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Alternatives to Keytars


charic
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So I play keys in my current band, thing is I get a little bored of being stood behind something I can't move. Was looking at an alesis vortex as a cheap way to remedy this but I'm wondering if there are any other options. My main board is my Korg Kronos and compatibility is essential!

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[quote name='Earbrass' timestamp='1454063804' post='2965890']
Would a Korg X50 be a possibilty?Looks like you could attach a strap to the end handle bits - might be a bit heavy.

Or there's always [url="http://www.rolandus.com/products/fr-3x/"]http://www.rolandus....products/fr-3x/[/url]
[/quote]

It's certainly been done before...

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[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1454066123' post='2965947']
Alternatively , you could strap the bass back on , get a couple of synth type effects and do away with keyboard . Or, play bass & get a keyboardist ;)
[/quote]

I've got a bassist, I'm actually a fair bit better on keys than I am bass :lol:

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I'm undecided on the keytar... It's so uncool that it's not even cool in a hipster ironic way for being so uncool.

...but on the flip side of that anyone sporting a keytar in public is clearly so disinterested in conforming to fashion that they in a way are the very essence of cool.

... not that I would know anything about being cool and popular :blink:

Edited by CamdenRob
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IMO the only decent sized keytar is the Yamaha KX-5. Everything else either looks totally ungainly unless you are over 6 foot in height and built accordingly, or is small and awkward to use like the CS1 in the clip above.

How about one of those guitar-like MIDI controllers?

Finally don't even bother with pitch to MIDI or putting a guitar or bass trough multiple effects in the attempt to make it sound like a synth. I spent the best part of a decade trying to convince myself that it was a worthwhile exercise. I reality it turns out that even with my ham-fisted keyboard skills, given a decent synth I can achieve the same effect but far more reliably and consistently.

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Misa make 2 products that may suit you, the Kitara
http://misa-digital.myshopify.com/products/kitara

& the Tri Bass
http://misa-digital.myshopify.com/products/tri-bass

There's also many RockBand controllers that have midi too, which could prove to be a very cheap alternative.

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[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1454103182' post='2966570']
Dunno if you're joking or not, or young or not, but it's Edgar Winter, brother of Johnny Winter.
[/quote]
I didn't think it was actually Jimmy Saville, but there's an uncanny resemblance & his dress sense is just as bad. :biggrin:

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I must say ,that although there are some very helpful you pube clips here, they have almost put me off of keyboards. Sorry. They've done me a favour.
Sorry charic, but if I were you, I'd just chill out at the back with the keys that yo have, and join another metal band. Maybe , you could put a whammy bar on your bass?
;)

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[quote name='charic' timestamp='1454060469' post='2965825']
My main board is my Korg Kronos and compatibility is essential!
[/quote]

Thinking about it, I was not longer sure I got this.
The thread title says "alternatives TO keytars" (which I tried to answer, basically saying to just use a keytar anyway), but the OP in isolation may be read as "alternative keytars to Vortex".
Could you tell what it is you're after?

As to "compatibility", do you simply mean it must be a MIDI controller?
Or maybe that it must be able to control more than just KEY ON / KEY OFF - - like velocity, aftertouch, mod wheels and the like?

Alternatives to keytars include monophonic wind controllers like the cheap Casio DH-100 or the expensive Eigenharp or Akai EWI and similar offering, and there are loads of things that look like toys as well.
Kadabra might do it. ARQ might do it. AlphaSphere might do it.

Personally, amongst other gadgets, I've used the Casio DH-100 as monophonic MIDI controller on stage.
It did the job, but it also needed the humour. :)
However, it sends so few MIDI parameters that it also really needs either modding or other external MIDI signals and a MIDI mixer.

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[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1454106610' post='2966623']
I didn't think it was actually Jimmy Saville, but there's an uncanny resemblance & his dress sense is just as bad. :biggrin:
[/quote]

:lol:
Aye. Before even seeing it really was Edgar, my own first thought was Savile too - despite even remembering that picture from like 40 years ago or something (this was before MIDI).

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[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1454149840' post='2966903']


Thinking about it, I was not longer sure I got this.
The thread title says "alternatives TO keytars" (which I tried to answer, basically saying to just use a keytar anyway), but the OP in isolation may be read as "alternative keytars to Vortex".
Could you tell what it is you're after?

As to "compatibility", do you simply mean it must be a MIDI controller?
Or maybe that it must be able to control more than just KEY ON / KEY OFF - - like velocity, aftertouch, mod wheels and the like?

Alternatives to keytars include monophonic wind controllers like the cheap Casio DH-100 or the expensive Eigenharp or Akai EWI and similar offering, and there are loads of things that look like toys as well.
Kadabra might do it. ARQ might do it. AlphaSphere might do it.

Personally, amongst other gadgets, I've used the Casio DH-100 as monophonic MIDI controller on stage.
It did the job, but it also needed the humour. :)
However, it sends so few MIDI parameters that it also really needs either modding or other external MIDI signals and a MIDI mixer.
[/quote]

I was looking for an alternative to a keytar for wandering about stage but being able to control my kronos. Preferably patch change and a few parameters.

At the moment a keytar is still looking like the best option, I have no issue with looking a bit silly as I'm happy to have a laugb with the audience with it too. Just gotta hope my playing can back up the silliness! Haha!!

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Yeah, I've tried to check out some newer alternatives, and it seems that most of them either still lock you to one place, or are very gadgety. The Kadabra (if being able to be used as a pure MIDI controller) to me seems like to most viable non-keytar solution at the moment, but personally, I'd still go keytar.


Here's a guy on a keytar, playbacking to a guitar solo.
The comments are hilarious, for once.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGa5smz23WY

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