Roland Go Keys 61 - (Portable keyboard that can also be powered with 6 AA batteries) - Demoes of favorite sounds

[Sam CA]

A good pianist friend of mine owns one and showcased it to me a little bit. Some of the sounds are surprisingly good for the price! It comes with a power supply, but also runs on 6 AA batteries. There's one mini jack headphone output and a mini USB port for midi. 

 

Later he decided to record a demo of various sounds for his YouTube channel. Here's the video in case anyone's looking for a small portable keyboard. 

 

 

 

 

 

[ElmerJFudd]

There are quite a few keys out that run on batteries these days.  
Yamaha PS373

Casio CTS1

Roland Go Keys

 

All of these sound much better than anything we ever had available at these low price points before.  

[Sam CA]

1 hour ago, ElmerJFudd said:

There are quite a few keys out that run on batteries these days.  
Yamaha PS373

Casio CTS1

Roland Go Keys

 

All of these sound much better than anything we ever had available at these low price points before.  

 

 

 Yes. At least this one has pretty convincing or  playable sounds. Most people couldn't even tell the difference between this and Kronos if they listened to it through loud speakers with a band. 

[rickzjamm]

That may not be the best comparison since the Kronos isn't known for the best APs... just sayin'.  

[Sam CA]

Well, if what you said is true, then that is a very good comparison for the cheaper one that is really not known for anything in particular...other than being a battery powered portable keyboard with a relatively small selection of bread and butter type of sounds for casual use. 

[Mighty Motif Max]

I find the keybed to be absolutely terrible on the Go Keys models unfortunately. Not very velocity-sensitive by design. The sounds aren't bad, but the keybed ruins it IMO. At least you can (IIRC) turn the reverb down a bit.

[Sam CA]

14 minutes ago, Mighty Motif Max said:

I find the keybed to be absolutely terrible on the Go Keys models unfortunately. Not very velocity-sensitive by design. The sounds aren't bad, but the keybed ruins it IMO. At least you can (IIRC) turn the reverb down a bit.

 

I didn't spend a whole lot of time with it, but during that short time I was getting a lot of velocity jumps especially with piano sounds, so I have to agree with you. But again, I only spent a very short time with it. 

[ElmerJFudd]

None of the keyboards in this price range are boasting quality actions.  In fact the plastics used feel pretty cheap. However they do have velocity sensing which is very important for creating the impression of an acoustic on electric piano in performance.  
 

Regardless, the sample library quality on these cheapies is a welcome advancement.  You no longer need to spend a lot of money for a convincing sound.  That said, for the discriminating player (if not an audience) there are most definitely digital instruments that feel and sound better to play piano on. 

[D. Gauss]

i had the go-keys.  couldn't get rid of it fast enough.   speakers sucked.  action was basically either note on or off.  piano was sound was meh. 

 

bought a casio CT-S1 instead. costs less. better in almost every possible way.

 

having said that,  given a choice, i'd get the new casio ct-s500 over the ct-s1 for the same price as the go keys.

[El Lobo]

I take my Casio CT-S1 to rehearsal with my main band and also to a jazz rehearsal group. I put it through my Eon One compact battery powered speaker. So no power cord  needed for keyboard or speaker- just stand, keyboard, speaker, and cable to connect the 2. Yeah, the keybed is not like an acoustic piano or a B3 organ, and the sounds have their limitations, but it's a workable set-up for rehearsal -- lightweight, simple, easy load in and load out.

[ElmerJFudd]

As a side note… I picked up a Casio CT-S300 just before the CT-S1 came out.  It has a useable velocity sensitive action, the speakers are ample for near listening (no low end of course).  I love the handle and that it runs on batteries.  The sounds are weak however - even the default acoustic piano tone.  I wasn’t surprised by this at the price point and what we’re used to getting.  
 

Low and behold the CT-S1 shows up with much better sounds as a trade off for variety of tones and a handle. I think they also dropped accompaniments. If the action and speakers are the same or better, I would gladly replace the S300 with a CT-S1.