Keyboardless .......... Again.

[Biggles]

It is fatal, fleabay sending me an offer of a max selling fee of £1.

I listed a Zoom guitar pedal ..... it sold.

I listed one of my Ukes ...... it sold.

I listed my Yamaha P121 digital piano ....... it sold.

So now we are in the same boat as we were 15 months ago, keyboardless
........ Its Groundhog Day.......Again.

I now have no keyboard and there is nothing in stock locally that floats my bolt, well there is but I am not going to spend £2500 on an old Korg.

Been looking at options, must haves:-
1 - arranger features
2 - a reasonable array of onboard drum patterns.
3 - ideally 76 or 88 keys
4 - not a large cash outlay as I only see this as yet another temporary keyboard.

Now that gives me a limited range of available keyboards.

Korg XE20, 88 keys of questionable action, and Korg piano tones which are not to my taste

Casio PX S3000, 88 keys, good onboard range of sounds, arranger features seem OK. Same keybed as the S1000 so close to the Yamaha in my experience of playing an S1000. Looks and size beat everything else and its lightish weight would be a bonus

Yamaha DGX 670, OK its probably the best in its class but do I really want a Yamaha? No.

A wildcard is the old Casio WK 7600, 76 keys and a reasonable array of tones, sliders for drawbars a plus point and the vids do sound pretty good. No idea on the keybed but the menu system is crass, I have spent three hours watching a video series on it and setting up a Registration would seem to be a nightmare. So this is ruled out.

Another option is to say sod it and just go with a Casio CT X5000 and its 61 keys. Bonus is it is cheap and the sound quality on the various reviews and tutorials is pretty impressive. One thing I am not to bothered about is MIDI connectivity via the DIN type leads which is just as well as there is not much at this price point.

The Casio PX S3000 does seem a good choice but it will be weeks before they are instore, and Amazon have the X5000 available now and available for delivery tomorrow.

OK, at £359 its pretty cheap and I will have a month to play with it to see if it fits my requirements, if not I can return it and get a PX-S3000.

 

[3dc]

Last year CTX-5000 was my fist choice but after short demo in store I picked E463. Why?
If you hated Yamaha you will hate Casio CTX-5000 even more. Its a cool little arranger but its menu system is absolute nightmare. Don't say no one warned you.
If I was a Korg guy like you looking for temporary keyboard I would go for Korg EK-50. Its not feature rich like CTX-5000 but its Korg and its in the same price range as CTX-3000.

My 5 cents...

 

[happyrat1]

Well Col, I put my Juno DS88 up for sale yesterday at $1100.00 CDN which I think is a fair price for a 2 yr old board.

If you want to fly in and pick it up I'm willing to hold it for you.

As for shipping it? If you are willing to spend an extra $500 for the TSA case I do have a Gator TSA case for it I can ship it in

 

[Biggles]

Gary
So that is $1100 Canadian including shipping over to the UK?

Seriously tempted

That's £625 in proper money, not a a bad price at all

There is a Juno DS 88 on eBay UK at £650 but that is 150 miles away or a £90 fuel bill in my car plus a fine for breaching covid rules going to collect it and whilst it is a pretty good keyboard it does not have arranger functions and the drum patterns are way less than there are on a Korg Kross 2.

We will see how things go with the X5000, never know our Granddaughter may end up with it.

3DC
As for a Yamaha E463, no way on Earth, the Menu system on the E series is the work of the Devil and as for the sound quality, don't get me started on those, but thanks for the heads up on the Casio. If it is as dire as you indicate it will probably be going back but the online tutorials do look OK, we shall see how high the frustration factor goes setting up a Registration.

At lease a Review will come out of the X5000 but no way will I do one of those terrible unboxing vids

 

[anotherscott]

If you were consiering the WK-7600, then maybe the Yamaha PSR-EW410 (or even 310) could be worth consideration. They don't have Casio's organ emulation, though. Going the other direction, the touchscreen interface of the PX-360/PX-560 is nicer than on the PX-S series... but pricier. The 560 is deeply editable, but unless maybe you find a good deal on a used one, it's really in another price range.

 

[happyrat1]

$1100.00 is the cash and carry price with a full 30/30 warranty. 30 seconds or 30 feet out the door

(shipping and handling extra )

Gary

 

[nosmokey]

It is fatal, fleabay sending me an offer of a max selling fee of £1.

