Best-feeling weighted 88-key keyboards?

[HeavyPet]

Let's pretend for just a moment that the Roland, the Kurzweil, the Korg, the Fatar, the Alesis.. that NONE of them made any sound at all, and all cost the same price. That they are just 88-key weighted controllers.

Given that (albeit kinda weird) stipulation, what do y'all think has the most piano-like action?

[marino]

Kawai MP9000.

[Marzzz]

Roland A-80 (NOT the A-90!)

 

-Marshall

[Darcity]

Definitely the YAMAHA P200 then the YAMAHA S80. My fingers melt like butter EVERYTIME I play either one

[musicman1ovation.net]

I would tend to agree with Marino that the Kawai MP9000 has the most piano-like feel. After all, it has wooden keys, and none of the others do. Nevertheless, in my last six months of trying everything I could possibly get my hands on with touch and feel being my main stipulation, I found that the MP9000 I tried (and I have to say there's not much telling what oddball settings might have been going on with that unit - it was the only one I could find in the WHOLE state of Texas, though) seemed to have virtually NO zero velocity. In other words, I could push one key VERY SLOWLY, taking about five seconds to get to fully pressed, and a piano sound still occurred. It was a very soft piano sound, but most MIDI keyboards (especially weighted) will allow you to slowly press a key and have NOTHING happen when you get to the bottom of the key press. That's how it is with a piano.

 

The MP9000 does have velocity curves, and a number of other settings that the store had no clue about, and since I was looking for a plain, default piano setting (to test the action and piano sound), I would have thought it was in the ballpark of being set right At one point the sales person initialized the keyboard to "bring it to default", as he put it.

 

Before the unit was turned on, I played the non-sounding action a little, and it was VERY impressive. Ultimately, I found myself in a little personal showdown betwixt the Yamaha S80 and Roland XV88. These things are very personal, and it is virtually impossible to find two acoustic pianos that feel the same anyway. By the time I got down to those two I was comparing features and sounds, too. I liked the fact that both boards allowed you to quickly navigate and even tweak. It wasn't exactly editing, but their tweaking could bring very quick changes in timbre that were similar to what you might get at a deeper level of editing, and I liked the quickness of both of them. It finally came down to what I was most comfortable playing, though. That meant I wanted to be comfortable playing grand piano sounds, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Clavinet, all manner of synths, strings, brass and so forth. I went with the XV88. I'll miss the six of so knobs in the middle of the S80 that correspond to various tweaks in the display, depending on the patch. That was cool, but the XV88 also has some readily available hands on changes itself. I also got the Keyboards of the 60s and 70s expansion because of wanting to cover as many Rhodes, Wurly, Clav bases as possible.

 

All I can tell you is that I was hard at it for six months. I drove all over town, I emailed any hemisphere that would offer opinions, I read this forum. It helped a great deal, but the final decision was made in a store that had both of them (and more) close together and ready to go. I went back and forth for about two hours with headphones (I hate adding to the din in music stores), mostly just going through many presets. Action made the decision for me. My favorite action is my 1969 Yamaha grand. When it comes to helping me translate my playing to a MIDI keyboard, though, the XV88 had the edge for me. It was close, and I could just as easily see it going the other way.

[makalei]

I agree with the yamaha s-80 I just bought one after testing other nice feeling piano action

[analogman1]

Hello,

I use a Roland XV-88 with the Concert piano expansion card. While nothing is perfect, ths comes close enough for practicing and live use. **Don't let this be a barrier for you - just pick something that's the right combination of feel, sound and price, and go for it!** Good Luck --

Tom Bitondo

[Stephen Fortner]

Another vote for the Yamaha S-80. Action is such a personal matter, but I love mine. The keys have a little bounce at the bottom of the travel that is not exactly (acoustic) piano-like, but something about it keeps my hands from getting fatigued.

It's a rare event when I can beat it all night and not get sore.

[penfrydd]

After playing piano for 46 years, I'm finally in the market for a keyboard. I spent this week checking and playing. Touch is everything for me. I figure I can plug stuff in and get the sounds I need later. So far, it's come down to the Yamaha P-200, the Yamaha P-80, and the Technics SX P-50. The action is fabulous on all of these. I didn't find the action on the Yamaha S-80 to be at all like that of the above two. I arrived at the store with the notion of buying a high end Kurzweil, but left thinking I could do just as well with a keyboard and plug-ins.

 

I don't see the technics mentioned much. Is it a dog or something?

 

penfrydd

[Wiggum]

Right now, I would say the best feeling keyboard is the Kurzweil K2600X. The PC2X supposedly has the same action, but something about the K2600X feels more solid.

 

The old Roland A-80 is likewise a gem, as is the Korg T1. Memory fades with age, but these were some of the best feeling boards I can recall.

 

I have to disagree on the Yamaha S80. The bounce back at the bottom of the keys is a problem, and I can't seem to get smooth legato phrases. I walk over to the Kurzweil's, and I don't have this problem. In fact, the action is the only thing that keeps me from buying an S80.

 

I would like to try an old Roland RD1000 (wooden keys), but I have never come across one.

 

All the best,

 

Wiggum

[drb]

I'm currently using my old T1, mostly as a master keyboard, the sounds are getting a bit old (but still usable). In my opinion, it's one of the best. Wooden keys, of course.