Just now I’m in the train, coming back from a music store exposition, where I’ve tested some of the models.
These are my thoughs:
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Yamaha CP88/73: keyboard
, very good piano and electric piano sounds. Can control other synths via midi, but there isn’t a fast way to change the midi channel (I love how this is done in the keystep). -
Yamaha modx8: keyboard okish, good piano sounds, very fun synth. Obviously, I haven’t tried creating a patch, only played with presets, but I liked what I heard.
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Yamaha montage8: similar keyboard than the modx, and I found it less intuitive to use.
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Nord Stage 3: curiously not impressed by it. While the sounds of piano are fine, and the organ is probably the best, I didn’t find the keyboard so enjoyable, and the synth presets I tried were so-so.
-
Roland rd-88: good in general, but I can’t say a thing that I liked more in it than either the cp or the modx.
They don’t have any kurzweil.
Another thing to consider is that someone is selling a good condition modx for 1200€ near my hometown, and nobody is selling a cp73 at the moment.