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Latest reply from keyz88

(10 posts) (8 people)

Want to buy new keyboard...

Posted 2 years ago by David J. Hahn

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David J. Hahn said 2 years ago

This is a post from our old forum software. We were able to migrate the old posts over in the change, but here's what was said:

Andree-Ann

Ok so I have the greatest stage piano on earth (according to meâ€¦), the wonderful Yamaha P-90. The touch of the keys is sooooooo nice and the piano sound (when going through a mixing board) is just perfect for a stage piano. Only problem, it is very heavy and really hard to carry around for gigs. I want to get a keyboard that is lighter but that will provide the same quality as the one I already have. I tried the Nord Electro, which has an ok key action and great keyboard sounds, but the piano sound is just awful. I need something that has a good piano sound for jazz gigs but also organ/wurlitzer/rhodes etc for pop and other gigs and that I can find used for a reasonable price, as I will solely use it for gigs. Any recommendations??? I've been using my yamaha for years so I'm not really aware of what keyboards came out recently.

Thanks,

Andree-Ann

Dave:

I have the exact same problem. I have the Yamaha P-120 and itâ€™s awesome. The new Yamaha stage pianos are nearly as good as the old ones I think. Keep your P-90!

As Cameron can attest to, Iâ€™ve been dragging my P-120 all over NYC for gigs lately. Itâ€™s waaay to large for the city though. Itâ€™s the completely wrong â€˜board for that situation. So Iâ€™m in the market for a new one as well.

What I was thinking about was buying a 61-note MIDI controller and connecting it to my computer and using soft synths through MainStage (AKA Logic Pro). Obviously Iâ€™ll be sacrificing touch and size, but at least not sound. Also, itâ€™ll be a much, much more manageable rig to carry around the city.

Iâ€™ve seen guys (notably the keyboardist in Cameronâ€™s band) doing some amazing things with 61-note boards. Iâ€™m convinced that you donâ€™t need 76 or 88 keys for a lot of gigs.

If I get a cocktail gig, though, Iâ€™m still bringing my P-120.

Andree-Ann

Yeah, I will keep my P-90 for sure, its amazing to practice classical and actual piano playing, as opposed to synth playing. You see, one thing I can't sacrifice is the touch. I'm so used to the weighted key action, that when I have to play on a synth keyboard, I just sound like a rookie trying to play piano. I really don't like it!

So I'm really looking for an actual keyboard with weighted action that I could carry aroundâ€¦because as a poor music student, I am using transit, and carrying my yamaha is a nerve-wracking experience everytime. Life is hard.

Brian

I have my Korg triton extreme 88. I don't know Yamaha keyboards well enough so I coudln't tell you how it stacks up to them. But it has a couple of really good sounding pianos as far as I've heard. But I've had the same problem with wieght. It's a beast! I've got a really good hard shell Road Runner case for it and it fits perfectly in the back of my jeep. But it's still a pain in the ass to roll around. I think if you're set on weighted keys you're stuck to draging around a beast of an instrument. Unless you can find some kind of controller keybaord that has weithed keys but is still lighter than other 88 key keyboards. i feel like in that situation though the action is not going to be of any kind of quality like you'd be used to. I love wieghted keys. i'm a pianist and I'm spoiled! I wanna feel the weight under my fingers. I'm looking for a better keyboard rig as well. I've been looking into getting a 76 key controller and buying the Korg Triton Rack for it's sampling capabilities. If you can manage to find a controller that suits you I would suggest researching the Muse Receptor Rack. It's more than a module it seems. If I understand it correctly, you can install sound libraries into it. i think originally it was made to house the Kore Kontact sound bundles. But it seems to be where sound modules are going now. You take sound libraries with you in a rack rather than using a laptop and trusting your gig to the whims of windows. If I had the money I think that's what I would buy. Here's a link below.

http://www.museresearch.com/

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David J. Hahn said 2 years ago

I looked into the Muse Receptor Rack, but I felt it was too expensive. Useful, practical, awesome - but too expensive. I already owned an overpriced laptop (macbook pro) with Logic, I might as well use that. It's been pretty reliable.

Every weighted-action keyboard I can find weighs a ton. I looked at the studiologic midi controllers because they have the fatar keybeds that are supposed to be so awesome. And they feel alright (not as good as my p-120), but it's just as heavy as a regular board!

I think I'm going to go with a 61-key m-audio axiom. It's "semi-weighted" which means its still lame, just less so. 61 keys is less than ideal, but for musical theater, funk, elec. piano and hammond it'll work. I've seen some guys in NYC plays some amazing stuff on small keyboard lately.

