Greetings.
As a young 'un, I had a few years of piano lessons. Then came the clarinet. Lost interest. In college, I ended up hanging out with a musically gifted group of individuals with whom I formed a ska and reggae band - my role playing the keyboard and tenor sax. Great band, although I struggled with my skills and just got by. Graduated and got a 'real' job.
Today, I am getting the feeling that I may be a musician (using the term loosely) trapped in a Director of Engineerings body... I have decided to take my somewhat passive (meaning, as a listener and appreciator of many types of music) love for music and take it to the next level , and participate. Whether it is for just myself as a hobby, or as a means to get back into live performance as part of a group remains to be seen.
ANYWAY, here is what I am looking for - in order of intended acquisition (input on any of the items below would be greatly appreciated):
1. A keyboard with:
- 88-keys
- the capability to feel and sound like a piano (I want to begin piano lessons)
- great organ sounds
- great functionality as a synth and controller
- expandable
Money is not much of an issue, up to two to three thousand dollars. I started looking at the Roland XV-88 (my first two keyboards were a Juno 106 and a D-10 - I still have the D-10) and the Kurzweil K2500/2600XS (for some reason, always have been in awe of the name). I didn't particularly like the feel of the Roland, but it seems to have a lot of synth functionality. Loved the Kurzweil (what a machine!), but lot's of money. Just tried out the Yamaha S80 - best feel yet (in my opinion), great sound, and much less expensive than either of the others I mentioned above. Still looking into how it stacks up as a synth (any input here would be greatly appreciated).
2. MIDI tools with which I can begin exploring the world of MIDI
- end products so I immediately realize the spectrum of functionality that is out there (including storing and setting up my keyboard configurations, sequencing, and whatever else is out there)
- tools to augment actual software development (for kicks, cause I guess I am a geek)
3. Sound system which:
- allows me to sit at home with both keyboards and a CD player mixed together so I can jam along with my favorites (listening through either headphones or some speakers.
- allows me to (if and when I get to that point) mix and effect both keyboards and my sax with outputs to some monitors (perhaps the same speakers mentioned above) and to a main PA.
4. Small studio setup which:
- allows me to record music for songwriting and demos.
There is so much out there, and I am anxious to get rolling. I have begun researching much of the above, but would greatly appreciate some advice to augment and direct said research.
Thank you in advance for your input.
Regards,
Mark Holzworth
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