UKC

My son would like a keyboard for Christmas (owing to the difficulty of taking his piano to University).

He's got a small room, so nothing huge. Equally, he plays quite well, so Stylophones are probably a little passé.

With regard to budget, not a toy but he's not making a professional career from it.

It's possible that he'll want a line out to record bits and bobs.

Any reccommendations?

Thanks

In reply to JJL:

would probably opt for a midi controller over a keyboard

In reply to lost1977:

presently using an axiom 49key (2nd gen), semi weighted keys tend to sell for about £170

In reply to lost1977:

Whazzat then?

In reply to lost1977:

He plays the piano (a real one) currently, so something with a keyboard is probably best, no?

In reply to JJL:


Your computer is the "synthesizer" and the keyboard is a dumb controller. It all depends on the software on the computer.

I have Albleton Live 8 (I think) at about £90 and an Akai 25key USB controller with some pads as well, which cost about £70 at the time, but now you can get them both separate for about £40 each (or less)


But once you have the software, you can get USB keyboards / controllers with more features.

In reply to JJL:

Casio or Yamaha from Argos..

Not that expensive ,and great range of functions

I've got a Yamaha.£90 from Argos 5 years ago and hundreds of functions on it.

I like 'mussette' and the sophisticated part of me; 'violin' and 'oboe'

Great machines

In reply to Dominion:

i would have thought if he plays a piano then a 49 key would probably be minimum

In reply to Dominion:

Ableton = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ableton

Akain MPK 25 = http://www.amazon.com/Akai-Professional-MPK-Ultra-Portable-Controller/dp/B0...


although I think I have an MPC 25 which is like these two in one controller

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2009/07/15/hotness-akai-intros-lpd8-lapto...

In reply to lost1977:

Yep, probably, but the principle is the same ie your computer has all the software on it, and the keyboard is just a "dumb" controller.

In reply to JJL:

I'd second the axiom, I had the 25. Weighted keys, encoders, sliders and portable. i really liked it.

MIDI is a standard - possibly the most successful ever, 30 years and not required any revisions - allowing musical instruments and software to communicate.

http://www.dv247.com/computer-hardware/m-audio-axiom-49-advanced-49-key-sem...

mine came with both ableton as well as ignite software (prefer ignite)

In reply to lost1977:

The axiom still looks a little, well... short?
I know most pieces only use the central range, but will he miss the ends of the lower and higher octaves?

In reply to JJL:

then look at the 61 key version (Remember you do have an octave +/- key so you do have a full range of octaves)

In reply to lost1977:

We have a Yamaha psr E233 and use it with Ableton Live 8 and a focusrite mixer thing.............does the job and has a MIDI output.

In reply to JJL:

If he plays well, I would not entertain anything less than a full size properly weighted keyboard controller. He will miss them. As others have said, this is a "dumb" mechanical tool which needs to be hooked up to a computer where software will do all the signal processing to create a sound. A good controller was around £250-300 the last time I looked (around 10 years ago).
A genuine full size "electric piano" from Yamaha etc. would be about £1000-1200. A mate of mine bought himself one in about 1999 and managed to squeeze it into his tiny bedroom in a houseshare. And we moved the thing around (when moving house) in an Austin Metro....

In reply to JJL: Get something like a Casio CDP or Privia. It's a stage piano so has 88 weighted keys and a line out, just needs a decent stand.

In reply to Maynard:

Second that, I doubt he'd be very happy with a smaller keyboard and the Casio CPD's aren't very big. Student rooms are meant to look packed with stuff, I'd have fitted one in halls fine. You can pick them up for £3-400 new, second hand they're harder to find than the bigger celvianos and they hold their value a bit better.

Thanks all... I'm going to explore at the weekend.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Agreed. I have a Yamaha DGX-500 which is now discontinued, but presumably replaced by something else. It isn't quite what you'd call a proper electric piano, but then it only cost a few hundred quid. Full size keyboard and weighted keys. If you aim for something similar it's a nice compromise between cost and quality, and is light enough to move around and fit in a car.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

The downsides being that a) on top of a midi controller, you need the computer, the software (not cheap), a workable audio interface for the computer and some usable speakers, whereas a keyboard / digital piano will basically work on its own and b) when you feel like playing, you have to wait while the computer turns on and the software loads rather than just flicking the switch and going, which can be a bit of a mood killer.

In reply to Ramblin dave:
I agree entirely, which was why I also threw in a token mention of my mate's real digital piano Nice to see another poster comment that you CAN find space for big things in small rooms if you really have a passion for them.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

Indeed - instruction as follows:-

1. remove keyboard from collapsible stand.

2. place keyboard flat against wall / back of wardrobe / under bed etc.

3. collapse stand

4. see 2. above

Amazingly, it works in all small properties!

JW