Which Keyboard Sound Module?

[shendrie]

I am not a keyboard player and have never really followed the world of available sound modules however a quick search seems to yield about a gazillion different options. I am looking for a reasonably priced module that has good piano, organ, string and horn sounds... I would prefer something that is currently available rather than something I would need to buy on the used market.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks.

[synthguy99]

Well, I don't know what you consider reasonable, but I'll say around $1200 and work around that.

Korg Triton Rack. This one is excellent. Really good sounding filters, nice waves in rom, dual arpeggiators, cool effects and a lot of them. Multiple outputs and really expandable, with seven rom card slots and a MOSS synth board - a fantastic six voice programmable synthesizer. It has a huge 16 track sequencer tho it's only a player. Lots more, and it sounds really good.

Roland XV-5050. Also excellent. Great sounding synthesizer with even more power. Fewer but better effects, great waves, and the expansion boards hold a ton of new waves in a number of categories. Bigger versions are the XV-3080 and 5080 - double the polyphony at 128 voices, and a new smaller one is the XV-2020.

Kurzweil PC2R. Very nice sounds in an expandable single unit rack. It's expandable with sound roms and a polyphony board to double that to 128. Along with the rom samples, it has the KB3 organ model. It's editable but not completely programmable. The dual effects processor is quite powerful.

Uhm... more to follow. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Roy Howell]

Hi synthguy,
So, is the Triton right at $1200? And if you don't mind, the ball park Kurzweil price these days?
I have an old, but good Korg 01R/W sound module, which I highly recommend if you do ever go the used route, shendrie.

~Roy

[Bloux]

look for a Roland JV1080 probably around $500.00 its no longer in production, you might still find some in stock somewhere, or even the used market. its all you will need!

[vonbleak101]

I think for the money the roland VX5050 sound module is hard to beat. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[shendrie]

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

[pk_hat]

Originally posted by vonbleak101:
I think for the money the roland VX5050 sound module is hard to beat. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I absolutely agree.

[synthguy99]

A used Roland JV-1080 or 2080 would be excellent, and the expansions Roland has available are fantastic. The 1080 averages $450 used, the 2080 $575.

Here are some prices of some new things.

E-mu 2500 128 voice module with extensive control panel, $700.

Kurzweil 2600S sampler module, $2900.
Kurzweil PC2R module, $950.
Kurzweil 2000VPR rack synth, $1000.

Korg Triton Rack, $1450.

I'm not a fan of the E-mu by itself, as E-mu's samples seem to be too midrangey, giving them some cheeze, but with another instrument it fits well. The others are great on their own, tho the Kurzweil Orchestral expansion isn't the best.

Dang it, I keep forgetting, this is from

www.8thstreet.com

[Vegadark]

the xv-5050 is a great sound module, and the xv-2020 has to be just as good...

[Burnzone]

My two cents...bang for the buck right now in the used market, Roland JD990. From what I understand, its mostly the same sounds that are in the 1080, but less compressed. They're in the $350 range right now on ebay and worth EVERY penny. Beautiful strings, organs,and a pretty decent piano too. Certainly won't disappoint you.