Buying a digital piano

[Thirdtap]

'lo

Ok without to much of a ramble the thing is we have a very nice, lotsa functions kinda keyboard sitting doing not much at one of our venues. It's this:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/diff/korg.jpg

 

As I say very nice it even has a go faster 'tube' sound with blue LED back light... The trouble is that I think it is unsuitable for our use as it has far too much in the way of options. It seems to be better suited for a home recording studio not for Dave or Doris who want to use it for their show and are really only interested in a piano type sound.

 

So I'm after simple alternatives for this...

Ideally I would be interested in a keyboard with a few sounds or voices

Possibly has reasonable speakers in the keyboard and is lightweight, at the moment the Korg is very heavy and requires a powered speaker with it which makes transportation harder.

 

Hopefully with this info I will be able to trade in the Korg for something that will get more use..

Thanks awfully

[GridGirl]

We have a very nice Yamaha digital piano (can't remember the model, sorry - not at work right now!) which does pretty much what you want it to. It is relatively heavy, because it has properly weighted keys, but it's worth having a keyboard which has the right "touch" and plays like a real piano to the touch - I can carry it by myself, though I prefer not to. I'd suggest you're looking for a digital piano rather than a keyboard - there is a difference.

[MrPete]

It does depend on what you envisage it being used for, as with anything electrical these days. But from what you've said, maybe a digital piano is more what you're after than a full on workstation keyboard such as the Triton!

 

The manufacturer's I can think of straight off are:

 

Roland

Korg - Either Stage or Digital Pianos in that link

Yamaha

 

We have a Roland digital piano here, which is fantastic sound & playing quality-wise, but it is rather heavy and awkward to be moved so it stays in the same room. I've also heard one of the Yamaha Clavinova's being played before and it sounded like there was a real piano there.

 

At the end of the day, it's what you're after & what budget you have that counts!

 

Hope that helps,

Peter ;)

[Bobbsy]

My keyboard specialist mate (he sees himself as a latter-day Rick Wakeman) has six or eight different keyboards and chooses which to use based on the sound he wants. However, I know that for a pure, realistic piano sound his choice is almost always his Yamaha Clavinova. The Clavinova is big and heavy though...but I think this kind of goes with the territory if you want something with good quality in-built amp and speakers.

 

His Korg Triton is the one that he tends to use when he wants a really elaborate synth with tons of voices...we sometimes joke that the Korg is his orchestra.

 

Bob

[tom_the_LD]

I have a Yamaha P-140 at home. It is a digital piano with weighted keys and I think I bought it for around the £700 / £800 region. I love it and I think it would be perfect for you.

[i_hate_fisicks]

Yamaha are definitely the way to go with this sort of thing. I would look at the CP300. It is the top of the line stage piano. It has fairly serious built in speakers, and a fair few features, but still being a piano at heart. I find that the cheaper portable ones don't really cut it sonically.

[lightsource]

As a Triton owner, I use it for everything (including the lighting rig via midi to a LC2412), you may not me aware that Korg did a rack version of the Triton, (not sure if it's still available, I haven't seen any since the extreme came out),

but the original Triton was available in a 2 or 3U rack, and you can pick them up for a few hundred quid second hand.

 

There was also the LE version which was a more basic version of the Triton.

 

If you're just looking for a small keyboard, look at the Micro-Korg which retails about the £ 250 mark. The keyboard is a bit nasty, but it has some good sounds, although I've never heard any piano sounds from it

 

His Korg Triton is the one that he tends to use when he wants a really elaborate synth with tons of voices...we sometimes joke that the Korg is his orchestra.

 

Yeah Bob, some of the choir sounds are pretty impressive too ;)

 

It would be good to know what sort of budget you have for the new keaboard, and what type of sounds you require (just digital piano, or a few synthy sounds as well), and if sequencer / midi is required.

[dbuckley]

The Yammies are the obvious choice, but you may wish to consider stepping up to a Kurzweil.

[tom_the_LD]

I find that the cheaper portable ones don't really cut it sonically.

 

£700 / £800 - To me that isn't cheap :) but maybe that is because I am younger than most of the people on here ;)

 

Is it not good that it is portable? As this means it can be moved easier - thus stored easier, put in a case very easily, takes up little room as you can stick it on a folding stand which ;) folds; meaning you don't have to take up room in the cupboard for the stand. It also means that if one of the members of the place where this is going to needs to borrow a piano, providing everyone else lets them, they can.

 

 

I do have to say though, that it is a great quality product and I bet Dave and Dorris would love it :P

[JimWebber]

Now, I'm a damn sight older then you Tom, and £700 is expensive to me too! But then I'm not a professional musician...

