I need a nice, portable keyboard

November 20, 2006 7:53 PM

I'm moving to the UK for three months and want to take a piano keyboard with me.

I currently own a Yamaha S80, which is a massive keyboard. I can't take this with me. I want something more portable but still decent quality and need some recommendations, since I'm not really familiar with what is on the market.

It MUST:
- have a very high-quality piano tone, as well as an electric piano tone. All others are unnecessary.
- be less than 88 keys...preferably less than 70.
- have some sort of weighted keys. I don't want the cheap springy $30 Walmart-special keys.
- have a headphones port.
- have a sustain pedal port.

I would PREFER:
- that it not be overloaded with features (good, bad).
- that it have built-in speakers.

I have found some keyboards that are just what I'm looking for...except they are 88 keys, which is too large. Something between 61 and 76 keys is what I need. I would be willing to buy a more feature-heavy keyboard as long as I know it is still high quality in tone and has weighted keys. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

(Note that I'm not looking to do anything other than play piano. Not recording, not mixing, just playing.)

posted by BradNelson to media & arts (8 comments total)

My church bought a keyboard for choir practices as it traveled across the country this past summer. It seems to fit just what you need (though not sure of your price range), but I don't remember the model name. I believe it was Yamaha, but I could be wrong. I'll report back Tuesday or Wednesday with the name.

*makes notes in hundreds of places, because I will forget otherwise*
posted by niles at 7:58 PM on November 20, 2006

be less than 88 keys...preferably less than 70.
- have some sort of weighted keys.

Do they make these? I guess that's the question, but I can't recall ever seeing a weighted keyboard that had less than 88 keys. I'd guess most people who want the weighted action want the full-piano keyboard as well.

I've seen a few "semi-weighted" controllers with fewer keys -- take the this 61 key model from M-Audio, for example. But I really don't know what semi-weighted means, and to get sound out of that one, you'd have to hook it up to your computer or a standalone sound module, which may or may not be acceptable.

I'll be interested to see if there is anything that turns up with this nexus of features.
posted by weston at 8:25 PM on November 20, 2006

This looks like it has potential for your application, but I can't find out if the keys are weighted. The price is right, though.
posted by _aa_ at 8:42 PM on November 20, 2006

My price range would probably max out at $600-700.

I should clarify: semi-weighted is acceptable. Basically, something that doesn't "feel" cheap.
posted by BradNelson at 8:42 PM on November 20, 2006

Why not rent one if you're only there for three months? Most large music stores will do instrument rentals.

Do you need it to be portable once you're actually in England? Or will it just be in your flat/house?
posted by Jon Mitchell at 9:00 PM on November 20, 2006

Do you need it to be portable once you're actually in England?

No. Renting is a good idea, as it will be one less (big) thing to haul across the pond.
posted by BradNelson at 9:17 PM on November 20, 2006

Haven't found out yet..haven't seen the keyboard yet this week, and no one else seems to know what model it is
posted by niles at 9:20 PM on November 21, 2006

As a tip, I have noticed *everything* is much dearer in the UK. I would suggest picking up a second hand keyboard you like from ebay, transporting it to the UK, then selling it when you are due to return.
I would be surprised if you did not make a profit on the exercise. Don't believe me? Check prices on ebay.com then the same stuff at ebay.co.uk
posted by bystander at 10:01 PM on November 21, 2006