Recommend me a synth for live use

Roysterdoyster

I was a keyboard player in a former life, when Yamaha DX 7s etc ruled. But I haven’t much of a notion about keyboards now.

My Covers band have started doing some songs with keys (Played by the other guitarist at the moment) He’s using a tiny little midi controller linked to some sort of module so there are limitations. Of course it’s opened up what great songs we can do. So I want to add in some keys now and am looking for a synth. I don’t really want to be editing sounds or the likes, so ideally something with truckloads of sounds to cover a wide range of songs. But I want quality. Having a quick nosey about YT and the likes, the Roland DS kind of looks like it might do the job? 

Anyone got any experience of these, or recommend me something else? 

Thanks 

goldtop

Yes, the DS61/88 have most eras of synth tone covered. Same as the Yamaha MX and Korg (?Krome/Koss).

All are lightweight (don't forget the external PSU!). None have aftertouch, but that sort of expression is less needed for live, I suppose.

paulmapp8306

Depends - The Roland DS are great keyboards for the money.  The FA07 is a little more, with more capable sounds (particularly synth sounds).  MODx is another good choice - especially if strings/brass/EPs/Organs etc are more important than synth sounds.  Keybed isnt as nice as the Rolands though.

rich75

I play guitar and keys in my covers band so generally want something portable, easy to use and with a lot of good sounds.

I used to have a Yamaha MX49 and then moved onto a Korg Kross 61.They both sounded quite good but on both I felt the user interface was a bit of a compromise (both have very small and basic displays). The Korg was a step up up from the Yamaha in terms of flexibility, not least due to the 16 multi-functional pads which can be assigned to patch selection, sequencer operation or triggering samples from an SD card.

A few months ago I replaced the Korg with a Yamaha MODX6 and it was a huge step up in sound quality, flexibility and ease of use. I can't really speak for full time keyboard players, but there's nothing I've needed so far that it can't handle. There are some very good sound packs available commercially (Narfsounds for example) but most of the patches I use for gigs I have been able to create myself and I wouldn't say the learning curve was particularly steep. 

If I have one criticism it would be the keybed which can be a bit noisy when you hit the keys and probably won't match up to more expensive instruments. Having said that, it's no worse than the previous two keyboards I had and all of the other improvements made it more than worthwhile making the change.

goldtop

Yup, the MODX is the same synth engine as the Montage = up to 8 layers of FM. So there are a lot of famous DX sounds done properly. And you're right that the interface is better for programming (not that the OP will be doing much during live play!)

Strangefan

In my old band all three of us used novation mininova's awesome sounds, mini keys but we soon got used to them 

midiman1962

I did this a few years ago and plumped for Roland VR09 - designed for live use - i depped on a c/w festival gig and played 22 gigs with an 80's tribute band before the politics "beat" me - lots of good sounds and a full hammond drawbar scenario as well

goldtop

Strangefan said:

In my old band all three of us used novation mininova's awesome sounds, mini keys but we soon got used to them 

Sounds like a Poundland Kraftwerk tribute!

Strangefan

goldtop said:

Strangefan said:

In my old band all three of us used novation mininova's awesome sounds, mini keys but we soon got used to them 

Sounds like a Poundland Kraftwerk tribute!

Hehe we would blow everyone's socks off when we played, so more marks and sparks than pound land 

Stratavarious

USB midi keyboard and ipad....   got all the synths you could want

Roysterdoyster

Thanks all.....@stratavarious I already have a USB midi keyboard, which I had only every used with a DAW on my laptop, but always thought of it as a pain in the neck and a bit fidgety. Are there any Apps you’d recommend. Again looking for loads of preset sounds,to cover lots of genres, don’t care about editing at all, and something that can switch between presets easily? 

Stratavarious

Roysterdoyster said:

Thanks all.....@stratavarious I already have a USB midi keyboard, which I had only every used with a DAW on my laptop, but always thought of it as a pain in the neck and a bit fidgety. Are there any Apps you’d recommend. Again looking for loads of preset sounds,to cover lots of genres, don’t care about editing at all, and something that can switch between presets easily? 