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David J. Hahn said 2 years ago

I went to Sam Ash the other day and checked out the M-Audio Axiom. Pretty hip board. I miss weighted action, but it's super light.

I had a friend recommend M-Audio Pro Keys 88SX, but it doesn't look like that has the parameter controls that I'd like.

Anybody know any of these boards?

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alekscourt said 2 years ago

Has anyone played the new Casio Privia? It weighs only 27 lb. and can be carried easily in the shoulder bag which one can buy for a song. I saw the whole thing (88-weighted action) with shoulder bag, stand and bench for only $800 on the internet. Go to Privia.com and check them out. Then go to MySimon.com to shop for the best price AFTER you play one. I currently have a Kurzweil PC2x but it's MUCH too heavy to schlep around the world for cruise ship gigs. Most of the ships don't take care of their pianos and don't tuen them often enough for my taste (I'm the pickiest and can't stand an out-of-tune piano!) I don't know a lot about the Privia, but it sure is light and portable!
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nathang said 2 months ago

The MIDI lab I'm currently using at Belmont has Axiom 61's as controllers. They feel pretty decent, although the aftertouch has a sponginess that I don't really like. The keyboards I currently own are a Yamaha MOTIF ES-8 (88 weighted keys, big ad heavy but nowhere near as bad as a P-120) and a M-Audio Keystudio 49 controller. The Keystudio is unweighted without aftertouch, and is great for portable use. I have performed a couple gigs running it through Mainstage, but I mostly use it for input into Logic and Finale. Ultimately, my dream keyboard is a Nord Stage 2. Still not sure whether I'd want the weighted 76-key or the waterfall-action 73-key. The waterfall feels fantastic and that would play well with the organ and synth side of it, but I feel like I'd be missing out on the great piano action. That's all a pipe dream for now anyway, as I don't have anywhere near $3500 to spend on a keyboard for a long time.
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law said 2 months ago

I actually just picked up a Privia PX330 a few weeks ago, specifically because of its awesome action. I've been practicing (not gig-ready QUITE yet on piano...) on my 61-key Nord Electro 2 for the past year or so, and while the organ tones are just about the best in the biz, the action (and piano sounds) left much to be desired. I haggled the salesdroid at $local_retailer_specializing_in_guitars and landed it for $599 out the door. I highly recommend you swing by your local music retailer and at least check it out. They're comparatively light, they've got (IMHO) a great feel on the action, and I've been very happy with the piano sounds on mine.
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Joe Stone said 2 months ago

Since this thread has been revived...

I have the Casio Privia PX-3 and I love it. It was a toss-up between the 3 and the 330, which are very similar. I decided to get the 3 for some of its more "pro" performance features and the Ivory feel of the keyboard, which I liked better.
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Andree-Ann said 2 months ago

I actually have the Casio Privia ...130 i think? And while I am 'satisfied' I'm slowly getting bored with it...doesn't do the trick as well as my P-90 used to. For the price it's definitely worth it though and a good 'in between' to get if you are not ready yet to spend tons of money on your keyboard or just need a light piano to carry around (because it is insanely light - i get it up and down stairs all the time with no issue whatsoever)

Andree-Ann
http://www.myspace.com/andreeanndeschenes
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Cliff J. said 1 month ago

After extensively reading the forums on pianoworld.com, I have decided to buy the Nord Piano (np88) blind without testing it and waiting patiently for it to arrive in the mail. I currently own a Yamaha CP5 and I love the action and the feel of the synthetic ivory coated wooden keys but it's too darn heavy to lug around and not a big fan of the bright Yamaha grand piano sounds. I'll post a comparison between the Nord Piano and Yamaha CP5 once I get my hands on the Nord.
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keyz88 said 1 month ago

Re:
you need something that has a good piano sound for jazz gigs but also organ/wurlitzer/rhodes etc for pop and other gigs and that I can find used for a reasonable price, as will solely use it for gigs.

Hi Andree-Ann,
Sampled piano sounds (in an electric piano or sample synth) are so relative to the players (and listeners) tastes. Same goes for the keyboard action. What piano player “A” likes is not what piano player “B” likes... your mileage may vary.

Since there are soo many choices out there, don't over think your question. Simply think of “function” as opposed to form. Using the following examples, you'll see what I'm talking about. A VW Beetle won't win any sanctioned NASCAR races, but it will get you to the gig if all you play is the flute. The trunk of a Cadillac is not meant to be used to haul landscaping rocks and likewise a dunptruck is not usually seen in the members parking lot alyour local country club. Simply use the best tool for the type of job you do. You can always go out to venues that have live music with keyboardists to see what they use for their bread & butter. I'm sure most keyboardists will be happy to tell you why they purchased their particular axe for the live venue they are playing at.

