What keyboard amplifier?

[costaseglezos]

Hello my friends,
I 'm trying to take a decision for several days, but I can't, so I 'm asking for your opinion/experience.

I have a pair of yamaha hs-50m at home and I love them, but i need a monitor to play in the band.

I 'm looking for something flat (as flat as it can be) for the rehearsal or a gig on a small/medium stage.

I 'm lucky enough to play in a funk/soul band in which we all like to play soft, with dynamics, not loud, so I 'm not looking for hundreds of watts, neither a 15" woofer. 60-120 W of power and a 10"-12" woofer would be ideal.

It must be under 20 kg, for portability.

The price matters, it would be around 350 euros.

So...
The main question is "Keyboard amplifier or active loudspeaker/monitor?"
And of course, "which one?"
I also have thought of these so far.

Hartke KM-60
http://www.thomann.de/gr/hartke_km60.htm

Roland KC-150
http://www.thomann.de/gr/roland_kc150_keyboardcombo.htm

Mackie Thump TH-12A
http://www.thomann.de/gr/mackie_thump_th12a.htm

Yamaha MSR-100 or MSR-250
http://www.thomann.de/gr/yamaha_msr_100.htm
http://www.thomann.de/gr/yamaha_msr_250.htm

Is there anyone who has used any of these before?
Can you think of something else that would suit me?
Thanks a lot!!

[Gustavo]

There are several threads on the subject here on the forum, I dont think any single thread mentions all those options but there are several opinions of different persons which could help.

I personally haven't had any experience with those. For me, at first I got a pair of Behringer 208D because I didn't need much and wanted portability. They are decent, but obviously smaller speakers lack low end. I've heard the Thumps and they are OK. I felt that the equivalent Behringer speakers were better in store. So you could add those to the list.

Saludos,
Gustavo

[FunKey]

I've read bad things about dedicated keyboard amps, here and elsewhere.

Other than that, I can only add something similar to what Gustavo said. Though for me, the situation was a bit different; I needed a monitor mostly to hear myself better when singing background vocals (which I didn't have any experience with, nor do I have a very strong voice). So I went for the cheapest solution that seemed reasonable, which was this: http://www.thomann.de/de/the_box_ma205_aktivmonitor.htm

But of course, I'm running my NS2 through this as well now. If I plug the keyboard directly into the amp, the sound is too mid-rangey, but I needed a small mixer anyway for the microphone, and just boosting both bass and treble improved the sound a lot. It's not perfect (especially the low end, obviously), but still way better than just running through the PA at rehearsals (mostly because of room acoustics, I think). And I'm quite picky about keyboard sound, especially acoustic piano. It's loud enough for gigs, too, and we are not a quiet band.

The one thing that sets it apart from other options I considered is that it can be mounted on top of a microphone stand. (For rehearsals, I'm using this one, which can even hold a microphone in addition: http://www.thomann.de/de/millenium_ms2005_mic_stand.htm. For gigs, that would be too unstable, though.)

[Hambone]

This is a little higher priced, but should be well suited to your needs. Probably sounds better than the Roland and the Mackie.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/hk_audio_lucas_nano_300.htm

[ADSRLFO]

Nice sounding, stéréo,light weight...
But a loud volume bass frequency makes satellites vibrating...

[Six-string-man]

This is a little higher priced, but should be well suited to your needs. Probably sounds better than the Roland and the Mackie.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/hk_audio_lucas_nano_300.htm

+1 on this. I have one with an Electro 4 and a Korg Krome plugged in to it (via a small mixer) and I'm well impressed.

[madkeys2000]

What did you get in the end? I have finally given up on keyboard amps and I think they suck,just got a yamaha dxr 12 and cant believe it took me so long!

Mike.

[rb4u1]

I think the question then becomes do you want the speaker
to project or do you just want to use it for a monitor for yourself?

[Michael Wright]

I used a pair of MSR 250's and had on occasion used just one. One did the job reasonably well, but have since sold them and purchased one Yamaha DXR 10. I am quite happy with the change. The MSR 250 is however a nice speaker. Cheers Mike

[mtier0067]

I must say that the EV zlx12p is the best bang for the buck I have found. played with a roland for a few years, okay but not great, motion sound kp200s, great but not powerful enough for pianos without sounding harsh, I lugged a leslie around for a few years for the organ, still do on occasion, i sometimes play with in ears if the occasion is tight timewise and i just want to keep my set up minimal, but....

the ev's are just awesome speakers....1000 watts of power 2 channels of either 1/4" or xlr great dsp options and a slick look, portable etc. I use one for small stages, use both for larger stages in stereo. its incredible... nord stage 2 76 into channel 1 (l/r) and nord c2 into channel 2 (l/r), l/r xlr outs to the house and im set. and you can pick one up new for about $330 off ebay from proaudiostar or similar companies. my $.02