I'ma newbie keyboardist in training...

Currently looking for a used keyboard...but seems quite hard to find.

im newbie as well, they recommend me to get Casio CTK-900, wat u al think?

My recommendation is...try it out yourself. If you like it, then buy it. Try to anticipate what kinds of instruments you would like to play and see if its sufficient.

Most people use keyboards for acoustic piano, electric piano, organ, strings and pads. The rest are just fun to play with. There are also other higher end keyboards which have a built-in arpeggiator and etc.

This post has been edited by ionStorm: Dec 9 2006, 05:02 PM

Umm.... one question.

How do you properly use the pitch bend on the keyboard? I've seen various video clips showing keyboardist make use of it especially during solos, but i just can't do it properly.

I am not sure about this. But depends on what model you are using. LOL.

Electone Player here. Still learning electone and piano... Cheers!

oh i just got myself a Korg N264 music workstation, not sure what you call it, keyboard? organ? anywhere i can learn playing keyboard from the internet? 'cuz i learnt (still learning in fact) my guitar thru internet as well..

This post has been edited by nekromaniak: Jan 7 2007, 10:08 PM

i used to play N264 too during my college days. (although it's belong to my college, i really enjoy messing around with it, did a lot of experiments because there was no manual supplied )

I even used it for my first live performance. Really missed that keyboard

Keyboards are also piano, they're main functions are piano, the first thing you get when you on it is piano. They're simply a cheaper solution for a piano (acoustic or digital) maybe you can call them portable piano or once they were. When you go for piano lessons, if you can't afford a piano, you can always opt for a keyboard, it's the same thing, except the feel and touch (sound quality of lower end models). Keyboard and/or Digital Piano are simply much more powerful where they provide functions and various tones, and there's also high end keyboards used/considered as Music Workstation/Synthesizers where you can create/mix music/song (e.g. Roland G70, Roland V-Synth, check http://www.rolandus.com for the video demos on those product)... There're also very powerful Digital Piano nowadays like Roland RD-700SX Stage Piano, Yamaha also has a few, but they cost a bomb, they're very much like a keyboard but with Weigthed Hammer Keys and more full Piano features (e.g. Half-Damper Pedal Capability, etc...). There's also Music Workstation with Weigthed Hammer Keys, the Roland Fantom X8, Yamaha S90ES, etc... These keyboard are more like a Portable Piano since they offer more piano features (e.g. Hammer Keys, etc).

Anyway, like a member mentioned, any instruments with keys (which are also CALLED Keyboard, the piano/organ/etc keys are called keyboard) can be considered keyboardist in this matter.

Go visit http://www.rolandus.com, go to the products, some/most of it has videos/demos (e.g. Roland G70, Fantom series, Arranger - EXR series, Stage Piano - RD700SX/RD300SX (great videos, and killer looking stage piano), Intelligent Piano - KR Series)... If you want something NEW, check the Roland VIMA's videos, that's one powerful instrument... also check the Roland Digital Grand Piano videos... tough, the features might or might not be used by many....

i'm a happie user of the yamaha psr-e 303.

learn organ from standard 1 until 5. then quit until I'm now a working adult.
So i now play this keyboard for my own leisure.

It's a great feeling to be able to play your favourite songs.
Some of the songs i must know to play anytime is la la la luv song, first love (utada), ai hen jian dan, ni bu zai. This is because I really like the piano version of the songs and it's a motivation for me to self learn and play .

recently got a very good deal on a synthesizer :-). been messing around making bits of music. now learning blues on it. Cool stuff.

This post has been edited by zoomckng: Jan 11 2007, 08:37 PM

I'm looking forward to buy a keyboard soon but money and space (at rented room) restricts me from owning one. I missed the organ at my house which I just started to learn few weeks back.

Now I'm tinkering with the Creative Prodikey PC-MIDI and the first impression: BAD. The keys are small, not sensitive (sometimes it wouldn't sound when you pressed it), hard to play which felt like going to the gym. The bundled doesn't even have the accompany styles to play with, and most of the bundled software are useless. 37 keys also restricts me from playing some of the musics sigh...

Just saw the yamaha psr 203 for sale at IOI Mall for only rm580, now my hands are itchy.

try the m audio 49 keys one if ure on low budget. i think thats around rm400+.

dont use creative's prodikeys are horrible

I think if I want to get one I'll get the Yamaha keyboard. I'll just use this prodikey keep keep my desire under control >_<

My keyboardist is leaving the band for studies.. I think I'm gonna miss his keyboards more than him! lol its a Yamaha motif!!! woot woot that thing is HUUGGEEEEE

ah well, back to writing songs without synth and piano ... haihhh

If you wanna play the keyboard/piano fully, you should get a real keyboard with at least 76keys, or better a digital piano.

