Hello everyone. First time poster, long time lurker here checking in for the first time.
I’ve been playing guitar for quite a few years, and I’ve recently begun expanding my home “studio” to include some keyboards, sound modules, sequencer, etc. Now that I’ve got all this gear though, I need to hear it. (I have a little Peavey Rage, but that just won’t do anymore.)
Can anyone suggest an amp that I might be able to use with my guitars and keyboards? Does such a thing exist? Everything I read about seems to be designed for one or the other.
Roland makes a nice keyboard amp line. I’ve got the KC-500, and I run my guitar through it also. The thing with running a guitar through a keyboard amp (and I am not a big guitarist, so anyone feel free to correct me) is that you’re not likely to find keyboard tube amps, so you’d need a pre-amp if you wanted a tube sound. Distortion also is not usually found on keyboard amps as well. But, IMO, a guitar through a keyboard amp will sound just as good as through a guitar amp, but a keyboard through a guitar amp sounds awful.
Keyboards need a clean amp with a full frequency range, so guitar amps generally do not cut it. Some good general purpose mid-size keyboard amps are the Roland KC-300 or Crate KX-100. They have multiple inputs that can handle both a stereo keyboard and a guitar. You would want to run your guitar through some sort of multi-processor or cabinet simulator to give it the proper “feel” before sending it to the amp, though.
If your budget can stand it, you might want to get a PA and a couple of microphones. Plug your keyboard direct into the PA, mic your guitar amp and send that through the PA.
Generally the things that make a good guitar amp (tubes that overdrive when played hard, a relatively small frequency spread, punchy tone) don’t make for a good keyboard amp and vice versa.
The big difference between a keyboard amp and a guitar amp is basically the frequency range. Guitars, for the most part, don’t play really low notes. That is changing somewhat due to some bands tuning the guitars really low in an effort to sound heavy. Keyboards have a larger ranger than guitars.
Also keyboards create all the tone on board while guitars use the amp to create the tone. For example, my Les Paul has a very bluesy tone with my Fender Ultra Chorus amp but I can get a total Heavy Metal tone from my friends Peavey. There are other variables but the amp is at least 50% of the sound of a guitar. On the other hand good keyboard amps should basically sound the same because the keyboard is generating the tones. There are going to be difference due to the speakers and cabnet design but keyboard amps should be fairly neutral.
Skogcat hit it on the head about running your keyboard into the line-in jack if you can do it. PA speakers are designed to play the signal without distorting it. They ain’t perfect but they are better than guitar amps.
Generally, keyboard amps are more useful for live performance. If your goal is to incorporate synths and things into a live act, by all means a keyboard amp is your best bet–the aforementioned Roland KC series is good and I can recommend the Peavey KB series as well.
However, if you are setting up a home studio, it seems to me you will want to plug all your synths, computer audio outputs, etc, into a mixer and send the mixer’s output to monitors, ie a set of stereo speakers mounted at ear level. You can use any home stereo to get started, but once you want to start seriously recording and mixing your music, you’ll want to get monitors that are specifically designed for recording. This is because many home stereo speakers tend to flatter a recording, whereas professional monitors are designed to accurately represent sound, warts and all, so you can ferret out and remedy flaws in your recordings.
A great way to get up to speed on these things is to start reading pro-audio magazines–Mix, Recording, EQ, Keyboard, Electronic Musician, SOS (Sound on Sound), etc. There are always ‘beginner’ articles running, and by diving into the more advanced articles you will slowly pick up the jargon and technical know how.
If you want to hear everything, you need some decent monitors. They needn’t be massive units, just enough so you can hear everything clearly. Unfortunately, I don’t know all the models off-hand, so I can’t help you with that, but if you hop down to your local Guitar Center or equivalent, you’ll find 'em in the recording section or even in the keyboard section.
The main problem you will have has been mentioned before. If you want to play drum machine and sharp synthy or clear piano sounds, a guitar amp will sound like shit. However, if you’re playing around with organ patches and maybe some Rhodes patches, you can get some interesting ballsy sounds by using a guitar amp.
The times I’ve recorded, the general set-up was this:
Guitars miked through the amp of the guitarist’s choice. Mike into the mixer.
Keyboards and electronic instruments line-in directly to the mixing console. (Usually I’d run organ patches and dirtier sounds through a Fender M80. Piano patches always lined-in.)
Drums - all sorts of mikes, some overhead, some on the kit. Mikes into the mixer
The mixer then ran through the PA.
The tracks were all digitally recorded and additional effects (beyond whatever the guitars were using) were added on after the fact.
Hoops & pulykamell have it right. Get yourself a small mixer, (mackie 1204 runs $399 IIRC), and power amp (try Crown, they have some inexpensive ones), and lastly some monitors. Yamaha NS-10 is a great value at 399 or so, you will find these monitors in almost every studio on earth. They sound crisp, are durable as hell, and will be at home in a $500 studio or a $500,000 studio. You can get the power amp last, because if you have a decent receiver, you can take the RCA main outs off the Mackie and run it to the receiver, and connect the monitors as well. The NS-10s are 8 ohm, so it will be ok on a stereo. If you want to save a bit more, check out monitors by Alesis. The specific model is ‘Monitor One’, and for $299, they can’t be beat.
Thanks for all the info everyone. Looks like I have a few options here, and possibly a bit more gear to buy. I’ll start checking out some magazines.
Now…to convince my wife that I NEED more stuff…
One thing to remember if you’re starting to go this route is you WILL run out of inputs very quick. If a 6x2 channel mixer will JUST suit your needs at the moment, my guess is it’s too small. One more keyboard or drum machine and you’re out of channels.
IMO the more channels on a mixer the better. I have 32 on mine and I’m still pressed for channels. I have upgraded my mixer 3 times now -6x2 to a 12x2 to a 16x4 to a 32x8. Now I either upgrade or put in a sub mixer.
Basicly, if you are planning on continuing the route of keyboards or expect to add several effect, buy a board that is twice what you need now.
And just to let you know. I started with one keyboard and a drum machine. I expected to perhaps buy one or two more down the road. I now have 15+ keyboards, 4 drum units and two racks filled with effects. Don’t ask me how it happened, it just did. I suppose once I really got into keyboards I was hooked.
World Eater: I’m not a big fan of Mackie gear outside of live sound. But I think the 1604 would be a good choice for DanCorleone. It would be a good beginning console.
