Does anyone insist on having 2 different keyboards for piano and organ?

I

I fall in the separate piano/organ boat. I use the P-90 and XK-3. I could get away with piano technique on a non-weighted action, but you just cannot play Hammond technique on a weighted action. Also when playing the EP voices on the P-90, it gets much more authentic playing them on a weighted action.

Exactly I use an XK-3 here too (we are in a small majority on this board and you will see later) I also use a S-90 for piano sounds. The P-90 is great as well. Keep doing what you are doing. Not everyone stocks the Hammond gear because of the price. What about heading to NJ to look in a Guitar Center?

I could get by on either action if I had to, but fortunately don't have to anymore, so I'll always opt for at least two boards. A second board doesn't take up any more room on stage (may block the audience's view of me, but that's a good thing) and as Real MC said, each action has its strengths.

Outkaster,

Are you talking about the GCenter in Cherry Hill?. I've only been to the other GC's in Oxford Valley and Plymouth Meeting since I live out of the city and closer to those. Do you know if they have a bigger keyboard showroom?

Are you close to 8th Street Music?

In response to your question, if you are concentrating on piano and organ, two boards are always better!

Two boards. You must do this. Not only for the action, but for your own peace of mind. It drives me nuts if I have to toggle constantly between sounds during each song.

I don't own a P90 but I'm pretty sure you can turn reverb off. And I'm with you on having a dry piano sound live.

I don't own one of these either, but I've been impressed with the Casio Privia pianos when I've demoed them. If you're trying to keep things under two grand, be sure to try them out. There are a couple of pros in here gigging with them. And don't limit yourself to just Electros for organ... try them all out.

If you want to play piano and keep enjoying it while on stage you will need real piano action type of board (i'm no piano player myself but I have lots of piano playin' friends and hammer action stuff makes ' em all happy)

if you want to play organ & like to burn the house down like I do (i am organ playin guy) waterfall keys is the way to go..... I have a Nord Electro and I'm still very glad I can play it every day.....

I'm sorry but the bottom line is you'll need 2 boards to play piano and organ and still have fun playing heh heh ( I know, people can "get by" with one board, but even those peoplez would bring/use 2 boards if they could / had roadies to lug it all around everywhere)

B3Keys,

I'm closer to the Tacaony bridge than center city. It would be worth the trip to 8th St. if they have a good variety of keys in their showroom. There's always other reasons I could find to go downtown also.

Not sure but I know GC are usually cookie cutter stores. I was in Manhattan last year and noticed the had a new Leslie and Hammond XK-3. The thing about it is that organ and piano are two different animals. There is different techniques to playing them. That is why you get some good organ players that are marginal on Piano and vise versa. For your own piece of mind stick with two boards it will be less confusing.

You need both types of keyboards!

There is in the Philly area:

Sam Ash in King of Prussia

Sam Ash in Cherry Hill next to a Guitar Center (right over the Ben Franklin bridge) - these two stores have the most Nords and Yamaha stuff

Guitar Center in Plymouth Meeting up 476

8th Street Music In Philly on 11th and Arch - Seen Hammond and Nord stuff here

I'm a 2 board person as well, Nord Electro and Yamaha S90ES. I use the Nord keyboard for organ and clav, the ES for piano. I also trigger the Wurlie, Rhodes and CP70 sounds from the Nord with the S90ES. I use several of the EP's and clavs from the S90ES as well depending on what is going on with the song. I kept leaning towards the ES Rhodes sounds and then last week dialed in one of the Nord Rhodes patches and it was just so organic- not perfect but in the context of what I was playing it was so expressive from the ES keyboard.

Same here... been using a Hammond XB2 with a Yamaha S80 for piano. For some gigs(depending on how long we play), I may only use the S80 for everything or only play organ on the XB2. With the Leslie and the Fender Bassman, it just takes an unbelievable amount of time to setup for a 45 min set with only 15 minutes to setup or tear down. But, I always prefer the 2 board setup with a dedicated organ and a board for piano sounds.

Yes the reverb can be turned off on the P-90. Very easy, and the P-90 remembers FX settings when you toggle sounds (although they are reset when power is cycled).

I guess the P90 is the more professional choice than the P70. The P70 looks like a good deal for having weighted keys. I see the P70 has speakers built in.

Is there any other differences? I should just go somewhere so I can demo them side by side.

I played a P-70; not only does the P-90 have double the voices and double the polyphony, but the P-90 pianos and EPs sound better.

They are really good boards. I like the S-90 but one of the P-90's would be cool just to have for small gigs.

If you're Geoff Downes from Asia, you'll insist on a separate keyboard for every sound.... Not exceed fifty keyboards, or the maximum weight limit of the stage....

I am with the others. Two boards. I am using PC-1x and roland VK-8M using a non weighted midi controler. Love the roland sounds. Roland makes a vk760 that is an all in one with great sounds, but is only one keyboard. The VK-8 is a great add.

Same here. Two boards for me:) CX3 and RD170. At times I wish I had something with more voices and versatility than the RD170 to cover more ground like an S90.

Two. Problem with most synths is that you'll get a good piano sound, or at least a good ep sound, but the organs will sound thin at best. I play a CX3, but I gotta give Hammond props: the X series has just as much beef to the sounds. I never did get that fat, clunky sound out of a synth organ patch.

Keep in mind, however, that if you're playing live, the audience won't care. Only you will, and that's all the reason you need for getting as good a rig as you can.

Cheers,

RWO

Yes. I gig with Yamaha S90 + Nord Electro. A very stealth-like rig that serves many purposes. Rotary tube-amped sound takes it one notch higher, perhaps to the omnipotent "11."

Originally posted by eric Yes. I gig with Yamaha S90 + Nord Electro. A very stealth-like rig that serves many purposes. Rotary tube-amped sound takes it one notch higher, perhaps to the omnipotent "11."

... At the risk of attracting the venom of some of the 2-board purists ... I play mostly keys in my band, and I use my good ol' Roland FA-76 for all sounds (mostly piano and organ) ... As some poster mentioned, live, you're likely the only one who'll know the difference, so don't sweat it ....

For smaller gigs, duos, very small stages, I use one board, a Roland RD 300SX midi'd to an Electro rack.

For all others, Roland RD 300SX midi'd to an Electro 61.

I like this set up the best, obviously, but I also like still having the Electro organ and EP sounds when I scale down. It's a little more effort playing the organ sounds on the weighted keys but its better than using the organ sounds in the Roland.

You're definitely right... the audience will probably not know the difference. Like I had posted earlier, I use one board for everything for 45-min blues warm-up gigs since I usually don't have a decent amount of time to set up or tear down. But I hate crappy-sounding organs or pianos and, since I have to listen to and play the darn thing, I prefer a more authentic-sound. Let's face it, whether you're playing a dedicated organ(real B3 or clonewheel) or an organ sound in a do-everything board, it will have a pronounced effect on what you play and even how you play. I remember playing a benefit gig late last year, was using another keyboard player's setup that consisted of a Hammond XK2 w/ Leslie 147, and my solo brought down the house. I'm willing to bet any amount of money that the same solo would not have gotten the reaction it did if it was done using a patch in my Korg X2. Does the audience know the difference betw a dedicated organ and a do-everything ROMpler? Probably not, but even the average club-goer, especially one who frequents the blues juke-joints, would definitely notice a difference in the sound.