6 octaves keyboards, what's happening?? - The Poll

[arecio]

I can't understand why keyboard manufacturers insist in sell 6 octave keyboards (which is
a great idea), but starting in E or F. This has no reason to be!! If you play left hand bass
C is a great note to start the bass register, and C on top is the usual note where most of
keyboards end, so what's the problem???

[RedLeo]

Not everyone plays in C. For example, I play a lot of guitar-based rock so a low E suits me better to fit in with guitar-based riffs and chord sequences.

[Frantz]

I'd like to see a keybed starting with Bb, just for fun, coz it may look a bit unusual.

[stiiiiiiive]

Hola Arecio

as unusual as it may look, remember that a full size piano starts with an A, a Wurly starts with an A too, a Clvinet starts with an F, a 73 Rhodes starts with an E (IIRC...).
As said earlier, E based keyboards make really sense when playing with stringed rock intruments. As true as a jazz player will prefer a C based keyboard.

[cleito]

I've read somewhere that Fatar does not make a full white key, only with the space for the black key, this is why the 73 key nords start with the F key.
But, I think Nord could make the keyboards starting in the C key, for me would be much better having a lower E, even if it means having 4 more keys before it.

[AdamStage2]

Korg did make a 6 octave synth action keybed(73 note) starting on a C on their M3 workstation line,sadly this never transitioned over to the Kronos series 73 note,perhaps there wasn't a massive market for it which they hoped for with the M3,or perhaps because the newer Kronos featured the 73 Note as Hammer action instead.

I only have one 76 note synth in my setup the Roland JP80,which is only because they don't offer any other size bed anyway,if they did I would have opted for a 5 octave version for practical gigging reasons,I've never really seen the benefit of that extra octave on a synth action keybed irrespective of it starting on a C or an F or any other note for that matter,especially when most synths offer some easy option to transpose the keybed at the flick of a switch and allow easy access to those out of range octaves,as for stage Pianos I have always opted for an 88 note hammer action version anyway.

Its like the Nord Lead synths,Some players I've spoken to wish Clavia made them 61 note instead,but my personal view is they are just fine as 4 octave,for the exact same reasons as above,Never once felt restricted on the Leads 49 note beds whatsoever.

Whatever fits your needs really.

[pablomastodon]

Correction to Cleito,

Don't believe everything you read on the internet -- Fatar obviously makes full white keys. They can be found on the top ends on ALL SW 61 and 73 note actions.

I'm with Frantz here, or almost. Bb would be cool, but A, like "regular" piano would be great. Half the fun of playing bass on keys is being able to go where "regular" bass players can't go. And with Bag End speakers there to provide flat response down to 8Hz (yes, I know that we can't hear 8Hz) I can descend down that tonal ladder until the apparent audio disappears and rumble some people's brains/guts along the way. Getting down to that low A is truly impressive and guaranteed to raise the eyebrows of anyone with better than average listening skills. Cutting it off at E limits that -- plus the guitarist I work with tunes down 1/2 step...

Pablo

[shark]

Couldn't care less, I got a bass player with a very low 5 strings bass.

[arecio]

All of this came out by thinking in the Nord Stage, wich many of us uses for "easy gigs-one keyboad-all included". As Jazz organist I play left hand bass, and I feel not havin those 4 notes a little castrating.
For synths 4 octaves is great! or 3! (I have a Nord modular G2).

[elektromin]

For me, 73 or 76 note keyboards starting at E has always been the ideal size for my jazz piano influenced style of playing. 61 notes is too limited and 88 is simply too heavy to carry.