Help Deciding on a USED 88-key Graded Hammer keyboard

[Selko]

I am a newbie looking for help deciding on a USED 88-key Graded Hammer keyboard with Great Piano sounds plus other sounds.

 

I've looked at the CP33, P105, P155 from Yamaha and Roland RD-300NX, and Kawai MP6 and older versions of all of these.

 

The problem is that they have such a limited amount of sounds. I want this to have the same action as a high-end piano but I also want more sounds that are decent.

 

I also want it to be a decent controller for using FUTURE rack units. Some of the mentioned units are missing USB OR Midi ports so that won't due either.

 

Any suggestions? I am looking for USED and most of the above are available for under $800. It also needs to be 40 or less pounds.

 

It seems like there are great controllers/digital stage pianos with some great piano sounds but little else OR synths with hundreds of sounds but poor weighted keyboards and poor piano, e-piano sounds.

 

What's a beginner to do due that want both in one package USED?

 

Thanks for the advice!!!

 

Selko

[stoken6]

Hello, and welcome to the forum.

 

When you say "more sounds", are you talking about ROMpler-type orchestral? Electromechanical/vintage keys? Synth/electronica?

 

For $800 you might be able to get a used Yamaha MOX8, which has a decent AP, strong orchestrals (tastes vary of course), but poor/no clonewheel. Casio PX5 (yet again, sorry!) is another possibility, with strong synth, but average rompler. (I haven't been able to identify values for Roland FA08 or Korg Kross 88, but the Krome 88 appears out of your price range).

 

Best of luck,

 

Cheers, Mike.

[AnotherScott]

I also want it to be a decent controller for using FUTURE rack units. Some of the mentioned units are missing USB OR Midi ports so that won't due either.

USB ports not needed for that. However, you do need to have traditional 5-pin MIDI ports.

 

I am a newbie looking for help deciding on a USED 88-key Graded Hammer keyboard with Great Piano sounds plus other sounds.

"Great" piano sound is very subjective... (and also if you're looking at cheaper and/or older stuff, is one of the areas likely to be most compromised compared to newer/pricier boards). If you could list any boards you've played where you've been happy with the piano sound, and ones where you were not, that might be helpful.

 

I've looked at the CP33, P105, P155 from Yamaha and Roland RD-300NX, and Kawai MP6 and older versions of all of these.

RD300NX has 939 sounds. MP6 has 256. As Stoken asked, are there particular kinds of sound you're looking for, where these fell short?

 

I want this to have the same action as a high-end piano but I also want more sounds that are decent.

...

It also needs to be 40 or less pounds.

You don't generally find high-end piano actions in boards that are under 40 lbs. Again, actions are subjective, so listing some that you've liked (or not) may help provide some guidance. (BTW, the MP6 is over 40 lbs.)

 

But Stoken's suggestions of MOX8 and PX5S are excellent... I'd say the Yamaha has more/better sounds and functionality overall, but Casio has better action (and some of that is subjective). MOX8 uses Yamaha's bottom-of-the-line action, but If you were happy with the P105's action, the MOX8 will be similar. The Korg Krome he mentioned could be a possibility too, though I think it generally lags behind the other two. The RD300NX you mentioned seems to meet your specs, if you're okay with the action and piano sound. (Well, I guess that's really the biggest caveat on any of them.) Or any of the other RD300 variants, I guess.

 

There won't be a ton to choose from, because your budget is low, and being able to look at older boards doesn't improve things much because older 88s tended to be heavier and/or have lesser piano sounds.

 

[WesG]

Everything that AnotherScott said.

 

The bottom-of-the-line Yamaha action (GHS) is still a pretty good action.

 

I am quite partial to the GH3-NW action in the CP5, but it is out of my price range and the board weighs 55 lbs. The CP4 is purportedly similar and only weighs 38.5 lbs, though.

 

BTW, lack of USB ports can be solved for $15. Lack of real MIDI ports is much harder to solve.

 

Wes

[rickzjamm]

I lean towards the RD300 or even a used RD700GX, and the Casio PX-5S...

the "key" word (no pun) is SUBJECTIVE. There's no real right or wrong.

