Keyboards :hiding:

M0ses · #1 10-23-2009, 08:16 PM

Will I get in trouble if I ask about keyboard amps here? Please feel free to move, lock, or severely beat me if I'm out of line. But the fact is, I got a question need's answerin'.

The band has a keyboard player. We've got a digital piano and a Hammond organ. Yes I know, it's a beast to carry. The sound is worth it though. The keys player doesn't have an amp - we DO have a 250W PA that we're not using for vocals. But the keyboards sound horrible through it. Now, I'm on a tight budget of $300. We're poor. I have been told that a keyboard amp will (obviously) sound good. But I don't know if the Hammond will work through one of those. It doesn't have a DI, just a built in speaker that we mic.

Which of these two options is better? Or what's even better than either of these two?

Option 1

Option 2

M0ses · #2 10-23-2009, 08:29 PM

You could at least READ it, folks.....

JimmyM · #3 10-23-2009, 08:48 PM

Calm down. You just posted 15 minutes before your bump.

Anyway, option 2 has no amp so you will still need an amp. Option 1 looks like it would be OK but not great.

NortyFiner · #4 10-23-2009, 08:49 PM

I would STRONGLY suggest going to a keyboard forum...or even better, shooting an email or phone call to Hammond, and see what they recommend for your situation.

That said, the first choice there looks like your best one, at least to my bass player eyes. It has three channels, including one with mic ability, so you can plug in the digital piano, and mic the Hammond on the mic channel. If needed, you could then run the amp to your PA, and it also has the option for an extension cab.

Since you are on a budget, have you tried looking for used gear? eBay can be your friend at times like this...

MysticMichael · #5 10-23-2009, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M0ses

Which of these two options is better? Or what's even better than either of these two?

Option 1

Option 2

You're suggesting a choice between a 60-watt combo amp with a 12" woofer...and a four-foot tall 2x15 unpowered cab? Shouldn't you be shooting for something in the middle?

The combo amp offers the right kinds of features for a keyboard (maybe because it is a keyboard amp). But unless you all play quite quietly indeed (unlikely if you're using a Hammond organ), I would say it's way underpowered - and almost certainly would not do justice to your Hammond.

A large two-way or three-way bass combo amp, with a 15-inch woofer and a good 300 watts of power (yes 300) would be a fine solution for your digital piano. And you're on the right track by looking at Peavey. But I'm afraid that nothing short of a large, powerful PA (way more than 250 watts) is going to really do right by your Hammond organ...

MM

John Bigboote · #6 10-23-2009, 09:04 PM

The missus uses a Roland KC350, monitors vox and two keys through it at gigs (uses a splitter for all three connections), and for practice at home. I wasn't too impressed with its volume until I accidentally ran one of the background drum programs through and and my GOD it was loud! 150W x 112.

They retail for $500 but show up on CL for about $300. Cool thing is, if you can ever afford a second one, you can run stereo outputs to the first one, then a single cable to the second and voila -- stereo output! Pretty cool.

-jb

M0ses · #7 10-23-2009, 09:19 PM

Sorry. I was a bit annoyed at the complete lack of attention even on a seemingly quite active board. It seems to happen to my threads fairly often for some reason. Thanks for the replies. Maybe I'm just an annoying kid, but I usually think that I'm asking questions that are more interesting than "Which amp should I buy??"

I figured the 60W would be underpowered, and I'm disappointed to hear that the PA isn't powerful enough, either. One thing I don't understand is how a keyboard combo, which is not going to be anything more than 100W or so in my price range, WILL be good enough if the 250W PA isn't. But then, there are many things that I don't understand... Craigslist is pretty quiet in my nowhere town. Ebay is indeed my friend.
And no, we are not a quiet band. At all.

I've always had pretty good luck with Peavey, though my band director's back up bass amp is a Peavey that I want to throw out a window. But, our vox PA is a Peavey that makes the band possible, sounds really good.

Evolver · #8 10-23-2009, 09:50 PM

I gigged keys - including Hammonds (M3,B3 and C3) and a number of digital pianos/synths - for many years before moving to bass several years ago. As Jimmy pointed out, option 1 and option 2 are significantly different given one system is a fairly low power combo amp and the other a speaker cab requiring a relatively high powered - and separate - power amp. In most situations, I wouldn't consider these options for the same purpose. Given another option, I'd chose neither for a gig situation but the KB3 could be useful as a practice amp (and I've actually used an older model on occasion for both keys and bass practice) or maybe a stage monitor / small gig combo for a digital piano. I never found any amp that did both a real Hammond and synth piano sounds really well. Typically, we'd run a digital piano through the fronts and use a full-range stage monitor. I've never heard a Hammond sound really good through any amp other than a Leslie (which we'd mike for the fronts on larger gigs) but then I've never tried running through a rotary speaker simulator and then to the fronts. A digital piano through a Leslie can be interesting but it won't be the same as a full-range system like a good 'PA'. On the other hand, a digital piano or synth through my Genz-Benz bass rig sounds really good! Good luck! I'm interested to hear if you find a good solution.

bassteban · #9 10-23-2009, 10:09 PM

1. Give it 24 hours before bumping- some folks have a *life* outside the net(not me, of course).

2. I've been very impressed w/Roland keyboard combos- even w/o a 'normal' line out you could plug a mic into one of the typical-for-a-key-combo's 2 or 3 channels & sound great. Look into the KC-60 or something simillar.