Best Amplifier for a digital piano & keyboards?

Cafe Society
1

I’m not seeing amps marketed for digital pianos & keyboards.

I know a guitar amp’s circuity & speaker doesn’t go low enough for a bass guitar. Digital pianos go at least another octave lower.

I just ordered a GK MB112 200 Watt micro bass amp with 12" speaker. I got one big enough to gig with someday.

That gives me two amps. A Fender Blues jr for guitar and this GK bass amp.

What is required for digital piano? I have a Casio Priva PX-350. It has a 8 watt built in amp for practice. Enough to play for a small group in a room.

Would my bass amp work?

2

The bass amp will work fine, and will give a much more appropriate response for piano than the Blues jr will.

That said, the reason why there aren’t that many “keyboard amps” out there is that the response/power needs for a keyboard are really similar to what you would need for a PA, and so most players out there are using PA speakers/amps in their keyboard rigs.

Something like this, either just one or two for stereo sound (the mono/stereo debate is the star trek/star wars-esque feud of the keyboard player’s word).

Things to note about that speaker:

[ul]
[li]It is 2-way. So, there is a driver for low frequencies and a driver for high frequencies. This, most simply, allows for crisp and clear response across the spectrum.[/li][li]It uses a 12" speaker for the low end. In my opinion this is the largest driver that any keyboard player needs. Something like this mackie 10" speaker is going to be good as well. For me, the lighter-weight 10" driver cabinets give plenty of response, sound good, and are easier to move/lift, and fit in more tight spaces.[/ul][/li]
I mentioned above that your GK would be fine. It is (and the first solution you should always try is the one you don’t have to pay extra for), but it is not “bi-amped”. So, while it’s designed to replicate a frequency range that’s closer to a piano than the Blues jr, it’s likely going to give you a kind of dulled and muddy mid/high range.

In fact, some companies who want to give bass players higher fidelity at higher ranges than is achievable through traditional bass amp design manufacture bi-amped, or tri-amped bass cabinets. And, I know many keyboard players (myself included) who use these full-range bass cabs for their keyboard rigs. Of course, as you might expect, these amps are going to be more expensive than their single-driver counterparts.

Also, I should add that I have a student who uses the same Privia you do, and I suggested he get this Behringer floor wedge. It’s quite cheap, sounds great at room volume, fits easily under/next to the piano, points the sound up to where you’d be sitting, and really makes the piano sound much better than it does through its internal speakers alone.

I don’t know that I’d try to use that to send sound out to the audience in a gig with a drummer, but in general it’s a cheap/simple/effective solution that can work in the home and on stage (provided it’s the right kind of gig).

Anyway, those are my initial scattered thoughts. Let me know if you want more (or just more concise) advice :slight_smile:

3

Oh, I should add that Peavey and Roland both manufacture a line of keyboard amps, but at new prices there is no reason at all to buy one of them as opposed to a 10" or 12" 2-way from Electro-Voice, Mackie, or to a lesser extent Behringer, or JBL (Yamaha also has powered speakers that many people use).

4

When I was playing out more often, I used a pair of Mackie PA speakers (C300-series), a generation or two older than the ones Eonwe linked to but similar.
Very good sound but sort of expensive and, especially, quite large and heavy.
Mine aren’t powered so there was an amplifier rack with an EQ, a compressor (though I didn’t normally use that for the keyboard), and some power distribution gear.
Add enough cables to, well, beat the band.

In my opinion, dual speaker stereo sound is required and non-negotiable.
That said, I’d try the bass amp since it is already purchased.
It might be totally adequate.

5

I’m on my 2nd Peavey KB-300 (first was a KB, 2nd is a KB/A)…both purchased used for under $300. They are workhorses; you’ll confirm that when you try to pick one up (>80 lbs), but for sound, versatility and durability they’re hard to beat at that price. The one I currently use I’ve had for over 15 years and it still sounds great.

The other popular keyboard amps I’ve seen out in the wild are the Roland wedges (KC-60/110/150…), but never heard one that sounded good to my ears. I’ve played through a Behringer powered speaker also (not sure if the same model Eonwe linked to) and it was better than a Roland, but not up to par with the Peavey.

6

I appreciate all the information everyone has provided.

It’s given me a lot to consider.

Thankfully the MB112 I ordered is on backorder. There’s still time to reconsider.

I had previously looked at the GK MB115. Same line of micro bass, same 200 Watts but with a 15" speaker.

This thread made me take a closer look at it. I didn’t notice before it has a horn. There’s a button on the front panel to enable it.
http://www.gallien-krueger.com/mb-115-specs/

That may make the MB115 bass amp more useful for keyboards.

I’ll talk to my sales rep. Ask him about the Horn and whether other people use this amp with keyboards. See what he says.

The down side to the MB115 is the cabinet size and weight. 14.5 x 19 x 23"
38 lbs.

The MB112 is 14.5 x 15 x 17"
30 LBS

The extra weight & height will make it more awkward loading into a car.

It may be worth it to have a dual purpose amp.

Cost wise, the MB115 is $35 more. Not a big difference.

7

One big, big advantage in today’s amps is the new lighter weight circuity. Micro amps are class-D. A 200W amp is 25 to 30 lbs. Depending on speaker size.

That same wattage class AB amp would easily weigh over 60 lbs.

A Fender Bassman from the 1960’s weighed a back breaking 75lbs.

8

Well, if you weren’t getting a GK bass amp already, I’d suggest a PA, too. The GK is hi-fi enough to be a mini PA, really. The horns on their cabinets are usually adjustable, too. So, you have more than just their really wide EQ to work with. I know of pedal steel guitar players who use the MB fusion heads like mine because of their wide, responsive EQ, and tons of power. Either the 112 or 115 combo should work fine. Both the 12" and 15" speakers have plenty of bass response.

Plus, the GK bass amp actually sounds pretty good when you give it too much preamp gain, most PAs don’t do that so well. The ones that do are usually old tube heads.

9

I know these amps often get plugged into the house PA at gigs. The GK has XLR out for that. With a switch for pre or post EQ signal.

It still makes sense to have an amp that can handle the bass or keyboard when needed.

Unfortunately the GK amps are single channel. I’d need a mixer to play both bass and keyboard through the amp. And another musician. :slight_smile: