Members drummestudcom@yahoo.com Posted March 31, 2013 Members Share Posted March 31, 2013 Hello everybody, All my life I've been playing a regular upright piano. However lately I have to travel a lot and I've noticed I'm loosing practice. For this reason I've been researching a lot about a solution and everything is telling me to get a portable keyboard workstation. So now that I've decided to buy one I was thinking on some features I would like to have. These features or specifications are: - Minimum 61 keys/ 5 octaves or more - From 30 to 37 inches long - With or without own speakers but definitely with own sound (preference for good orchestral over electronic) so I can use headphones or speakers (I don't watt to depend on a computer t o paly all the time) - I want to use Logic Pro to sequence midi for my music so I guess that requires midi port? - Average price: 650 dollars (500 euros) If I'm missing some feature that should be considered please let me know. But given this specifications, can you guys recommend me a keyboard workstation? I've been researching for days and didn't find what I'm looking for. The closest thing I've seen is the Korg Microstation but I'm don't want mini keys. If it helps my repertory is mostly classical music and soundtracks (that's the reason why I have preference for good quality orchestral sounds). Thanks a lot in advance to everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted March 31, 2013 Members Share Posted March 31, 2013 drummestudcom@yahoo.com wrote: Minimum 61 keys/ 5 octaves or more - From 30 to 37 inches long ... I don't want mini keys. You can't defy physics. You simply can't fit 5 octaves of full size keys in 30 inches, they won't be full size any more. Or there has to be less of them. It's kind of like asking for a one gallon jug that can hold two gallons of water. Impossible by definition. At 37", though, you're in the ballpark. The Casio XW-P1 is just slightly over 37". If you could find something without pitch/mod wheels, you might be able to get something just a little narrower. The Casio isn't a full blown workstation, and the orchestral sounds you prefer aren't so great, but it may have enough functionality to do what you need. In something used, an Alesis QS 6.1 or 6.2 might fit the bill at 36". It puts the wheels above, so you'd be hard-pressed to find anything much narrower than that. Again, not a full workstation, but a pretty flexible board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hogger Posted March 31, 2013 Members Share Posted March 31, 2013 The Arturia 61 key controller is 34". It's only a controller though. The action on it feels better than average to me. It comes with some pretty good software too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Citizen Klaus Posted April 1, 2013 Members Share Posted April 1, 2013 hogger wrote: The Arturia 61 key controller is 34". It's only a controller though. The action on it feels better than average to me. It comes with some pretty software too. 34-35" seems to be the absolute minimum for 61 full-size keys. The Prophet 08 is around 34 and a half; both it and the Arturia get that small only because they move the wheels to the top panel. So that length consists of nothing but keys and side panels. (The 61-key Kronos, for what it's worth, is approximately 40 and a half inches. Big boy.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members keybdwizrd Posted April 1, 2013 Members Share Posted April 1, 2013 If you're going to be using Logic Pro to do sequencing/recording on your computer, you don't need a keyboard workstation. Keyboard workstations typically have built-in sequencing/recording/sampling capabilities. You don't need all this if you're working with a computer.The new Yamaha MX61 contains 1,000 sounds from Yamaha's Motif XS sound library. It is 16-part multi-timbral so you could have lots of fun with it and your computer. I don't have any personal experience with it, but the Motif sound library has much of what you're probably looking for - pianos, strings, woodwinds, horns, bells, drums, percussion, basses. It will have many different string presets to choose from, and everything from solo oboes and trumpets to woodwind sections and string quartets. There are also gobs of organs (Hammond-type to pipe organs), acoustic and electric guitars, ethnic instruments, and yes, some synthesizer sounds too. The Yamaha Motif, Korg Krome, and Roland Juno instruments are Swiss army knives for keyboardists. The MX61, however, is the only one that (new) is near your price range at $799 US.It indeed has MIDI (all keyboards do these days). It does NOT have built-in speakers. http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/keyboards/synthesizers/mx/mx61/?mode=model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted April 1, 2013 Members Share Posted April 1, 2013 MX61 is about 38.75" wide, too big. But another possibility could be the Korg PS60, which is only 36.4". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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