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I will probably buy the CP4 if I like it and it will be used as a stage piano of course, with focus on the piano. I´m thinkin of keeping my nord electro 3 for organ stuff, but I would also like to have more synth sounds, and for some reason I find it hard to use the sounds in the sample libary. I would like to tweak the sounds so they will sound just as I like.
I´m not an organ player so if the organ sounds OK in the CP4 I might skip the electro and get a small synth.
The perfect synth for me should be small, doesn´t need a lot of keys, or no keys at all since I can control it with the stage piano.
Any suggestion? A small synth with big sounds:) I´m not the typical synth/electro kind of guy, we play more pop music but some synth sounds can be cool to use.

I recently purchase the Yamaha MOX6. It's 61 keys and very lightweight. But the thing can do tons, and the sounds I really enjoy. You can and should tweak them a lot, not just with effects but the components that make up the sound itself to get just the sound you want. There's a big learning curve, and that's something I'm still overcoming, but I'm really pleased with what I bought.

Yamaha has just come out with the MOXF, so you should be able to get the MOX6 for a decent price used as people upgrade. What's your budget?

Virus TI

I don't own this but recently heard the Casio XW-P1 is about $400 and it has a ton of features. I was quite impressed with the sounds and capabilities. It does have 61 keys but is fairly light.
I'm not usually a big casio fan but this product as well as their new PX 5S (which has 88 keys and much of the features of the XW P1) has really impressed me. I am strongly considering one of these items myself.

Novation Mininova (velocity-sensitive 3-octave minikeys) $500

[video:youtube]AWk_eTIw7gw[/video]

or if you want a 37-full-size-keys version with a built in audio interface and aftertouch, the Ultranova. Sells for $700 but a couple of years ago I got mine around Black Friday for $550:

[video:youtube]SXo5HNWdT64[/video]

Korg MicroKorg? MicroKorg XL?

There are lots of Youtube videos. A tiny box, with amazing sounds coming out.

If you're using another physical keyboard, the tiny, soft-bottoming keys won't be a problem.

. Charles

If your band has reached the point where you have an effects rack on stage with you, you could consider a rack-mount VST host. As well as MIDIing in the stage paino, they can be controlled on stage with a little (or big!) touch-screen for example. Then you can have any synth effects you like from Moog emulations through FM to multi-timbral etc.

(After all, you didn't mention budget limitations )

Missed the "small" bit - check out a virus TI Snow. It sounds exactly the same as its bigger cousins, and the library of sounds is absolutely huge.

What kind of vst host would you recommend? I was thinkin of getting the cp4 but if there is a vst host that can use for example Ivory piano with a midiklav or a cheaper stagepiano that could be interesting.

Ah, now there's a very tricky question. I'm struggling with that myself at this very moment. It's bad enough trying to choose a VST host for multi-tracking. For live performance it's even more difficult. For Apple, I'm told it's easy - Mainstage. But I'm hooked into Windows - I don't necessarily like it - but that how it is.

There was Karsyn. My Open Labs production station came with an in-house Karsyn replacement: Riff, superceded by MOS. But they crash all the time; they're a non-starter. Some people use Ableton Live, but AFAICS that's still a DAW and switching from song to song, or set to set takes too long. (Riff and MOS, when they're working switch in an instant. You can even be holding a chord at the end of one song, click (touchscreen) the button for the next setup, and when you let go of the chord and play the next note, you're in the next "song". A "song" is just a bunch of loaded instruments, effects chains, keysplits and MIDI patches.)

Cantabile was looking interesting. But one poster said that development of it had stopped. And, looking at Cantabile's web site, the last revision seemed to be May 2012.

I'm just about to look into Bloxpander. But as of now, I know nothing about it.

Oh, that sounds complicated:) maybe I'll use hardware piano + hardware synth instead.
I'm also thinkin' of the nord lead 2x, maybe it could be what I' m searching for.

Anyone tried the DSI mopho keyboard?

I use a Nord Stage 2 and Virus Ti Snow. Run the Stage 2 through the Ti's inputs (normally dry, but can also apply effects). Only two inputs to FoH for gigs with no extra mixer. I put the Ti on a music stand with Industrial Velco.

Key is to use the Stage 2 Extern panel to MIDI the Ti voices. You should be able to use the Electro as a controller in a similar way layering or separate from the Electro voice.

Just for the sake of completeness, I see that Forte (from Brainspawn) is another live performance VST host. It's more expensive than Bloxpander, however; which is more expensive than Cantabile.

try before you buy - and ask if you want a synth or a rompler that can make synth sounds. I had a TI and it is thing of beauty but for just all around giggin I would get something like a Motif whatever - there is a MX49 I think that might be ok.You can also get great deals on things like the K2661....

I have found a cheap used Akai Miniak, it´s so cheap and is supposed to be quite good so I hade to buy it.

If you want everything ...just get a Integra7

Yes the integra could be something, what about the organ sounds, cav you use change the drawbars if there is "drawbars" on the keyboard?
What would be a good midi-keyboard for the integra7. I want good weigted keys.

It doesn't look like there's any drawbar support built in. Not going by this YouTube video explaining deep MIDI wizardry in order to get drawbar control over the Integra7.

(But if you had a rack-mount VST host, , you could have the VB3 Hammond modeller and assuming you can find one, have a MIDI drawbar controller. I just bid on eBay on a Native Instruments drawbar controller but lost. NI don't make them any more . It's looking increasingly like I'm going to have to make my own.)

though you do need an iPad if you want the kind of synth control interactivity you can from a typical "knobby" synth.


Possibly, but not necessarily easily, as referenced in that youtube video above. You have to be able to program your "drawbars" to send sysex.


If organ playing is a concern, weighted keys are generally not the way to go. But that's also why so many people prefer two keyboards, weighted and non, for piano vs. organ playing.


check http://www.oceanbeachdigital.com

Also, the Ferrofish B4000+ can be used as a controller. But unlike the Ocean Beach device, you can't program it to send whatever codes you want, so you need to be able to alter the CC assignments on the receiving end. Also, it has no 5-pin MIDI Out, the out is USB only. But if those aren't problems for you, the drawbars themselves are more "authentic" than on the Ocean Beach, and the unit has additional knobs that send out MIDI CC which can be used to alter other parameters besides the drawbars (percussion, C/V, click, whatever). Plus it has its own organ sound built in, which could be useful as a fallback in a gigging situation.