I'm becoming very fascinated by keyboards and I am equally as interested in creating music on them as I am on guitar.

I'm very interested to know how all of you run them(to get noise out of them).

What I'm looking at is getting a mixer and a pair of powered speakers to run my keyboards into. I've read this is preferred to keyboard amps, due to power and sound, and being in stereo. Any thoughts?

At the moment I have a Yamaha Motif 6, MicroKorg, and a 61-key and 25-key midi keyboard. MacBook(I hate Macs so please do not read into potential pretention) running Reason, or Pro-Tools as my soft synths. I really want to get Ableton though, as that appears to be the best platform to run off of, especially for live uses. I'm also looking to get a good analog synth. Anybody have any favorites? I like synth string, something to keep in mind, and choirs. Also, does anybody run any of their keys into delay pedals?

One thing to keep in mind when running your keys with a mixer and powered speakers is that each time you play out, you're basically setting up your own PA each time. Frankly I take long enough with just a keyboard, amp and cables! But it does sound groovy if you run every thing in stereo--especially stuff with ping-pong and auto-pan!

If you do manage to get that thar analog synth you're pining for, I strongly recommend you give it a whirl through...a guitar amp! Strange but true: O lot of your classic old school synth noises were played through Fender Twins, Super Reverbs, Ampeg V4's, Oranges, etc. PA's and Keyboard amps don't offer the same kinda' warmth, and can sound downright nasty when those Moog-like timbres come a rockin' though the tweeters.

--Crispy

I wasn't planning on using the mixer/powered speakers live. I am thinking more for at home and working on music with friends. I'd definitely go directly into the PA at gigs, although into my mixer and then my mixer into the PA.

I don't think a guitar amp is something I'd like to play out of, I could see speakers being ruined quickly.

Agreed with the sequencing program, I would never use 1/100th of it. I'm not quite in love with Reason though, I just need to find an Ableton rig to try out.

I personally wouldn't consider a Moog or a big synth of the sort. I'm really interested in the smaller analog synths, like the Juno, Poly 61, and some of the other Rolands. on the cheaper side.

I just wanted to expand a bit on my previous post. I too am delving further into synths (strange topic, I know, on a surf guitar forum). So I'm using Sonar and primarily fooling about with soft-synths. Not planning on playing them out live so that's no problem.

But to address your question, yes, I also have read that for a wide tonal range with synths you should not use a keyboard amp or a guitar amp. You just want to make sure you have a good PA or speakers that covers the full audio spectrum.

Older analog synths are fun, but beware because that old stuff only lasts so long and servicing them can be expensive. Old Rolands, however, are known to be well built. I've never had a Korg Polysix but it seems to be pretty popular & esp. if you make sure the internal battery has been replaced or isn't leaking.

(defunct) Thee Jaguar Sharks

Plus! Other stuff not surf: https://soundcloud.com/jamesmileshq
Enjoy every minute

My current keyboards are:

ARP 2600 (so much for older alanogs, eh?)
Roland JUNO 106 (which has somehwat succumbed to the deaded 106 chip problem)
Roland SH-101 (you probably know it from the Cars video)
Roland JD-800 (released in 1991, and my newest? geez, I'm getting old)
Yamaha DX100 (basically an old Sound Blaster with a keyboard)

Personally, I hated the Alpha Juno's. No knobs for programming. Yeah, I know they made programmers for them, but it wasn't for me. A band I worked for has a Polysix, and it was OK.

I have a small Yamaha 8 channel mixer, and run stereo out from that. I haven't had to bother with speakers or amps for it. I'll just run it into the output of the 2600 if I need something other than headphones.

For weird sounds, I can't beat the 2600.

I love the Juno 106. It was my first serious instrument, and I've put in a lot of time in on it. It also does MIDI quite well. I'm really jonesing to put new chips from analog renaissance into it to get back all the voices. It's got a great 80's vibe to the sounds, though like msot Roland's, thinner than the Oberheims, etc. and a different sound than the Prophets ot Korgs.

I also love the JD-800. Very nice sounds. Haven't programmed it all that much, though. It's the only velocity-sensitive board I have, even though it's not weighted.

The DX is just there for the FM synthesis. Some sounds are easier that way. But it's only 8 bit out.

These days, I'm looking at stuff like the Nord C2.

Can't help with stuff like soft synths. I write my own when it comes to stuff like that.

Raito, first of all, let me say great detailed post! Do you have an opinion on the Juno 60 versus the 106?

What I really dislike about Softsynths, if probably a reason your write your own. They are all really cheesy in their default settings, they were created for music that I don't want to make. In reason I can really tailor the sound of the synths to my desiring, so that is a positive. But there are still only a handful of sounds I'd ever want to use, mainly samples of mellotrons...

JakeDobner
Raito, first of all, let me say great detailed post! Do you have an opinion on the Juno 60 versus the 106?

What I really dislike about Softsynths, if probably a reason your write your own. They are all really cheesy in their default settings, they were created for music that I don't want to make. In reason I can really tailor the sound of the synths to my desiring, so that is a positive. But there are still only a handful of sounds I'd ever want to use, mainly samples of mellotrons...

Thanks Jake. It's not all that often I have something useful to say, except about songwriting, and I guess, keyboards. I'm not good at the guitar, so I'm not so useful here. But I try.

Supposedly, the Juno 6, 60, and 106 make the same sounds and use the same basic engine. It's not quite true, but it was the goal. The 60 has patch memory, and the 106 does MIDI as well. There's some minor feature differences, like the arpeggiator, I think. Anyway, I'd take the 106 if you can. The MIDI is worth it. Once upon a time, I think there were retrofits for the 60, but they required soldering.

The problem I have with softsynths is that the ones out there seem terribly restrictive. You should be able to combine subtractive, additive, FM, wavelet, and what all in the same chain. But then, I started out wiring my own circuits...

Also, programming synths is a bit of an art. You have to know what you're shooting for, and how to get there. For subtractive synths, like the Juno, you have to have an idea about which waveforms you need to start with and how to filter and envelope it (and the filters) to get what you want.

A good sampling keyboard would be a nice addition to my setup. It's the only major thing I'm missing, really.

The Roland Juno's..6. 60, 106's are good boards and you can find deals on them.
I'm a big fan of the Vintage Yamaha boards..I have a YC 10..the models 25/35 and 45 D are great but takes two people to carry one..IC driven which makes them more trustworthy than the Farfisas and Vox..lots of info here:
http://www.combo-organ.com/

www.northofmalibu.com

Yay! I'm picking up the Yamaha combo organ today!

psychonaut

Merlin
I'm in the early stages of putting together a band. I've managed to source a Yamaha YC-45D combo organ for the keys player to use. REALLY looking forward to doing some arrangements for that.

You can't go wrong with one of those. They are one of the most solid, durable combo organs ever. They are also the most 'Hammond-like' sounding combo out there. Put it through a Leslie and you won't believe your ears. You can have lots of fun with the pitch ribbon too. They are obscenely heavy though.

I' ve got a Boss RT-20 rotary simulator I plan on using with it. I was thinking of selling it, because I'm not as enamoured with guitar through Leslie as I thought I might be.