Need electronic keyboard for classical playing. Options

[archagon]

I'm a classical pianist and would like to purchase an electronic keyboard for my apartment. Requirements:

• no more than $300, preferably around $100
• as many keys as possible
• if I press harder on the keys, it should play louder
• preferably includes speakers
• preferably has midi output

Any ideas?

[DVDdoug]

First, I'm not a musician, so don't give too much weight to anything I say. I'm sure there are some musicians on the forum, but I think most of us are technical/audio types... You might get some really good recommendations, and you might not.

Both Musician's Friend and zZounds have extensive musical instrument selections and they both have nice printed catalogs (which I find easier to browse-through than web sites). And, you should probably consider visiting a local music store.

Once you know what's available, you might consider getting a used instrument (ebay?). As you probably know, the used instrument market is huge and you can usually find good deals.


With my very-limited knowledge, here's what I think you'll find...

- You should be able to find something in your price range, but I don't think you'll find all of the features you want.

- The cheapest keyboards probably don't have enough keys for a classical pianist. You might find something with ~61 keys in the $300 range.

- Touch-sensitive, or pressure sensitive keys (I'm not sure what these are called) are common, but I don't know how much you have to spend to get that feature.

- Speakers seem to be most-common lower-cost keyboards. I think headphone jacks are more common. You could hook-up a set of computer-speakers to the headphone jack, or you could plug into your computer or home stereo. (You have to be careful when playing highly-syntheized sounds through a home stereo... The high frequencies can blow-out tweeters.)

- Most keyboards will have a MIDI output.

This post has been edited by DVDdoug: Aug 7 2008, 22:21

[laphroaig]

I'm a classical pianist myself, and I am finding that the Casio Privia I got for around $300 barely used has been doing a great job. Yeah, I know it ain't exactly like a real piano, but really, no digital piano no matter how expensive is going to feel exactly like any Grand Piano (although the newer Kawais are getting quite close, but those are way above this price range)

The sounds on it are (at least for the piano) pretty dang good as well (but avoid the guitar sounds!), more than acceptable for practicing.

That said, the cheapest Privias around right now are slightly over $400 the last time I looked. If you set your price up to $500, there will be a BIG jump in quality from what you find in the around $100-300 range.

I also just saw the Yamaha NP30. Haven't really played it yet, just faintly remembering touching a couple of keys while shopping for an electric guitar. It has only 76 keys, but it comes in around $300. Probably has somewhat the same touch as the Privia. That might be your best best if you don't need the full 88.

PS. Also you may want to check out stuff on your local Craigslist. Lots of times, people buy one of these types of keyboards thinking they will learn to play. 6 months later, they're tired of it and don't mind selling it for a discount. Obviously, do some research on the real price to prevent rip-offs. I would avoid eBay - usually there aren't that many great deals on it from my experience.

This post has been edited by laphroaig: Aug 13 2008, 04:18

[carpman]

2nd hand Yamaha P-70?
The P70 fits your requirements. It's a pretty standard/decent practice piano.
I think I saw them going for around $450 in the US (pretty good - they're more like £380 in the UK -- approx $750).

As laphroaig said, if you find someone who tried and gave up - you might get a good deal.

C.