The Virtual Paino!

[Big G]

Ok, Maybe that was a slightly misleading title, but that's what I'm looking for. . . kind of!

I love playing piano's, but I currently own a Yamaha PSR-550 which I believe has now gone out of production?

Anyway, I've fallen in love with piano's, but I want to be able to play it at midnight and early in the morning, well basically whenever I want to, but without getting noise complaints . . . .

A real piano would be a dream come true but because of the noise it produces, obviously I'd wake everyone in the house up if I played it late at night. I mean imagine this. . . . .

You've been going through alot of things in your life, and you have lots of different ideas for songs, you come home at 1:30AM after a night with some mates or a long drive or walk and you've been thinking alot about your life . . . so you finally get home and you're buzzing with ideas for a song, you sit down, pen at the ready, crack your fingers and OH NO! EVERYONE'S IN BED! You play that piano now everyone in the house (and the darn neighbours) wake up and complain, even if you are writing the most beautiful piece of music they've ever heard. . . .

So to solve this problem, I'm looking for a keyboard that will FEEL as much like a real piano as possible. I've played some 88 weighted key keyboards but the keys still dont feel heavy enough and just dont feel the same as when you press a piano key and can actually feel the hammer hitting the string. Yes I know, that's because it's a keyboard but I almost literally want a piano you can put headphones on. I'm not fussed if it can't play any other instrument sounds, if it can (like strings etc) then thats a bonus, but as long as it sounds like a piano and more importantly, FEELS like one then yeah.

Sorry for the essay guys!

love you! any help MUCH appreciated!

 

[evergreenthompson]

What's your budget? Which 88-key keyboards have you tried so far?

 

[Big G]

I don't have a strict budget really, I'm prepared to pay what I have to because I'm also going to use the keyboard for studio recording, so I'd like it to sound sh*t hot

So far I've tried the Yamaha DGX630 and Casio WK500. The Yamaha piano sound was amazing, but i felt that the keys on both the Yamaha and Casio still felt too light, they didn't feel weighted at all. Making a huge jump to the other end of the scale I was also looking at the Yamaha CP33 and CP300, I didn't have time to try them so I was wondering if any of you guys could tell me about them, and what the difference is, because they seem pretty similar to me

Thanks guys

 

[evergreenthompson]

Quite the jump from one end of the scale to the other!

I can't really tell you much about the CP33 and CP300, but I'd guess they'd feel significantly better than lower-end keyboards. You might also want to see how the Yamaha YPG-635 feels.

You might also find a better selection at a store that caters more toward the piano crowd vs the band crowd, though you often can't tell until you walk in the door.

 

[Big G]

yeah thanks for the advice, I just really want a piano sound that is as authentic as possible, but like I said I want the keys to really feel like Piano keys

Thanks I'll check back after I've tried some more boards out

 

[Mourndark]

It's very hard to find the "perfect" action on anything that doesn't have hammers and strings - at some point you're going to have to make a compromise.

Since I'm guessing £2K for a Nord Stage 88 (closest I've come to nirvana) is a bit expensive, I suggest having a look at YPG-635. I've played the CP300 briefly, and to my mind the action wasn't worth the price tag. I don't know the CP33, but I'm guessing the action is similar. In that price range, I'd probably go for the Roland RD-300GX (not the SX!) or FP7.

You might also try the M-Audio ProKeys 88. I've not tried it, but the action is meant to be very good for the price (<£350).