Yamaha Np30, piaggero np-31, any others?

[Alastair]

Im looking to buy a replacement for my ancient Yamaha PSR 300 keyboard, which is bassically crap.

I need at least 76 keys, and want it to be piano orientated, yet relativly inexpensive.

I've spotted the widely available yamaha np-30 which looks great, apart from the fact it doesn't have weighted keys. Is this a worthwhile purchase?

I also noticed the NEW yamaha np-31 thats part of the "piaggero" range. Is It worth getting this instead of the np-30, and what are the major differences.

Any other suitable suggestions for under £250 (used or new)

Many thanks, Alastair.

 

[sloppydave]

I'm honestly stumped regarding the NP-31. Except for some minor cosmetic differences, it seems to be exactly the same as the NP-30 (product description on Yamaha's site was of no help either). Maybe download the manuals for both and compare features?

Anyway, the NP is an excellent portable MIDI controller. Not much beyond that as it only has 10 patches (comparable in quality to early '00 PSRs - I have an e303 and they sound about the same). I ranted a bit more about the NP-30 here.

 

[Alastair]

Thanks for the reply. I looked at your post in the other thread, it seems to be a good piece of kit for the price.

I'll admit, that however much I'd love a weighted action keyboard, I'm not willing to spend the amount they cost. So I think I will settle for an NP-31 when they are available.

I am on ABRSM (uk) grade 6 piano, but since we have a piano in the house, the keyboard will be a secondary instrument for my room, and taking elsewhere

Any other suggestions...

Thanks, Alastair.

 

[sloppydave]

If your heart is set on a real (or at least a "real") piano keyboard, you can try looking for a Yamaha KX8, which might be in your price range (depending on how brutal are the import fees in the UK). Keep in mind that you would need to run it through something as it has no sounds of its own and that its controls and features are... lacking, to put it delicately. Also it is no fun to carry around whatsoever.

Speaking of pure controllers, I keep hearing about M-Audio - mainly that they're versatile and cheap. I messed around with a keyboard-style controller once and don't remember liking it all that much, but their piano models might be worth looking into.

Really, the best thing you can do is go to a store and try a bunch of models out. I read so much crap on so many sites when researching for the NP-30 that you wouldn't believe, and still had no idea whether it was good or not. Afterwards I went to a shop and screwed around with one for about a minute, checked a couple of points in the manual and that was literally all the information I needed to make a choice.

 

[Alastair]

Thanks for the further advice.

What was your final desicion on the NP-30, did you buy one?

Well I hope you didn't, as I went to a couple of music shops yesterday and tried out numerous keyboards/electric pianos, including the NP30, NPV80, NPV60 and PSR-E423. I agried with the salesmen when he said the NP30 was a load of junk. It is just a basic keyboard with an extra octave and a nice piano voice. For £230 this is rediculous. Then I tried the NPV80, and PSR-E423, they are very similar, but the NPV80 has the extra octave, and the more "piano like" keys.

So one things for sure, I'm definetly not going for the NP-30.

Alastair.

 

[sloppydave]

Thanks for the further advice.

What was your final desicion on the NP-30, did you buy one?

I did, actually. All the keyboards I use run through sound modules so on-board sounds made no difference to me. It was the cheapest, smallest, lightest 76-key pseudo-piano with MIDI capability I could find and as such, it works beautifully (could've used a pitch/mod but, well, beggars and choosers).
Since your original question was about specific models (and you mentioned owning a PSR) I just assumed that you were aware of the nature of the beast.

Well I hope you didn't, as I went to a couple of music shops yesterday and tried out numerous keyboards/electric pianos, including the NP30, NPV80, NPV60 and PSR-E423. I agried with the salesmen when he said the NP30 was a load of junk. It is just a basic keyboard with an extra octave and a nice piano voice. For £230 this is rediculous. Then I tried the NPV80, and PSR-E423, they are very similar, but the NPV80 has the extra octave, and the more "piano like" keys.

So one things for sure, I'm definetly not going for the NP-30.

Alastair.

Both the NP-30/31 and the NPV80 are listed as having a "graded soft" set of keys... The NPV does seem kinda sweet though - definitely more suited for standalone work. The PSR is just plain scary-looking.

 

[Alastair]

Well I think the psre423 is good value, considering the wealth of features, although you do pay for it with its nasty plastiky keys.

Considering, this for an npv80, your paying an extra £100 for piano STYLE keys and an extra octave. I hardly think this is acceptable considering the npv80 only feels slightly better.

Having said that I was impressed by everything else.

 

[sloppydave]

If you are looking mainly for sounds and price, and you don't mind the keys, then the PSR is great. What bugs me personally (aside from the frowny faced design ) is the lack of MIDI ports (same with the NPV. Seriously Yamaha, what gives?!).

One question though, weren't you looking for 76 keys at the least?