What a good beginner's keyboard.

[Ladyhawk]

I'm thinking of signing up for piano / keyboard lessons at the local community college. I doubt I can afford one, but what's a good practice keyboard for a beginner?

[ProfessorGAC]

1. Go To Any Discount Chain

Yamaha and Casio both sell really good starter keyboards. I've seen 61 note, synth action keyboards, for as little as $129.

They usually have at least 8 note polyphony, which means they will sound at least 8 notes at a time. If you're a beginner, it will be quite some time before you need to hear more than 8 notes at a time. It's likely that these are actually more like 16 note polyphonic, in which case you could even learn to use the damper pedal and still have enough power to get all the notes you play as they decay slowly.

My friend has a Casio and it sounds fine. It's got all kinds of bells and whistles that allow drum sounds, automatic accompianment, (bass and drums to what you're playing), and loads of sounds other than just piano. I think he only paid about $140, about 5 years ago, and they've come DOWN in price.

One note: In the lower price range, you won't be able to get a keyboard that has a weighted action that FEELS like a piano. It will feel more like an organ. So, when you play a real piano, the effort to play it will be greater than you're used to. However, you have to get up into the $1k or more range to get a piano action keyboard.

But, like i said, if you're a beginner, you can learn the ropes, understand the keyboard, learn to play some songs, and if you really like it, can invest in something bigger and better later.
The Professor

One last thing: If you get one of these, invest in the foot pedal, so you can learn the damper pedal. I doubt these low line starter boards come with one.

[TrogL]

2. Whatever you get, make sure it has weighted keys

Otherwise you're gonna pick up all sorts of bad habits.

You should be able to find something used fairly inexpensively.

[Ladyhawk]

3. Yeah, I was thinking of this.

It would be important to have touch-sensitive keys for dynamics.

I learned to type on a manual typewriter, so I can type over 100 words a minute on a computer keyboard. A piano is always going to have "weighted" keys...or it should, anyway. :)

[ProfessorGAC]

4. Touch Sensitive and Weighting Aren't The Same Thing, Ladyhawk

Touch sensitivity means that the harder (really faster) you hit the key, the louder the sound. Most of the reasonably priced keyboards do that. (Probably anything in the $250 range and up.)

Weighting is the actual simulation of the escapement on a piano. The keys have a counterbalancing weight so when you press the key, it simulates the weight of the hammer, damper rod, and escapement. Ideally, after the "hammer throw" you should feel a difference in the resistance, just like on a piano. (Once the hammer is thrown on a piano, the weight against the key changes by almost 90%.)

Weighted keyboards are usually a LOT more expensive, so a lot depends on your budget. But, for just a few extra buck, you can get touch sensitivity where you can still get some volume nuance by the way you play, rather than rely on a volume pedal.
The Professor

[no name no slogan]

5. Casio has some decent amateur level boards

I've been using a WK-1630 for the last few years as a composition tool, and it has served me well-- especially since I'm not a "real" keyboard player (I'm a guitar player). It is by no means a "professional" board, but works well enough for the hobbyist or semi-professional.



Mine was a reconditioned model I ordered through Musicians Friend, and was only $200 (normally $300). It has 76 keys, and plenty of different sounds (including the ever-popular "General MIDI" soundset) and a few decent-sounding drumsets, too. It also has a built-in sequencer, touch-sensitive keys, and some passable built-in DSP effects. It has a rudimentary synthesizer, too, so you can edit the preset patches. It also has a built-in 15 watt amplifier that drives four speakers, which produces a decent amount of volume for practicing.

There's only a couple major drawbacks for me: this beast is HEAVY, mainly due to the speakers, so it's not very convenient to bring to gigs and such if you're used to travelling light. Also, the only audio out is a stereo headphone jack, so it's not particularly well suited to recording or running through a PA. However, I have run it through a small PA before and have also recorded it (for demos), and it's not half bad.

The newer Casios in the WK series (the WK 3000 and WK 3500) have many more features, plus SmartMedia drives, and are around $300-$350 from most major dealers. It's a lot of bang for the buck, IMHO.

Here's some reviews.