Is there any joystick?

[Gustavo]

Hi,

I am about a space from buying a M3 but what bothers me is that the controllet that it comes with has wheels instead of joystick, so im thinking to buy the rack version and get a controller with a joystick, but i havent found one, the closest ive come is the Nord Stage 88 (oh btw 88 keys are a must). Anyone knows of any controller under 2000 usd with joystick.

Thanks
G

[MrPillow]

The Roland RD-700sx is just over $2000 or right at it and has a joystick. The Rd-300 might as well, it's about $1300 from what I remember.

[HammondToby]

I tested a M3-61 yesterday and it has a joystick. I don't think, Korg will switch to wheels for their workstations... The R3 has wheels, yes, but not the M3.

If you want a Nord Stage, keep in mind, that the pitchrange of the stick is fixed to +/- 2 semitones.

Best regards
HammondToby

[Gustavo]

I tested a M3-61 yesterday and it has a joystick. I don't think, Korg will switch to wheels for their workstations... The R3 has wheels, yes, but not the M3.

If you want a Nord Stage, keep in mind, that the pitchrange of the stick is fixed to +/- 2 semitones.

Best regards
HammondToby

Oh i just checked and its true. I am going to buy it at sweetwater, and there they had some old photos showing the M3s controllers with wheels rather than joysticks. Thanks for clearing that toby.

G

[Gustavo]

ve spent some hours searching for some options and i've found a few all in the same price tag (3.5k at sw) . The M3 88 key version, M3M with a TR 88 as a controller, or a roland RD-300SX. What other options are there, and what do you think?

G

[HammondToby]

Hm. If I wanted the M3, a joystick and 88 keys, I'd take the M3-88 and an additional racksynth/sampler for other soundoptions. That would be easier and safer to transport, than an extra flightcase and just the module on top of a controller/stage piano. Do you want to use it live?

Best regards
HammondToby

[djpacman]

If your just looking for a controller with 88-keys and a joystick there is always the vmk studio logics but the joystick is not at the end of the keys its above the keys. They don't play like my Vx8 however the hammer action keys are nice, and its only $600us

[Gustavo]

well now i've spent all the morning looking at keyboards for other options. I say from fantom, motif and m3, the M3 took me away. But I stumbled into the Nord Stage, and after reading what it can do and what it has built in, I say this seems like a ver good alternative, maybe i can buy a new NS and get an M3 in like 3 or 4 months. Also i've got very bad feedback from those who have tried the m3 88 and said that the keys feel cheep, also does the plastic parts.

G

[HammondToby]

OK, at first you should decide, what you really need. Actually I know the Nord Stage very well, played whole shows with it as my only board.

What it is: a very good Rhodes- and Hammondemulation, quite good piano, rudimentary synth and rudimentary controller.

What it's not: a workstation, forget sampled sounds beside the pianos, it doesn't have many safelocations (126), just a sustainpedal and a rotaryswitchpedal (no patchchange with a pedal), patchchange with gap.

Great for funk- and soulgigs or rocksessions but really not enough to be the only board, if you want to play a proggig with about 200 combis/setups/performances.

If you have any questions on the Stage, feel free to ask.

Best regards
HammondToby

[Gustavo]

ok thanks toby. So i guess u cannot do much with it as a stand alone, but is it a good controller? cuz i think i can afford buying the stage and the m3m. Also is it really worth for the pianos and organs? i mean i like a very good piano sound, but is this price tag really worth it?

G

[HammondToby]

As a controller (this section is labeled with 'Extern') it's ok, if you make your splits and layers in the M3. There are only fixed switchpoints on the Stage itself (marked with LEDs, very cool to see the splitpoint on dark stages) and there is only one assignable endles rotary for the Externsection. It can send bankselect- and programchangemessages and I personally like the keybed. But complicated controller tasks aren't possible.

The synth is good for a soft pad or a bass or a lead, but not for very complicated sounds.

The piano has a little problem: on good PAs, it sounds very good. On bad PAs, you can forget the pianosound!

