what keyboard should I get?

August 6, 2006 6:23 AM

What's the best digital keyboard for $500? What about for $1k? I'm not a hard-core musician, but I enjoy sitting down at a piano and just screwing around. I took some lesions when I was a kid. I'd like to be able to hook it up to a computer and use it with training software, as well as for composition, but I'm assuming that's a pretty standard feature these days.

I don't need like nine million different sound effects, although a healthy selection would be kind of cool. I'm more interested in simple quality, like a nice 'piano feel'.

posted by Paris Hilton to technology (10 comments total)

No definitive answer here, though I am more-or-less satisfied with my Yamaha DGX-505...

For wide comparisons across brands and functionality (pro versus amateur keyboards versus digital pianos) I would suggest the Music 123 online store.
posted by The Confessor at 6:42 AM on August 6, 2006

This has been asked before, but I don't have a link yet, sorry.
posted by craniac at 7:53 AM on August 6, 2006

If I were you I'd get at least two keyboards -- a newer one like the Yamaha The Confessor recommends that you can use with the training software as you describe, and something older and versatile so that once you're adept, you can experiment with different qualities of sound (which really vary amazingly). It's less about effects and more about having a range of tones and feel. As far as screwing around goes, I sincerely adore my Roland Juno 6 and wouldn't trade it for the fanciest new bells and whistles keyboard (well, I'd trade it for a Juno 60 for the patch memory function, but please don't tell 6 that -- she's getting touchy in her dotage). It's got the piano touch you're looking for, much more so than the almost-scarily responsive newer keyboards I've tried out. Best of all, you can get lovely old synths super cheap. (I don't own one, but I'd also love to have a Yamaha DX7IID).

If you are doing this because you are interested in becoming a dapper player at parties or something, feel free to ignore me, but getting to choose among several good cheap synths depending on your mood or the sound of the particular music you are trying to emulate or create is a true pleasure. Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy yourself but should you weary of it I am always here to relieve you of stray unwanted keyboards -- not to brag, but I am sort of a humanitarian that way.
posted by melissa may at 8:05 AM on August 6, 2006

Oh hell, I forgot the most important part -- as far as keyboard preferences go, even with newer boards, it's such a feel thing that you're best off heading to a music store with a checklist of your desired features and trying everything they've got. You can't easily do this with vintage synths, obviously, but that's what lurking at flea markets and pawn shops is all about.
posted by melissa may at 8:23 AM on August 6, 2006

Yamaha DGX-505 portable grand. It has the training software already in it plus the capacity to use a smartchip to load into your computer.

I have one and I love the feel of it. Go to a music store and check it out.
posted by konolia at 9:38 AM on August 6, 2006

I took some lesions when I was a kid.

Wow, that sounds almost as painful as listening to me try to play piano.

I'm not up on specific keyboards, but if you're looking for something with a nice "piano feel," you're probably looking for something with weighted keys.
posted by musicinmybrain at 10:01 AM on August 6, 2006

I have a Korg SP-250, which was around 1K. I like it very much. A lot of people like the yamaha digital pianos, and there you can certainly get the most piano-like thing for the cheapest, but I personally find their sound too bright and harsh.

My opinion is that your best bet is to get something that just does piano well, and forget about the other sounds, synths, beats, etc., which will all drive the price up and likely as not involve a lesser quality piano sound feel. The SP-250 fits this bill well. Because of MIDI, you can get other hardware/software later and use the keyboard you get now (or your computer) as a MIDI controller.

as well as for composition, but I'm assuming that's a pretty standard feature these days.

Some keyboards come with some "lite" version of some software, but I don't know if it's that common for them to come with an unlimited version (e.g. a midi controller I just got had ableton live lite bundled, which is limited in various ways like to a certain amount of polyphony or something like that). I don't really remember the digital pianos I was looking at coming with anything, but I wasn't looking for this feature (the one I got didn't). So likely as not you would need extra software for this (which can be pricey), possibly sibelius or sonar for what you have in mind. You also may need a MIDI->USB adapter, though more keyboards have a USB port these days. So I'm not sure that standard is exactly right.
posted by advil at 1:00 PM on August 6, 2006

sound and feel
posted by advil at 1:00 PM on August 6, 2006

I have a Yamaha Clavinova. I wanted something that felt more like a piano and looked more like a piece of furniture. In today's line it's probably in the clp-100 or clp-200 series.

Both series have USB and MIDI interfaces.
posted by plinth at 4:09 PM on August 6, 2006

I'm not a hard-core musician
Oh, we know.
posted by Count Ziggurat at 4:32 PM on August 6, 2006