88 key stage piano recommendations

[happyrat1]

Yep! It's on backorder in Canada. I just checked.

They must have shipped their entire wad to the You-Ess-Hey!!!

We are used to getting screwed up here.

 

[anotherscott]

Someone elsewhere pointed out that the date on the manuals is June 2022. So maybe it would have been announced-and-shipped sooner if it weren't for supply chain issues.

 

[Biggles]

There seems to be plenty of them here in the UK, including at a store 10 minutes drive away.

Retailing at £1149

 

[Keith_s]

Hi,
I am looking to get an 88 key hammer action stage piano, with an action on the lighter side as I play a bit of organ and synth stuff as well as piano. I would also like to have a pitch bend and mod wheel ideally. I don't need anything beyond the main sounds of pianos, organs, EPs, strings etc. My budget is up to £1000. If anyone has a recommendation that would be much appreciated!
Cheers,
Adam

Don’t get the Roland RD 2000 , I love it, because it’s action is closest thing you will get to a full acoustic piano. Sounds like you need something a bit lighter. Casio’s are good, I have one, it’s just that bit lighter than the Roland.

 

[Keith_s]

Thanks both, they are good suggestions. I quite like the look of the Casio PX-S3100 which looks like a good compromise if anyone has much experience with it. Apparently it has a relatively light hammer action and has decent internal sounds.

Yes Casio’s are good, their piano sounds came from Bechstein who they own.

 

[Hearts51]

I second the vote for the Yamaha CK88. Got mine a couple of weeks back and I love it!

 

[Gourockian]

One thing I would be checking is to make sure that whatever keyboard you are thinking of buying has standard full-size keys. Some manufacturers insist on using slightly narrower keys for various models, such as the Yamaha DGX range. The keys look 'normal' but if you are used to playing organ or accoustic piano, you will notice the difference in the spacing and it might take some time to adjust your playing. It might not bother everyone but just something to be aware of.

 

[Zorce1]

I second the Yamaha MX88. I own 2 of them. It is basically a Motif light. You get pretty much all the Motif sounds. Pretty great organs as well. They run around 1100 bucks but can sometimes find them on sale for 999.00

 

[ClassicalMan]

Hi,
I am looking to get an 88 key hammer action stage piano, with an action on the lighter side as I play a bit of organ and synth stuff as well as piano. I would also like to have a pitch bend and mod wheel ideally. I don't need anything beyond the main sounds of pianos, organs, EPs, strings etc. My budget is up to £1000. If anyone has a recommendation that would be much appreciated!
Cheers,
Adam

Don't know if this page is of interest -- I hoped there'd be more input, but it's a mostly classical-oriented site:

The ideal "keyboard" for classical sounds - The Organ Forum

"Keyboards" are entirely conceived and touted as rock (funk, techno, whatever) instruments with a focus on rock timbres and performance gimmicks. But they are IMHO also a goldmine for classical use in churches. I've made an in-depth study of them for about a decade and owned many, but would like...

organforum.com

 

[hotraman]

The Roland RD2000 can be found used at your price range, or at lest here in the US.
I just bought a Kurzweil PC4 88 keyboard / controller at a great price.
In addition to piano, B3 and synth patches, I wanted some ambient pad settings, too.
I am seeing a lot of 88 keyboards on sale, too.
As others have mentioned, the new Yamaha CK series might be best for you.

 

[Adamcw89]

Thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions. I'm leaning towards the Casio PX-S3100 over the Yamaha CK88. The Yamaha is about twice the price, and factoring in a soft case and music rest it is quite a lot more. From YouTube videos I also think the organ sound on the CK88, while perfectly good, is not as good as Hammond B-3X on my iPad. So I can use that (with a small 9 fader Midi controller for the drawbars), and rely on the inbuilt organ sounds of the Casio should something go wrong mid-gig with the iPad. But this has never happened before so hopefully an insurance policy I won't need. The other sounds of the Casio (pianos, EPs, strings, synths) all seem very good quality. Both keybeds seem fine and probably pretty similar (lightish hammer action), although unfortunately I can't try them out near where I live.

On the other hand, the CK88 has lots of features e.g the quick layer and split switching and ability to tweak settings on the fly. I'm not a very experienced live musician so I've never tended to use stuff like that much, and tend to have presets ready to go rather than adjusting in the moment. But are these features that would be very helpful to have as I play more stuff live? I may be missing some other features that really set the CK apart and justify the extra cost. I'm also slightly concerned the Casio may be a bit fiddly to switch sounds too via the touchscreen, although I plan to use an iOS app called KeyStage to control this primarily. I mainly play at functions and weddings, pop and rock and some blues / funk stuff. All thoughts gratefully recieved!

Cheers,
Adam