CHOICES? - A top of the line electric piano or just a used affordable keyboard controller with a pre-millenium vintage MIDI module? I myself have used some of the following – Roland A-30, Fatar 61 & Axoim 61 controllers. The A-30 was built pre-2000 (AD), and was used in the more rowdy venues I've played. Also served as a backup controller in the car trunk if something went down. The Fatar Studio 61 controller felt cheap, yet was the lightest 61 key controller I've ever owed. I'll never forget the day I handed it to my bass player using only three fingers (OK, 2 fingers and a thumb but you get the idea). The axiom 61 was great for my vintage MIDI modules, and had the separate pitch and modulation (wheel) performance controllers I really liked. Also used the M-Audio ProKeys 88sx as a backup or a basic (6 great quality meat & potatoes sounds Wurli, 2 Grands, Dx-7, Rhodes, Clav + 1 cheesy jazz club organ) sounding axe. The 88sx (street value $250.00 on ebay) has 128 note polyphony, WITH A sustenuto pedal (for classical or jazz pedaling) that most electric pianos don't feature. Here's a link of David Bowies keyboardist playing one... simply awesome http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxKk3LIFOAY .

I'm also going to cover the equipment side of playing piano out in the wild since that may also help answer someone elses question at some point.

For gigging out here's what I use, your mileage may vary. While I'm not endorsing any of the manufacturers of the following equipment, you can see the “function” in the equipment I am about to mention:

I generally do a solo act or so my http://www.RobertJohnsonPiano.com website claims. When not playing a grand piano, I use a nice lightweight electric piano setup. Being an older kinda guy, a tend to avoid heavy lifting and weight when hauling equipment. Yet I have redundancy built into my setup so as not to leave me hanging when a piece of equipment malfunctions.

I have a Roland Juno-Stage (street value $800.00 US). They were built around 2009 and is tailor made for the solo artist.

* 76 keys – Not too few (to constrain your playing) or not too many (to be cumbersome). Unweighted.
* LoZ 1/4” (combo) Mic inputs with its own Mic volume control and delay.
* Light weight – 24 lbs., yet has room for placing tablet PC's, MP3 players, sheet music across the top
* USB flash drive input – for MIDI or WAV file backing tracks (if you need the flexibility)
* 1/8” iPod/mp3 player input with its own volume (for audio – I use mine for tunes when I'm on break)
* Nice palette of everything soundwise... can even do a mean Joe Satriani guitar emulation on it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia-3p7ARdX4
* Plus more...

As you can see, it's “my swiss army piano/synth/organ/midi player/audio mixer keyboard” – and then some. From there, I use an under $20.00 (US) “direct box” that feeds into a powered speaker (34 lb Mackie Thump 2-way with 15” bass) on a tripod.

Let's recap: Juno-Stage + Mic + amplified speaker with related cabling and piano stand. My stuff comes in at under 70 lbs. In total weight (I'm including a Tablet PC, and piano bench). I use a Rock N Roller Multi-Cart (expandable) Equipment Transporter Cart for load-inn/outs – I make 1 trip from car to bar & . But what about redundancy I discussed earlier in case something breaks down?

I either use have a backup Juno-Stage, or my M-Audio ProKeys 88SX (17 lbs) in the wings – because stuff happens. I get paid in advance weeks before a gig so I don't want to ruin my rep in person because my keyboard ac power adapter crapped out – AND THEY DO. Be professional & CYA. Speaker-wise, for larger venues I have another Mackie powered speaker so I can run stereo (or mono if one were to malfunction). A few backup cables and another direct box and I'm covered sound wise. If my tablet PC goes down (lyrics/charts/doc files/pdf files), I always carry my smartphone that has those files backed up in addition to and lyric/music finding apps. I used to carry 4x6” index cards for lyrics (back in the day) and a few single sheets of music that easily tuck into a piano gig case where the “venue contract” for my gig resides) Finally, there's always my memory that I use before grabbing a tablet PC, smartphone or sheet music.

But enough of my rambling about the non-piano part of my answer to yoour question.

30 YEARS AGO the best all around electric piano choice was easy: they all sucked. Please keep in mind that I am NOT talking about all the legendary “niche” instruments (Rhodes, B3, et al...) that have been the foundation of our bread & butter until technology caught up with us. Back then, no one piano had the flexability we so commonly take for granted in this day and age.

So in closing, the “sound”, “features”, “playability”, “weight” and “price” all come down to what the job calls for.

If you can't afford to have amassed different electric pianos for different gig scenarios (like a golfer has their gold clubs)... it's just as important to find a newer electric piano best suited for the TYPE OF VENUES that YOU will be playing at... or not – that's just my 2 cents. Play on!