piano?

[guitar junkie]

i have had a passion for playing the piano for a long time now...
only thing is i suck at it... lol

any way i am thinking that if i get an ok digital piano that is better than the one i got (which sucks even more than me) i might get better at playing one of the bloody things... does anybody have tips on one? what do i have to spend to start into getting something worth buying.

and most of all it has to have midi...

help this loser out please thanks...

[brandondrury]

I'm not a piano guy, per say (I wish I had time for piano), but I remember reading an article about how you could get the $4000 stuff from 1989 for like $200 now. I could be wrong. I forgot where I read about this. I remember then talking about the synth that was the standard for Industrial music. It was thousands. Now you can get them for like $250.

Just a thought. I don't know anything.

Brandon

[richiebee]

what you look for is probably dependent on what kind of music you want to play on it. Most real piano players prefer keyboards with weighted keys and hammer action. Personally (I'm not a piano player!), I prefer light weight synth style keys. The type, and when you get down to it, the accuracy of that action, will make a difference to your playing.

No electronic instrument gives you the feedback that an acoustic piano gives you.

Sound reproduction is dependent not only on the instrument, but what also what you're playing it through. Most combo amps suck! In fact, most PA systems suck too. Good studio monitors or headphones will give you a more realistic piano sound any day.

I would recommend asking a keyboard forum for opinions on particular models.

Remember that you will probably get what you pay for.

Rich

[phangeaux]

Yeah, Piano!

That will have to go where I was going to set up my recording workstation, after I move the big fancy church organ out to make room (Rogers 32B,? beautiful organ but no speakers and a minor problem with the input power circuit (power supply circuit, could be as simple as a bad switch). It's not difficult to fix but with no speakers I don't have the incentive.? ?I gave it away to some friends who have leslies and a studio.

I know where middle C is and how to cross fingers playing up and down the keyboard and I can read a bit of sheet music.? My fist learning attempt was 'Whiter shade of Pale' by Procol Harem, a beautiful classic from 1967.? I was doing very well until I trashed that previous organ (I mean I had to get rid of it because it was junk and to make for this real big one I have now. It's made by a company who makes those huge Pipe Organs for Cathedrals and churches and I believe they have their organs in Radio City Music Hall and the Royal Albert Hall, so this is not no dimestore organ here! Out it goes tho- I don't have the room nor the money for speakers AND my apartment is too small for it.

It will be be awesome to crank that beauty up though.? I can hardly wait until it's in my friends'? studio and fixed.? I'll learn something cool and then go over and play it.

I would love to have and play a piano more than any other instrument I thin,k- for song writing, etc. I will have to get one- a real piano not electronic gizmos.? Old pianos are cheap and often FREE where I live.? Just have to find one that is either playing decently or needs only minor repair.

Check out 'Professor Longhair', great New Orleans piano player, I like the song 'Hey Now Baby'.

The only other piano piece I have now is Blues in E Flat by Fats Waller.

I am kinda on the poor side of town here.

Would love that piano though.

Maybe I will catch up to you later on this piano topic.? It's? 5:26 am here and I have been up all night

Phangeaux

[TAlderson]

How much money are you willing to spend on one? Plus, are you going to get an electric piano, or a keyboard? I know they sound the same, but an electric piano feels a lot more like a piano (keys are weighted, has three realistic pedals instead of just sustain), and generally has a better sound. However, they don't have the versatility (usually only around 4 sound settings, like organ, piano, strings, and something else) and portability of a keyboard (they are pretty damn heavy). Also, they cost a lot more ($1000+ instead of $300 for a decent starter keyboard). So, what are you looking for? I have a Casio keyboard that I got for $300 that is pretty decent, but a real piano player would probably turn his nose up in disgust at it. And again, if you can get a real piano that sounds good, go for it. They sounds 1,000,000x better than any electronic instrument.

-Tyler

[CorporateMustache]

I currenty have two keyboards that I play. One is a kawai and the other is a roland jv-80 synth. The Kawai has weighted keys and a good tone when it comes to piano specifically. The roland has semi-weighted keys and much better strings and organs. My suggestion would be to follow Brandon's advice and start out with a 61 key keyboard that has a little age on it. Both of my keyboards were pretty expensive new(Kawai $1800, and Roland $1950) and you could pick up either one for 250-350 today used. By the way the Kawai also has its own speakers and awesome sound quality. Might be worth looking in to..

[guitar junkie]

i would like something with weighted keys on it because i like the feel of them.... i guess midi is a must now and so is some good VSTI plug ins.

i have also looked at some nice USB keyboards and one firewire keyboard and both look nice to me... Casio has this Privia piano that has a great action! almost as good as the $20'000 Grand piano i played a few times at the bosses house..... but my band will have to tour with it sometimes and maybe without the use of midi.... the thing is i don't have my budget firm in stone yet... i know that the Casio piano with midi starts at $500 which seems right to me but at teh same time it would be cool to have something with a pitch bender also i am thinking maybe something like a Yamaha model i saw in the musicians freind mailer that has a lighter weight action than a piano but still has that hard firm feal with a huge soundbank on the sucker! also has 88 keys and a pitch bender!

[phangeaux]

Interesting advice in this topic. I think I will go with an inexpensive used electronic keyboard for a start. A full size piano would be very nice but my first objective is to learn how to play and sight read sheet music for piano so a keyboard would be OK for a start ,as well as being very portable and easy to move around compared to a piano. I can get a piano later

If I can record anything with it along the way that is even better. I have found what appeared to be very good deals but I didn't know enough about the specific items/models- had intended to look them up on the web but got side-tracked.

Craigslist.org is a good place to look if you are near a big city, and you can post 'wanted' ads for free.

Phangeaux