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a new piano ...


faenwulf

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hi,

 

i am new here and

i am in the process of buying a new piano.

so i am searching for a place to

find all needed information to make a desicion

on typ and model, for i am really confused

with all the different stuff out there.

 

i will be moving around a lot in the next

few years to i would like to have

an electronic version.

 

after all my research *cough*

the thing i need to have is

1) a synthsizer

2) a e-piano

3) a stage piano

is this list complete ?

i have no real clue what the difference between

those is and would like to hear an explanation.

 

furthermore i want this piano to have

the full of 88 keys and feel like as

close as possible to a real piano.

 

i want to use it for playing and

writing music and for live performances.

last is in planning not yet happening.

 

i want to spent about between

500 and 2000 dollars for it.

 

i don't need speakers on it for i got a good

pair of headphones.

 

i went to a music store and they told me

to buy a Roland RL300 SX.

i kind of liked it.

the variaty of sounds, the feeling etc.

but i also have no real comparsion.

 

so i would like to hear what kind

of instrument you buy, and maybe

give me a place where i could read some

reviews on some keys, or where to ask

further questions if i was wrong

in adressing this borad with my problem.

maybe you can tell me wich brand to prefere,

or what detail i really should look

for and stuff.

 

thanks in advance.

 

faenwulf

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faenwulf,

 

Welcome to the Keyboard Corner. :wave:

 

You are not wrong to address the forum with your questions. This is what we live for. :)

 

You may want to use the search feature (above-right) to check keywords that may yield intelligent answers to your questions. (There's a joke in there somewhere, but I'm going to let it go for now.) ;)

 

The short answer to your question is to make a list of the newest keyboards are & go play them.

 

Then examine your budget and determine if you want to buy one of the newest boards, or something a few years older. There are some good-sounding instruments out there that meet your requirements. You need to play and listen to as many as you can before you put your money down.

 

Why? Because sooner or later you're going to get sick of wearing those headphones and you'll need some amplification. $KaChing$ (Funny. I thought I just heard the sound of a cash register drawer.) :freak:

 

Plus, you'll want to buy a case for your keyboard. $KaChing$ (There it is again!) :confused:

 

You'll also need a keyboard stand, bench, and some cables. $KaChing$ $KaChing$

 

How 'bout a music stand... with a light? $KaChing$ $KaChing$ $KaChing$ (This is NOT FUN.) :mad:

 

With that in mind, go listen to some boards & come back. There are LOTS of folks here who will be glad to give you advice on how you can spend the rest of your money. ;)

 

Good luck.

 

Tom

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo
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hi thanks for the quick reply ...

 

rest of your money
oh man that's no good ^^

i am going to college soon, and my budget is

very very limited. for a piano i will be

able to spend some extra but that's it.

so i am really looking for a good

price-value deal.

spending the least amount of money for

as much as possible ^^

 

anyways, i will take your advice and search through

this forums a little.

 

one of my problems though, is that i am living in

a rather small town, where the possibilty

to try out pianos is really really limited.

any ideas concerning that ? ^^

 

and btw. where to get the list of the newest

keyboards ?

 

anyways thanks for your reply,

and talk to u again soon ^^

 

bye

 

faenwulf

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The terms you asked about are often used interchangeably, so it's no surprise you're confused. Here's how most of us use them.

 

1) a synthsizer

 

Literally, any instrument that creates sounds entirely electronically. More practically, though, we generally mean a keyboard (or rack module, or sometimes even a software program but then we usually say "softsynth") that makes a variety of different sounds, and may or may not include piano.

 

We use the term "ROMpler" for synths that play sampled sounds from factory memory. (The term "Sampler" is reserved for synths that also allow you to record your own samples.) Most ROMplers have piano sounds, and many of them are even decent piano sounds. They also include lots of other sounds, like vibes, strings, whatever.

