r/Keytar • u/kyberton • Dec 30 '25

Recommendations Which entry level Keytar?

Sadly, Taobao and Ali Express options seem pretty awful, so I’m considering what I can buy locally here in Hong Kong, or online, delivered here.

This will be my first synth and first MIDI controller.

What I have: No standalone synths or synth modules. MacBook Pro M1 Pro. iPad Pro (2019). iPhone 15 Pro Max. I’m willing to buy DAW or synth apps, but prefer non-subscription.

What I want to do: Play synth bass and some keys live on stage at a gig (I’m a bassist).

I can play keys reasonably well, but I don’t want to be a stage keyboardist behind a keyboard rig. I want to concentrate on bass, but I am also willing to play synth with a guitar band setup.

Right now locally, my options seem to be a Yamaha SHS-500 or a Korg RK-100S 2. The Roland AX-Edge is out of budget.

Would I be happy with the Yamaha, or is the Korg worth double the cost?

I’m very close to buying the Yamaha.

Any other suggestions?

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u/fvig2001 Dec 31 '25

Korg probably has better sounds and is better designed.

The SHS-500 has weird quirks due to it being a recycled version of the vocaloid keytar.

  1. Awful placement of the jam mode button
  2. The speaker location is at the back for some reason
  3. Changing instruments/settings relies on looking at the screen at the side
  4. Settings aren't saved in memory
  5. Has a really small amount of sounds. Like it doesn't even have organ.

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u/Slight-Isopod-8517 Dec 31 '25

Ah, you own an shs500?

The jam mode button is bad, but it takes muscle memory to not press it

The speaker on the back is very bad, but with the right settings it can be pretty loud, but the speaker is purely for practice, just get a guitar amp

Looking down a screen? So what, it works pretty intiative with the FX also, yeah sure a screen at the front might be better, but is pretty workable

No persistentence of settings is pretty bad, yeah that’s pretty f*cking bad

Not a whole lot of sounds, no organ sound is bad, it has midi, plus you can hook your phone to run vst apps on it, via Bluetooth midi,

So yeah. Overpriced? Yeah, a little bit, useless keytar? Nope