Keyboard suggestions

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Two of my criteria for a keyboard include 88 weighted keys and a ribbon controller. Am I correct in stating that the only real options at this point in time (considering that Kurzweil is essentially no more) that meet those criteria are the Korg OASYS, Triton, Triton Extreme, and the Yamaha Motif ES8? I want to make sure I haven't overlooked any boards before I look more heavily into each of those while saving up my cash.

[ChrisMcCoy]

Kurzweil is still available.
Since you are in Northern VA, check this link for details:

http://www.washingtonmusic.com/inv.asp?d=keyboards&sd=synth&b=Kurzweil&n=321

I'm around the beltway from you in Maryland.
Feel free to e-mail me if you need anything.
chris@chrismccoymusic.biz

Chris

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Well, if I found an incredible deal I'd probably go for it, but from what I understand the company is going under, not even mentioning the fact that their customer support was awful. Considering that I'm not really a synth guru, and couldn't fix it myself if something went wrong, I had been thinking it would be best to avoid Kurzweils. Though if you can convince me otherwise, go ahead.

[Airspeed]

Please don't give up on Kurzweil. You can still find great deals on Ebay. What if everyone gave up on Moog just because they stopped making synths for a long period of time. Think about the quality sound that you can get from the instrument more than company politics and customer support. If money to fix a broken Kurz is an issue then maybe buying a more mainstream keyboard is the right thing to do. I would recommend a Motif ES over a Korg (personal opinion) and maybe look around for a Kurz Expressionmate to take care of your ribbon needs. Good luck!!! :wink:

[Tigerfolly]

Well, if I found an incredible deal I'd probably go for it, but from what I understand the company is going under, not even mentioning the fact that their customer support was awful. Considering that I'm not really a synth guru, and couldn't fix it myself if something went wrong, I had been thinking it would be best to avoid Kurzweils. Though if you can convince me otherwise, go ahead.

Unless it's been abused in some way, it's not exactly commonplace that you would have problems that the manufacturer itself would need to get involved for. After ten years of use, sure you might run into some problems, but there's always the possibility that no matter who the manufacturer is, you're not going to be able to find the support you need from them. Roland's website doesn't even have manuals available for previous models. Korg's website seriously scales back it's support for non-current models. Who knows, in ten years it might be impossible to find support for half of the popular keyboards manufactured today. Alesis has been shaky for years, and Oberheim is essentially gone (and I was selling brand new Oberheims just three years ago). It happens.

As far as finding support for programming and non-hardware related issues, this is it! Many people on this forum own, have owned, or have worked with Kurzweils to some degree. Just take a look at how many K2x00 questions pop up, and how many people have answers for them.

Basically, if you get a new board from a reputable buyer with all of the materials it was originally packaged with, the chance of you having a ton of problems with it isn't very likely.

[ChrisMcCoy]

... Though if you can convince me otherwise, go ahead.

Take a trip to Chucks and play it !
If I had the cash, believe me there'd be one in my rig right now. There's plenty of good support right here on this message board. Lots of Kurzweil users. The repair department at Chuck's can handle any hardware repair you throw at them...I've been doing business with them for 22 years.
See the link in my original post for directions/details.....

Chris

[merijn]

It's certainly worth the effort! Oh, that ribbon controller. I think you overestimate it's use. You use it the first month excessively and then the real fun is gone.

(take that from a k2600X user :))

[LithoJazzoSphere]

It's certainly worth the effort! Oh, that ribbon controller. I think you overestimate it's use. You use it the first month excessively and then the real fun is gone.

Oh, I know the novelty of it wouldn't last long. But most of my favorite keyboardists (JR, Chick, etc.) use it, so obviously even the pros find it useful.

[btdvox]

Fantom X8 with SRX-07 card.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

The X8 doesn't have a ribbon though, correct?

[btdvox]

It has the D-beam which acts like the K2600 I have emulated it very well using the instructions by karmafied found on fantomized.info

http://forum.fantomized.info/index.php?action=show_thread&thread=2915&fid=2&pag e=1

Its a cool feature that roland is trying to do to be differnet which i find thought out.

And Rolands Pianos are simply amazing now along with the wicked leads. You can easily emulate a Liquid T Lead

[Ael]

It has the D-beam which acts like the K2600 I have emulated it very well using the instructions by karmafied found on fantomized.info

http://forum.fantomized.info/index.php?action=show_thread&thread=2915&fid=2&pag e=1

Its a cool feature that roland is trying to do to be differnet which i find thought out.

And Rolands Pianos are simply amazing now along with the wicked leads. You can easily emulate a Liquid T Lead

Care to send a sample over of what your lead sounds like playing with the DBeam ? I'm curious.

[btdvox]

Yeah ill try n get one soon, Ask Karmafied as he may already have one. But his directions work magnificiantly so far. I mean the D-beam was just to make a different type of Ribbon Controller. just with a different feel.....no pun intended haha