[DulceLabs.com]

Hi Selko and welcome to the Keyboard Corner.

 

The Casio PX-5S will give you great piano/EPs, very powerful synth section (presets are strong and there are 100's of free sounds you can download at http://CasioMusicGear.com), and it makes a great controller: fully mappable knobs and sliders, USB and 5 pin MIDI DIN IN, OUT/THRU. Great action, weighs only 25 pounds. We also have a fun support community on Facebook about to reach 1,500 members where you can get help 24/7.

 

Now, finding a used PX-5S may prove tricky. Even though they have been on the market for almost 2 years, they are hard to find used as few want to part with them (a good sign).

[CEB]

Define the other sounds capability you want.

 

The MP6 is the best controller. The action and pianos are decent. The 256 sounds contain a lot of fine bread and butter sounds. The synthy stuff is really limited.

 

MOX8 much better sound library decent action. Can function as a controller but not as well as the MP6.

 

RD300GX - great sound library. Controller features are OK but only 3 zones I believe. Only 3 zones but I like it's layout better than the MOX8(4 Zones) but not as good as the MP6.

 

Depending on what you really want I might suggest the Casio. If you are not a pianist that wants una corda or sostenuto then the piano and action is OK considering how light it is. But the PX-5s has a synth engine on board. You can roll your own sounds. Do you want to learn synthesis? The Casio has some limited controller functionality. It depends on what you want to do or be. The Casio may be your best bet.

 

Are you a total beginner or an electronic keyboard beginner who has been playing piano for a decade? What are some of the songs you want to play?

 

[Tonysounds]

Find a used Yamaha S90es.

[AnotherScott]

Find a used Yamaha S90es.

Nice choice if he could find one for the price, but still almost 50 lbs.

[CEB]

Better stock pianos than the S90XS!

 

It is a balanced action not graded but does that really matter?

[AnotherScott]

Better stock pianos than the S90XS!

Yup, that seems to be the consensus, the 53 mb S700 sample is one of their best. They have made the S700 available as downloadable into the MOXF, I'd be curious to hear from anyone who has played both... i.e. does it sound the same, and how does it play from that action, by comparison. (I've been meaning to load it into a MOXF6, and play it from an attached Casio 88.)

 

It is a balanced action not graded but does that really matter?

IMO, no. The fact that bottom keys are heavier and higher keys are lighter was a kind of unfortunate consequence of the design of an acoustic piano, it's physics. If piano manufacturers could have made all the keys feel the same, I bet they would have. When I was very young with weak fingers, I wished all the keys on our acoustic were as light and easy to play as the ones at the top. ;-) So I see the whole DP graded hammer thing as a nod to authenticity, flaws and all. But really, it's not even all that authentic. A real piano has, in effect, 88 different key weights from bottom to top. A typical "graded" board has something like 3 or 4. I really see it as marketing fluff more than anything else... and the feel between two boards is usually different in much more significant ways than by whether one is graded or not. And the very widely praised CP1/CP5 weren't graded either, and I would certainly prefer them over the vast majority of graded actions.

 

Like everything action-related, there's so much subjectivity to this, and I imagine some people "must" have a graded board. But I think that, for the most part, just find an action you like, and who cares whether it's graded or not.

[echo66]

 

Now, finding a used PX-5S may prove tricky. E

 

Bought one, sold one. Not everyone thinks this is a great keyboard. Good keyboard for the price, ... for the price.

 

Sounds like you want a professional instrument under 40lbs and under $800. Pick something 5-10 yrs old that you can play in person, and hopefully you'll be like the sounds/feel. ie. S90 ES as suggested.

 

 

 

 

 

[DulceLabs.com]

 

Now, finding a used PX-5S may prove tricky. E

 

Bought one, sold one. Not everyone thinks this is a great keyboard.

 

 

I understand that. Which is why I wrote finding one used "may prove tricky" instead of "impossible", and in the next sentence, I wrote "as few want to part with them" instead of "because no one wants to part with them".