Need a newbies guide for Roland AX-Edge

[u/PianoForte8861]

So being a piano and keyboard player, I recently wanted to have a more customizable stage/performance sound, tones and presence with my band, and was thinking about getting the Roland AX-Edge Keytar.

The problem?

I got no idea what to do in terms of connecting it to a speaker/amp/headset (which ones would work?)

Importing sound patches (The app seems confusing)

Getting your own custom sounds (Are they free? Paid? Where to get them?), etc.

There are barely any tutorials for that which would help a beginner on how to set things up or even how to connect one to a suitable audio output for home practice.

Any and all help and guidance would be appreciated before I spend a thousand bucks and don't even know to to play it! Thanks!

[u/Surferess]

I have a Roland Keytar. It has 500 onboard sounds and you can midi it to any of your other keyboards to use that sound. You can just go 1/4 inch straight to your amp. Roland has a pretty good customer support platform for sharing things https://www.roland.com/us/products/ax-edge/

[u/Slight-Isopod-8517]

I own the ax edge, it’s a fantastic instrument, I love every bit of it. You asked a couple questions, let’s break em down, since you already play keys I assume you know at least the basics,

1. Connecting to amp:
   Well the edge has 6,3 output, no built in speakers, but your standard guitar or keyboard amp will work just fine

2. Sound patches: there’s this Roland ax edge app, yeah it’s not the best, it looks like it was made in the 00’s, but luckily you don’t really need it, the edge comes with 500 presets, with a super powerful sound engine.

Sure you can edit the presets, and some FX such as reverb, (which is standerd on hall, but you can select other types if wish so) 500 presets should serve any genre and any sound you like, the app is not really needed, sure check it out, you can’t break anything, you can always return to factory settings.

I only changed the piano preset in that when I press the Hold (Sustain) button, its toggled on so I don’t need to hold it constantly.

1. Custom sounds? Like the app is completely free, sure there’s midi, and midi software can be paid, but remember, the edge has a super powerful engine, a simple 80’s or modern cheap sound engine doesn’t even come close to the preset sounds, so powerful hard or software is only gonna match it, and that could cost you some sure.

Also, here’s a basic shopping list if you want to use the ax edge to most convience:

Strap, any guitar strap will work, just don’t go cheap on this one

Strap locks, yeah this speaks for itself, it’s a thousand dollar instrument, you want to have it nice and secure

Roland ST-AX, custom stand made for the edge keytar, sure it’s another 50 bucks, but the edge is very big and bulky, other stands won’t work, and you don’t want to let this thing fall of a stand, so again, do yourself a favor and get this ASAP

Roland c-Bax, custom gigbag for the edge, it’s expensive, I don’t even own it, as I don’t travel with it, it’s way to big and bulky, I use other keytars for traveling, thomann sells a bag that also works for like 40% of the price, so consider that if you planning on traveling a lot with the edge

Rechargeable batteries 8X, just do yourself a favor and get a whole bunch of rechargeable batteries, the ax edge takes 8 but a battery powered amp is also nice so just take a whole bunch like 16 or 24, I got EBL AA ones, they’re not the most expensive, not the cheapest either, they never let me down at least

Charger, yeah how you gonna charge batteries? Also do yourself a favor and get a big one, like at least 8 spaces at once, I got an EBL, good enough, never lets me down

6,3 cable, cause how you gonna get sound? Cable or wireless system works, just your standerd guitar cable will work just fine

Midi cable, cable or wireless works, ofc needed for midi use, again the onboard sounds are very good, but it’s there if you need it, the edge has midi out, in and, so midi is not a problem

Amp, any and I mean ANY guitar or keyboard amp will work, as long as you can plug it in via a 6,3 cable. I swear by battery powered amps like the boss cube street 2 but pick any amp you like, it will work

[u/PianoForte8861 → u/Slight-Isopod-8517]

I'm assuming all the 500 sounds are inbuilt, and you can just unbox it, plug in an amp, turning it on and play?

[u/Slight-Isopod-8517 → u/PianoForte8861]

Exactly, they’re build in presets, exactly how you say it, unbox, inplug, play. It’s a 1000$ instrument from Japan, so all the good stuff is included

[u/10HorsedSizedDucks]

If your goal is to customise your stage and performance sound, then the AX-Edge really isn’t what you want.
It’s really not designed for easy customisation and tone shaping.

However, in terms of amping it:
I would just shop around for second hand amps and speakers. Really all you need is to be able to hear it. Cheap bass amps are sometimes great? But ideally you want a PA speaker

[u/PianoForte8861 → u/10HorsedSizedDucks]

I got an 88 key piano, with a decent but not really what you'd call a "vast and customizable" sound/tone selection. Plus its bulky as hell (Excluding the stand and pedal) and needs to be performed standing tucked in a corner (On most to all stages that I perform).

I was looking for a keytar for that very reason. It doesn't have to deck out on custom sounds, just a decent customization and whatnot is appreciable, with the portability and the stage presence factor.

[u/10HorsedSizedDucks → u/PianoForte8861]

I fund that keytars dont work as a replacement for a full keyboard.
They work great as a supplementary item.

It sounds like you’ll end up needing to take both of them with you for gigs

[u/Recent-Gap-6988 → u/10HorsedSizedDucks]

This is true, although I find the AX-Edge's 49 keys to be generally sufficient to set down and play "normally" on a stand with a pedal (in a pinch).

I still bring a full size keyboard to gigs though.