digital piano or synth?

[manic]

What is the difference? What do you think would be a good starting synth?

[Melina]

i really wouldnt know...

but ill just say from experience with various things: whichever is cheapest ..because if youre just learning, you may find you really dont care enough to get that involved..and if you spent your money on a nice ass keyboard or synth or whatever..then youre screwed..so buy something just to learn on first

[manic]

Thank you for your input.... but since when is money an object in the prusuit of self-descovery and experience?


dont fear the little green men

[pedalboy]

Digital pianos are just that - the digital and electrical equivalent to a piano. They don't often have many other sounds and typically aren't mean to be carried from gig to gig.

Synths, on the other hand, are instruments that aren't always trying to emulate something that exists in the real world. They create all sorts of crazy sounds that don't exist, while still creating those that do exist. They are often light and giggable, but they also often don't have weighted keys - which can be disconcerting if you are used to that. I don't even play piano much but i like wieghted keys. That will run you more poundage and more money if you want that. If you want a REALLY quality synth that also has nice piano sounds, I suggest any of the korg triton/karma synths or the new yamaha motif stuff. Good sounds, and you can pick somethig up for about a grand.
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[manic]

Good advice pedalboy, thank you.

Inbetween my post and yours I have figured out that synths have 'voices', which, I assume, are the different emulations or sounds. I did see one or two 'digital pianos' that had voices... which seems like they would be called synths.

But anyway, thanks again.

[Snull]

You can get a Yamaha keyboard that does synth (drums, strings, voices, etc.) that also has a portable grand feature. It also includes the ability to accomodate 32 not polyphony, if you could play that much :-p and you can also split the keyboard so that half each half of the jeyboard will be a different instrument. I planned on buying one of these, I just never got around to it

http://www.music123.com/item/?itemno=53362&t=1#tab

[pedalboy]

That keyboard looks more like a toy than an instrument to me, though. I mean I spent about $500 i think on an alesis QS7.1 and I am dissatisfied with it... I doubt that you'd be too happy with anything like this.

And voices/patches/sounds are all synonyms. We've got some digital pianos at school that are actually more of synths because they have all the drum kits, guitar sounds, string sounds, and techno leads that the big synths do, just usually lesser in quality, variety, and edit-ability. Their forte is having a nice piano sound, and good built in speakers. I should add that synths pretty much never have built-in speakers.
We've also got some digital pianos that are older that just have piano, electric piano, and organ or something on them, and they sound like crap. We also have some kurzweil synths. No built in speakers, lots of sounds, editable, more performance controls, stuff like that. Better for live and in applications where you might be playing on a keyboard but the sound that's coming out is something else entirely.
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[manic]

I went with the Korg Triton Studio 88 and I am blown away, this thing is amazing.. I have over 500 pages of 'user' manual to go through to really get this thing down... but as far as keys go.. I have been able to apply most of my basic guitar theory and I am loving the peeano life.

Here she is:

http://korg.com/gear/product_info.asp?a_prod_no=TRITONSTUDIO&category_id=1

[pedalboy]

GOOD CHOICE. i don't think you'll regret it. Seriously.... Good choice.
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[GSYBE]

Lets see, with a digital piano, you get piano sounds, many piano sounds. But with a synth preferably a Triton Studio or an old school Moog, you get a few piano sounds(you only need a few) and amazingly cool ass sounds and strange stuff. Yet if you get one of those new korg synths (like the old school synths that were real small with moduylators and pitch benders and all different sorts of shit, you get everything in one. OR if you really wanna go digital piano, you get a Kaoss Pad connected to it, and then the world is ur playing field. SO there ya go. Hope this possibly helped
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[GSYBE]