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first keyboard

Posted: 17 Aug 2007, 03:57
by waggy
Hello

I would love to learn how to play, what make/model should I be looking at? What price range should I be looking at? I ask as there is a general consensus of which guitars to avoid and how much min you should be spending, so i figured the same would be true for keyboards as well.

Ive been playing guitar for 3 years. These past 6 months ive really got into playing classical peices on it (namely the first movement of moonlight sonata and Gymnopédie No.1). As much as i enjoy playing them on my guitar, they do sound far better on the piano as they were ment to be played.

Being a guitarist, can I expect a quicker start to learning a new instrument or will it not make any difference? I know I will have to learn how to read music, but temporary atleast is there such a thing as a piano tab?

Cheers

Posted: 23 Aug 2007, 19:09
by TonyG
Buy yourself a Casio WK 3000/3200/3500/3700. Nice 'Grand Piano Tone' on it using ZPi sound source (whatever that is!). You'll be able to either record onboard or sequence backings for your guitar playing too. It's a HUGE bag of tricks for very little money, and the tonewheel organ voices just have to be heard to be believed!

Posted: 24 Aug 2007, 02:16
by waggy
cheers Tony, Ive looked up the Casio WK 3000 but its £250-£300! I dont need lots of fancy effects, just somthing simple and with the right amount of keys (ive noticed some of the cheaper ones seem to have fewer than others?). I doubt I would be touching the effects much anyway, just want somthing that sounds like a piano to play some classical on.

Spent £80 on my first guitar so somthing in a similar price range would be nice.

Thanks

Posted: 24 Aug 2007, 08:02
by TonyG
Sadly the cheaper the keyboard the less octave range you seem to get. I always suggest the WK as it's 6 octaves. So where next? Casio CTK. These are used to good effect in the popular video based on Kenneth Baker's course, called "The Complete Keyboard Player". Ebay an ideal source possibly. I have to conclude by saying that keyboards don't come within a cats whisker of a well tuned Acoustic or a nice Digital. But I'm sure you know this. So I'm trying to suggest a good 'keyboard package' here that is (relative) value for money. I'm just packaging a Yamaha YPR-30 Portable Piano for Scotland that unfortunately you missed @ £42. Bought 1990.

Best Wishes.