I’ve been playing guitar for about three years now and I would like to learn to play keyboard. I listen to a lot of progressive rock and metal, but I am also very interested in classical music. My price limit is about 600-750 dollars, but I would prefer to spend as little as possible. I don’t want to start out with a piece of junk, but something that will last me a while. A friend of mine recommended to me the Roland Juno-D. One of my concerns is that this keyboard only has 66 keys, and while I’m sure it would be fine for a lot of metal songs, it might not for some classical songs that rely on lower and higher octaves. I’m not sure how the octave function on the Juno-D would work or if it would allow me to switch a whole octave down or up instantly in the middle of a single song (instead of having to press a button 12 times to reach the desired octave, for example). This dilemma makes me wonder if I might be better off just getting a digital piano. Anyway, what do you recommend? What do you think of the Juno-D? Is there a better keyboard for the price (hopefully with 88 keys) that will give me more of what I want?
As others have said on the forums here, you may have problems running of out keyboard, depending on the piece. The Juno-D does have two handy octave shift buttons, one button to shift up an entire octave, one to shift down. (I think press both to reset to zero shift.) I noticed during my test drive that when changing instruments you often have to shift octaves to move the keyboard back to the same octave layout. Yamaha has a few 88-keyers in your budget that might serve you well. I think there are some Casios as well. The best thing you can do right now is head to a music store and try out as many keyboards as you can. That way you'll get a sense of how well each reproduces various instrument sounds, as well has how you like control layout, features, etc. As you narrow down your list of keyboards and need/want feature list, visit manufacturer web site(s) for model specs and owner's manuals. Good luck! We're here to help!
Do you think I would be able to effectively play a song that makes use of lower or higher octaves with this function, or do you think I'd be much better off with 88 keys? Can you recommend any models? Well, the problem is I know very little about keyboards, so I wouldn't really know what to look for.
You should be fine unless the song requires more than a five-octave spread. That might include some classical pieces, though. I'm not sure. BTW, for quick reference, 76-key keyboard would cover 6 octaves, and 88 keys covers 7 octaves. I'm not really familiar with Casios, because when I was looking I focused mainly on Yamaha and Korg, with a Roland Juno-D thrown in for the fun of it. I liked Yamaha's PSR-E413 and YPG-635, and the PSRs in the more professional end. The one Casio I sorta kinda looked at had a full keyboard, but few other voices. Don't let that stop you. I knew nothing but a few items on spec sheets I found online when I first walked in the door. I've found the staff at the music shops to be very helpful in showing me the assorted options, and they let me hang around trying them out for as long as the door was open. Plan on long visits; time gets away from you fast! Don't forget to bring something to jot notes on. You'll never be able to remember it all.
Upon further consideration, while the Juno-D seems good, it does not offer the balance I’m looking for: it only has 61 non-weighted keys. This keyboard might be good for just playing progressive/metal stuff, but will probably become an annoyance if I try to play any classical songs that go up or down to high or low octaves. I went to Guitar Center and looked around and tried out the Yamaha YPG-635. This keyboard has 88 weighted keys and different instrument sounds, but no buttons as far as I can tell that would allow me to store and later select different instruments (which would be important for playing a song that employs different sounds in the same song). In other words, this keyboard offers me all of these different instruments, but since it is highly impractical for me to make use of these instruments in a single song, they are basically useless to me. So, this keyboard does not seem to offer me anymore balance than the Juno-D does. In other words, it seems what I need is the features of the Juno-D with the keys of the Yamaha YPG-635. However, I looked around on the web and the cheapest 88 key synth I could find was the Yamaha MM8. This keyboard is 1000 dollars and is fairly high above what I originally planned to pay, but I’m willing to spend the extra money if it will give me what I want and last me for a while. While I was excited about this keyboard at first, much of the reviews I read disappointed me. There seems to be a lot of issues with the Yamaha MM8 and it seems like I would just be paying the extra 500 or so dollars (above the MM6) just for the 88 keys. The next best thing I could find was the Kawai MP5. This is way over my original price range at about 1,200 dollars, and while it is more of a stage piano than synth, it seems to offer most of what I want (as far as I can tell). However, I’m just not sure if I’m willing to spend that much money. So, I’m very confused! What do you think I should do? Should I just settle for the Juno-D and learn to deal with the problems I’ll run into when trying to play classical music? Or should I get the Yamaha YPG-635 and just aim to play mostly classical music instead of progressive rock/metal? Should I get the Yamaha MM8, which will offer me more of the balance I was looking for, though it might disappoint me on the synth level in comparison with the Juno-D? Or should I spend an amount of money that is far above my original limit on the Kawai MP5, which seems to be of a much better quality than the Yamaha MM8? I cannot decide! Is there another option? Again, I want to make sure that I don't buy something that I will want to replace a year or two later like I did with my first two guitars, while at the same time I'm not spending a ridiculous amount of money.
If compare 61-key vs 88-key weighted versions of each keyboard you will consistently find a cost difference of about $400-800. Not only are you paying for more keys, but a different kind of keybed altogether. Further echoing what others have said if you want to play classical music eventually you will find 61 keys is not going to be enough. Perhaps people in the various brand-specific forums can suggest something. Perhaps there is a program you could run on your computer to quickly switch voices? Sure seems possible. A couple. (1) Save up more cash for the more expensive keyboard you think will fit your needs better. (2) Two keyboards, one more for classical piano, and another one bought later, to take care of progressive/metal music.
Do any of you have any experience with buying keyboards off e-bay? I found a couple of used Roland Fantoms and Yamaha Motif ESs starting at about 1000 dollars, but I have barely no experience with e-bay. Are there many risks with buying used items? What should I make sure the description includes?
I've bought less expensive used items off eBay before, but personally wouldn't buy a keyboard. Most of the time, people are honest, but there's no guarantee that the item will come as they described it, either because they can misrepresent it or because it gets damaged while shipping. For a CD, video game, or something like a relatively inexpensive digital camera, it sucks if the item doesn't arrive in good condition, but you're not out that much, plus they're easier to ship well-packed. A keyboard in a flight case is one thing; a keyboard in a box with some padding is something entirely different. Also, shipping may be expensive too. If you live in/near a dense urban area, you could try looking for keyboards on craigslist. There's often people willing to sell keyboards at good prices, and you have the opportunity to try before you buy.
Would I be totally screwed if a keyboard I bought through e-bay happened to arrive damaged or is there some form of insurance? I'll check out craiglist.
Beware of this one - it is an amateur.. (ahem)... arranger workstation, and will only work if you're an absolute beginner. The piano sound is decent, and the rest of the sounds are tinny, cheap and quite sh*tty, to be honest. How do I know? I used one for 4 years before growing up to Korg's Triton.
Some sellers do offer shipping insurance, which probably does cover damage in transit. eBay also does have some support and protection, as does PayPal, but I never really looked into how that works. Craigslist is definitely safer, but might not give you the best deal.