 

I've met several "Daves" and "Dorises" in my time, and unfortunately several of these would not touch one of these "New fangled devices" - "They don't sound as good as an accoustic piano"

 

Now I cannot imagine Elton John trading his grand piano for a 700 quid Yamaha - (Motorbike or Piano) but it does amuse me when in a draughty village hall "Dave" insists on banging away on his 50 year old, out of tune upright piano, when there is a nice electric piano gathering dust...

 

Jim

[Suzette]

If you can, go for a digital stage piano - I've got the Yamaha P-140 at work, which works/sounds fine for 99% of the shows. Only thing I would say is that the legs for it don't have the best fixings (screws into chipboard) so when you are moving it around it gets broken fairly quickly!! It is really a 2 person carry as well to avoid damage.

 

Contact digital music village for excellent prices - website here or you might want to visit your local store :

 

West London

14, The Broadway

Gunnersbury Lane

Acton

London

W3 8HR

 

Store Opening Hours:

 

Mon-Fri: 10am - 6pm

Sat: 10am - 5pm

Sun and Bank Holidays: Closed

 

Tel: 020 8992 5592

Fax: 020 8992 4550

 

westlondon@digitalvillage.co.uk

 

The DV West London store is located on Gunnersbury Lane and is very near to Acton Town tube station on the Piccadilly and District lines.

 

Edit - forgot to say - the P-140 has internal speakers as well as output connections for linking into the sound system. And a very nice piano sound ....

[Bobbsy]

£700 / £800 - To me that isn't cheap :huh: but maybe that is because I am younger than most of the people on here :)

 

Is it not good that it is portable?

 

<snip>

 

I guess it's all relative. Certainly I wouldn't lay out £700/£800 of my own money without a great deal of thought...but some things cost that (or a whole lot more) to get decent value for money. As an example, my first sound mixer cost me £20 second hand and I loved it. Now my least expensive mixer was over £5K by the time I added the bits and pieces I wanted! Certainly £700 is rather less than the big Korgs that have been mentioned.

 

One of the problems here is that the original poster has some rather conflicting priorities. For example "easily portable" and "reasonable speakers without an external amp) are fairly unlikely to be found in the same box. Internal speakers that can cut it in a small living room soon run out of steam in a village hall with the whole chorus belting out "Hello Dolly".

 

All we can do is toss out things to look at and let the OP decide on the appropriate compromise!

 

However, I doubt there are many here in the BR who could shell out £800 of their own money without it hurting...no matter how old they are.

 

Bob

[Thirdtap]

'lo

Thanks for the replies so far they have made me think about the topic a little more

The keyboard we have yes fab but due to the weight and accessories required it does not get used that much.. Also because it has too many functions then required and the drums etc have been know to start up after a slight mis press...

A replacement if it was lighter and had it's own speakers then it could be used more possibly as a hire just for ballet classes and the like. If it was to be used for a production we could always put it through the hall sound system...

I'll have a look at some of the recommendations...

thanks again

[tom_the_LD]

Only thing I would say is that the legs for it don't have the best fixings (screws into chipboard) so when you are moving it around it gets broken fairly quickly!! It is really a 2 person carry as well to avoid damage.

 

When I bought mine, I did not have the stand to go with it, instead I bought a solid metal one. This means the piano comes off easily, slips into my carry bag I have for it, the stand folds up and its all good ;)

[i_hate_fisicks]

I find that the cheaper portable ones don't really cut it sonically.

 

£700 / £800 - To me that isn't cheap :huh: but maybe that is because I am younger than most of the people on here :)

 

Is it not good that it is portable? As this means it can be moved easier - thus stored easier, put in a case very easily, takes up little room as you can stick it on a folding stand which ;) folds; meaning you don't have to take up room in the cupboard for the stand.

 

The more expensive ones I mentioned were portable too :)

 

I fear a solution will be difficult here. The OP posted a picture of a 61 note Triton Extreme or some such thing, and said that it was too heavy and not easily portable enough for them. Any keyboard with 88 weighted keys will be heavier than this. Any keyboard with decent speakers and weighted keys is going to be doubly heavier than this! Those CP300s are big beasts. A guy I play with has a Motif ES8, and it is no joke to carry.

 

Perhaps a Clavinova retrofitted with some wheels would be an idea?

 

As an aside, has anyone seen/heard/played any of the new Behringer digipianos, or the Thomann ones? The prices on them are amazing. I'm wondering if the sound and feel matches the price!