I listed a Zoom guitar pedal ..... it sold.

I listed one of my Ukes ...... it sold.

I listed my Yamaha P121 digital piano ....... it sold.

So now we are in the same boat as we were 15 months ago, keyboardless
........ Its Groundhog Day.......Again.

I now have no keyboard and there is nothing in stock locally that floats my bolt, well there is but I am not going to spend £2500 on an old Korg.

Been looking at options, must haves:-
1 - arranger features
2 - a reasonable array of onboard drum patterns.
3 - ideally 76 or 88 keys
4 - not a large cash outlay as I only see this as yet another temporary keyboard.

Now that gives me a limited range of available keyboards.

Korg XE20, 88 keys of questionable action, and Korg piano tones which are not to my taste

Casio PX S3000, 88 keys, good onboard range of sounds, arranger features seem OK. Same keybed as the S1000 so close to the Yamaha in my experience of playing an S1000. Looks and size beat everything else and its lightish weight would be a bonus

Yamaha DGX 670, OK its probably the best in its class but do I really want a Yamaha? No.

A wildcard is the old Casio WK 7600, 76 keys and a reasonable array of tones, sliders for drawbars a plus point and the vids do sound pretty good. No idea on the keybed but the menu system is crass, I have spent three hours watching a video series on it and setting up a Registration would seem to be a nightmare. So this is ruled out.

Another option is to say sod it and just go with a Casio CT X5000 and its 61 keys. Bonus is it is cheap and the sound quality on the various reviews and tutorials is pretty impressive. One thing I am not to bothered about is MIDI connectivity via the DIN type leads which is just as well as there is not much at this price point.

The Casio PX S3000 does seem a good choice but it will be weeks before they are instore, and Amazon have the X5000 available now and available for delivery tomorrow.

OK, at £359 its pretty cheap and I will have a month to play with it to see if it fits my requirements, if not I can return it and get a PX-S3000.

Hi Biggles
Gerry here
i have just asked you for advice on uploading registrations off of a usb stick to Korg I cant get the hang of the Korg PA 700 if it continues like this i will be selling my Korg pa700 it is more or less brand new all i have done is look at it and try different things but i am useless
all the best
No smokey

 

[Biggles]

Gerry
People used to Yamaha arrangers do tend to struggle getting to grips with a Korg as the OS is very different.

If you can get the right mindset just go through the Korg Video Manual series replicating what Steve McNally is doing in the videos and you will get there.

Once comfortable with that then there is the webinars to work through.

As you have a Genos one thing I cannot fathom is why you have bought a 700! The Genos should be a one keyboard for all situations with its features. IMO it is not as good as a Korg PA4X but I much prefer Korg tones overall than what Yamaha offers (except Pianos).

I sold my PA700 because I filled it up and 61 keys are just so restricting plus Korg keybeds at its price level and below are not really to my liking but it did work well as I had a Korg Kross 2 on the second tier and connected to the 700 as per the PM that I have sent you in response to your query.

 

[nosmokey]

Gerry
People used to Yamaha arrangers do tend to struggle getting to grips with a Korg as the OS is very different.

If you can get the right mindset just go through the Korg Video Manual series replicating what Steve McNally is doing in the videos and you will get there.

Once comfortable with that then there is the webinars to work through.

As you have a Genos one thing I cannot fathom is why you have bought a 700! The Genos should be a one keyboard for all situations with its features. IMO it is not as good as a Korg PA4X but I much prefer Korg tones overall than what Yamaha offers (except Pianos).

I sold my PA700 because I filled it up and 61 keys are just so restricting plus Korg keybeds at its price level and below are not really to my liking but it did work well as I had a Korg Kross 2 on the second tier and connected to the 700 as per the PM that I have sent you in response to your query.

Hi Biggles
I am 81 and honestly i dont think i have the brain to take much in i am really gratefull for all you are trying to do for me but i think i will put it up for sale and stick to the Genos.any ideas on the bewst place to sell it except e bay
Once again you are a treasure
All the best
Gerry no smokey

 

[Biggles]

As for selling that depends upon where you live.

