ilovefuzz.com

So I've always wanted to learn piano, and I've dabbled with an upright that I got for free a few years ago, but I would love something that is portable and I can plug into effects.
Also not really looking to break the bank or for something that has 2 million presets.
Just a standard, straight up keyboard that makes some piano and maybe organ sounds.

Brian over at SS/BS has been a huge influence on my recent keys gas (I would kill for that Wurlitzer):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTQhJxI_9io[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT81_ZdgogM[/youtube]

So yeah school me on keys!
What should I look for? What should I avoid? Any good learning resources you guys have used?





EDIT: Oh yeah sorry if this has been covered before but my search isn't working for some reason....also youtube videos are just showing up blank

I'd say just go for one of those cheap full-size-key Casio/Yamaha/Korg keyboards. Most have like 5 octaves. Lightweight. 1/4" outputs and oftentimes MIDI capability. under $100.

I'm not sure if this meets your definitely of easily portable, but I've had a Yamaha P-60 for a while, because I wanted something with a nice weighted keyboard, I wanted a full 88-keys and just a few patches (grand piano, a couple organs, and strings). I absolutely love playing on it, and I actually find that it's really spoiled me for a lot of synths that have crappy non-weighted keyboards. Luckily the Yamaha is fully MIDI-capable, so I usually end up using it to control other synths.

bigchiefbc wrote:I'm not sure if this meets your definitely of easily portable, but I've had a Yamaha P-60 for a while, because I wanted something with a nice weighted keyboard, I wanted a full 88-keys and just a few patches (grand piano, a couple organs, and strings). I absolutely love playing on it, and I actually find that it's really spoiled me for a lot of synths that have crappy non-weighted keyboards. Luckily the Yamaha is fully MIDI-capable, so I usually end up using it to control other synths.

Yeah that looks like the kind of thing I'm after! And the weighted keys are definitely a plus
By portable I mean something I could carry out to the car with no issues.
I kind of want something with a full 88-keys so I'm not expecting something that I can throw in a backpack or something.
I would also go for smaller 76 or 61-key versions if I can find a good deal, but I think I might find anything smaller a little lacking

cedarskies wrote:I'd say just go for one of those cheap full-size-key Casio/Yamaha/Korg keyboards. Most have like 5 octaves. Lightweight. 1/4" outputs and oftentimes MIDI capability. under $100.

I've been looking around but most of what I've found (locally at least) have been cheap little plastic "workstations" with all the cheesy presets and backing tracks, which I'm not that interested in. I'd rather something quality built without all that extra crap.

I think that the best way to go is get a digital piano with MIDI. That way, you can use it to learn "actual" piano, while also having the option to control sound modules, synths, or computers. One of the piano's greatest attributes is having that huge range available, and losing that really cuts what you can do.

I would get one of the Yamaha stage pianos. I tried tons of digital pianos, but those had the best keys of any of them. My main instrument is classical piano, so finding something with good keys was a must. The Yamaha P95 is great, though I upgraded from that to a Yamaha P155. You could also look into some older models from the P series which are still good, but go for a bit less.

Bartimaeus wrote:I think that the best way to go is get a digital piano with MIDI. That way, you can use it to learn "actual" piano, while also having the option to control sound modules, synths, or computers. One of the piano's greatest attributes is having that huge range available, and losing that really cuts what you can do.

I would get one of the Yamaha stage pianos. I tried tons of digital pianos, but those had the best keys of any of them. My main instrument is classical piano, so finding something with good keys was a must. The Yamaha P95 is great, though I upgraded from that to a Yamaha P155. You could also look into some older models from the P series which are still good, but go for a bit less.

Yeah I was exploring the Yamaha P series earlier. The P155 looks to be exactly what I want (especially the black and mahogany option ) but is way outside my price range.
I'm going to keep my eyes open for anything in that series popping up locally.
Do you by any chance play yours through any effects? (classical piano tells me probably not, being on ILF tells me yeah definitely )

MrNovember wrote:

Bartimaeus wrote:I think that the best way to go is get a digital piano with MIDI. That way, you can use it to learn "actual" piano, while also having the option to control sound modules, synths, or computers. One of the piano's greatest attributes is having that huge range available, and losing that really cuts what you can do.

I would get one of the Yamaha stage pianos. I tried tons of digital pianos, but those had the best keys of any of them. My main instrument is classical piano, so finding something with good keys was a must. The Yamaha P95 is great, though I upgraded from that to a Yamaha P155. You could also look into some older models from the P series which are still good, but go for a bit less.

