Has anyone used the Korg TR88 board, and digs it?
The Korg Trinity is too much board, as may be the LE, but the price is right on this one. We need one for the Institute, and I’m needing to get a solid, weighted-key board (love to know how it feels – the keyboard) with plenty of sounds for live bands.
Issue is, I live in little St. Stephen’s (a musician’s haven, but with one small music store!), and I have to drive 1.5 hours to get close enough to try one. I’d get by with a little help from my friends….
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I’m a bit of a synth-head, but as such I prefer the unweighted keys. But while I have some funky boards (Roland JX-305 and a Roland D-70 which primarily controls a Korg X5DR rack unit) none are what I would recommend for a generic board. The D-70 is hard to navigate and big! But I do have something to offer – Sonicstate.com is the site I’ve used when looking at keyboards and it is a great resource. That said I’d love a Trinity, Korg has some of the nicest fat sounds going. IMHO of course.
How are the piano sounds from the Korg, from a purist’s perspective? I know that Korg is a string/organ/pad master.
I just know my units. The Roland has a more pure piano if you are into tweaking. But I always end up using the patch ‘fat piano’ which sounds like a grand with attitude when I gig. I guess I could layer with my Rolands and get there, but why bother then I can punch that up on the X5DR and rock out.
hmmm.
I just caught that. If you are into tweaking… I meant that the Roland units I have are not that user friendly. At least the D-70 isn’t. When I bought it there was a brilliant layered grand the previous owner had built up (using the samples already there) but in my efforts to learn the machine I got rid of that patch
. For me I like odd sounds, so if I’m going to do piano it has to be fat. Which is why I loved the X5DR first time I heard it (my friend has an X5 that he still uses). But it is definitely more processed sounding than what I can get out of my D70. Does that make less of a hmmmm impact. 
I just played a Korg Trinity in Edinburgh. Hated the piano sounds, and disliked the piano action. It’s off my list.
Now, the Yamaha CP33 is on my list….
Fyi, I bought the Roland RD300 SX some time ago, and we are all pleased as punch. Bought one for the Institute, and one for the home.
Just lovin’ it, for the price. The action works for us, the sounds are available (lots of them, just have to learn the ropes to get to them well), and it finds its place in a band.
I’d highly recommend it, after all this research.
I use a laptop and sound card on the platform with a Yamaha SD80 weighted 88 key. I don’t use the Yamaha’s internal voicings at all anymore, they are not bad, just dated. I use 4 Front’s “Truepianos” and midi up the board to the laptop. Sounds great, doesn’t sound like a synth, and truly plays like a real piano. Truepianos is a “stand alone” and a VST/DXi plugin.
Truepianos has a full working demo on their site. Try it, you will be pleased.
The only drawback with weighted keys, is playing Hammond plugs. Key recovery is faster on a non-weighted board.
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