I have an ES7 that is played through a Roland KC550 amp. When I crank the volume up, especially on the organ voices, the sound is distorted. Any advice on resolving this will be greatly appreciated. I play at a church so organ sounds are needed(until we buy a B-3). Also what are some good amps to buy? Maybe the Roland amp is not the best fit.

Re: Keyboard Amp

I’m unable to tell where the volume issue is present: on the Motif’s master volume slider, or the Roland keyboard amp’s volume knob?

I have personally experienced some mild distortion in the lower range of the keyboard on certain all-the-stops type B3 patches if I take the master volume on the Motif to its maximum, but this goes away if I pull back to 70-80% (and I don’t lose so much that I need massive make-up gain at the amp stage, so it’s no big deal).

As for amps, you’ll find a lot of postings on that topic throughout the forums; especially if you allow your search to go back six months or more. This topic is especially discussed a lot in the “On Stage” forum (or maybe it’s called the “Live” forum; I forget).

Only your own ears can tell you which amp will work best for you, but if your question is related more to workmanship, reliability, and problems, maybe there are some postings that discuss particular issues with the KC amp that you own.

A lot of us dislike that amp, for its weight, cost, and sound, but I don’t specifically recall there being a discussion of general engineering faults on that amp, and that seems to be your main concern. After all, the KC series has been available for twenty odd years. Possibly you have a faulty unit, but you first need to verify everything else in your signal path such as cables, etc.

Re: Keyboard Amp

Hi Alex!

I used to have a Yorkville 200 watt amp and it is one of the toughest units out there in my opinion, however, I have also discovered that most voices on the ES respond best when run in stereo.  I’m currently using 2 Yorkville NX 250 powered speakers through a Yamaha 12/4 Fx mixer.  I’ve run these pretty hot on stage and the 12” bass drivers pound out the B3 sounds beautifully.  Perhaps with the stereo patch and two speakers, I’m pushing the system a lot less.  Just my thoughts...Lee /forums/images/icons/smile.gif alt=

Re: Keyboard Amp

Amen to stereo, power and speaker size. The Roland KC550 noted is also used by my local guitar center as a work-around when they have too many keyboards for their wall displays. To my untrained ears, they reduce the P90 (and an ES6 they had that way for a while) to $100 Best Buy keyboards.  Maybe it’s the way they have them set up, but I have no idea why anyone would buy a P90 from that store. They have it connected mono and it is just the worse thing you’ve ever heard. Toy piano comes to mind.

Anyway, I have read other posts where the organs and some of the EP voices clip their amplifiers when pushed. The solutions are to thin out the voices and/or turn them down. (or buy a pair of those Yorkvilles /forums/images/icons/wink.gif alt=)

Bob

Re: Keyboard Amp

Oops, I forgot about the mono-vs.-stereo issue, as I’ve been running exclusively in stereo for several years now :-).

On the other hand, as long as you use the correctly labeled mono out (I forget whether it’s L or R) you should be fine, as I don’t believe there are any known bugs with the mono-summing in the Motif ES (the most typical problem would be phase cancellation errors, which would thin the sound).

Re: Keyboard Amp

I agree with Bob (Newguy). I also play a P120 pro stage piano.  I think it has the same sound engine as the P90, perhaps a different processor but it sounds like a toy when played through a keyboard amp or mono setup.  In stereo, that’s a different story.

I honestly believe that with the level of design the ES and P series pianos are at, Yamaha is just humouring us by providing a mono out.  Some venues are so tight for space that I only have room for a single speaker and I just hate the sound!  Give me stereo any day!.........Lee

Re: Keyboard Amp

I personally use the Barbetta Sona 41c amp.  It weighs 41 lbs. and has 550 watts of clean power.  Try it, you won’t be sorry.
[url=http://www.barbetta.com]http://www.barbetta.com [/url]

Kenny

Re: Keyboard Amp

I am having this same issue, so what is true stereo is it running left and right into separate speakers using the mono left input?  Or is it that I have to find a stereo mixer and run the outputs to speakers?

Re: Keyboard Amp

I’m using Yamaha StagePas 300 with my ES 6 (+VL, AN & DX). Speakers are not so large for playing in my room, but is still enough for some club. I don’t have any distortion and a stereo sound is amazing! Maybe some professional monitors would be better for home, but I’m taking these speakers also out. To conclude, I’m very satisfied. If you want more power, Stagepas 500 is a good sollution.

Alex