Girlfriend wants weighted keys

[therage!]

She does not like my Alesis QS7 and wants weighted keys. I was thinking about something like the M-Audio Pro keys 88 which they say makes a good controller. But I’ve read the keys are not fully weighted? This keyboard is not very expensive so where have they cut corners? I’m just starting to do some research and plan on taking her to GC to try some different keyboards, but wanted to get some opinions here before going.

The Prokeys 88 has some built in sounds and works as a controller so that would fit the bill. No budget yet but willing to go higher cost than the M-Audio so I’m looking for some opinions.

[dementedchord]

the best of the weighted keys are usually found in the best of the keyboards.. as opposed to controllers usually... i mean you may find you need to buy the whole instrument sounds and all inorder to get the really good keydecks... i've got a kurzweil and love it... friends have the rolands and i ve played them as well as the yamahas... there are little diferences between so look for subtlty of touch etc...

[therage!]

Originally Posted by dementedchord

the best of the weighted keys are usually found in the best of the keyboards.. as opposed to controllers usually... i mean you may find you need to buy the whole instrument sounds and all inorder to get the really good keydecks... i've got a kurzweil and love it... friends have the rolands and i ve played them as well as the yamahas... there are little diferences between so look for subtlty of touch etc...

Thanks,

I kind of expected this.

So really, the best thing to do is take the chick to GC and play some/

[fraserhutch]

The Prokeys 88 is semi-weighted. The Keystation Pro is fiully weighted. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/KeystationPro88/. I use one live is it is quite good.

The Studiologic controllers are my favorite keyboards of any kind, and I've tried many of them. They are the same keybed found in the Kurzweil series

[didgijimmy]

Definitely go play some, but you do not have to pay alot to get weighted keys, it just depends on what options you want. If you want to use it as a controller, and this baffles me, then yes you will pay alot. But my keyboard, and I cant remember the brand-- i think yamaha, has excellent weighted keys, but no midi and limited effects, but only cost a minute sum. I'm only interested in an acoustic sound anyway. why not just use your original keyboard as a controller and let her play a simple weighted keyboard? or another option is a midi adapter such as the ones they make for guitar 1/4 inputs. just my thoughts...

[Toddskins]

I agree with what dementedchord wrote, and would add that I would advise against Roland weighted keyboards. They are much too heavy/stiff. You'll play them and after just a short time, minutes, your arm and fingers will be tired. I'm not the only person to express this about Rolands.

If you don't mind making payments, you can buy from Sweetwater.com. Call 'em on the phone and they'll arrange payments or credit line to you. The new Kurzweil PC3x (88-weighted key version synth and stage keyboard) is like the master gigging machine. I think you can get it for just under $2,995 and free shipping. Offer less!

That comes to about $95/month for 3 years, depending on the interest rate you get, and the price you negotiate. Just keep in mind that the US economy might just collapse next year. <grin>

[fraserhutch]

Or get a Studiologic controller, which is the same company that makes the keybeds for the Kurzweil series. It's the same keyboard.
http://www.music123.com/Studiologic-...55117.Music123

I have both a Kurzweil K2500R and a K2600R. The only this I miss from the keyboard version is the ribbon controller.

BTW, you can get a PC3x fpr $2500 at Music123. Toss that at the guys from Sweetwater if you go that route. Personally, I won't deal with Sweetwater anymore after they screwed me, and I used to spend a fair amount of money there.

[didgijimmy]

wow i cannot imagine what the sweetwater guys could of done to you fraser. theyve always been super easy to deal with for me, helpful, knowledgable, they call and ask if you are satisfied, and fairly competitive prices, plus havent bought a lemon from them yet, which is more than i can say for musiciansfriend (though i do frequent gc), sweetwater even put candy in the shipping box, not that i uh care lol. plus i think there is alot to be said for buying consistantly for a resource, at least my experience working at a ford dealership has shown me that. just my thoughts, but i suppose this isnt the time or thread, we need a thread for music warehouses though... ill go take my adhd meds now.
ps. i hate ford

[mshilarious]

I put lead weights under the keys on my ancient Yammy. Didn't make it feel like a real weighted keyboard, but it did make it a lot better!

[therage!]

Originally Posted by didgijimmy

Definitely go play some, but you do not have to pay alot to get weighted keys, it just depends on what options you want. If you want to use it as a controller, and this baffles me, then yes you will pay alot. But my keyboard, and I cant remember the brand-- i think yamaha, has excellent weighted keys, but no midi and limited effects, but only cost a minute sum. I'm only interested in an acoustic sound anyway. why not just use your original keyboard as a controller and let her play a simple weighted keyboard? or another option is a midi adapter such as the ones they make for guitar 1/4 inputs. just my thoughts...

Thanks for the post

What would be a decent simple waited keyboard?

I'm new to MIDI and this stuff and found some decent sounds with Halion (in Cubase 4) that we like, so that's why I was thinking controller...but I still have limited knowledge about this. Are you saying forget controllers and just use the sampled sounds that come with the keyboard?

[didgijimmy]

i suppose so, i was under the impression that you were interested in using a keyboard as a midi controller, and your signifigant other was just interested in having a weighted keyboard to play or practice on. I no I didn't pay over $500 on mine, but i may of gotten a good deal on it. I purchased it a year or so back, and it looks like they discontinued it, it is the yamaha p70. about 8 different sampled sounds i think, but i only ever play the stereo acoustic sounds, and they sound perfectly lifelike to me, only complaint is it does get pretty muddy near the lowest keys. If you are both looking for a controller, then this probably isnt the best option for you. I'm pretty sure they make some kind of midi adapter for guitarists(if that is what it really is) maybe they make one for pianos... I just dont see how they could do this. anyway, good luck.

