casio lk-280 vs yamaha psr E 343 for beginner

[endtropi]

Hello there!

I am new here and to world of keyboards! I am a guitarist and after all these years i think i am going to learn to play keyboard. How? On my own. Actually, from on line lessons, learning my favorite songs, with my ear. I found some really helpful lessons so i think i am going to learn the basics at least. My aim is not to be a pro, is to learn to play keyboard.
So, i am searching to buy one, after a lot of research i came up with casio lk-280 and yamaha psr series.

Well, the casio has lighting keys, so i think is going to help me a lot with this. i will be able to import my favorite midi files and learn which keys i have to hit. I read a lot of good reviews, but i heard that this keyboard is for 8year old boys...

so i am a kind of frustrated now, and i would your opinion as your the experts here. Also, my budget is 300 euros.

Thank you in advance

 

[SeaGtGruff]

If you can manage to go a little over 300 euros, you might want to consider the Yamaha PSR-E443, which sells for about $250 in US dollars. That's actually about 200 euros, but the PSR-E443 seems to sell for about 250 pounds in the UK, which is about 320 euros-- so you'll need to check the prices in your area or online.

The PSR-E line is primarily aimed at "home" or "beginning" players-- the "E" is for "Educational," as these models include the "Yamaha Education Suite" feature. In contrast, the "S" in the PSR-S line is for "Stage," as those models are primarily aimed at "performing" players.

However, the PSR-E4x3 models (E403, E413, E423, E433, and E443) are the "top of the line" of the PSR-E keyboards, and include some features not found on the PSR-E2x3 or PSR-E3x3 models-- in particular, they have functions for modifying the built-in voices (sounds), two assignable knobs for modifying the voices "live," a pitch bend wheel, and a large variety of preset arpeggios to choose from.

Also, the PSR-E4x3 models have more built-in voices and styles than the PSR-E2x3 and PSR-E3x3 models-- and the newer models of each series have more built-in voices and styles (auto accompaniments) than the older models. For example, the PSR-E343 (newest PSR-E3x3 model) has more voices than the PSR-E403 (oldest PSR-E4x3 model), but it doesn't have as many styles, nor does it have arpeggios, voice-editing features, and pitch-bend wheel. So if a new PSR-E443 is out of your price range, you might want to look for a used PSR-E433, PSR-E423, PSR-E413, or PSR-E403.

A good way to compare the different models is to download the PDF documents for them-- their owner's manuals and their data lists (list of voices, styles, etc.), which may be separate documents from the owner's manuals.

 

[endtropi]

Thank your for your detailed response. I will check again all the features of yamaha psr models. Can you tell me please something about casio keyboards? lk or ctk models so i can compare them with yamaha?

 

[happyrat1]

Most professionals agree that lighted keys are a gimmick. There's no value in learning which keys to press when they light up. The truth is you have to learn to at least marginally be able to read sheet music and have a good musical ear. Lessons are generally the best way to start out for a beginner.

Working with your budget, I'd recommend the Casio XW-P1 which is not only a synth, but also has the bread and butter pianos and organs and brass and orchestral sounds that will carry you as you progress for decades to come.

http://www.heise.de/preisvergleich/casio-xw-p1-synthesizer-a758630.html

Or if you're not too keen on freaky synth capabilities then there's the WK7600 and WK6500 which are more conventional when it comes to capabilities.

http://www.heise.de/preisvergleich/casio-wk-7600-keyboard-a934769.html

http://www.heise.de/preisvergleich/casio-wk-6500-keyboard-a583043.html

I realize these keyboards blow your budget by about a hundred Euros but I'm a firm believer in buying the best board you can afford the first time because later on you'll find they're easy to buy but difficult to resell when you need to upgrade later on.

Also a pet peeve of mine with Yamaha's is that they are not USB MIDI class compliant instruments so if you are running a Linux computer you will find almost zero support for any Yamaha keyboard and they simply won't work at all with Linux without some third party hack of a driver that may or may not exist for your model.

One more thing. If money is tight and you can't go over budget, consider looking at craigslist and ebay and your local classified ads and see what's selling used. Typically a 2 or 3 year old keyboard sells for between 30% and 50% less than its original purchase price and you will find some real gems out there once "poppa's pride and joy" bails on his keyboard lessons or decides to upgrade and they sell it off used.

If you are buying used just make sure it's no older than 5 years old, wasn't used for touring but instead sat on a stand in the living room for 3 years and every button and key functions as it should.

If it's clean and passes the tests you not only have a good deal for your money but they may even throw in some extras like a case or a dustcover and a stand and a pedal.

Just some food for thought,

BTW, you'll find a ton of good, solid support for the Casios I mentioned over at http://casiomusicforums.com

Gary

 

[SeaGtGruff]

I have only one Casio keyboard, and it's a really old model that can't hold a candle to the newer Casio models. I also have access to my nephew's Casio, but it's also a little bit old (not as old as mine), and it doesn't have any of the nicer features like tone-editing or onboard song recording (which, to be honest-- whether speaking of Casio, Yamaha, or some other brand-- isn't going to be as flexible as using a DAW for recording). So I'm not really the best person to ask about newer Casios, as all I'd be able to do is regurgitate whatever info you could find yourself by looking in the manuals. Hopefully happyrat1 will jump in with some good info about Casios.

What I can say is that (as far as I know) the Casio CTK-6000 and up are probably closest to the Yamaha PSR-E4x3 series. In some ways you might even say they're a bit more advanced than the PSR-E4x3s, since they include DSP effects that the PSR-E4x3s don't have. Some people claim that Yamahas sound better than Casios, so you might want to play them side-by-side and compare their various voices/tones with each other.

As far as lighted-keys keyboards, you don't really need lighted keys to help you learn. For one thing, most Yamaha or Casio "beginner" keyboards should have an LCD screen with a keyboard pictured on it, and the keys on the display will be highlighted as you play them-- and if the keyboard has a "lesson" or "education" feature, the keys will also be highlighted to show you which keys to play for a given part (MIDI channel). That might not be as easy to follow as lighted keys, but it's still helpful.

Alternatively, there are some software programs that can do the same sort of thing, except the keyboard is displayed on your tablet or computer screen-- and some programs even display the music in written music notation (staffs and notes). A couple of examples of these are Synthesia and Piano Booster.

 

[endtropi]

Really thank you for answers and for your time. They were very helpful for me. Also thanx for the softwares you suggest me. After these, i also find karakeyoke. So i am going to discard the lighted keys. So now i came up with other casio models, like ctk 4400 and 6200 with many more features. I am impressed that the first model has a learning tool on the lcd screen, i think it will be good for my lessons.

The only thing that i have to do is to consider all of your infos and make a choice. between ctk 4400, ctk6200,psr e343. psr e433. No flashing lights!

Thanx again guys

 

[endtropi]

Also the prices in europe are much more higher than usa's. Unfortunately. stores from usa don't ship to Greece