Keyboard Recs for an Indie Pop Band
April 4, 2019 1:06 PM   Subscribe

In November I started playing keyboards in a rock band. I'm using a vintage Yamaha SY22 that my husband already had. It's all right but we don't have the original power supply and that seems to create some unreliability, and I also don't love the sound all that much. The link's description of a "thin metallic sound" is pretty accurate. If I wanted to buy something else for a reasonable amount of money (under $500?), what would be a good alternative?

The band's music is "quirky throwback pop" - I play mostly with a traditional piano sound and am happy with that, but I also use some more electronic sounds at times and like having access to novelty patches too.

The main thing I want is that it be simple to use - I don't really need to be creating my own custom voices by fiddling with a bunch of internal settings, which is what the SY22 requires.

I also need it to work with volume and sustain pedals but I assume this is standard with electronic pianos/synths? I'm a classical pianist by trade and this is all very new to me.

Thanks for any advice!
posted by something something to Media & Arts (6 answers total)
 
If you want something that sounds more like an actual piano and is similar in vintage and feel to what you’re currently using, the Yamaha U-20/U-220 is a workhorse that should be cheap and readily available. Make sure all the keys operate when purchasing as they are a pain to disassemble.

If you have a classical background would a weighted keyboard be more appropriate? There are lots of options for cheap electric pianos out there, new and used. Williams, Yamaha, etc.
posted by q*ben at 1:21 PM on April 4, 2019


It's funny that my answer hasn't changed in over 15 years for this but,

Microkorg(xl, whatever they call the new ones, they're all good). It'll do every sound you want here, they last forever, and they're still $200 used just like they were then. It can even run on batteries, and takes a totally standard 9v power brick

If that's too small, the ms2000 is just a big version of the exact same guts, for almost exactly double the money on reverb or whathaveyou

I still mess around with mine sometimes, and i think i got it literally when bush jr was elected for his second term. It sounds like... well, indie pop to me. Especially from then. Once you play with one, you'll hear it in so much music.
posted by emptythought at 3:42 PM on April 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


One of the best music software bargains available is Pianoteq. I love using it. Basically, any keyboard with a USB/MIDI connection will work with Pianoteq. Just pick a keyboard with key action/feel that suits you, and that software allows you to emulate accurately various grands and historic pianos, clavichord, harpsichord, and electric pianos like Fender Rhodes, Hohners, and Wurlitzers. I use a Linux laptop to run Pianoteq,but lots of people are using tiny headless devices these days.
posted by Agave at 4:50 PM on April 4, 2019


I play keyboards part of the time in a working band (I’m primarily a guitarist). I’ve settled into using a laptop running Apple’s Logic and Mainstage and an M-Audio controller with nice semi-weighted keys. I’ll sometimes add a Yamaha arranger keyboard to that rig but the portability and versatility of a laptop and controller keyboard are awesome for my purposes, usually one patch per song. I need a lot of specific tones of many sorts. I hate having to bring a laptop to gigs but I’ve found more portable iOS solutions unsatisfactory. My whole rig (with a lightweight stand for the controller and laptop) weighs like 22 pounds and can be carried with my guitar and pedalboard and stowed in my hatchback with a guitar amp. There’s a learning curve on the software of you’re new to it, but the sampled sounds are awesome and infinitely versatile.
posted by spitbull at 6:13 PM on April 4, 2019


As mentioned above, the MicroKorg is the classic cheap versatile synth, if you're okay with mini keys & 3 octaves. Yamaha DX, Roland JDXi, & Korg Minilogue are other options.

If you're still into that vintage 90s synth sound, the fancier cousins of the Yamaha SY22, like the the SY77 or SY85, will sound better, but you'll have to shop around.

For a new inexpensive 49 key modern retro synth, the Yamaha MX 49 looks nice.
posted by ovvl at 8:05 PM on April 4, 2019


I also need it to work with volume and sustain pedals but I assume this is standard with electronic pianos/synths?

More or less, but unfortunately it's maybe not as simple as you might hope.

A ton of keyboards do have a dedicated sustain or "damper" pedal connection. A sustain pedal for an electronic keyboard is really just a switch, it's either open or closed. But some manufacturers have decided that "open = sustain" and others have decided that "closed = sustain." This is called "polarity." So, your Yamaha sustain pedal may not work with a Korg keyboard. Sometimes you can alter the polarity in the software of the keyboard itself, or there are models of sustain pedal that have a hidden switch to reverse the polarity so they can work with any keyboard. Quick overview of the polarity issue.

"Volume" pedals are a little different. I see from some image searching that your SY22 does have a jack labeled "foot volume." This uses what is more commonly and currently known as an "expression" pedal. It's basically a knob that you work with your foot, and since keyboards are electronic/software based that "knob" can often be assigned to control all sorts of different elements of the sound - volume, or the speed of a vibrato effect, or to change the value of a parameter that changes the tone, all sorts of stuff. In your SY22 Yamaha decided to make that expression pedal control the keyboard volume specifically and labeled the jack as such. Other manufacturers, and more modern keyboards, will have one or more jacks labeled "expression" or "exp", and exactly what that pedal controls will probably have to be set inside the keyboard's control menus. Volume will almost certainly be one of the options, and most likely you could have the pedal control different elements depending on which sound you have selected.

So your current "volume" pedal will probably work with a different keyboard, but there might not be a dedicated "volume" jack, and you might have to do some assigning of things in the keyboard to make it control the volume.

There are also "analog" volume pedals, which you connect via cables between the output jack of your keyboard and the input of whatever amplifier you're using. IOW, keyboard out, cable to input jack of volume pedal, output jack of volume pedal, cable to input jack of the amplifier or mixing board. These will work with any keyboard, there's no software or anything involved.

Overview of volume/expression pedals.

The link's description of a "thin metallic sound" is pretty accurate.

Speaking of amplifiers, one thing to maybe consider is what amplifier/speakers you're listening through? Not saying you're wrong about the thinness of the sound, but if you're playing through a small low power speaker you might be missing out on some of the low frequencies.
posted by soundguy99 at 5:00 PM on April 9, 2019 [1 favorite]


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