Weighted keys difference...

[AIV]

Hi all. I'm pretty new to keyboards and I've found out recently that not all key types are the same. There are non-weighed and weighted keys. But I've also found out that weighed keys also differ among themselves. I'm buying Korg Krome soon and I'm attending keyboard classes and my teacher has Kurzweil PC3K8 with weighted keys. What bothers me is if the Krome will feel similar as PC3K8. I just don't want anything lighter than PC3K8. I hope Krome keys are the same or even heavier. Has anyone had experience with both so you can tell me the difference? Thanks in advance!

[Doerfler]

You obviously have not played a Korg Krome. Why are you buying something you have not played? It is as far away from a Kurzweil PC3K8 as San Francisco CA is from London England. If you like the Kurzweil, buy a Kurzweil.

[dongna]

Kurzweil PC3K8: $3,495.00

 

Korg Krome: $1,599.00

 

AIV, what is it about the Krome that is enticing you to purchase it? There are other keyboards in that price range that have better keyboard actions (as that seems to be of particular importance to you). Have you checked out the Yamama MOX series or the Casio PX-5S (just to name two)?

[AnotherScott]

I just don't want anything lighter than PC3K8. I hope Krome keys are the same or even heavier. Has anyone had experience with both so you can tell me the difference?

I think Krome keys feel heavier than the Kurz PC3K8 keys... though not necessarily in a good way...

[Tonysounds]

If you are buying for the keybed, unless you happen to think the MOX8 feels good (and that makes you a rare bird), keep looking.

 

You'd be better off looking used.

[stoken6]

Hi all. I'm pretty new to keyboards [...] I'm buying Korg Krome soon and I'm attending keyboard classes and my teacher has Kurzweil PC3K8 with weighted keys.

 

+1 on "why the Krome"? Serious question, because it's not imho the first choice of board for a keys newbie who wants a weighted board. I'd be looking at Casio in the first instance - PX150 or 350, perhaps.

 

Ask your teacher what he/she recommends? The Kurzweil has a Fatar TP40 action, which I believe is similar to what Nord Stage and Piano use (not Piano HP).

 

Cheers, Mike.

[CEB]

A lot of good people seem to really like this Casio.

 

It's price is a third less than the Krome.

 

[video:youtube]

[rickzjamm]

I played the PX-5S a few days ago at GC & was blown away! Compared to the other so called TOPL stage pianos it absolutely held it's own, and the light weight would be forgiving at the end of the gig & the price is realistic for the working musician. Definitely on my hit list, just saving pennies at the moment.

[AIV]

Krome, in my opinion, is a decent workstation, in par with MOXF8. A friend of mine has a MOXF8 and it really sounds good, if I had it, I would be more than satisfied. But, since I don't want to buy the same thing, I want to try Krome out. If I don't like it, I can easily return it and get a MOXF8.

[CEB]

I played both the Krome-88 and MOXF8 side by side 2 weeks ago. I liked the Yamaha much better.

[AIV]

Hm, ok, can you tell me which one has more weighted keys and please try to explain the feeling as much as you can

[AnotherScott]

Kurzweil PC3K8: $3,495.00

 

Korg Krome: $1,599.00

Krome, in my opinion, is a decent workstation, in par with MOXF8. A friend of mine has a MOXF8 and it really sounds good, if I had it, I would be more than satisfied. But, since I don't want to buy the same thing, I want to try Krome out. If I don't like it, I can easily return it and get a MOXF8.

In the same price range as the MOXF8 and Krome 88, you can get a Kurzweil PC3LE8, which has the same action as the PC3K8. The biggest down side is that it weighs 54 lbs. But if you're not traveling/gigging with it, that may not be an issue. That would give you another non-Yamaha option, which at least has an action where you know what you're getting. It's also the only option in the price range with aftertouch.

 

Another choice that hasn't been mentioned could be the new Roland FA-08, which has been getting a lot of love around here. The Krome advantages are probably the piano/EP sounds (subjective), the touchscreen, and more MIDI flexibility. The Roland probably has what most people think is a better action, better interface, drawbar organ simulation, and touch pads.

 

The Casio PX-5S has been mentioned as a low cost board with a nice action, but it's not a workstation. Do you necessarily need workstation functions? What sounds/features are most important to you?

 

 

[CEB]

Hm, ok, can you tell me which one has more weighted keys and please try to explain the feeling as much as you can

 

The Krome sucked more. They were sort of similar but the Krome seem more slugglish. I liked the Korg Kross better than the Krome which is a little weird because I thought they had the same action.

