Looking for Ultra Portable Keyboard

[gossling]

Hello,

I am in need of something light and portable for compositional purposes on the road and whenever I am away from my home keyboard. It needs to be small enough to take on an airplane as a carryon. I don't need very many octaves (three should suffice) and it must be battery operated (or acoustic!). I have seen "roll-up" keyboards, but I don't think I'd be able to stand a keyboard with no tactile feedback. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Sargas]

Something like that?

It's only 2 octaves, but it needs no power supply or batteries, and it's quite portable

 

[gossling]

Thanks for the reply. Is there any way one of those could be played without actually blowing into it? I'll need both hands free to experiment with more complex voicing and counterpoint that can't be done with one hand. Also, is there a limit to how many tones can be played simultaneously?

 

[Sargas]

CASIO SA 75 - U.K. International Cyberstore

That's the one I found in Thomann at least, I didn't really search on any other site, though

37 keys, cheap, battery-powered (there was one with 32 keys too, if you'd prefer that). Should fit your needs

 

[Fatemanman]

Hey gossling, I think I'm in a similar boat as you. I've been looking online for a little bit at small keyboards. I fell in love with the size of the midi controllers, but they lack battery operation and are to computer dependent. I wish i could find a keyboard midi controller size,battery powered and outputed for headphones or amp. Sorry for no suggestions since my search continues.
-Also my thread is labeled as ultra portable as well great minds think alike ehhh ehhh

https://www.keyboardforums.com/buyers-shoppers/2230-ultra-portable-keys-needed.html#post7412

 

[gossling]

Hi Fatemanman,

If you don't mind buying used from ebay, there are tons of options. Check out the old Yamaha keyboards (PortaSound). They meet all of your criteria. I bought the Yamaha PSS-170 because I have a greater size restraint, but you need at least 4 octaves, so that particular model wouldn't do. The PSS-170 has served me well, and with 6 C sized batteries, it hasn't run out of juice yet (probably somewhere around 120 hours of usage so far).

YAMAHA PORTASOUND PSS-270 (LOOKS AND PLAYS GREAT) - eBay (item 150373853737 end time Sep-24-09 18:39:58 PDT)

YAMAHA PSS-460 PORTASOUND STEREO SYNTHESIZER KEYBOARD - eBay (item 390086236681 end time Sep-24-09 15:13:52 PDT)

Here is a list of manuals for all of the old Yamaha keyboards. If you find one on ebay that doesn't have specifications or lacks info, just look up the model here and check the manual for polyphony, weight, size, sounds, etc:
Yamaha Audio - Electronic Keyboards (PortaTone - PortaSound) user manual, operation instructions

Hope this helps!


EDIT: I read your thread and discovered you are looking for keyboards with normal-sized keys. I'm not sure how many of these super old portable Yamaha keyboards (PSS and PS series) have regular sized keys, but I think most PSR series should meet the grade. However, a four octave keyboard with piano-sized keys would be quite large, wouldn't it? Something like these should meet your criteria (although I'm not certain about battery life):
http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/emi/english/port/PS55E.PDF
Yamaha | PSR-E413 - 61-Note Portable Keyboard | PSRE413 | B&H
PSR140
http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-Keyboard...MIDI?hash=item439a35849d&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14