tobereeno Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 For some odd reason, what I want I can't seem to find. I just want a keyboard with one sound - Hammond B3. But light and easily portable. And then simple buttons to add the most common effects - rotary speaker, distortion, etc. Yet somehow every keyboard I look at has literally thousands of patches, and takes endless programming to barely approximate That 70's Sound.Any suggestions? Full compass (88 keys) would be nice to have as well...
Gitslide Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 Korg USED TO make something that was dedicated B3 or dedicated organ, complete with stop bars. Dunno if it's still in production. FleaBay?
discountsounds Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 I have a 73 key Nord Electro 2 that does the B3 thing extraordinarily well. Lots of dedicated knobs and buttons which make it easy to play with the sounds and make changes on the fly. The keys are semi-weighted waterfall, so they feel like organ keys, not synth or piano keys. It also features some decent piano patches as well as spot-on Wurlitzer, Rhodes and Clavinet simulations. Plus a full range of effects including rotary speaker simulation, phaser, chorus, flanger, wah, auto-wah and overdrive.I bought mine used two years ago for $1100 which was quite a deal back then, so you can probably find one for about that price now. Oh, and it's pretty lightweight, too.If 88 keys is important, Nord has their Stage series, but they have been around for a shorter period of time and they do more than the Electros, so they sell for considerably more. The 88 and 76 key versions of the Nord Stage are meant to be stage pianos, so they have fully-weighted waterfall keys which have action more akin to a piano than an organ. They piano sounds are better and they add some Vox and Farfisa combo organ patches. There's also a synth section, so it's really quite a versatile keyboard. They also offer a 73 key version with the semi-weighted waterfall organ keys found on the Electro 2.
Steve Haynie Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 Roland also has an organ type of synth with a real-feel keyboard and draw bars. Those had an out-the-door price of around $2000, so if you can find a used one it will still be expensive. The advantage is the portability.
Jeff R Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 Admitting my ignorance with this question...what kind of keyboard do you use to get that funky 70s key sound, ala Stevie Wonder and some of the stuff on Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow?"I was listening to BBB last night enjoying that funky key sound and curious what you use to get it. My oldest son plays keys and drums very well and I'd love to hear his percussive hands give a board with that sound a test-drive.
discountsounds Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 I'm not familiar with "Blow By Blow", but if you're thinking about the funky keyboard sound on Wonder's "Superstition", that would be the Clavinet with a wah or autowah. You can also hear a Clavinet (sans wah) playing the main riff on Bill Withers' "Use Me".
Devnor Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 Korg USED TO make something that was dedicated B3 or dedicated organ, complete with stop bars. Dunno if it's still in production. FleaBay?Korg CX3. I see em used for $1000+I've been very happy with my Motif ES6. Pretty much every sound I want is in that thing (sans Mellotrons) and the learning curve isnt too bad. Speaking of Beck I programmed a nice Moog sound so I could try to play "Blue Wind". Plenty of legato fun...
HamerHokie Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 For some odd reason, what I want I can't seem to find. I just want a keyboard with one sound - Hammond B3. But light and easily portable. And then simple buttons to add the most common effects - rotary speaker, distortion, etc. Yet somehow every keyboard I look at has literally thousands of patches, and takes endless programming to barely approximate That 70's Sound.Any suggestions? Full compass (88 keys) would be nice to have as well...I must be missing something here - why not a Hammond XK2 or older XB2? Or a Roland VK-8?http://cgi.ebay.com/Hammond-XB-2-Keyboard-...1QQcmdZViewItemhttp://cgi.ebay.com/Roland-VK-8-VK8-Combo-...1QQcmdZViewItemMy keyboard player uses an XK2 - and he owns a real B3 and A100 which he keeps at home.
discountsounds Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 Those are also common, noteworthy options. Nice price on the XB-2 which I believe has been supplanted by an XB-3 model. For the money they're asking for the VK-8, I'd personally prefer to get the Nord and have all the fine electromechanical piano sounds included.
Buzzy Fretts Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 another vote for the nord electro2. it does one thing: retro electronica really well - lots of good organ, wurlitzers, and rhodes. it has LED visual feedback drawbars. and a decent fast / slow leslie. its small and its light - in its padded bag it take no more effort than a 2nd guitar. FYI no real organ emulator is going to come in 88 keys. if you need it to be a double duty piano then you need to rethink the organ emphasis.
santellavision Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 A highly-regarded organ module is the Voce Micro B II. I have one and it just nails a great old B3. And it has a killer rotary simulator built-in. They can be found pretty cheap on fleabay.
Steve Haynie Posted January 15, 2008 Posted January 15, 2008 Admitting my ignorance with this question...what kind of keyboard do you use to get that funky 70s key sound, ala Stevie Wonder and some of the stuff on Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow?"I was listening to BBB last night enjoying that funky key sound and curious what you use to get it. My oldest son plays keys and drums very well and I'd love to hear his percussive hands give a board with that sound a test-drive.Clavinet. Find one of them and learn how to play like Stevie Wonder.
Jeff R Posted January 15, 2008 Posted January 15, 2008 Yep, that's the instrument! The clavinet page had a link to the exact JB song I was talking about ... "Thelonius" Thanks!
JohnnyB Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 I'm not familiar with "Blow By Blow", but if you're thinking about the funky keyboard sound on Wonder's "Superstition", that would be the Clavinet with a wah or autowah. You can also hear a Clavinet (sans wah) playing the main riff on Bill Withers' "Use Me".Is there any sound that screams SEVENTIES! like a Clavinet through a wah-wah?
santellavision Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 Yeah, the 3 keys that always say 70's are the Clavinet, the Rhodes (especially in stereo) and the Mellotron.
HamerHokie Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 Yeah, the 3 keys that always say 70's are the Clavinet, the Rhodes (especially in stereo) and the Mellotron.In a related vein, nothing says 80s like a Casiotone.
sirDaniel Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 Alesis Fusion; inexpensive and comprehensive. 88key full blown workstaton $999, work down from there
JohnnyB Posted January 16, 2008 Posted January 16, 2008 Yeah, the 3 keys that always say 70's are the Clavinet, the Rhodes (especially in stereo) and the Mellotron.Ah, man. That's one thing I was unprepared for when I got back into vinyl last Spring and started picking up a lot of cheap vinyl from my teens and twenties. The Fender Rhodes was released in 1968 or '69, and it created a flood of pent-up demand. I picked up a lot of '70s jazz and some rock/pop, and the Rhodes was just DONE TO DEATH for that decade. I think that's one reason the Rhodes all but disappeared from music by the '80s. It wasn't just the bulk and weight, I think people got sick of the sound.
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