Hey fellow composers- I'm looking to upgrade my piece of crap Roland. (Its a D-5 that is 16 years old!!!) I'm short on funds (unless one of my game projects finally starts getting funded) but am interested in several models. I'd love to get any feedback from those of you that have used any of these keyboards or have another one that is a dream to work with. Here they are in no particular order: Roland Fantom X8 Korg Triton Extreme 88 Yamaha Motif ES 88 Yamaha P250 I'm interested in feel, durability, price and the perks that come with each model. I'm really tight on money- but will go into debt if I find a keyboard that will help my studio become more complete. The one thing I do know is that my old keyboard has got to go! Thanks for your help, Nathan Madsen www.madsenstudios.com

I have a Yamaha Motif ES8. Ever since buying it I've never looked back. I love it.
If this one broke and it couldnt be fixed I'd buy another one to replace it.

Do you definitely need a synth or can you do with just a MIDI controller?

As for Tritons, Motifs, and Fantoms...they're great, but I'm way too familiar with those sounds. They are the go to synths and so you'll find at least one of them in every studio. At first that may sound like an endorsement, but I always look at what everyone else is doing and say "do I have to do it like them?" Maybe yes, maybe no.

Am I offering anything else for a suggestion? Not really. I would stick it out with a MIDI controller like the Keystation 88 and save the money for more processing power or more soft synths.

If I had to choose a synth with the most versatile features I would go with the Roland V-Synth. The TimeWarp and D-Beam are a blast to play with, great for tweaking a sound in a whole new way, and is ultimately intuitive in function. It's also $2,000.

You know, that's odd because I'm always talking about how it's best to buy hardware over software because of the resale value. In ten years you may be able to recoup the cost of a keyboard purchase by reselling it. But who's going to buy a softsynth off of you? Will they even be compatible in ten years? Good question.

I'm sorry, my brain always works in a few directions at once. What is it exactly that you DON'T like about your D-5?

Tony

What I don't like about my D-5 is mainly the fact that its a 61 non-weighted keyboard. Plus, being 16 years old, its really past it's prime. I'm mainly looking for a keyboard that will have a great piano feel, 88 keys and then offer some great ways to produce sounds.

I'm actually thinking along the sames lines as your post- I use many soft synths (like EW and Reason 3) to where I don't even use my current keyboard for its sounds. Perhaps I should just get a MIDI controller and leave it at that. I'm not sure though- I was considering doing some live gigs with this new keyboard eventually.

Thanks for your input!

Nathan
www.madsenstudios.com

I would hate to do a live gig with my Motif ES8 The thing is one heavy mofo. Just moving it from my old home to my new home sucked.

The ES8 is heavy, but its weighted and action keys. Everytime you push on a key a rod swings and hits a strip of felt inside the keyboard. it makes for a really nice feel.

Just head out to one of the local music stores and have your way with all the keyboards. it shouldnt be to hard to find something you like.

Hmmmm....perhaps I should be upgrading my M1...

Check out the CME controllers. I wouldn't bother with the Motif or the Triton. They are nice, but you end of paying a lot of money for stuff that is overpriced and out of date.

Sean Beeson