If you play guitar AND keys...

[MikeyParent]

I have seen that and I think that looks VERY cool. Love that look.

I often wondered how comfortable that would be... but I literally *just* realized that I played keytar exclusively for like 6 years and its pretty much the same ergonomically. Duh!

[dan88z]

That's a damn good question too! I find that given the nature of the parts I play - be that because of the voices involved (i.e., splits and/or layers) - or the fact that the parts themselves simply demand two hands - there are a very limited # of tunes on the playlist that are candidates for "keytar-ing". Then there's the issue of stage space. Our setup leaves us packed in there tighter'n an ugly 3rd grader in many of the venues we work - which makes trying to stand up and squeeze out from behind the "sit rig" for a tune or two - way more trouble than it's worth. Finally, there's the reality (at least for me anyways!) that playing on the keytar is NOT like just playing another keyboard. You can't assume that you can take a part you play on a stationary keyboard and simply play it on the keytar. Parts that require any significant hand movement need to be practiced regularly - while standing and moving around. Keeping your hands/fingers "oriented" on a keyboard that is moving and more or less out of sight is NOT as easy as you might think. Under the right circumstances - i.e, the right parts, the right stage setup and with sufficient practice - rockin' the keytar can be a ball. But I've been surprised to realize just how seldom "the sun, the moon and the stars" align in my world - meaning that I don't get to use the keytar anywhere near as much as I thought I would when I decided to buy the thing!

 

 

That's sort of my dilema too- justifying the purchase for something I'd use on maybe 1 song a night. I have the same thing going on- splits/layers and 2 hand (or more!) parts going on all the time. I'm thinking of getting something like a Moog Little Phatty though. Even if I only use that on a couple songs, they are badass and I can have a lot of fun with that outside of the gig situation. It would open up some doors for some other tunes that need sound fx that are either not possible or very difficult to program with my current components.

[Vito Corleone]

That's sort of my dilema too- justifying the purchase for something I'd use on maybe 1 song a night. I have the same thing going on- splits/layers and 2 hand (or more!) parts going on all the time. I'm thinking of getting something like a Moog Little Phatty though. Even if I only use that on a couple songs, they are badass and I can have a lot of fun with that outside of the gig situation. It would open up some doors for some other tunes that need sound fx that are either not possible or very difficult to program with my current components.

That's what I picked up the M-Audio Venom for. I only use it on a handful of songs a night, but it's great for getting those fat, crazy techno-y sounds for the modern pop tunes and didn't cost a ton of money. Now that we're coming into our slow season, I plan on working it into some more stuff.

I'm also thinking I'll probably let Amy strap on the keytar for a couple of songs and roam around the stage with it and fill in on a couple of parts. She'll, no doubt, look much better than me wearing it anyway.