The prodikeys are more like for you to record/create music, you can't really play much song especially since the keys are so little and so small, imagine playing both hands (or arpeggio runs), you'll have to do chord inversion mostly and/or you might be out of keys, unless you do a recording for separate play, but then you're not really playing the song. I have both type Prodikeys, the DM and the newer one, the PC-MIDI. The DM is better, it has pitch bend, but very expensive, the PC-MIDI is less than RM200. The keys ARE touch sensitive... And for your problem not sounding sometimes, I guess it's because your PC is slow or low on memory, one thing I know is this prodikeys consumes quite a lot of memory, if there's not enough memory it'll lag... And, to play to song nice, e.g. when playing arpeggio, you need a sustain pedal, there's only sustain ON/OFF for the prodikeys. Anyways, the sound from the prodikeys is good I would say. IF you wanna see some good demo, visit the prodikeys website, there're a few demo for the normal Prodikeys and the Prodikeys DM.

http://www.prodikeys.com
check the Prodikeys DM or Prodikeys product page for the demo video on the left.

For the Prodikeys DM, the Drum video High Res seems to have problem, try the Low Res version, and you should check it out, it's cool and funny, look @ the uncle (chinese) get over excited playing the drum kit!
Here's a link to it:
http://www.prodikeys.com/products/prodikey...5_Drums_Low.wmv

There's a software called "EasyNotes" which turn your midi files into NOTES and also which key to press on the keyboard. It's very much like whats found in Roland high-end digital pianos built-in Learning Software. Nice features!

Anyway, make sure you check carefullly before you buy, IF you're looking to play songs, you should look for a keyboard at least 76keys and supports sustain pedals (if you're gonna play piano). 61keys are ok but most probably you'll find it limited when you play more songs or tries to express yourself more... Good Luck!

This post has been edited by Andy214: Jan 13 2007, 01:33 AM

any female keyboardist here.. that's looking for a job *wink* *wink*

I plan to buy a new keyboard now, currently interested with the Yamaha PSR-e303 model to get started in learning how to play them. Is this keyboard recommended? My budget is under RM1000 so I don't have money to get the 76 key model.

i think the e-series are for beginners level. Once u'll pick up some skills, i'm sure u'll grow out of it. and will hunt for sumthing thats more up-market. If budget a big issue then go for it, i would save up summore to get a Roland, etc.

Which model would u suggest if go for 76keys...
Im really a beginner... so far i still dunno what u guys are talking about...

Hoping to get 1 thats like a piano, as piano is big and expensive...
So getting a keyboard is better...

Anyone ? as for budget, still done have anything in mind, very interested to invest...

"hoping to get 1 thats like a piano" and "So getting a keyboard is better" seems to clashed badly.

Anyway, there're cheap digital pianos competitive pricing as the a keyboard. It depends what you choose, you could get a simple Yamaha Digital Piano with very little feature at a very cheap price OR you could get a Yamaha keyboard with a lot more features. If you're tight on budget and looking for a digital piano but with more feature, you can opt for Casio, they're cheap and very up to date, got tons of feature, of course most people would rate the sound, feel and touch "not good". It still depends on the buyer anyway, some might feel ok, or some might not mind, but you have to consider the FUTURE, one day you MIGHT get more experience, etc. Also, selling would be another problem, there're always new models, new technologies, and so for the digital road, it's good to get one good one and settle down rather than planning to sell of, unless you get a really really cheap one (but I would not recommend, I used to have a 61-keys keyboard, and it's one MAJOR reason for improvements, satisfaction, etc. When you played a digital piano, you'll notice a vast difference).

Anyway, if you're really interested in a Yamaha Digital Piano and cheap one, you can check out the P series, P60, P70, etc... It's not big, it's portable and have 88-keys, but it has very little features and patches. By the way, for more better sound, you can upgrade by adding a MOTIF RACK, so, even with a very simple keyboard/digital piano, you can have all the sounds, and many more features from those high-end keyboard/digital piano.

One more thing, if you've played a few times on a digital piano (weigthed hammer keys), and you try playing the keyboard, you'll feel the keyboard like a "Toy".

If you want something good, but it's not cheap, I think at least RM5K or 6K. It's a new product from Roland, just launched recently during the NAMM SHOW 2007, it's the Roland FP7. There's a lower end model the FP4, but I would recommend FP7. You can check Roland US website and watch the video.
http://www.rolandus.com
Navigate to Products>Digital Piano>Stage Pianos>FP7

The RD700SX is also a very powerful model, but the FP7 are more up to date with new features, it's just in a lower class range. The RD700SX does not come with built-in speaker and it cost around RM8K. You can check out the videos too if you want, it's very cool. The FP7 just launch, I'm not sure when it will reach here.

If you're looking for 76-keys keyboard only, you can find many in most music shops which sells piano/keyboard. If have a little more budget for keyboard, try checking out the Roland Interactive Arranger keyboard, they're good and fun to play. They're quite expensive, but I think someone is selling the second hand high-end Arranger model for less than 2K in lelong.com.my.

Lastly, good luck on whatever your decision and happy shopping!