Keyboard Action Question

[lutefiasco]

I'm very much a beginner, a year or so into lessons. I've lurked here for a couple of years, and enjoyed my lurking, but I've not paid too much attention to the "feel" of particular keyboards, as I assumed it didn't really matter at my level.

 

I bought a Krome88 about a year ago, and sonically/interface-wise, it's been great. The key feel was never particularly exciting, but I liked the keyboard, generally.

 

Two keys needed replacing (which, apparently, is a $500 fix and requires replacing the entire keyset. Thank god for two-year warranties), and as of this evening I've managed to borrow a Yamaha CP-33 for a month or so while the Korg is being repaired.

 

My god. The CP-33 is so much more immediate, so much more musical to play. I lost a few hours to it (admittedly, I haven't had a keyboard around the house for several weeks now, so this was overdue, but still).

 

So - what feels like a CP-33? A used CP-33? A new CP-40? Casio Px-5s? Stretch the budget for an Artis? Plenty of music stores around, so I'll try them all out, but I've never encountered anything like the immediacy of the CP-33 before, and particularly given the unreliability of the Krome, I figure I'll sell it for what I can and put it towards something new.

 

(And, an apology - I had no idea quite what you all meant about connecting with a keyboard.)

[AnotherScott]

The CP33 uses Yamaha's GH action so will be similar in feel to P155, P255, CP40. If you might stretch the budget into Artis territory, the Yamaha CP4 action is a step up from the GH action (though people don't always agree about which actions are better than which). I haven't played the Artis, but most people feel that the Fatar TP100 action it uses isn't as good as the Yamahas mentioned.

 

Keeping it under $2k, the other actions I would check out are the Casio PX-5S, Kawai MP7, and Roland FP80, all of which I prefer to the GH. Another possibility could be the Korg SV1, which I rank about the same as GH. Also, although not quite as piano-like, the higher end Fatar action in the Kurzweil PC3LE8 has its fans, and if you can still find one, there has been what appears to be closeout pricing on it.

 

Of course, there are also big differences in sounds, functionality, and interface among these boards. But maybe you look at that once you narrow things down to actions you really like.

[CEB]

You might like the Roland FA-08. If you do it is a great value for all features you get. The Casio is a good value.

 

Action wise for less than 2k Like the MP-7, P-255, CP-300 (they were selling for $1999). I like the flat top on the 300 and the action but it is a little on the heavy side.

[CEB]

Forget the CP300. It is back up to $2500. For that much money get the CP4.

[lutefiasco]

Many thanks. I'll head out to the various shops of Los Angeles with a list in hand, and start playing through the possibilities.

[lutefiasco]

Scott and CEB - thanks again for the advice.

 

After going back and forth for the last few weeks auditioning a bunch of possibilities, then narrowing it to the CP4 and the RD-800 (and the PX-5s, while staring at my wallet), I pulled the trigger on an RD-800 today. Very, very happy - cheers.