I want to buy a decent electric piano... I've heard people talking about "workstations"... is that an electric piano and a synth all-in-one?

I want something with weighed keys, with a realistic sound of a Grand Piano but also something with some fun, cool 80s synth sounds, think Jam & Lewis, or Prince Strange But True type stuff.

Do all-in-one combos exist? What are the name of the models? I have about £1,000 tops to spend.

Also, can anyone recommend any good places to buy them?

bump

Hi Matty. I have a Yamaha Motif Classic (older model of Yamaha motif) which is a workstation. I like it a lot. It has some nice synth sounds.

Workstations have a synthesizer (for creating sounds) and a sequencer (recording different tracks, and building a song)... and a built-in set of sounds...

I think for £1000 you can find what you need. I bought mine online (don't do that. definitely play it before you decide to buy) and I don't know about the stores in England.

The most popular workstation lines are the Yamaha Motif, Roland Fantom, and Korg Triton... they all have weighted keys.

But don't expect the piano sound on a workstation to come close to a real grand piano... You'll get a nice piano sound, but it would definitely not be appropriate for a concert pianist... For something like that you'd need a digital piano (a keyboard dedicated to imitating a real piano - probably won't come with other facilities like a synthesizer, and a sequencer... much more expensive than a workstation).

Hope this helps.

EDIT: Is this for playing live, learning the piano or recording an album? Think about the details before you decide on anything... the workstation may or may not have a key detail that you need.
[Edited 10/4/06 2:04am]
[Edited 10/4/06 2:07am]

your asking a bit much...

seems like ya wanna do alot of vintage stuff,
instead of shelling out that much for a workstation
just get some arranger software with a whole mess of plugins

You can a whole lot more with Logic Pro 7 and a shitty 50 bucks midi keyboard
than you can do with the greatest workstations
Btw workstations are basically keyboard synths that can arrange and mix songs on
if you know your waya round a computer its pretty much obsolete...
i don't bother with them...

but your serious i believe Phantom and Tritan are top of the line workstations
you won't get the dated sounds you want though
its basically what every producer is using...

to get the sounds you want id Yamaha FM Synthesis
i forget what the exact name of the synths are
but just google Yamaha FM synth
and you'll get a whole bunch

ive been dying for one
every once in a while one turns up on ebay.

EmbattledWarrior said:

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

I still may buy a workstation... How about this I found on eBay...?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/...0036237982

Seems like good value for money.

MattyJam said:

wow thats pretty cheap for a triton
jump on it
but im pretty sure you wont get it for that price
but if you can get it under 800
you might have yourself a deal

but ive played triton, they don't have the sounds you want
before you look to buy
check if they have any vintage patches and floppies you can load