightest amp/sp I have ever had.

Over the years when I buy loud gear I'm asked to turn down.

Now when I'm at full whack Its not too loud but great for me.

The strange thing is that 200 watts is not twice as loud as 100 watts.

1,000 is twice as loud as 100 watts.

 

Just as long as you don't buy silly and heavy ,you will be good to go.

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I have a KC-110 and a pair of EV ZLX12P's.  I use the KC-110 as a monitor when I run directly into the PA for band practice or some gigs.  I run the PX-5S and my NE4 into the KC-110 then use the stereo lines out through a stereo direct box to the PA.  This way I have a stereo monitor feed as well as a stereo house feed.  I have also used the KC-110 for guitar...I actually think it is a better sounding amp for acoustic guitars than it is for keyboards.  The final thing I use the KC for is when going on a vacation...it travels very well due to its small size and weight.  As to sound quality, it's OK, but not great. Note, if you push the volume it will clip. 

 

My alternative set-up when I don't run through the PA (which can happen for a variety of reasons) is running my keys and guitars (I run my electric guitar through a Boss ME-25 using the headphones for the feed) into an Alesis mixer then out to the EV ZLX's.  I like the EV's, but note at lower volumes, you will here some buzzing with electric pianos sounds so listen carefully before buying if you are playing jazz or the like, but they are great for a rock band setting IMO....big and bold.

 

Hey jaspeter, great job on all the Stage Settings you have created...sorry I haven't been around here to thank you for the couple shout-outs you gave me along the way.

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Thanks, Jimmyjames and Scott, that's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for on the KC110. It sounds decent enough for my purposes and the convenience is a primary factor. It's funny that most reviews of it (and most other gear, for that matter) go something like, "I don't own it, I've never heard it, but it's crap and you should use what I use." For what it is intended to be, it sounds like a decent piece of equipment. Thanks!

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Before I bought my Bose L1 Compact system, I used an Acoustic Image Coda+. Probably the smallest, lightest amp with real power on the market. Weight and size is a priority with me. AI makes several models. Great warranty, great service. They are a bit pricey...actually more than a bit! But, I recommend them highly.

But, I'm loving my Bose L1!

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EV ZLX12P ?

Jimmy James

You like the EVs…..they look good to me

light?

" you will here some buzzing with electric pianos sounds"

What buzzes ? Is it the EVs on a stand or a buzz internally

 

 

 

Roland KC-110 Keyboard Amp - 2x 15W with power supply, (2x 10W with batteries, 2x 6.5" speakers and 2x thomann tweeters, 3x channels (1x XLR/jack and 2x jack), 2-band EQ (master section), XLR & jack input (channel 1), left/mono & right input (channel 2), left/mono & right input (channel 3), aux in (phono & stereo mini-jack), left/mono & right line out, stereo headphone thomann output, footswitch jack input. Dimensions: 420 x 244 x 320mm. Weight: 7.3kg. Includes power supply. Can be powered via batteries for up to 8 hours.

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Hugh, it's something internal in the EV's.  Thought is was just my pair but I went back to GC and tried another pair and the same buzz was there.  I posted about this on the KC and Nord forum about six months ago (see link below).  In general, I find EP sounds stress out speakers but this was just a bit beyond that.  Nonetheless I still own and like them.  They are about 32 pounds I think....lighter than my old KC-300 amps. http://www.norduserforum.com/nord-electro-forum-f9/ne4-and-ev-zlx-12p-s-t5645.html

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