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yet another amp q (but a quickie)

has anyone tried the hartke range of keyboard amps? i'm looking at the km-100. they're used at college for bass / guitar along with the gallien & krueger range but wondered if anyone has first hand experience with the keyboard range.

if not then...predictably...any 'must try' 's???

cheers.

by pringe on 03/06/2006, 13:20

There are 13 comments, leave a comment.

normally, i would stay away from "keyboard" amps and take a look directly at studio monitors. you can get two decent self-powered studio monitors from mackie, yamaha, peavy, and any number of makers. studio monitors a great because they generally cover an extremely wide frequency range, they pack a punch for their smaller size, and you can buy two of them so that you can get a true right/left seperation which really helps modern keyboards sound good.

now, with that said, i'm am totally unfamiliar with teh hartke selection of keyboard amps. the thing to do is try one out on a gig. rent it for a night from your local vendor. usually the rental price will be rolled into the final retail price fi you like them. if you don't like them, then you've lost $50 or whatever but you aren't stuck with an expensive amp that doesn't do the job.

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by Scot Ranney on 03/06/2006, 15:47

i need one quite quickly - mainly because i have a weekend gig in a fortnight and have just been told the grand is not available so it's down to the trusty motif!

i know a fair bit about studio monitoring (i take it you mean nearfield monitors?)...yes they do indeed pack a punch!!!! they don't seem as rugged as an amp though.

i'm in the uk...going to take a train down to a massive amp specialist this coming weekend to try out all the models, and will mention the rental suggestion you made scot.

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by pringe on 03/06/2006, 17:56

oh...here's a link to the amp in question (and indeed the shop) if anyone fancies a peruse:

https://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/options.php?id=69248

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by pringe on 03/06/2006, 17:57

yu can use guitar or bass amps for the organ or rhodes sound but not for digital piano. the digital piano sound requires full range speakers to reproduce its fequencies. guitar amps do not produce a full frequency range, again rhodes and organ do not require a full range amp.

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by Jazz+ on 03/07/2006, 00:46

youe motif has a great rhodes sound with "vibtage '74", so i would happily use that thru almost any amp. the motif pianos are ultra brit and decay fasy, only good for rock in my opinion. so if it was me i would use the vintage '74 for the whole gig. i would also turn the auto pan effect way down to near off or off.

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by Jazz+ on 03/07/2006, 00:48

ditto the pianos j+!!!

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by pringe on 03/07/2006, 03:41

your motif has a great rhodes sound called "vintage '74". i would be very happy to play it thru almost any amp. the motif pianos are ultra brite and decay too fast so they are only good for rock and pop,in my opinion. if it was me i would use the vintage '74 for the whole gig. i would also turn the auto pan effect down to nearl off or completly off.

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by Jazz+ on 03/07/2006, 13:50

jazz +:

just bought the mackie srm450 (single) after hearing how much clearer it was than any keyboard amp (scot et al you were right!). however, having got home i am starting to think that maybe this is a bit too big for my needs, seeing as most venues for gigs are notoriously tight for space. it may have been another jazz+ that was posting on musicplayer.com forums but i saw a post that mentioned him (or you!) having experienced the 450 and the 350. is this you? can you shed any light on the main differences between the two as i now have my gig in a week's time and may exchange the 450 for a 350 if it isn't too bad a sound.

in case you're wondering, the sales guy didn't mention the 350 - only found out once i got home!

thanks

steve

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by pringe on 03/11/2006, 11:47

sorry, another addition:

have just been jamming on the mo' with the aforementioned speaker. if i really hammer a high key while on any rhodes patch there is distortion. i seem to remember getting this on the headphones aswell but have none to a/b with where i currently am. is this a motif issue? i've tried putting the motif volume right down (about a sixth of the way) and have the mackie hardly up and it still does it.

??

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by pringe on 03/11/2006, 12:45

distort when you whacked it really hard.

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by 7 on 03/11/2006, 12:58

just checked...sadly no. it happens with all patches when you play really high frequency noises. for example, go to an organ patch, play a c7#9 in the high range (top two octaves?) and you can hear distortion. you can even turn the volume down on the motif, listen for the sound to go clean and then push the volume up gradually and hear the distortion come back. it really doesn't take much to start clipping, i'd say maybe 10% of its max volume (maybe even less).

am going to borrow another speaker to a/b.

can anyone else with a motif say whether this happens to them aswell? maybe there are just too many rich high frequencies to reproduce. or maybe they get distorted by the mo's amp.

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by pringe on 03/11/2006, 13:18

i owned and gigged with pairs of the following:
roland kc 350, 500
barbetta sona 32c
ramsa 200
mackie srm 450
mackie srm350
jbl eon g2 15"
jbl eon10 g2(10")
fbt max4a
ev sxa-360

i love the ev sxa360, it's 36 pounds, active 500 watts, biamped and smoother than any of the others. it costs more too. i prefer it a reat deal over the srm450.

the mackie srm350 lacks great clarity, bass and smooth response compared to the bigger srm-450. it sounds better than the jbl eon10 g2. any of the above may suit you

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by Jazz+ on 03/11/2006, 18:45

powererd speaker thread:

https://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=573338&highlight=fbt

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by Jazz+ on 03/11/2006, 18:46

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yet another amp q (but a quickie)

There are 13 comments, leave a comment.

by Scot Ranney on 03/06/2006, 15:47

by pringe on 03/06/2006, 17:56

by pringe on 03/06/2006, 17:57

by Jazz+ on 03/07/2006, 00:46

by Jazz+ on 03/07/2006, 00:48

by pringe on 03/07/2006, 03:41

by Jazz+ on 03/07/2006, 13:50

by pringe on 03/11/2006, 11:47

by pringe on 03/11/2006, 12:45

by 7 on 03/11/2006, 12:58

by pringe on 03/11/2006, 13:18

by Jazz+ on 03/11/2006, 18:45

by Jazz+ on 03/11/2006, 18:46

Reply to Thread

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yet another amp q (but a quickie)

There are 13 comments, leave a comment.

by Scot Ranney on 03/06/2006, 15:47

by pringe on 03/06/2006, 17:56

by pringe on 03/06/2006, 17:57

by Jazz+ on 03/07/2006, 00:46

by Jazz+ on 03/07/2006, 00:48

by pringe on 03/07/2006, 03:41

by Jazz+ on 03/07/2006, 13:50

by pringe on 03/11/2006, 11:47

by pringe on 03/11/2006, 12:45

by 7 on 03/11/2006, 12:58

by pringe on 03/11/2006, 13:18

by Jazz+ on 03/11/2006, 18:45

by Jazz+ on 03/11/2006, 18:46

Reply to Thread

Jazz Piano Notebook Series

"Latinesque"

LJP Jazz Piano Blogs

Most Recent Discussions

Articles

Top Sheetmusic Picks

Jazz piano education is cool.

Rock on. Follow your passion.

Sign In