Need a Yamaha P45 type keyboard but with better connectivity

[Soulagents]

Hi.

I currently have a Yamaha P45 amongst others which has been great but I now need it to be better!

I'm looking for a P45 equivalent but with an additional two footswitches. Essentially it needs to work well as a piano in the pit but be portable and loud enough to take rehearsals without additional speakers/ amps. I don't need arpeggiators, drawbars etc; it's main job will be accompanying rehearsals and Piano 1/ Conductor books with a few Mainstage patches.

Does such a thing exist?

Many thanks,
Ian

 

[Biggles]

Welcome

There is the top of range in the P series but the 525 weighs in at a rather heavy 48 1/2 lbs hence DP’s above 40 lbs ignored.

Yamaha P225, 2x7W amp and speakers onboard, 25lb 6oz in weight

Roland FP 30x @ 32lbs 11oz with 2x11W amp and speakers.

Studiologic Xpiano, 30.9lbs.

Do note that these are not huge leaps in sound quality but a compromise on cost and portability.

All have the connectivity you seek.

 

[Soulagents]

Welcome

There is the top of range in the P series but the 525 weighs in at a rather heavy 48 1/2 lbs hence DP’s above 40 lbs ignored.

Yamaha P225, 2x7W amp and speakers onboard, 25lb 6oz in weight

Roland FP 30x @ 32lbs 11oz with 2x11W amp and speakers.

Studiologic Xpiano, 30.9lbs.

Do note that these are not huge leaps in sound quality but a compromise on cost and portability.

All have the connectivity you seek.

Thank you for replying and it's good to know I'm not wasting my time looking for something that doesn't exist. The Roland looks particularly interesting. I'll give these a look over and you'll find me in PMT Manchester tomorrow!

 

[Biggles]

You are out of luck.

On the PMT website you can check stock levels and they are out of stock in Manchester but in stock in Oxford which may be a tad far to go. Manchester has limited stock of the 60x which is the next one up in the range, it has the same PH4 keybed and supernatural sounds.

Music Matter in Preston have them in stock but they are only open Monday to Friday.

Dawsons, a waste of time.

Forsyth’s, no Roland kit.

Promenade Music in Morecambe have it in stock and this store has to have the best outlook of any music store being ion the Promenade with views over the Bay to the Lake District.

Finally, do check the T&C’s of the store where you intend to buy as the online T&C’s can be very different to those when you buy in-store. ie 30 day return online, zero in-store unless the kit is faulty. I fell foul of Rimmers on this one, now I only visit their stores to check out kit.

BTW, I am at the other end of the M61.

EDIT
Add the Roland FP e50 to your list, it is like a 30x but has onboard arranger features including rhythms, beats etc so it may be a one box solution.

 

[anotherscott]

'm looking for a P45 equivalent but with an additional two footswitches. Essentially it needs to work well as a piano in the pit but be portable and loud enough to take rehearsals without additional speakers/ amps.

If by two additional footswitches you mean triple pedal (sustain, sostenuto, soft), the Korg XE20 has an optional PU-2 triple pedal, it weighs about 25 lbs, and its dual 18 watt speaker system is louder than most portable slabs. The B2 might even be better for you, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles you probably don't care about, but I haven't played that one, and it has slightly less powerful speakers.

Others that could be worth looking at, which I haven't tried myself, are the Kawai ES-120 and ES-520, with GFP-3 pedal unit.

(Though depending on how much volume you need, you may find that no portable will be loud enough without external amplification.)

 

[happyrat1]

Studiologic Numa Compact 2X also has an optional triple pedal.

Action is semi weighted Fatar with after touch.

Much less expensive than Numa X Piano, but still a very serviceable instrument.

 

[anotherscott]

Studiologic Numa Compact 2X also has an optional triple pedal.

Action is semi weighted Fatar with after touch.

Much less expensive than Numa X Piano, but still a very serviceable instrument.

But speakers are meh...