Kawaii Grand to KT-88 to .... what next?

[hihoworker]

I had a beautiful six-eight Kawaii grand "in the day," playing and practicing classical music only -- and not very well at that -- and sold it to buy a car. Then, in the late '90s, I bought an Ensoniq KT-88 in the hopes of picking up where I'd left off with music. It still comes out occasionally and I play some of my old "recital" stuff, Christmas music, fumbling Joplin rags, or I drink some wine and play maudlin minor key impromptu stuff and totally impress myself by how great the the system sounds with the strings making it oh-so-pretty. I never learned what a KT-88 can really do, except the "wow, this is pretty" part.

I'm also going to moving soon and will be going on the road in our RV. Trying to figure what I can do for music/fun while we're on the road.

So, in a nutshell, I'm here to pick your brains about about old synthesizers and other music options.

 

[happyrat1]

If you're going on the road, don't laugh, take a good hard look at the Casio PX-5S stage piano. It weighs about 20 lbs, and very nice and compact, great piano sound, great keyboard touch and you can also run it on 8 AA alkaline cells in a pinch, so you could set up at a campsite with a battery powered amp and play under the stars in the middle of nowhere.

If I could only have one keyboard in that situation that'd be the way I'd go.

 

[hihoworker]

Thanks for your recommendation! and a great demo video, too! That's quite a bit outside of my budget -- at least until I sell my KT-88. But thanks. Very helpful!

 

[happyrat1]

Pretty much anything with 88 weighted, hammer action keys will run you between $500 and $1000.

61 key portable keyboards will run you between $200 and $500 for anything half decent but if you're used to a proper weighted hammer action then you won't find that in a 61 keyboard.

I'd have to say that you have a pretty spendy history with your earlier keyboards and I don't really think you'll be happiest with cheezy organ/synth style keys.

Then again, if budget is a serious consideration you could always check out your local craigslist and see what sort of bargains can be found second hand in your area.

Happy trails

Gary

 

[hihoworker]

You got me nailed! Champagne taste and beer budget. Thanks again.

 

[happyrat1]

You're welcome. BTW, the puppy in your avatar is adorable