Recommend me a keyboard to start out on

[Knyq]

i want to start learning some keyboard/piano stuff, and i will have to learn in college anyway, so i figure why not start now. ive played guitar for 5 years, so i know enough about theory and everything.

ive been looking around for a little while now, and i started a thread on the DT forums about this too.
as of now, im looking at a Roland Juno-D, most likely a used model to save some $$. theres a few on ebay now that im watching.

i want something that will sound good and last a long time. im planning on spending between $300-500. are there any other models i should look at besides the juno? that seems like one of the better ones in the price range.


thanks

[Staccato]

Hm, no I don´t think it´s very good!:P A used Korg trinity is a much better option. There are so many other used boards that are better too.. search for other threads here on the forum, and you will find other options and many peoples views on them! Search first.. and then come back with some more questions!

[Asho]

Dunno what $300 to $500 in AUD is, but theres the Korg Trinity and Roland XP80, which are great value for money.

[Grey Loki]

What is it with people and the Juno D at the moment?

It's gotta be the worst value for money keyboard i've ever seen.

[Omega Monkey]

Yamaha EX7 (EX5 if you can afford it, a couple hundred more but its basically twice as good)
Korg Trinity
Ensoniq SQ1+, SQ2+ or KS-32
Ensoniq SD1
Korg O1W
Yamaha SY77 or SY99
Yamaha S03 or S30

Those are all good synths that are roughly in that range. Dont let Musicians Friend or Guitar Center make your gear choices for you. Go outside the box and find out what is out there to be had.

[Staccato]

What is it with people and the Juno D at the moment?

It's gotta be the worst value for money keyboard i've ever seen.

True!!

Listen to Omega monkey´s suggestions, and look them all up.. read and listen to samples etc. That will help you.

[Knyq]

i looked up omega monkey's suggestions. i couldnt find that much on the ensoniq stuff. a trinity looks like it would be pretty cool. what are the differences between the different models (Plus, Pro)?
out of all those yamaha models you listed, what are the main differences between them (the 3 different series that is)? some of those look like they would be pretty good choices.

anyone ever played any of those yammy models? comments on them?

thanks

edit:
after looking things up further, my best choice seems to be either a trinity or an S30. i dunno if i would want to get some of the older models that you listed.

what does after-touch mean? (its in the s30 specs) and does the S30 have weighted keys?

[Staccato]

The difference is how many keys they have.. can´t remember if it´s pro or plus that have 88 keys, and the other one, then of course 76. Haven´t played much on the yamaha models, but many others have, so they can answer that question. The S30 doesn´t have weighted keys.. I think semi-weighted.. and after-touch means that you can trigger effects and stuff depending how hard you press they key after you pushed it down. So after you have played a note, you remain to keep the key down, and then you can ad effects or other stuff.
The best thing would go to a store and tryu them out yourself to se if you like how it sounds!

[normthesamurai]

Actually just quickly I didn't think it was worth starting up a new thread for it but does anyone know anything about the Ensoniq esq1? Sure its rather old school but I can get a reasonable price for one and the reviews on harmony central seem to be favourable.

Anyway yeah steer clear of the Juno D. Bad key feel, dead sounds and I found the patch editing/creation to not be very free. Then again the only other synth I've done much programming on was the DX7 so maybe I just didn't get used to the programming.

[Omega Monkey]

The ESQ1 is a pretty cool little unit. Definitely has a lot of character. I believe it uses short digital waves in the oscillator section, but has an analog filter section, so its sort of a cross of digital and analog. You can get some cool sounds out of them. I'd say if you can get it for not more than $200 or so and you are looking for something a bit different, go for it.

You should be able to find samples online. Go to altavista and you can search for sound files.

[Knyq]

yeah i plan to go to sam ash sometime soon just to try out some different stuff.

an S30 seems like it would be pretty cool. for what i need, i think it will cover it all and then some.

ill keep looking at trinities on ebay too (i dunno if a music store would have one, since its an older model).


i still need to research some more. thanks for the help so far.