[therage!]

Guys,

what about the Yamaha KX8? It has some built in sounds and is a controller too. But it does not transpose? This may be a dumb question but if I want to transpose could I do it in Cubase since it sends MIDI?

[therage!]

Originally Posted by didgijimmy

i suppose so, i was under the impression that you were interested in using a keyboard as a midi controller, and your signifigant other was just interested in having a weighted keyboard to play or practice on. I no I didn't pay over $500 on mine, but i may of gotten a good deal on it. I purchased it a year or so back, and it looks like they discontinued it, it is the yamaha p70. about 8 different sampled sounds i think, but i only ever play the stereo acoustic sounds, and they sound perfectly lifelike to me, only complaint is it does get pretty muddy near the lowest keys. If you are both looking for a controller, then this probably isnt the best option for you. I'm pretty sure they make some kind of midi adapter for guitarists(if that is what it really is) maybe they make one for pianos... I just dont see how they could do this. anyway, good luck.

Sorry, didn't make it clear.

I'm pretty limited as far as my piano skills go so girlfriend has pretty much taken over the keyboard stuff. I am going to take her to try some out but I want a little knowledge going in to the store.

Hate it when a punk kid knows more than I do at GC/

[whattaguy]

Check out the Casio Privia series. You could use them as controllers.

[didgijimmy]

yeah im not sure if casio has midi, but apparently they do, and they offer some super low prices, and for what many consider a wallmart brand, they appear decent. i think they are only semi weighted though. also i never use my p70 for midi, i typically just use my simmons electric drumset for midi, but i just checked and the yamaha does have midi, what luck! but the casio may be a good compromise for you and your girlfriend for a low price.

[dementedchord]

if all she wants to do is play halion sounds i'ld get the controller... and then you can get better vsti's as you go... also if she's not a serious player yet then to a large dgree she can get used to most approximations on the weight thing... if ya wanna gig with it obviously then things change...

[drossfile]

Originally Posted by therage!

Hate it when a punk kid knows more than I do at GC/

is such a scenario even possible???

anyway, why not just browse some websites for digital pianos? that way you'll have a good idea of what offers fully weighted keys in your price range and you'll have a good selection narrowed down to audition.

i have to disagree w/ toddskins on the rolands. i took piano lessons on a real piano for 9 years and i absolutely love my rd700sx. plays and sounds fantastic. but it really does come down to personal taste (DIE, dead horse!). when i was researching my purchase, the kurzweils, yamahas, and rolands were held in the highest esteem (maybe kawai too, can't remember) for overall performance.

the privias always come up as high recommendations for budget-conscious shoppers too. i've never played one, but as i understand it, they're a better value than the m-audios. i played the prokeys 88 (which i'm pretty sure is fully weighted, while its younger brother the 88sx is semi-weighted) and thought it was absolutely awful--both sound and feel.

happy hunting!

[jordanstreet]

I have the Studiologic SL990XP. It is great. Like already said same company that makes the kurzweil keys. The action and feel on mine beats every keyboard Ive tried under $2500 with the exception of maybe the CP series @ $1000.

[basil b]

You should look for an old Fatar studio 88, they are great and they make all the keyboards for kurzweil and others. Great feel, come in their own anvil case. I got mine at Goodwill for twenty bucks.

[didgijimmy]

we see another thread dragged back from the dead....

[dementedchord]

Originally Posted by didgijimmy

we see another thread dragged back from the dead....

atleast it's only weeks ago... man you see some that are like 10yrs old....

[didgijimmy]

I love it when someone new goes searchin... i mean really searchin...and drags up some ancient scroll of a thread, dont bother to read any of the posts and then jumps in with some crazy suggestion. love it...

[dgatwood]

As long as we're talking about keyboards, Korg has a lot of weighted keyboards that IMHO are pretty decent. You can buy a used N1 for under $600 on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Korg-N1-88-key-w...QQcmdZViewItem

It's what I use in the rare cases where I need to play a keyboard instead of playing my grand and/or other acoustic instruments.

[pkdasilva]

Originally Posted by therage!

She does not like my Alesis QS7 and wants weighted keys.

Humor: So did you overcome this crisis?

Serious: Anyone ever tried the Doepfer weighted keyboards? I'm thinking of buying the LMK2+ or the LMK4+.

-PK

[Hakea]

Hi all,

As others have said, touch and weigh seems to be very much a personal preference issue. I took some lesson for a while from a professional pianist and teacher, and was expecting him to be quite critical of my fairly modest keyboards - one of which is unweighted. So I was initially quite surprised when he expressed the view that it didn’t matter all that much to him. His reasoning was that, as working professional, he was required to play on all manner of keyboards, from organs with unweighted keys, to various versions of electric stage keyboards/pianos, and right through to expensive concert grand pianos.

He said that there was no point in him getting too fussy about demanding this or that characteristic, because he was often going to have to adapt to what was at a venue or a student’s house anyway. He said that it only took him a short while to adjust and that he could make perfectly good music on any of them. I still find that if I’ve been playing the weighted keyboard and switch to the unweighted there’s a brief moment when it feels like shaking hands with wet spaghetti, but, as he said, that soon passes. I enjoy both now (and besides, I also have 10 different guitars and far from provoking an artistic crisis every time I switch from one to another I actually enjoy the variety...).

Touch and sound are always an issue though, so in the OP’s case I’d be paying more attention to the noises coming out of the girlfriend. If she has the right touch, feel and sound for him then he’ll probably soon get used to whatever keyboard she sets her heart on. New girlfriends can be much harder to adapt to, and hell to keep in tune....

Cheers,

Chris