Hi, I currently use a Roland FP-7 and Nord Electro 2 and gig regularly in a rock covers band. I mainly use piano, EP and organ, with a smidgeon of brass and string. I also use the WAV file player on the roland, and play it in a jazz duo for private funtions.

I am joining a Rush covers band too, which is going to open up a whole new world of synthesis :-)I live on a small island, where it is not possible to try out any keyboards so I am planning a trip off-island soon, and was hoping for some help here to narrow down what to try.

I am looking to both downsize and expand my current set-up to include an easy to use synth, but a more portable stage piano and wondered if the Nord Stage EX 88 may be the answer to my problems. I love the ability to quickly change my sound live that the Nord Electro offers and was wondering if the synth section on the Nord Stage EX 88 is any good? I would be looking to get the growl on Tom Sawyer for instance, and some decent lead and warm pad sounds.

I think a potential problem with the Stage however, may be the weighted keyboard for organ. We cover Highway Star by Deep purple, for example, and I don't fancy my chances of playing the solo on a weighted keyboard. i seem to remember that the nord keys are shorter than the roland and wonder if this makes it feel lighter in comparison. Another option would be the Stage compact, but I would not be happy about losing weighted keys for the piano.

My other possibility would be does anyone know of a SRX expansion card that has analogue synths on, and are the sound on these programmable? I can't seem to find very much info on these cards. I was thinking if I didn't go for the Stage, then perhaps I could downsize from the FP-7 to an RD300 with either a card (if compatible) or a cheaper second hand synth like the Sh201. But then I wouldn't want to get rid of the Nord so would potentially end up with 3 boards.

I am not very technically minded and like the idea of aomething with knobs and dials as opposed to getting lost in menus trying to programme a sound. I don't need a sequencer, or want to feel like I'm sat at mission control - I would like something I can carry myself (my hubby carries the FP7) and that is easy to use, with great sounds.

Many thanks
linz

Quote frogkeys:

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I would be looking to get the growl on Tom Sawyer for instance, and some decent lead and warm pad sounds.

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Go and try a Fantom X6, with the SRX Analogue Essentials or Ultimate Keys SRX: secondhand you'll be paying £700 for them both together. Use the X6's keys for the organ solos, use the FP7 to trigger the X6 via MIDI for the electric piano/everything else.

Quote TheChorltonWheelie:

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Quote frogkeys:

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I would be looking to get the growl on Tom Sawyer for instance, and some decent lead and warm pad sounds.

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Go and try a Fantom X6, with the SRX Analogue Essentials or Ultimate Keys SRX: secondhand you'll be paying £700 for them both together. Use the X6's keys for the organ solos, use the FP7 to trigger the X6 via MIDI for the electric piano/everything else.

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Except: Isn't the Fantom X obsolete? My Fantom is the G and that wasthe only Fantom only the shops - It's an amazing board BTW, and completely designed for live performance. You can easily set up your favourites for one button access, and I found programming it and tweaking the sounds a joy. Doesn't support SRX boards though, only the ARX (which Roland have failed to develop beyond the drums and brass boards - shame, because the ARX concept is like adding completely new synths to your board, not just samples) Nonetheless, I can imagine it would be more than capable of doing most things you could ask of it

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Quote MarkOne:

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Except: Isn't the Fantom X obsolete? My Fantom is the G and that wasthe only Fantom only the shops - It's an amazing board BTW, and completely designed for live performance.

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The X is the model before the G, but I wouldn't call it obsolete: the sound engine is still used in the Juno G/Di keyboards, as well as the Sonic Cell. A secondhand X6 is around £600, compared to £1600 for a secondhand G6, and the SRX boards are around £100 rather than £300 for the G-series.

In terms of sound quality, there isn't much between the X and the G, I have and regularly use both.

My current setup is a Stage EX compact on top and a RD300sx on the bottom - though the lower board is just used as a MIDI controller for the Stage EX's lower panel. The Stage is pretty flexible and with a bit of thought and clever MIDI channelling you have a lot of routing options. I also use a MOTIF ES rack for extra sounds when I need them, again triggered via the MIDI out of the Stage using the External feature (you can even set it up so that the RD300sx plays the MOTIF via the Nord).

I think of the Stage as the 'brain' of the setup and when I was weighing up the EX88 vs the compact I really did not want to have to deal with weighted keys organ so this seemed like the ideal solution.

Hope that helps..