 

It was easier to play Rachmaninoff on the Yamaha than the Korg. That is my test.

[JeffLearman]

+1 on "why the Krome"? Serious question, because it's not imho the first choice of board for a keys newbie who wants a weighted board. I'd be looking at Casio in the first instance - PX150 or 350, perhaps.

Apples and oranges. If he were only interested in piano, then I'd agree with your suggestion, but the Krome is a lot more than a digital piano. The Privias are great affordable pianos, with a few other sounds that are useful, but not in the same class as the Krome.

 

The PX-5S is a much better comparable.

 

AIV, one issue is that it's hard to separate the sound from the action, because an instrument feels different when it responds differently (when it sounds different) to our touch.

 

I remember remarking how much better grand piano actions felt after the piano was tuned.

 

That doesn't mean it doesn't make sense to discuss the action alone, it just complicated things.

[ksoper]

 

I remember remarking how much better grand piano actions felt after the piano was tuned.

 

 

Funny about that, isn't it?

[Michael W]

AIV, one issue is that it's hard to separate the sound from the action, because an instrument feels different when it responds differently (when it sounds different) to our touch.

 

I remember remarking how much better grand piano actions felt after the piano was tuned.

 

And my MOX6 sounds much better when I play it via my Jupiter-50 (very nice synth action) as opposed to the MOX6 itself (truly mediocre synth action). I am serious.

 

If I played in a band and needed great-sounding, lightweight boards to effectively play parts, these low-cost instruments (MOXF6, FA-06) would serve me just fine. But playing and composing at home, the actions on these things just don't inspire me to play.

 

I'd change my mind in a heartbeat if I was playing out, but as a home player I'd swap my MOX6 for an XF6 or XF7 in a heartbeat, if I had the money. Until then, I'll just consider my MOX6 to be a huge synth module with great sounds, with a crappy, inexpensive keyboard controller bolted on to it.

 

[stoken6]

+1 on "why the Krome"? Serious question, because it's not imho the first choice of board for a keys newbie who wants a weighted board. I'd be looking at Casio in the first instance - PX150 or 350, perhaps.

Apples and oranges. If he were only interested in piano, then I'd agree with your suggestion, but the Krome is a lot more than a digital piano. The Privias are great affordable pianos, with a few other sounds that are useful, but not in the same class as the Krome.

 

The PX-5S is a much better comparable.

 

All true. It depends on whether the OP needs things like synthesis/sound design capabilities, sequencing, sampling. I would recommend a newcomer to keys (who wants a hammer-action board) starts with the simplest board possible.

 

Ideally a real acoustic.

 

Hopefully the OP will come back with some info on this thread.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[JeffLearman]

And my MOX6 sounds much better when I play it via my Jupiter-50 (very nice synth action) as opposed to the MOX6 itself (truly mediocre synth action). I am serious.

Of course you are!

 

Kanker used to talk about how much better NE2 sounds when played from a hammer-action keyboard. I don't find that true myself, but (a) I don't have his mad skillz, and (b) I still need to try the mono piano samples he uses. I usually prefer stereo so I think I skipped the mono when I first reviewed all the NE2 pianos, but I only use NE2 piano for rehearsal, which is mono, so ... I may be missing the best NE2 piano! Or I may just need to hone my skillz. :-|

[lekanout]

Check the new roland fa08.

The price is on the same category than the krome 88 and the moxf8.

I personnaly prefer the roland keybed versus the krome and yam.

 

I gigged 1 year with the pc3k8,it´s a fatar keybed version L(heavy keybed but light)

The same series than the nord keybed,but nord keybed are in version a little heavier.

So i know very well the kurz.

Don't forget a ligher keybed is often better to play others than traditional piano sounds.

 

 

Try all these in a shop if you can,because it´s a personal taste and feeling.

It´s impossible to makea choice for you.

[J. Dan]

I know I may be in the minority here, but am I the only one who thinks it's good to be able to play on ANY action? I mean, I don't want every keyboard I own to be the same action as my piano, because if I sit down at a different piano, or different action, or unweighted action, it throws me off. I jump around playing songs on my Kronos 61, or my piano, or my sister's piano, or my A70, or anything else I can get my hands on....hell, mini keys, even.

[Kenny.]

