UK Piano Page Piano Forum

Hi am in a covers group. we do queen/elo/bon jovi/meatloaf/journey/ 60's music etc.
Have just started and have been out of the loop with keyboards/pianos so long don't know where to start.
Everyone I've asked so far has been really not helpful lol.
Any pointers on where to start so i can stop my head spinning would be much appreciated.

What do you need from your instrument?

There are three main types of keyboard instruments in digital music at the moment:

Digital pianos (furniture type like a Clavinova for example);
Stage piano which is like the above only more portable with emphasis on pianos and electric pianos;
Finally, there is the sythesiser which has a vast array of good sounds including pianos, strings, synths, etc. as well as special editting options for each sound. These are good for arranging and recording.

Let me know which one interests you most and then I can focus on a specific area for you as well as a specific price range.

Thanks Markymark.

Not digital piano. definately a stage piano. or synthesither. If you get a stage piano are there options normally for adding sounds. Or is it best to have a synth and then it's all there?

You can add sounds to any synthesiser or stage piano provided that that have MIDI ports. You can add synth or sound modules to stage pianos which can be cheaper than buying a whole new keyboard and having to carry around a whole rack of keyboards which does still happen quite alot. Different keyboard actions and the simplicity of just turning to a new instrument is sometimes more attractive to other people.

Stage pianowise, I would recommend you check out:

Yamaha CP300 (which I have);
Yamaha CP33 (more compact version of the above model);
Roland 300SX;
Roland 700SX;

All of these models have a graded/progressive hammer action similar to that of a piano.

In terms of synthesisers:

Yamaha Motif XS range;
Yamaha S90XS;
Yamaha S90ES (if still around);
Kurzweil PC3X;
Nord Stage Piano (some great organ samples there);
Roland Fantom (no personal experience of these yet but reviews very good - maybe slight overkill for what you need).

Some of these have a progressive hammer action like the stage pianos above but some will have a balanced hammer action which is weighted but not going from heavier to lighter like a piano's keyboard action.