 

2) a e-piano

 

This term USUALLY refers to "vintage electric" piano sounds or obviously electronic sounds that are very piano-like. Or sounds that are piano plus synthetic "sparkle" (yes, that nauseating sound that the hack in the starlight lounge uses to death ...)

 

3) a stage piano

 

Any instrument that would be suitable for transporting to a gig that has a decent piano sound. Back in the days, this would also apply to a Rhodes stage piano (one sound -- the Rhodes sound) or even a Yamaha CP30 (an electronic "piano" that had a vaguely piano-like sound). But these days, a stage piano is expected to have a decent piano sound and usually at least a couple variations (grand, upright, harpsichord, "epiano" sound or two, and sometimes a cheesy organ sound or two).

 

A stage piano is distinguished from a "console piano" or "spinet", which has a body making it look more like furniture and harder to move. For college age, you definitely want a portable unit and a stand.

 

If you have a stereo, you can plug it into that until you save some bucks for a nicely powered rig. Spend money on the instrument rather than getting a cheaper instrument in order to have bucks left over for monitors. Decent monitors aren't cheap.

 

To check out the difference between "stage piano" and "synth", compare Yamaha P90 and S90 (or P-anything and S-anything). The P's have far fewer knobs, and far fewer sounds. Smaller price tag, too. However, if someday you want to do some recording and/or be your own one-man-band, the bass & drum sounds in the S models will be very useful. Or the hot wailing synth lead sounds, which can be a lot of fun.

 

Have fun. You can definitely find a lot of excellent gear in your price range, especially if you end up getting something used.

 

For example, consider a Roland RD700. A friend of mine (Dream) has one of these and I've played it and it's got great sounds and action. An excellent totally pro model from just a couple years ago, it's been superceded by the RD700SX. As a result, it's going for under $1200 on ebay, probably less ($1200 is the "buy it now" price on two ads I just saw). I haven't played an RL300 but I would expect the RD700 to be everything it is and considerably more.

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thanks for your explanation.

 

ok i searched trough the forums and am

now kind of on the way to buy the

roland rd300sx

for the rd700sx is simply too expensive.

i am living in germany and they want about

1.900 for it ...

the only thing that is keeping me from it,

is that everybody says it has poor

non piano sounds.

is there anything compared to rd300 sx

concerning price-value ?

 

the next thing is that still keeps me from

buying is, that i want to keep my path clear.

i don't want to miss a feature later.

they always talk about samplers and controllers

and something else i can't remember right now.

and i have no clue what they are talking about

again.

but as far as i understood i can make up

a lot of that stuff with a computer.

 

i want something in the price range of the rd300sx

is there any better choice than that ?

also i never heard of any other pianos than

roland or yamaha beeing considered seriously.

 

thanks in advance

 

faenwulf

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faenwulf

 

You are doing fine with your search.

 

Although you live in a small town in Germany, you can take your time and try to listen to as many keyboards as possible. You're in no hurry, right?

 

The more keyboards you can hear, and the more research you do on the forums, the better you'll feel about your purchase decision.

 

The search is half the fun. You've got it narrowed down to a 88-key controller keyboard with some onboard sounds.

 

Keep looking until you find one that sounds good & is in your budget.

 

Good luck.

 

Tom

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo
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questions. ^^

 

ok i read around here and really would feel good

about buying the rd300sx, but still i cant

make up my mind for two reasons:

they say the other sounds are bad.

and features.

 

so, say i would buy the rd300sx

 

what would i miss against a

 

0) yamaha p90 / s90 es

1) rd700sx

2) sythsizer

3) workstation

 

(i don't get the diff between workstation and synth)

 

what is a controller ?

 

and why would i buy a rd300sx with all those

sounds and stuff if i can get a normal

e-piano for about half the money ?

(just trying to figure out what i want ^^)

btw i guess i want to write songs every now and then,

but as i said, i am looking for

something in the price range of the rd300sx,

if possible.

 

oh and i found the third word i didn't get:

sequencing

 

 

thanks

faenwulf

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