Yeah I was exploring the Yamaha P series earlier. The P155 looks to be exactly what I want (especially the black and mahogany option ) but is way outside my price range.
I'm going to keep my eyes open for anything in that series popping up locally.
Do you by any chance play yours through any effects? (classical piano tells me probably not, being on ILF tells me yeah definitely )

I guess I didn't realize that they discontinued the P60, that's kinda a shame. It has the exact same keys and weighting as the more expensive ones, just less bells and whistles, which I didn't care about. It looks like they have a P35 now, and it seems to be largely the same features as my old P60. It has midi in/out, the same weighted 88-key board, same polyphony and pretty much the same patches. That's probably what I would go for if I were you, or look for a used P60/P70.

And yes, I run mine through effects all the time. Grand piano patch with max reverb setting into a fuzz is fucking awesome.

MrNovember wrote:

Bartimaeus wrote:I think that the best way to go is get a digital piano with MIDI. That way, you can use it to learn "actual" piano, while also having the option to control sound modules, synths, or computers. One of the piano's greatest attributes is having that huge range available, and losing that really cuts what you can do.

I would get one of the Yamaha stage pianos. I tried tons of digital pianos, but those had the best keys of any of them. My main instrument is classical piano, so finding something with good keys was a must. The Yamaha P95 is great, though I upgraded from that to a Yamaha P155. You could also look into some older models from the P series which are still good, but go for a bit less.

Yeah I was exploring the Yamaha P series earlier. The P155 looks to be exactly what I want (especially the black and mahogany option ) but is way outside my price range.
I'm going to keep my eyes open for anything in that series popping up locally.
Do you by any chance play yours through any effects? (classical piano tells me probably not, being on ILF tells me yeah definitely )

Hahaha I definitely do use it through effects, tho not for the classical piano stuff! Delay is great for the pure piano sound, as are lofi effects. Some chorus can also be good, generally when used sublty? Trem is v nice for the electric piano. I probably haven't experimented with effects on it nearly as much as I should have, though. An envelope filter would probably be pretty fantastic.

What exactly is your price range, would you say?

bigchiefbc wrote:I guess I didn't realize that they discontinued the P60, that's kinda a shame. It has the exact same keys and weighting as the more expensive ones, just less bells and whistles, which I didn't care about. It looks like they have a P35 now, and it seems to be largely the same features as my old P60. It has midi in/out, the same weighted 88-key board, same polyphony and pretty much the same patches. That's probably what I would go for if I were you, or look for a used P60/P70.

Actually, the more expensive ones have GH (Graded Hammer), while the P35 and P95 have the (GHS Graded Hammer Standard).

Considering that the P95 and P35 have the exact same keys, maybe just go for a used P35? Though it seems that the P60 has the same keys as the P155 and P255 (aside from that the 255's keys are synthetic ivory, which changes only how they feel and now how they play), so if you can track down a P60 it'd probably be a great deal.

Price range...the cheaper the better?
Probably the $200 dollar range, but if I can find a good deal I could probably double that
So yeah used market is where its at!
Definitely shooting for a used P35, P60, or P95. Anything more will probably be out of my budget

What exactly is the differences between graded hammer and graded hammer standard?
Nevermind, looked it up:

• - GHS is all light weight parts
  - GH is heavier lower keys, lighter upper keys
  - GH3 is the same as GH with an extra sensor to make repeated notes similar to a grand piano, and
  - Natural Wood (NW) is the same as GH3 but all cut from the same piece of wood

Apparently most people think that the NW and GH3 are better than GH, which is significantly better than GHS


Anyone play anything other than a Yamaha?

if you're willing to spend up to $400, you may be able to find a wurlitzer for around $500... mine was.
any of those yamaha p-xx series keyboards are ok. not the *best* action certainly, but it's good enough.

other neat options would be a pianet, cheap rhodes (they're out there!) or possibly a casiotone 7000 (pretty neat)

smallsnd/bigsnd wrote:if you're willing to spend up to $400, you may be able to find a wurlitzer for around $500... mine was.
any of those yamaha p-xx series keyboards are ok. not the *best* action certainly, but it's good enough.

other neat options would be a pianet, cheap rhodes (they're out there!) or possibly a casiotone 7000 (pretty neat)

Really? I didn't really look into the prices on the Wurlitzers too much because the two listed near me are around $1500
Those pianets look pretty cool too. I'll keep my eyes open

Bump Korg EPS-1 on kijiji for $250 or best offer
Any experience?
Sounds interesting, I need to check out some demos when I get home

The Korg EPS-1 looks like a pretty cool keyboard, but the keys themselves don't look like they're the best quality. I doubt that it has very much touch sensitivity, even if it does have some piano presets.

Dang man now I want to buy a keyboard. Not happy with my midi controller's keyboard

I think I wanna buy this one
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/msg/4302953832.html
Gotta sell stuff!