Craigs list
Facebook’s Market place
Go onto Korg Forums and list it in the Buy and Sell section
Local ad
Ask your local music store to sell it
Discuss returning it with the store you bought it from as many do a 30 day return

 

[nosmokey]

Hi Biggles
I am 81 and honestly i dont think i have the brain to take much in i am really gratefull for all you are trying to do for me but i think i will put it up for sale and stick to the Genos.any ideas on the bewst place to sell it except e bay
Once again you are a treasure
All the best
Gerry no smokey

As for selling that depends upon where you live.

Craigs list
Facebook’s Market place
Go onto Korg Forums and list it in the Buy and Sell section
Local ad
Ask your local music store to sell it
Discuss returning it with the store you bought it from as many do a 30 day return

I live in East yorkshire NrSelby

 

[LisaL]

Well Col, I put my Juno DS88 up for sale yesterday at $1100.00 CDN which I think is a fair price for a 2 yr old board.

If you want to fly in and pick it up I'm willing to hold it for you.

As for shipping it? If you are willing to spend an extra $500 for the TSA case I do have a Gator TSA case for it I can ship it in

Don’t play it much anymore. I’m thinking of getting the fp30x because I hear the action is superior. But I really enjoy my Juno. I guess if I get a newer board I’ll probably use that one more.

 

[happyrat1]

Lisa >>> I've put off selling the Juno for another 6 months to a year. I figure that I'll give it some time for prices to come down on the latest and greatest and maybe pick up used or demo Kurzweil PC4 after the hype dies down.

I'm pretty happy with the Juno for now and don't need to wait 6 months for all the firmware updates and crap that comes with owning a new board

Gary

 

[Biggles]

To close off this thread, the Casio was returned and all thoughts of possibly getting an S3000 went out of my mind.

To give me something to play I thought about getting a Studiologic controller and just using the iPad Apps for a while, then thought, why not get one of their keyboards with inbuilt sounds and amp/speakers?

So I have taken a punt and bought a Studiologic Compact 2x, which I am pretty impressed with. It has 88 keys with a Fatar TP/9 Piano action which is supposedly semi weighted but there does not seem to be much difference between this action and the GHS of the P121 that I sold.

Sounds are very good to my ear and love the drawbars, still working out the intricacies of the OS. It does a couple of Layers and Splits and there is associated software which I have installed in my old Laptop so over the weekend I’ll get to know this little beauty and get some much needed playing practice.

Size wise, it is small, diminutive even and light at just a tad over 7kg.

 

[happyrat1]

Col. Congrats on picking up what sounds to be a pretty sweet keyboard.

Next you should try at least a bit of analogue by picking up a Behringer Crave (REALLY DIRT CHEAP) and a MIDI cable and try your hand at blending the sounds in a performance.

I guarantee it will keep you occupied and happy until covid is declared a memory

Gary

 

[Biggles]

Interesting thought Gary.

As it is I was only just browsing at a Deepmind 6 yesterday.

 

[Biggles]

Behringer Crave.

New at Anderton’s they cost £140.

Just seen one on eBay, 5 bidders so far and with a day to go its at £95.

 

[Kaneda]

I had at one point in time considered getting a Numa 2x to add to my MP11SE, to compensate for the lack of organ sounds on the Kawai. But ultimately decided against that because it would have been pedal hell on the floor...

I'm puzzled, though, that you found little difference in feel between the P121 and the Numa 2x. As a hammer action keybed, Yamaha's GHS isn't the best, but it's not bad, either. I've never played a Numa 2x but the Fatar TP9 is semi-weighted, but I wouldn't expect it to behave like a hammer weighted action at all...

 

[Biggles]

Kaneda
The Numa key action is quite a bit heavier than the Synth actions of the PA, Kross 2, Casio and the MIDI controllers that I have tried.

It is more like the semi weighted PA4X or the Roland FA07 that I tried quite a while ago, if my old memory remembers correctly.

It is definitely lighter than the GHS but not appreciably so, it is also velocity sensitive and has aftertouch so all in all it does seem quite a good keybed for an instrument at his price point.

 

[anotherscott]

There is, however, difference in the entire way a key responds in actions that use hammers vs. actions that do not. It's not simply a metter of "weight" or how heavy or light something feels. At least in part, the difference comes from having a key return simply because of some kind of sping/flex mechanism (in a non-hammer board) vs. using gravity. Note that you could play a non-hammer board even if it were rotated/tilted 90 degrees down--or even upside down!--whereas a hammer action board won't function that way. The difference is not the amount of weight.