I know I may be in the minority here, but am I the only one who thinks it's good to be able to play on ANY action? I mean, I don't want every keyboard I own to be the same action as my piano, because if I sit down at a different piano, or different action, or unweighted action, it throws me off. I jump around playing songs on my Kronos 61, or my piano, or my sister's piano, or my A70, or anything else I can get my hands on....hell, mini keys, even.

Well...before the mini keys I was agreeing with you......the microKORG never appealed to me. Anyway, I think that it's important to learn to play on any action (weighted, semi-weighted, synth action, ect.), but I'm old fashioned in that I have to have my 88 key on the bottom (for piano and Rhodes sounds), and the rest can be on top of that or beside me.

 

My recommendation is to get a weighted 88 key workstation, though. You won't be disappointed that way.

[joegerardi]

thinks it's good to be able to play on ANY action?

 

Not necessarily, if the player hasn't been trained that way. Anthony Newman is arguably the best organist/harpsichordist in the world, but he really hasn't the chops on piano. But that's because he's not a pianist, yet no one doubts his capabilities on the organ.

 

It depends on the player's training. I would bet the number of us organists here that are comfortable on a tracker-action pipe organ is less than 20. And that's good. Trust me: you'd hate it.

 

..Joe

[Joe Muscara]

I tend to agree with Dan. Being flexible and adaptable is good. There are limits and tastes, I give you that. But in the end, hopefully you can make music on whatever is at hand. That's why some cats play multiple instruments, keys, guitar, drums...

 

That being said, if I'm *buying* something for myself, I want something I enjoy playing day in and day out. IOW, I can drive just about any roadworthy motor vehicle with four wheels, but I know what I want *my* car to have as far as quality, features, performance, etc.

[JeffLearman]

I know I may be in the minority here, but am I the only one who thinks it's good to be able to play on ANY action?

I'm a big advocate of (and have posted many times on this forum) playing as many pianos as you can get your hands on, for this very reason. If you want to be able to play any piano put before you, you need to play lots of pianos!

 

I often mention playing those horrible bar uprights. I remember one in particular that I played weekly for a number of years (a regular Thursday happy hour gig at a townie bar in Ann Arbor -- real fun gig!) This particular upright had all the different flaws: keys that wouldn't go down at all (some played a bit, others no sound), keys that would go down without any resistance (some played a bit, others no sound), and keys that pushed an adjacent key down (I would often fix this when I got a chance), etc. And the worst of the lot, a few keys that were horridly out of tune (probably a loose tuning peg).

 

I'd spent a lot of time playing lots of pianos, but always focused on the best I could find (and there were some nice ones around UM campus and music school). This one was a real exercise in going forward regardless of the feedback from the instrument (except, noting those out-of-tune notes!) It was actually really good for me, although it's a skill I hope never to need again!

 

I wish I had the time and was young and foolish enough to go looking for pianos to play, like I used to. I'm glad I have 4 very different actions to play now: NE2 (ugh), Rhodes, Ensoniq, and Steinway M. It's a wide enough range that when I do find a piano somewhere, I can warm up to it well enough after a couple minutes of play.

 

But when you're picking a piano to buy, you want the best you can find that matches all your other parameters, of course.

 

That said, I find I'm less sensitive to subtle differences in action than many others here. Probably two reasons, one that I grew up playing lots of pianos, and the other being that I'm a bit of a hack in any case, and probably not as skilled and demanding as others.

[JeffLearman]

Regarding the actions of boards comparable to those mentioned here, I've played on Roland FP4, Yamaha MOX8, Casio PX5S, and Yamaha CP50, and they're all good enough to satisfy me. I liked the feel of the PX5S keys the best (especially when a bit sweaty!) I preferred the FP4 to CP50 (at the time, but the CP50 might have been goofed up). I played the MOX8 and CP5 too far from the other two to compare, and both pianos were good enough and I'm not sure which had the edge. (I planned to buy both and return the one I didn't select, but wife lost her job so my plans got delayed.)

 

I tend to like a light keyweight, as long as it's dynamically expressive. Before about 1970, light actions on real pianos suffered from expression, but starting with Yamaha and then Kawaii, they learned to make lighter, faster actions that still had all the dynamics of heavy ones. Since then I don't care so much what the weight is, but rather, what the expressiveness is. And, all other things being equal, I can play a lighter action a bit faster than a heavy one.

 

Finally, some actions are heavy without being slow, and others are heavy and slow. I don't like the latter, if I can avoid it.

 

I haven't played a Kurz other than a K2000. I didn't notice any issue with its action. The sound sucked, but I'm convinced that was a downstream problem.