Sound Module

[derrickkwa]

Hey guys, I'm looking for a sound module for performance, for playing for church. Yeah, any recommendations? Not sure of budget, but preferably not anything too expensive, hoping to get something cheap.

Derrick

 

[iansoh]

kurzweil ME-1

 

[Cheez]

The Kurzweil ME1 is a good low cost solution. But 32 note polyphony is hardly considered usable nowadays. If you are playing in church, layering of sound is almost a must, which will eat up polyphony.

The other solution, slightly more costly, is the Roland XV2020. 64-note polyphony, more than a 1000 waveforms, and expandable with SRX cards. The expandability means it stays as a good longer-term investment.

 

[Indigo_blues]

i would also go with the roland series of sound modules..

try getting your hands on the JV series 2nd hand if you are on a budget. minimum 64 note polyphony, good sounds.. either the JV1080 or the JV2080 are great.

 

[iansoh]

maybe you should state how/what you normally play when you're on the piano in church, and then fellow forummers can give a better recommendation.

 

[derrickkwa]

thanks for the ideas, guys. i'm play synth for my church youth service? so, song-wise, it's like, hillsong united/planetshakers sort of style? yeah. in terms of what i play, i mainly fill in what's missing, pads, brass, strings, woodwind, lead effects that sort of thing. yeah. all sorts of various stuff. does that help?

Derrick

 

[bongman]

can try look for the following:

1U rack modules:
KORG TR rack (rack version of KORG TRINITY)
Roland JV1080, XV5050 ?

0.5 U:
KORG X5DR
Roland XV2020, JV1010


current model:
Roland Fantom XR
Yamaha Motif ES rack

 

[Indigo_blues]

i won't recommend jv1010 for live performance though.. abit tricky.. hehheh.. think its more for home recording.

 

[derrickkwa]

hm...i'm considering the kurzweil ME-1. do u guys know how much it costs?

also, the all the roland modules mentioned other than the fantom xr can't seem to be found on the website. have they been discontinued?

derrick

 

[Cheez]

Hi Derrick:

Link for the Roland XV2020: http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=431

Before you jump in to get anything, please try it out. You MUST compare it with the XV2020. These 2 are similar in that:
1. They are both 1/2 rack (therefore small and portable)
2. Relatively lower cost than the larger modules.

They are different in that:
1. ME1 has lower polyphony, less sounds, and not expandable, 2x1/4" outputs, midi in/thru
2. XV2020 has double ME1's polyphony, about triple the no. of patches, and expandable, 2x1/4" + 2xRCA outputs, midi in/out/thru, USB connection

ME1 uses the PC2 piano sound - which if you compare with the Roland piano, you'll hear the difference almost immediately. Roland has one of the best piano and strings sounds - in terms of realism. Woodwinds and brass and also the most realistic in Roland than others. Its lead sounds are slightly weaker than others, but generally OK. Still, most of the sounds you use in church keybaords are piano, e-piano, B3 organ, strings and pads. If you do play lead instruments, the flute, panflute and oboe during slow songs are good (and the best of these are from Roland). Rarely do you use leads like saw and analog - but if you do, it's there. It belongs to the XV family - which speaks for itself.

 

[Outatune]

I'm no fan of the ME1, but I'm a huge fan of the Kurzweil piano and strings sounds for live play. Below a pic of yours truly in a very small bar here... many of you should recognise the stage (rather the floor space next to the stage). I've got a Motif ES7 on top... but the Kurz is my go-to piano sound which says a lot. The PC2, PC1x, and ME1 all use the same piano samples.

There is a PC2 on display at City Music. Go have a play and let you ears be the judge. Piano sounds are very, very subjective. What may work well live in band mix may suck in a studio and vice versa. Use what rocks your world.

The ME1 lacks many key features required for live play, including patch memory and some important MIDI functionality IIRC. The PC2R may be the one you want, but it costs more $$.

EDITS TO ADD: Polyphony numbers on piano sounds are less important than the algorithms that support it. 32 or 64 notes of Kurz piano goes a lot farther than the 64 or 128 notes on many of its competitors. When the Motif first came out in 2002 (64 voice polyphony), a 10 note chord would crash it. It's better now...