If you want to check some organ- and wurlysounds go to my myspace-site and check out 'wonderful tonight' (organ) and 'this is a call' (wurly and organ). To me, it was worth the money: it replaced a Nord Electro 73, Kurzweil PC88, Matrix1000 and Nord MicroModular. I managed to talk with my store and they gave it to me with a 30% discount...

Hope this helps
Best regards
HammondToby

[Gustavo]

Sounds like a very smart buy! Dam its hard to decide what to get. BTW, so it is worthy, what PA do you recommend me? and how many?

G

[HammondToby]

I got the Stage as my sessiongear for rock-, funk- and soulgigs: one board, that does the vintagesounds very good, lightwight and easy to use. For complex things, I take my K2661 with me and the K is controlling the whole setup.

A PA (Public Address) is the speakersystem for livegigs, I doubt, that you want to use a PA at home. Get some studiomonitors like the ADAM P11 or P22, some KRK-monitors or something like that. I can't recommend anything in this area, 'cause I only know the adam S2.5 and Gaithain RL900A. They are quite expencive monitors, that the studio owns, I'm working in sometimes.

Best regards
HammondToby

[Gustavo]

A PA (Public Address) is the speakersystem for livegigs, I doubt, that you want to use a PA at home. Get some studiomonitors like the ADAM P11 or P22, some KRK-monitors or something like that. I can't recommend anything in this area, 'cause I only know the adam S2.5 and Gaithain RL900A. They are quite expencive monitors, that the studio owns, I'm working in sometimes.

Best regards
HammondToby

Lol Yea kinda messed up, i meant monitors, lol. I tried searching for somewhere that sells KRK but theres no one here and sweetwater doesnt sell em. I am now searching which adam suits me best. Also is one enough?

G

[HammondToby]

For stereosound, you'll need two. I'd look out for 'active monitors' in the lower pricerange (about 300 each), but: never ever buy audiogear without a test! And I would never program sounds for liveuse on studiomonitors, because most of the nuances you'll hear on a record, will disapear in liveuse.

I program my sounds for live through two Mackie SRM350. These are my private monitoring and I know how sounds react on a big PA, when I program them on the SRMs: they are a small PA and color the sound, as a big PA would do it. For studiouse, I program on the ADAM S2.5A, because they don't color the sound much. For playing at home, it would probably be enough, to feed your hifisystem with the signals from your keyrig.

Best regards
HammondToby

[Gustavo]

ok then i guess i will have to roam through the city searching for ones that are good, though adam and mackie seem to be the most recomended.

Gustavo

PS how can i test them (well u guessed i know really bout nothing of monitors)

[keyslord]

But Adam and Mackie cost more than 1000 dollars each monitor,not a pair.I'm talking about the Mackie SRM350 and the Adam P11.

[djpacman]

I know i keep saying this but Behringer Makes good equipment for the money. They have some awsome powered monitors. Check em out :-D

[Gustavo]

I know i keep saying this but Behringer Makes good equipment for the money. They have some awsome powered monitors. Check em out :-D
I'm not against that, just that round here i think they only have few models of Behringer. Most guys round here have tons of Peavy, JBL, There's a Bose store, m-audio and some others. Also, i dont need something big and loud, just something of quality, clear sound. Better if it is <300 for 2.

G

[Gustavo]

Well after checking all prices and many reviews, I decided to go for Event's ALP 5 and a Nord Stage 88, and most probably will get a radias or a nord synth by winter

G

[HammondToby]

Nice setup. Tell me, what you think about it.

Best regards
HammondToby

[Gustavo]

I still dont have it, but i love it. Let me tell how i decided for the Stage (got time to kill). First when I thought and still think M3 is soo good and so deep and more of a studio in a board. But Stage has those really cool organs, very realistic and some very impressive pianos, with the ability to make effects and a small analog (?) synth. Welll M3 is very deep and complex, but i dont really know anything about using workstations, so its most probable that it wont be worth, since i wont be using its full capacities. In Stage I know how to handle that kind of keyboard and understood it right away. So stage was for me.

G

PS Probably get it in like 3-5 days. can't wait!!!!