lightest key action

[radioyankee]

hello- i'm looking for a synth with very light key pressure. i was thinking that there might be some kind of tool or device to measure the resistance of a key. thanks for any info.. this looks like a great online forum..

 

[Skipp]

what type of music are you into!?

I ask that because most of the semi-pro, and pro keyboards have
semi-weighted keys or fully weighted keys (if it's a 88 key version)

 

[radioyankee]

type of music

english folk, celtic, light rock, contemporary Christian.. i am familiar with the casio wk series and yamaha ytd . don't need anything too fancy. like to play fast lead riffs. thanks

 

[Skipp]

Come on people get away from Casio keyboards... you just can't move forward with your playing on those toys!

I know we all don't have enough money for something new but for the
same price you can get a very good used workstation.

For example a korg Trinity (in my country you can find it around 400€
that means it costs around 300€ in other countries cause we have
WAY too much expensive instruments!)

If you want to get into music (i'm speaking to all of you now) get something
decent, and not a toy!

When you buy a real workstation and get to know it, and then when you
look back on Casio keyboards you'll burst out laughing!

Something like comparing Subaru Impreza WRX with a Yugo 45

 

[letsel]

I agree with Sysryn here, I use to play on a Casio(don't know their range, but the one I had was utter crap) and that thing pretty much did alot of harm to my motivation to play to the point where it made me stop playing for close to a year. It was just generally a terrible experience to use it.

So yeah, get some decent keyboards.

 

[radioyankee]

yes, but

true casio has a rep for producing el cheapo toy- like keyboards, but now they've gotten serious as far as offering a digital piano (which retails close to $2,000 i believe.) also the wk series (1600, 3200, 3500, 3700 etc.) have some very strong features, like a 6 track sequencer and dsp effects. one reviewer compared different sounds (grand piano, flute, etc. ) to his $3500 korg and said that the casio had just as good sound quality for many of the instrument sounds. but my main defense is the cost- i picked one up for $75 on ebay. i started out with moogs and have played keyboards from arp, roland, kurzweil, korg, yamaha and some others so i know what quality is. i would'nt want a casio as my main board but fine for back- up or use as a scratch recorder, etc., and the price for used stuff that is in excellent condition is very reasonable. The future improvement of casio products is hard to predict... but i recall that korgs from the early 1970's were quite lousy.. but look what happened to that brand.. thank you

 

[Skipp]

true casio has a rep for producing el cheapo toy- like keyboards, but now they've gotten serious as far as offering a digital piano (which retails close to $2,000 i believe.) also the wk series (1600, 3200, 3500, 3700 etc.) have some very strong features, like a 6 track sequencer and dsp effects. one reviewer compared different sounds (grand piano, flute, etc. ) to his $3500 korg and said that the casio had just as good sound quality for many of the instrument sounds. but my main defense is the cost- i picked one up for $75 on ebay. i started out with moogs and have played keyboards from arp, roland, kurzweil, korg, yamaha and some others so i know what quality is. i would'nt want a casio as my main board but fine for back- up or use as a scratch recorder, etc., and the price for used stuff that is in excellent condition is very reasonable. The future improvement of casio products is hard to predict... but i recall that korgs from the early 1970's were quite lousy.. but look what happened to that brand.. thank you

6 track sequencer? Most other workstation have 16 track sequencers...
And you talk about 1970' korgs!?? Just google for Tritons, M3 and Oasys...
Korg has gone a looooong way since then.

 

[radioyankee]

my concluding comment on casio

i meant that if korg put out some less than stellar products in the 70's and they eventually started improving to become the world leader in many aspects, then perhaps there is hope that casio products could get better over time. as to being able to reach the high quality of korg, roland, or yamaha, that would be a long shot. thank you

 

[elwoodblues1969]

Radioyankee,

I hear what you are saying about Casio's improved sound quality and I used to own the Casio WK-3500 and it does have some nice sounds & effects for $400-no doubt.

However though,let's get real about one very important thing in terms of recording;

The Sequencer:

-there is no pattern recording
-there is no quantizing
-there is no metronome
-there is no individual insert effects for each track

Allow me to aprise you of one other indisputeable fact;

There is no usable sequencer in ANY keyboard under a thousand dollars(consumer grade & pro alike)

I know,I've done years of research on this issue & have looked at every workstation out there.

Another piece of advice; don't believe all the user reviews you read about keyboards friend,because the internet is replete with hype.

Understand that I am not trying to be demeaning in any way,I'm just trying to help,by passing along my experiences.

I've been in the game for 20 years & I have owned several keyboards and what is out there currently,is truly amazing,as never has there been so many improvements and so many choices,and the currently technology has made them more afforadable than ever.

Do the research,take the tests and most of all,visit Sweetwater.com and they will open your eyes to a whole world of keyboards you never knew existed.
Note; I am in no way affiliated with Sweetwater,other than just being a very happy customer and I do most of purchases through them.

Go check it out for yourself,as I have found them to have the best product knowledge,the best product support & by far,the best customer service.
The only time I deal with SamAsh or GuitarCenter,is when they carry a product that Sweetwater does'nt have.

Cheers,

Elwood

 

[radioyankee]

user friendly

with your background, perhaps you could recommend a system for producing professional quality cd's from keyboards. and my main concern is that some of the equipment is anything but intuitive/ user friendly. my friend said it took him about 6 months to get the hang of his system, and he has extensive advanced electronics experience.. thank you

 

[elwoodblues1969]

R.Y.,

The cheapest,pro quality workstation keyboard with the nicest sounds & sequencer in a budget price-with light keys,would be the Korg TR-61.

This is personally,my highest recommendation for a workstation for a $1,000(new)

I strenuously advise that you buy new,and also buy from Sweetwater.com,for 3 very important reasons:

1)Since this will be your first professional workstation,you need a very knowledgable staff to guide you through this workstation(because there is not really any such thing as user-friendly,if you're a novice to pro keyboards of the workstation type)

2)Even though Korg is extremely reliable & durable,it's always smart to cover your ass,when you make an investment such as this-which is why a product with a warranty may possibly save you a tremendous amount of money and headaches in the long run.

3)Anything you buy from Sweetwater will be backed up 100% and they will take care of any problem or question you have with your product and you will never get stuck with anything you don't want,because they have a unconditional return policy.

As far as pro keyboards go,6 months is a reasonable amount of time to completely navigate yourself through all the functions of a workstation,as anything that produces pro quality cd's-is going to be a learning curve for anyone.
From my personal learning experience,I was taught the fundamentals of workstation recording through a friend that owned a recording studio,so I had that advantage working for me.

However though,don't let yourself be discouraged or intimidated by pro
keyboards,because once you nail down the basics-most keyboards are user-friendly.

I personally find hardware sequencing(within a keyboard)-much more user-friendly in general,than computer recording-because of all the compatibilty issues of a computer.

Alot of workstations these days have an enormous amount of processing power which is comparable to pc's and hardware sequencing is a much more efficient way to lay down songs.

Once you master the art of workstation recording,it's like having your own little recording studio-which is a beautiful thing.

Just out of curiousity,what system does your your friend have?