I’m moving to Manila in a few months. Piano will arrive 2m after we do. My daughter has been getting into the piano recently, and would like some way for her to be able to keep playing.
I was thinking about a simple midi keyboard, e.g. Keystep 32 (or something even smaller) that I could bring in the suitcase, plus the Digitone(!).
But now I think some kind of electric piano would be better, even with built in speakers potentially, just to make it more immediate.
Any suggestions? 3-4 octaves. Looking for something small but that probably rules out anything with decent speakers. …just looked at the Yamaha Reface CP which looks nice, but wondering if there are other things out there (that are cheaper without being utter junk).
I think for a piano focussed keyboard you can’t beat the Reface CP. ideal for smaller hands, portable and sounds great. There’s a seventh hidden grand piano patch in there too.
I’d suggest one of the Casio fullkeys semi weighted - they get great reviews, are compact and pricing is pretty good.
I picked up a Roland fancy electronic piano 15 years ago with keys like a real piano. I had huge plans to learn how to play properly which I still haven’t started…
However my 10 yr old daughter is now on her 2nd grade piano exams on it and I’m glad she’s practicing on virtually real piano keys. Means she can play a piece at her gran’s house, rather than she is limited to mini or synth style keys.
Bit like learning to drive a car with a manual gear box than an automatic!
Also musicianship is a huge national hobby in the Philippines - the talent and passion is amazing. I would imagine there could be a great market for music gear and probably lots of great music tutors. Good luck on your adventure!
If you own a iphone or ipad you can connect any class compliant USB midi keyboard with a camera kit and use the piano’s in the free Ios Garageband app. But for more immediate fun a Yamaha CP is definitely worth it. Buy second hand and sell later (or add to your own setup)
It’s worth noting that there are a few Yamaha mini key boards that use the same well-regarded keybed as the Reface series but are cheaper and have a more typical range of sounds. One even has animal sounds and is geared towards (young) kids. It’s going to depend on the kid and how much you want a cool synth you can ‘borrow’ later. If space isn’t as much a consideration, the full size Casiotones are a great value. It ain’t Fatar but they’re not bad to play.
I would really love to know what is so offensive about my previous post that someone had to flag it. It was a matter-of-fact post, explaining what I understand.
I own a reface DX. I have giant hands and can still play fairly well on its keyboard. I love the feel of the keys. Great product. I’m sure the 6-yr. old will love it! I lived in Hong Kong for two years and developed a great respect for Filipino musicians. They were the ones working in the hotel lounges, and it seemed like they could play anything.
+1 the reface cp is a pleasure to play and hear, both soundwise and as far as the speakers are concerned. Often small keyboards have a cheap feel, but this is the exception.
One alternative I can think of is getting a wireless korg microkey air (goes from 25, 37, 49 to 61 keys 7/8th size and decent playability though definately less than the cp) and an ipad with a good piano. I guess I might be trapped in the korg ecosystem, but korg module on ipad with some iap addons comes close to a nord stage 3 in versatility.
As far as ppl hating on small size keys because that would ruin your muscle memory and technique: I think that is never a problem. Either you are a hobbyist just enjoying yourself and it does not matter on the one end of the spectrum or you are a renowned concert pianist and it still won’t matter because you will be pro enough to adjust. Going from 7/8th size (which is what the small keys are, not even that small) to full size takes some adjustment yes, but so does switching between synth keys and a real piano or even between pianos.
Better to have more small keys than too few full size.
They are still in small numbers in Japan and they hiked the prices considerably. I bought one new back when they first came out, foolishly sold it, and when I bought it back the used price was as much or more than the old new price.
I’d actually like one of the organ ones as well, but they get sold immediately whenever one pops up used.
I paid something close to $80 to import my ST… Not too bad, I guess. Definitely very happy with it.
As far as answering @Decdog, I got my kids a Yamaha NP-11 second hand for pretty cheap and it gets a lot of use. But we’ve tried out some of the newer Casiotones in a music shop and they feel pretty nice. Yamaha PSS-A50 too.
Thanks all, some really useful ideas in here. Yes, agree that learning on full-size keys is good and once the piano arrives I expect/hope she’ll be back on that.
The Reface CP does seem great, but perhaps overkill, also price-wise, at this stage. (I was checking availability and yes does appear to be sold out everywhere here in the UK, but quite a lot of units turning over second hand - 8 or 9 sold on British eBay during August).
The PSS-A50 suggestion, or the Casiotones, look great and affordable. Midi-keyboard with iPad a good option too.
Looking at the PSS-A50 - looks cool but in the video below the guy says the audio out is noisy. Any thoughts on this point @aMunchkinElfGraduate? cheers
Piano will arrive 2m after we do. My daughter has been getting into the piano recently, and would like some way for her to be able to keep playing.
