Which Stage Piano or Synth

[stevepaulsounds]

Hi

I am looking to buy a stage piano or a synth. My budget is about £400 - £600 but may stretch to £800 if there is something really good for my needs. I'm happy to get something more expensive for that money on ebay.

The main features I need are at least 71 keys, preferably the full 88; a top quality authentic piano sound and feel of keys to feel like I'm playing the piano; MIDI out so I can play computer synths/VSTs; portability. Other features that would be a bonus are: very authentic organ sounds; lots of sounds to choose from; manual synth controls; MIDI controller dials and sliders for controlling music software; iPad integration; high quality built in speakers; not too heavy.

Thanks

Steve

[JeffLearman]

Check out the Casio PX-5S. Nothing else comes close in your price range to hitting all your requirements (and actually, nothing in your price range meets your requirements.) Of your list, the Casio's biggest weak spot is its organs, which are really quite good for a but not as good as any of the "clonewheel" keyboards: keyboards that explicitly model Hammond organs (like Nord, Kronos, Crumar Mojo, Kurzweil, etc.) It makes an excellent controller, very lightweight, 88 hammer-action keys, and the keys have an ivory imitation surface that feels odd at first (to me) but is amazing in hot humid conditions: no need to carry the little bottle of baby powder! No built-in speakers. But it has a great piano, good electric pianos, and a rather comprehensive polysynth section, and is an excellent controller with lots of knobs & sliders.

 

There are a number of great stage pianos with built-in speakers, by Casio (Privia series) and Yamaha (P105 etc) and probably others. But none of these has lots of knobs & sliders for controlling the performance (internal sounds or external gear). I don't think there's any keyboard with built-in speakers that makes a particularly high-functioning controller.

 

Note that many of the Privia and Yamaha pianos with speakers also have only USB MIDI and not "DIN" MIDI. You have to go on the higher end (still under US$1000) to get DIN MIDI. DIN MIDI is needed only if you connect the keyboard to something other than a computer (like, another keyboard, or a MIDI sound module).

 

I'm a piano player first, and if I have only one keyboard, I want it to have hammer action keys. Almost all hammer-action keyboards have 88 keys. There are a few exceptions, mostly older gear (like my Ensoniq MR76 or it's newer brother ZR76, both built in the 90's) or the Nord Electro HP (which, even used, is over your budget, and doesn't have zones or multitimbrality.) I was hoping to see a 76-key Kurzweil PC3LE7 on ebay in your price range, but I don't. Another possibility might be Roland VR-09, but it's only 61 keys.

 

[stevepaulsounds]

Hi, Thanks very much for all your advice. Is there anything closer to £400-£500 that fits most of my needs, especially including built in speakers? The PX-S5 may be out of my budget

[JeffLearman]

If you give up on convincing organs and controller dials and sliders, you should be able to find a Casio Privia or Yamaha P105, which I think would be in your budget, new. Personally, I wouldn't balk at getting one of these used; most sit at home unused by students and are in great shape. If it's been gigged, it'll look beat up and then I might avoid it. (That said, I look around the room at my beat-up heavily gigged keyboards that all still work.)

 

Meanwhile, you can get one of the best sounding organ simulators (Windows software) for 69 Euros, VB3, from http://genuinesoundware.com. It won't be ideal controlling that from a piano action, but I did that for years and managed. Those of us who are serious about both piano and organ have two keyboards, one hammer-action and one semi-weighted or unweighted. You can put that on your wish list for later.

 

Also, you can get buttons and sliders for as low as $60: Korg Nano Kontrol. I haven't tried this; it seems plastic and cheesy, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it under the right circumstances!

[JeffLearman]

BTW, "top quality pianos" aren't cheap. The ones I cite above aren't "top quality", but they're decent. I'd be happy to use the for a gig or a jam, and they'd be fine for a student. Most people, listening, could hardly tell a difference between them and "top quality" unless played by a very good player. (And a very good player can also make a terrible piano sound good.) There's a big difference between top quality and decent, but mostly, it matters to the player much more than anyone else. Until you're fairly advanced, it's not likely to make a huge difference to you, either.

 

That's because the pianos I'm talking about are decent. The world is full of toy keyboards with cheesy piano sounds that make my head hurt and my gut wrench! Even some keyboards that aren't toys have terrible pianos, usually because they are focused on something different like organ.

[zzzxtreme]

800ukp eh? hmmmm

 

Kurzwil SP4-8 is listed at 520 pounds at thomann.de

 

Casio PX-5S Privia Pro at 702

 

Kurzweil SPS4-8 at 720 (apparently this is SP4-8 plus Speakers)

[zzzxtreme]

get the sp4-8 plus a nice set of behringer speakers for 100pounds

[wesg]

Take a look at the Yamaha P35 or P105, depending on if you want old-school or USB MIDI (I prefer old school). Or the P155 if you want to stretch your budget and get slightly better piano samples, somewhat better durability, and a better action.

 

In my opinion you have to spend a LOT more to get acoustic pianos that are significantly better than these - i.e. CP4, CP40, CP5 terrority (triple your budget).

 

Yamaha, IMO, makes the best pianos and the worst organs. That said, organ sucks if you're not playing it on a proper keyboard anyhow (expression pedal, drawbars, organ action keys).

 

Wes

[JeffLearman]

Yamaha' date=' IMO, makes the best pianos and the worst organs. Wes[/quote']Hah! Well put.