Which is most portable and lightest weight electric piano?

[Crazyfoo]

im finding that lugging around my PC3X is starting to wear on me in my old age.

 

what do you guys think is the lightest and most portable unit available with the best piano sound?

 

61 keys minimum and it doesn't have to have weighted keys.

 

good sound is key and so is light weight.

 

inwas checking the hammon Sk1 today, very light but on the expensive side.

 

i really love the Korg SV-1. 73 (hope I typed that right) tried one out today with the reverse keys and it had really nice electic sounds but a little heavier than I want it to be- really fell in love with its layout and ease of use.

 

im wondering if some lightweight controller coupled with an iPad app might be the answer?

 

-all in really doing these days is playing a few gigs a week and all I need is pnso

 

slinds but it has

 

to be high quality sounds.

 

 

 

thanks

[midinut]

Yamaha MOXF6 would be a good lightweight (15 pound) alternative. Aside from great pianos and electric pianos, there is a whole lot more there too. Should make a good controller for iPad too (I haven't tried that yet). Can be found for $700 used to $1000 new.

[Mike Martin]

The PX-5S is only 25 lbs. The EPs are incredible and no question the piano sound is great.

 

Here is one of the new Rhodes sounds for the PX-5S:

[JeffLearman]

I really liked the SV-1 when it came out and was tempted to buy one, but it had too much in common with my Nord Electro, which would sit above whatever I got to replace my digital piano. I ended up getting a Yamaha CP4, which I really love, but it's not that much lighter than your PC3, and it's a lot less flexible. I still like it, but today I think there are several much better (and lighter) options.

 

Definitely check out the PX-5S. Not only is it lightweight, it's a hell of a piano, epiano, polysynth, and more. The action is good, and I particularly like the key surface. I didn't *think* I liked it at first, since it was different than the plastic keys I was used to. But as soon as I moved over to a Yamaha MOX8 (which is another contender to consider), I immediately noticed how hot and humid it was in the room! Returning to the PX-5S I immediately noticed how it made my finger sweat not matter at all. So, if you ever play outdoor gigs in hot weather, or venues with underachieving AC, that would be a huge bonus. It has great sounds and is an absolute must for anyone buying a main keyboard to check out, especially considering the great value since it's under US$1K.

 

The PX-5S is also quite a bit smaller than the PC3X, since the pitch/mod wheels are above the keyboard, not to the left. It's also so light you can feel comfortable gigging it in a gig bag, which doesn't add any significant weight.

 

I mentioned the MOX8 above (or MOXF8, which is the same but with more processing power and accepts plugin memory for user-loadable samples). It's a great sounding keyboard, smaller and lighter than the PC3X, but not as small or light as the PX-5S. The Motif sound kit, so it sounds great.

 

Another possibility but at a higher price point (all the above are under $2K) is a Nord Electro. It comes in quite a number of models: different generations from original to now the 5th release, 61 or 73 keys, with either "drawfaders" or "drawbuttons" for organs, and semi-weighted or hammer-action keyboards. The semi-weighted 73 keyboards are F-to-F which is a nuisance, but they fixed that in the NE5/73 (the newest model). I use a Nord Electro 2/73. I would not recommend it for a piano player; its acoustic piano is barely good enough for rehearsals. They improved it vastly in the NE3 models, and kept making improvements since. However, a big limitation is that they're all mono-timbral: you get one patch at a time (except the NE5 series, where you can have two, a split or layer). Way less flexible than your PC3X, if that's important. Regardless, the NE's are super small and lightweight. Even though I hate its piano, I love using it for short gigs and rehearsals. The case is a backpack, and I can carry the full rig in one trip without breaking a sweat. Nord pianos aren't for everyone, though; be sure to try before you buy. (Nord has a bunch of different ones you can download, but they all share a characteristic that bugs me, a midrange honkiness. I prefer the PX-5S piano, frankly.)

[moogerfooger]

the yamaha CP 4 is light weight and quite portable

[AnotherScott]

iwhat do you guys think is the lightest and most portable unit available with the best piano sound?

 

61 keys minimum and it doesn't have to have weighted keys.

 

good sound is key and so is light weight.

 

...

 

im wondering if some lightweight controller coupled with an iPad app might be the answer?

 

...

 

all I need is [piano sounds]

 

 

Lightest weight with decent piano sounds (without a requirement of weighted keys, but still with an action that is at least passably playable for piano) is probably Yamaha NP11, or better, NP31 to get 76 keys instead of 61. (I haven't actually played these models, but I'm assuming the piano sound is the same as the NP30 that I've played, which isn't bad.)

 

Up from there, I'd look at the Numa Compact, which has 88 keys but is still very light and portable (17 lbs), and I think is an overall improvement in action and sound over those Yamahas, esp. since it sounds like you're interested in electric as well as acoustic pianos... plus, it has front panel controls that make it easy to integrate an external sound source (like an iPad), in a more fully featured way than connecting it to one of those Yamahas (though that would work too).

 

And then there are the Casio PX-series, which gives you 88 weighted keys, and is still quite light at about 24 lbs. The PX-5S has the best piano/EP sounds of the line, esp. once you factor in the ones you can optionally download into it. It also functions as a very capable MIDI controller.

 

As for the Yamaha MOXF, they do have nice pianos/EPs, especially considering what you can also add via the optional flash cards. If you really think you'd be fine with 61 keys, the 6 is worth considering. At 88, the MOXF is much more capable than the PX5S, but now we're creeping up in weight, and almost 10 lbs heavier than the Casio. Sticking with the "what is lightest" parameter, I'd go back to my list above, which give you (out of things I'd recommend, anyway) the lightest 61, the lightest 76, the lightest 88, and the lightest 88 with a weighted action.

 

One last one I'll mention only because you're coming from a PC3X... if you'd like to be able to stick with the Kurz sounds, the Artis7 is about 28 lbs, and I believe you can even load your PC3X sounds into it. (It also has a newer piano sound than what the PC3X has.)