I use these all the time..  all have loads of great presets.  Some are free!

unlike a PC DAW.. it is plug in, open app... it works.  They have onscreen keyboards to play them too.

KORG IMS-20..  old school, fat analogue tones

Audiokit SYNTH 1 (free)
 
Audiokit FM PLAYER 2 (a dx 7 alike - free)

Steinberg nanologue

And Garageband has a tonne of synths with great presets..

korg also do their old classics in app form e.g Polysix

KORG Gadget is very powerful


what usb keyboard?  You need to get power to it...

Danny1969

I use a Roland 81 key and a Xpand 2 software running in protools. It's very easy to map the keyboard into 3 or 4 regions with different sounds which means don't need to switch patches during the song. It's a bit of a ball ache as it means using the midi KB, a Macbook Pro and an audio interface but it's very versatile.
I am thinking about giving Logic and Maindstage a go though, once you have Logic Main stage is about £30 and designed for live use 

Stratavarious

Danny1969 said:

I use a Roland 81 key and a Xpand 2 software running in protools. It's very easy to map the keyboard into 3 or 4 regions with different sounds which means don't need to switch patches during the song. It's a bit of a ball ache as it means using the midi KB, a Macbook Pro and an audio interface but it's very versatile.
I am thinking about giving Logic and Maindstage a go though, once you have Logic Main stage is about £30 and designed for live use 

Mainstage is great isn’t it... I see an ipad as mainstage without a mac for live use.

mainstage iOS could be killer app.

Stratavarious

https://youtu.be/DUyuiq54Oqc

Roysterdoyster

Stratavarious said:

Roysterdoyster said:

Thanks all.....@stratavarious I already have a USB midi keyboard, which I had only every used with a DAW on my laptop, but always thought of it as a pain in the neck and a bit fidgety. Are there any Apps you’d recommend. Again looking for loads of preset sounds,to cover lots of genres, don’t care about editing at all, and something that can switch between presets easily? 

I use these all the time..  all have loads of great presets.  Some are free!

unlike a PC DAW.. it is plug in, open app... it works.  They have onscreen keyboards to play them too.

KORG IMS-20..  old school, fat analogue tones

Audiokit SYNTH 1 (free)
 
Audiokit FM PLAYER 2 (a dx 7 alike - free)

Steinberg nanologue

And Garageband has a tonne of synths with great presets..

korg also do their old classics in app form e.g Polysix

KORG Gadget is very powerful


what usb keyboard?  You need to get power to it...

Thanks for those suggestions. Keyboard is a Novation Launchkey 49

Stratavarious

Roysterdoyster said:

Stratavarious said:

Roysterdoyster said:

Thanks all.....@stratavarious I already have a USB midi keyboard, which I had only every used with a DAW on my laptop, but always thought of it as a pain in the neck and a bit fidgety. Are there any Apps you’d recommend. Again looking for loads of preset sounds,to cover lots of genres, don’t care about editing at all, and something that can switch between presets easily? 

I use these all the time..  all have loads of great presets.  Some are free!

unlike a PC DAW.. it is plug in, open app... it works.  They have onscreen keyboards to play them too.

KORG IMS-20..  old school, fat analogue tones

Audiokit SYNTH 1 (free)
 
Audiokit FM PLAYER 2 (a dx 7 alike - free)

Steinberg nanologue

And Garageband has a tonne of synths with great presets..

korg also do their old classics in app form e.g Polysix

KORG Gadget is very powerful


what usb keyboard?  You need to get power to it...

Thanks for those suggestions. Keyboard is a Novation Launchkey 49

You will likely need to power the keyboard through a 9v supply. The reason for this is that some ipads cannot supply power to external devices over USB only, only the data.

The official apple connector kit will allow the Midi-USB connection.  Then it should be plug and play.    

Saw this in case of issues

https://support.novationmusic.com/hc/en-gb/articles/206861729-My-Launchkey-Mk2-is-not-connecting-to-my-iPad

Moog minimoog is nice app too