New Casio keyboard: amazing technology for cheap!

[iris lily]

I almost put this in the Artist's Way thread, but I thought better of it since it might be disruptive to progress of the participants. Hey, know that I'm reading that thread and getting bits of inspiration out of it over there!

Anyway, I took a plunge on something I'd been thinking about and I am marveling about what technology has wrought. I bought a Casio electronic keyboard for $399.00. While I REALLY want an acoustic piano, that won't work in our household because I will play a lot at night and that will keep DH from sleeping. So, someone suggested to me "why not go electronic and you can use earphones?"

I had a preconceived notion of what an electronic keyboard was and I didn't want anything to do with it. Then someone mentioned that there are now keyboards that are pretty good at mimicking the key action of an acoustic piano. I breezed into The Guitar Store, played two chords on this inexpensive Casio machine, and was hooked! So I bought it. That's damn cheap for a piano-like thing and it's light as a feather and it doesn't need tuned! Set up was a breeze!

I haven't played in 35 years and wanted to get back to it.

Sometimes it pays to be a technological caveman like me, I am amazed at what others would consider the simplest thing.

[JaneV2.0]

I love that electronic keyboards can recreate practically any instrument (Harpsichord! Pan flute! Wood block!) and you can record your work via MIDI. I haven't a whit of musical talent, and my only musical oeuvre is Chopsticks, but I envy you your new instrument!

[razz]

You will love this electronic marvel! There are so many possibilities with extra sounds and changes in beat and rythmn to help you along the way. Keep us posted on your discoveries.

[CathyA]

Its really nice that you can use ear phones on these.......and play away while the other people in the house sleep away!
DS has a Roland Fantom workstation. (He's a sound engineer) and you just wouldn't believe the quality of sound he can get on that. And he can plug it into
his computer and do all sorts of things with it. And he can do all this with nobody else hearing it........just with his earphones.
Yes, they've come a long way with these keyboards. They're pretty incredible! (and fun).
Enjoy yours Iris Lily!

[iris lily]

You will love this electronic marvel! There are so many possibilities with extra sounds and changes in beat and rythmn to help you along the way. Keep us posted on your discoveries.

Ha haha but I refuse to use those things, I will not be doing electronic beats and rhythms. (Perhaps I'll be persuaded at a later date, who knows. Will expand my artistic horizons that's for sure.) See, I was forced to take organ lessons as a child and did not like that instrument. I couldn't relate to that electronic beast with its zillions of stops and extreme pedaling and all that claptrap.

Yet, Jane--totally unexpected by me, this thing does have a "harpsichord" setting as well as two settings to mimic two different grand pianos. It is so cool!
I had a real harpsichord in my youth, a small single manual one, but it was the real thing, plus I had a grand piano. Loved both of them yet I didn't miss them when I gave up playing 35 years ago. Will tinkle around now with this little machine.

[rodeosweetheart]

We have a Yamaha YPG-625 we bought for about 1100 when we moved and could not afford to bring our little house piano. We also have in storage a Baldwin grand (my husband is a professional pianist) and my old Steinway. The Yamaha is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. You can do all the midi stuff and all this easy transposition which is great if you are a vocalist. For my master's thesis, I wrote a musical on it. It's awesome.

We plan to get the Baldwin and the Steinway back, but I love the little Yamaha and wouldn't part with it. It is the downsizer's friend.

[Tussiemussies]

Wow, I love the sound of harpsichord, that is great that you had a grand piano and a harpsichord in your home. Glad you found something now that will really give you an outlet for playing again, and was so affordable!

[Rosemary]

We bought a Roland digital piano last winter and DD and I are taking lessons. It is the perfect solution for us. It is small and fits in our little house, and being able to use it with headphones is fabulous since our house is very open and, as I said, small. It has a full keyboard and the touch is similar but not exactly like an acoustic piano (the keys are a little lighter weight). DD's piano & violin teacher actually has something like this in her own home instead of an acoustic piano because of the size and headphone factor, in addition to its being portable.

[CathyA]

DS can sit down at the piano and just make up lovely songs. I don't know if his workstation (that's what they're called, if they're able to do certain things), allows him to print out what he plays........but years ago, I was looking at a MIDI, and you could print out whatever you played. So if you were composing something, you wouldn't have to do it the old fashioned way. Wow!
I think keyboards have allowed alot of people to learn or keep playing the "piano", when a regular sized piano would be impossible to have.

[Gregg]

Looking at selling my faithful old Korg DW 8000. Checked ebay and all the sellers are using words like "rare" and "vintage". All I could think was get off my lawn punks! Anyway, have been looking hard at a couple Yamaha models to bring myself into the 21st century. All the nicer ones have the weighted keys now so actually feel like a piano, that’s important. Looking forward to playing with all the features, including some hot looking software, when the new one shows up.

[iris lily]

Gregg, glad to hear that, have fun with your new machine.