obbm Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Our new Keyboard man has been using a small PA complete with a pair of 15-inch cabs for the past 10 years and has decided that he needs to downsize to a much smaller and lighter rig. He's not sure where to start looking so I offered to ask here to see what others are using in the way of small but loudish full bandwidth Keyboard amps. Our band's PA is only for vocals so putting him through it for our pub gigs is not an option. I asked him last night if he really needed stereo seeing as stacking his two 15-inch cabs on top of each other hardly creates a stereo image - the jury is out on that one. So in a nutshell what does your Keysman use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 All the keyboard players I've worked with have used PA amps or powered mixers. How many keyboards does he need to amplify? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 (edited) [quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1373796109' post='2141591'] All the keyboard players I've worked with have used PA amps or powered mixers. How many keyboards does he need to amplify? [/quote] He's got two. He's currently using a powered mixer. Perhaps just a change of speakers would do although saying that the the mixer is quite a large heavy beast. Edited July 14, 2013 by obbm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Our keys man - Basschats very own Transistor Bassman - has recently been using a solid-state Fender guitar amp, think it`s the Deluxe 65. Sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 [quote name='obbm' timestamp='1373796291' post='2141594'] He's got two. He's currently using a powered mixer. Perhaps just a change of speakers would do although saying that the the mixer is quite a large heavy beast. [/quote] I guess the only option other than variations on what he uses already would be a combo of some sort. The Roland ones are pretty good, and some of them run in stereo too. Peavey keyboard combos are OK, and can be bought really cheaply secondhand, though the older ones will tend to be pretty bulky & very weighty. Ultimately it depends on his budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 The keyboardist in an old band of mine used a powered 12" Mackie monitor and it coped just fine. He had a small stand to keep it at head height and was very happy indeed. Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Our keys man uses a Behringer 15" combo, cant remember which one - perhaps BX300?, which has 4 input channels, mixer etc. He uses it for 2 keyboards, and we've also put a guitar through it a couple of times when we've run some jam nights at local pubs. Works fine, and certainly loud enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Hi Dave, He's a good player but I never rated Ian's Warwick combo! Keyboard players I've played with in the last few years have used; Motion Sound KBR-3D - heavy, expensive but fabulous sound. Has a rotating horn in the top of the cab. The best I've heard for piano and Hammond. Peavey PA cabs - heavy, cheap, modular and OK sound. Bose L1 model 2 - light, expensive, modular, very, very good sound, especially with a Nord. RCF Art 310-A - light, not expensive, good sound. Our current Keyboard player has some health issues so had to get rid of his heavy PA cabs. He replaced them with RCF Art 310-A cabs. They are digital powered and while we've only done 1 gig with him since the change over they sound pretty good. With the new cabs his sound has more definition, clarity and power. The notes just stand out - in a good way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1373801434' post='2141694'] Hi Dave, He's a good player but I never rated Ian's Warwick combo! [/quote] It's not Ian any more Chris. He upped sticks and departed. Thanks for the info. I'll pass it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Keys players I've worked with in recent times have used - Roland KC range combos - good sound/features, bit heavy? Peavey KB series - okay, still heavy lift with the bigger ones though. Yamaha EMX powered mixer - great/loud/and light! (still need speakers though) Mackie SRM450 - great powered speaker, although still need small mixer to run. I reckon the Yamaha option with a couple of small PA cabs would be a good bet. Was n't Alex at Barefaced looking into making some? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 The new EV ZLP-12P would be perfect. It's a 12" active PA cab. Has 2 x separately mixable inputs (so hopefully no additional mixer needed), EQ and DSP (digital signal processing). Pretty light too. I have one and it is a great bit of kit. Being EV, it should last decently too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dark Lord Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Did he ever get sorted? As I have one of these [url="http://www.roland.co.uk/products/productdetails.aspx?p=698"]http://www.roland.co.uk/products/productdetails.aspx?p=698[/url] with a flight case that I'm just in the process of putting on her via the for sale section ..... when I figure out how to pay the £20 or whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted September 2, 2013 Author Share Posted September 2, 2013 [quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1378138945' post='2196171'] Did he ever get sorted? As I have one of these [url="http://www.roland.co.uk/products/productdetails.aspx?p=698"]http://www.roland.co...ails.aspx?p=698[/url] with a flight case that I'm just in the process of putting on her via the for sale section ..... when I figure out how to pay the £20 or whatever. [/quote] Not sure what's happening as I decided to leave the band and havebn't been in touch with him for quite a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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