Did I mention I'm a fan of the Kurz piano sound

 

[Cheez]

Outatune, you're right about the polyphony! I do recall vaguely about the ME1 that it handles that relatively well for a 32 note. The Roland handles it well too. Yamaha are the worst. I think the problem comes with their inherent sampling of the raw sound. The raw sample is very thin, hence they almost always have to layer every sound in their patch, making the simplest sound draining up polyphony. Don't even talk about the Motif - when I first had my SY77, I almost ALWAYS get into polyphony problems by just playing the e-piano. Same for the SY99. My current S90 is not much difference.

Anyway, I do like the PC2 - mainly for the KB3 tone wheel. When I was trying it a few years back, I recall skipping the piano sounds quickly. But I spend a lot of time with the organ tonewheel. Too bad the ME1 does not have that.

I better stop. I'm getting out of topic. But I do agree - sounds are subjective. Just like me hating Yamaha acoustic sounds...

 

[soft]

derrickkwa, did you mentioned which keyboard you are using currently?

i would suggest having 2 keyboards with ok sound than 1 keyboard + 1 module.

so, if you currently have a Korg keyboard, just get a Roland keyboard to add more sound options. dont get 2 same brand.

* ouch, i should remind myself not to keep getting the same brand too

 

[derrickkwa]

the church keyboard i'm playing on is the triton LE. however, one problem is, as a synth player, you need to know the sounds well to play effectively, and i don't get much of a chance to practice/experiment with the sounds as i don't have that keyboard at home. so i'm thinking of getting a sound module so i can practice at home n be able to know the sounds better. yeah. does that make sense?

derrick

 

[soft]

what keyboard are you using at home then?

it will be quite a pity if you are just using the triton as a controller.

 

[iansoh]

oh man. not at all, to me. you should just spend what time you can with the triton. and if u're doing that kind of songs that u mentiond above, there's only so few things you can do as a keyboardist cos their kind of music has very little space for keyboards.

you'll be wasting money on any kind of module just to use it to hold chords and pads. of course unless you're very happy doing that.


lemme go on a tangent abt the ME-1, i've been spending soem hours with the module at the local CME retail store. i feel it's more of a 'recording' module than a live playing module. there are a lot of subtle nuances which make the sounds really good, but only when listened to over some proper monitors and a good setup. at city music the module is hooked up in mono and boy, it's a world of difference between mono and stereo on this module. i was playing it over a pair of M1 actives at moderate volume. i heard many things which i've never heard before when i used to have the module and played it over headphones. for e.g, the first few patches of the acoustic and e-piano banks sound practically identical. but when u hear them over some decent monitors, u'll hear the difference.

 

[Cheez]

Ah, good question James. Well, I will have to agree with Iansoh. If you are already using the Triton, stick with it. Sounds should be OK in most of the cases.

The ME1 will not add more to what you already have.

 

[Indigo_blues]

think the best suggestion here is to spend more time with the triton..

maybe ask your pastor if u can borrow it home during weekdays to familiarise with it.. its so important.

cheers..

 

[derrickkwa]

alright. thanks for the suggestions guys. =).

 

[Quasar]

Roland JV1080 vs JD990 vs XV2020 vs Korg Trinity Rack

Similar question to derrickkwa - I also play in church but we have a very old roland synth with few usable sounds.

We also have a digital piano whose piano sounds are adequate. What is missing are those synthy sounds and atmospheric "new age" pads. I'm thinking of layering the sounds with the piano.

For this purpose, I'm considering buying a module and bringing it to church when I play.

Requirements:
1. The module should complement the SY99 that I have at home.
2. The preset sounds need to be usable with little tweaking and without using wheel controllers (there are none on the digi piano!)
3. In order of importance, the sounds I need are:

• a. Great pads (newage sounds are a plus)
  b. Hammond/organ sounds
  c. leads (electric guitar, saxo etc.)
  d. Adequate brass/wood wind
  e. Rhodes
  f. Adequate strings

Which would you get:
1. Roland JV1080
2. Roland JD990
3. Roland XV2020
4. Korg Trinity Rack

Thanks!